Critical Mistakes Many Entrepreneurs Make When Marketing on Instagram

We love Instagram and believe it is one of the most powerful conduits for your message in today’s social marketing landscape. But, the platform is most effective when you use it to its full potential.

While we’re excited to see so many entrepreneurs take to Instagram and wield it for their message, we come across instances daily where community members and new clients are making critical mistakes in their Instagram marketing.

In this blog post, we’re outlining a few of the most critical mistakes we see many entrepreneurs making today when marketing on Instagram - and how to remedy them!

Instagram can either be a powerhouse for your marketing, or it can be a waste of time. It all comes down to how you use it and avoiding a few simple, but costly mistakes.

If your goal is to maximize your efforts on the platform, connect with new and potential clients, and build a strong and thriving community around your brand, then take note and be sure to avoid the following:

Using the wrong hashtags

More often than not, entrepreneurs on Instagram use the wrong hashtags to attract their target audience. Instead of using hashtags their ideal client would search and use, they use hashtags their industry competitors are using.

Focus your efforts on finding the right hashtags for your audience by doing a bit of sleuthing. Research your most engaged community members and take note of the hashtags they, themselves are using.

PSST!:  If you want to know the exact hashtags that you need to use to get noticed on Instagram, check out The Instagram Hashtag Catalog.

Trying to do all the things

We see so many entrepreneurs slowly draining themselves dry by trying to do too much.

Between regular posts, stories, Instagram Live and now IGTV, there are many ways to promote your message on Instagram - but that doesn’t mean you have to use all of them all the time.

Experiment and figure out what your audience loves best from you and lean into that!

Promoting an unbalanced message

Instagram is a very personal and intimate platform - that’s why it’s so beloved by so many users! Its intimate nature, however, can provide a tough balancing act between personal content and authoritative content that each entrepreneur must maneuver for themselves.

We often see many business Instagram accounts functioning like a personal account, providing an overload of personal connection but lacking in real value to their audience.

Likewise, we see just as many accounts remaining too promotional or authoritative, promoting message after message but lacking in personal connection.

We challenge you to experiment with your content and messaging. Infuse personality where appropriate, but make sure your content is always supporting your brand and giving some sort of value to your audience!

Not planning your message in advance

Creating a plan for your content on Instagram is one of the best ways to maximize your value to your audience.

You’re able to create communication campaigns and pour extra effort into supplemental verticals like stories, lives, and now IGTV!

We recommend planning and scheduling your grid content, planning Instagram lives and IGTV episodes, and keeping stories spur-of-the-moment.

Using spammy tactics to gain followers

This is you if you’re buying followers, using the follow/unfollow method or are using bots for engagement. We totally understand that your time as an entrepreneur is limited, but automated comments will not serve you well.

Engagement is meant to be compassionate and genuine, not cold and automated. And remember, the quality of your audience will reflect the quality of your input and engagement.

Posting too often

Less will always be more, especially on Instagram. People think you have to post more in order to fight the algorithm, but we’re here to attest that’s simply not true.

Naturally, when you’re committed to posting high quality content, you can’t post 24/7. Give your content the blessing of your extra time and effort. If you’re struggling to create high-value content, try lowering your output frequency. Quality takes time to produce!

Ignoring your analytics

This one is crucial! Not monitoring your analytics is the perfect way to get sucked into feeling like you have to do everything.

Be sure to analyze your data in 90-day increments to identify patterns that are working well for you - and lean into them!

Struggling to make Instagram work for your marketing? What questions would you love answered? Ask away in the comments below!