If you have been working hard to build a presence on Instagram, but are struggling to generate results, it’s probably because of some mistakes you are making. Therefore, to help you find and rectify them I have shared the common Instagram marketing mistakes below…

Not posting videos:

A common pattern I see on Instagram is people posting image after image. Very few people post videos. They make up only 18% of the posts on Instagram. 

But they drive a lot more engagement. This is why if you post only images on Instagram, you will miss out on a ton of engagement. So, instead of only publishing images, also publish videos. Publishing videos might seem like a complicated step, but it is very easy these days as there are several video editing tools with templates and builders. 

For some video content ideas, check out MyCookieDough’s Instagram account. 

Embed video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKRoqLLlA9J/

They publish a lot of videos like the above one that generate a ton of engagement and helps them reach more people. 

Not setting up a proper URL:

Another mistake I see on Instagram is people not creating a proper URL. They usually leave it blank or link their homepage when they should actually be sending people to a landing page or a special Instagram bio URL where they can see all the information. 

So, make sure you pay attention to your bio URL. The best option is to send people to a landing page where they can sign up or buy something as this will increase your conversion rate. Another good option is to create a shoppable bio URL like this one from Patagonia where the post images appear with links to product landing pages where people can buy the product(s) in the image. 

There are many bio URL tools you can use to set this up quickly. 

Not building a community:

One of the biggest mistakes people make on Instagram is that they think their job is done after they post the photo or video. They don’t see the importance of responding to comments and direct messages they get. This is a big problem as Instagram is a social network. The most important word here is “social”. If you want to generate the most engagement you need to be social by responding to the interactions you get. 

When you do this, you show your audience that you care about their opinions, so they will get encouraged to like more of your posts and leave more comments. 

Hence, be very active. Every day you should respond to all or at least some of the comments and direct messages. You should ignore the ones that are negative. 

If you do this you will build a community that likes you and will buy your products. If you’re just starting out and don’t have a community, you can buy an Instagram account with real followers from a site like Fameswap where someone has already built a community of engaging followers. 

An example of a company that understands the importance of building a community is Buffer. 

Embed post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKguXryHi3W/ 

You will notice that they respond to most of the comments people leave. 

Buying followers and engagement:

You can buy an Instagram account with real followers and engagement, but you should never buy followers and engagement. This is because there’s no use getting fake engagement. It doesn’t lead to any extra sales and engagement and you’ll be lying to your followers. Is that the type of relationship you want to build with them? 

Also, all that fake engagement will mess up your Instagram metrics and you will not know which posts are working and which aren’t. 

And another problem with buying fake followers is that it’s against Instagram’s TOS (Terms of Service) and if they find out that you purchased fake followers, they will either suspend you or apply a shadowban. 

Publishing any time you please:

Another important aspect of social media marketing in general and on Instagram is timing. If you post at a time when more people are online, you will naturally generate more engagement. Most people post at any time they please and as a result reach very few people. 

I recommend that when you are starting out you follow studies like this one and post at the best time. 

But after you gather some data, you should use an Instagram analytics tool to find your own unique time to post. This will help you generate even more engagement. 

Not investing in paid techniques:

You can organically grow your account to thousands of followers and generate a lot of revenue. But when you only use free techniques, it will take you longer to grow your account and revenue. So, if you want quick results, you should supplement your organic methods with paid techniques like ads and influencer marketing. 

The average ROI for every $1 you put into ads and influencer marketing is $2.50 and $6.50. If you put in a fraction of your profits into it you should see some huge results. 

Therefore don’t shy away from these techniques. For some ideas on how to get influencer marketing right check out Dope Ropes. 

Embed post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKPGawBJk1O/

Working with influencers has helped them grow their account very quickly. 

Not writing proper captions:

The visuals are the most important part of the Instagram post, but the captions play a role too. Most people don’t pay much attention to it. But if you do, you will see stellar results. So, spend some time writing funny captions if you want more engagement and persuasive write conversion-focused persuasive captions if you want more sales. 

You might also want to include hashtags and tags as they can increase engagement too. 

For some inspiration, you might want to check out Wacom’s account. 

Embed post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKjllSalnmK/

They put a lot of thought behind their captions and they include hashtags. They even tag others when they publish user-generated content like the above one. 

Being too promotional:

One reason why people fail with Instagram marketing is that they are too promotional. They repeatedly publish posts promoting their products and nobody buys them. This is because like I mentioned earlier, building a community is important. So, before you begin promoting products, work on building a community by sharing educational and/or entertaining content. 

You can intersperse these posts with promotional ones. This will help you drive far more sales. 

An example of a company that does this well is Silk. 

Embed post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqFXNkMhet/ 

They publish promotional posts, but they also publish posts like the above where they share free resources and at the same time promote their products. This type of content will help them build a community and generate sales at the same time. 

Conclusion:

These are the mistakes people frequently make on Instagram. Go through your account to see if you are making these and take steps to avoid them.