If you’re running a business these days, you know how important it is to have a strong social media presence. Whether you’re an influencer trying to get sponsors interested in your profile or a CBD business building your brand, you need to be posting on social media as much as you can.
Instagram, especially, is one of the most important profiles you’ll have.
This platform used to be simply used for sharing pictures, but now it’s one of the most popular ways that businesses connect with potential customers. Because of its visual appeal and how easy it is to post regularly, it’s a great choice for any business leader for engagement.
That said, many business leaders make mistakes with their Instagram that make their strategies way less effective than they could be. So if you want your Instagram to be as successful as possible, read on so that you aren’t making these mistakes.
1. Not having a business profile
Maybe your business started off as a pet project. You got really good at making personalized candles with scents you collected, and you slowly started making more and more of them. Then you set up a website and started selling to friends and family. But if you’re serious about making this into a business, you need to switch your Instagram from a personal account to a business one.
Simply go into Edit Profile, and link your Business Information section to your business’s Facebook page. Then, you can choose a business category and contact options, which will make it easier for customers to learn more and get in touch. Another benefit of a Business for Instagram profile is that you’ll also get free analytics about your posts and followers through their Insights feature.
There’s a reason why Instagram is worth $100 billion, and that’s because it’s very effective for businesses when used right. So change your profile to business now if you haven’t already!
2. Using the wrong hashtags
Maybe you’re posting consistently, and your images are beautiful and represent your brand. But if you aren’t using the right hashtags, your reach will be quite limited. If you aren’t using any, that’s a problem too–and if you’re using too many, that’s going to look desperate and make it unclear what your niche is. You need to remember that your audience matters, as well as your industry, so do your research.
If you don’t have time for research, think about using Hashtags for Likes. This service figures out what hashtags you need–niche, industry, and branded–so that you can focus on creating great content and interacting with followers. Considering that using at least one hashtag increases engagement by 12.6 percent, mastering hashtags should be a huge part of your strategy.
3. Getting followers on your own
Back when Instagram first came out, it was possible to slowly grow your followers, and over time become successful. But now, everyone’s on Instagram. If you’re serious about getting the right followers, it’s best to use a service that gets followers using the best Instagram tools. Hackernoon explains:
“A growth expert will make you more efficient by handling social interactions such as commenting and liking posts…This approach saves marketers a lot of time: Instagram users post a staggering 95 million times daily, and users “like” content 4.2 billion times each day. Moreover, SocialSteeze won’t provide robot followers, as the practice could harm a client’s reputation.”
Whether you use Social Steeze or another follower service, this will get you more followers. In turn, you’ll be taken more seriously by other industry players, influencers, and new potential followers.
4. Not using Stories
Considering that 86.6 percent of people post in their Stories, this is clearly a trend that’s taking off. So even if you’re regularly posting pictures, you need to use Stories, too. If you aren’t doing this already, but aren’t sure where to start, check out this guide from Social Media Examiner.
5. Not working with influencers
Finally, you need to work with influencers. It may be hard in the beginning, but once you start seeing some success in your business, it’s time to connect with the right people. Make your account as dynamic as possible (by using many of the steps above), and then do a search with industry-related words to find influencers your audience would like.
Considering that 750 million people use Instagram a month, you’ll be quite successful once you connect with the right influencers.
Now over to you…
By avoiding these mistakes, you’ll be running a successful Instagram account in no time. What other mistakes have you made on social media platforms, and what solutions have you found?