There are so many unspoken rules when it comes to social media that it can feel overwhelming, especially as a beginner. If you aren’t implementing a strategy, such as a consistent posting plan, you won’t receive the results you desire. Let’s dive into 5 of the most common mistakes we see people making on social media and how to adjust your strategy in ways that will grow your account.
Buying Instagram Followers
While you may think that increasing the number of followers for an account would increase engagement, research on the topic has actually shown otherwise. When you buy followers rather than grow an organic following, most of the accounts are useless for raising engagement, As a result, your posts get thrown lower on the algorithm for others due to the discrepancy between follower count and likes. Beyond this, buying followers is also against Instagram’s community guidelines and could also lead to the termination of your account altogether.
Posting & Ghosting
What’s “posting and ghosting” you may ask? This refers to the act of logging in to your account, creating a post, and then forgetting all about it. In order to receive engagement from others, you must start by providing engagement to them. A great place to begin improving in this area is by commenting on posts from others and responding to all of your comments. In order to broaden your reach, you can also interact with local or relevant accounts by exploring local hashtags and liking and commenting on their posts. This will not only put your name out there to be seen by new accounts but also increase your engagement.
Posting Too Much or Not Enough
It’s hard to find the balance between under-sharing and oversharing. Posting infrequently can lower engagement, but if you’re posting multiple times a day, it can feel overbearing as well. Most research would show that 3-4 feed posts and stories a week is plenty of exposure without over-doing it. It all depends on your niche, however, it’s important to make sure each post has a purpose. The best way to tackle this issue? A posting plan. Having a set schedule for your posts will ensure the property quality and correct quantity of the content you’re sharing.
Forgetting the Importance of Creativity
What defines a successful post? We like to define it as one that “stops your scroll”. Whether they stop because it’s a gorgeous photo or a clever caption, you have grabbed their attention. It’s easy to fall into a loop of posting average content, it’s much harder using creativity to regularly generate new and exciting content. Don’t let the logistics behind it all dull your creative side, it’s important that you stay inspired! Find relevant accounts that you love, read a new book, skim through a magazine, listen to music, or do whatever works best for you to get in the zone.
Sticking to One Channel
Social media is a necessary tool for marketing your business, now more than ever, yet we still see so many businesses without a broad social media presence. In order to truly identify your target audience and market, it’s important that you’re reaching people across a variety of platforms. While not every business needs to be on every platform out there, you do miss out on extra exposure to new audiences. Consider the different ways in which your business could promote itself with Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, etc., and decide which would be the most beneficial for you.