Instagram appeared on the social media list in the year 2010 and soon gained popularity by becoming a part of the marketing strategies of many marketers. In 2012, it was acquired by Facebook and now in 2017 it has over 500 Million active users.
Instagram’s impressive growth rate has made many online marketers, entrepreneurs and social media influencers realize the immense potential it holds. As a result, more and more businesses today are taking advantage of Instagram’s extensive reach to engage with their target audience.
There are some rookie mistakes committed by people, out of which some are highlighted below so that you can avoid them next time and don’t fall into the trap.
- Lack of a goal driven strategy:
Goals form the foundation of any plan or strategy, but many times it gets over looked while planning. When it comes to Instagram marketing, not having a goal-driven strategy will result in wasted opportunities and effort. You might even give up, or conclude that Instagram or social media marketing just doesn’t work.
Instagram and social media do work and many brands on Instagram have proved it. Make no mistake about it, your success at Instagram marketing begins with a goal-driven strategy.
- Ignoring the prospect of sponsored posts:
Sponsored posts are one of the highly effective strategies that helps in gaining massive brand exposure and builds a huge base of followers. To leverage these benefits, marketers need to identify the influential Instagram accounts that have a large number of followers that too are in a targeted niche.
This is one of the proven methods to make hundreds of thousands of new followers too in a short period of time. Many marketers are taking advantage of this and if you have not yet taken this route, then it is quite likely that you are not making the most out of it.
- No description/ link in your bio to drive traffic:
Before becoming your Insta Follower people go through your profile/ bio. Make sure that you have a catchy and informative bio. Through your bio, convince them that you will add value to their feeds through content.
Instagram provides space for a hyperlink, so people can click it and visit your store. By inserting a hyperlink, you make it easier for followers to find your store and hence your store will receive higher traffic.
No link or description or CTA in your bio would make it difficult for your followers to connect with your brand.
- Forgetting about quality:
Although it may seem tempting to dump lots and lots of advertisements for a brand or product as possible. But when it comes to social media marketing quality is preferred over quantity.
Prospects are judging your brand as well as your brand’s quality in various aspects. Quality content gets flooded with likes and comments and lives up to 20 days in the case of top brands. With each post receiving so much lasting attention, it is important that businesses emphasize the quality of their posts.
Avoiding this can lag you behind your competitors, moreover flooding the Instagram feed of your followers with poor content can make them unfollow you.
- Misusing Hashtags:
If you are not including hashtags to your Instagram posts, it means your business is missing out on a huge opportunity to get discovered by new users.
Hashtags increase the chances of you getting found. When used properly, hashtags are a great way to find the right audience, expand your offers reach and build your brand community.
Instagram is one platform that marketers can’t afford to ignore anymore. It has quickly turned into the go-to network for online marketers looking to drive more social media engagement and acquire new customers. But for that to happen, you need to stop making these common marketing mistakes that are discussed above.
