Instagram can be quite an easy social media platform to use. With its simple and engaging image and video posts, intuitive like, comment, and sharing systems as well as ever-growing user base, you would think all that you need to do is share some images and your profile will become Insta-famous.
You can’t make Instagram mistakes, can you? There may be some truth to that statement if you’re a Kardashian.
If you’re not, however, you may need to put a little bit more thought into your Instagram profile to attract the attention it deserves. And you most definitely can make mistakes.
Once you learn from them though and follow these tips, your profile can be back on track growing its Insta-popularity.
In this article, we’re going to look at 7 massive Instagram mistakes people make on Instagram. These can hurt your account the most. We’ll cover why you shouldn’t be making them and how to avoid (and fix) them.
1. Horizontal images
Horizontal images look great on computers, laptops, and TVs, the only problem is that Instagram is predominantly accessed via smartphones.
When you post a horizontal image, you’re effectively reducing the amount of size your post takes up in someone’s feed. If they’re scrolling through the latest posts or looking through the discovery tab, your image isn’t going to capture their attention as it just isn’t big enough to.
How to fix it?
Post square or vertical images & videos! For best results, make sure your images are 1080 x 1350 pixels in size and if they’re larger you can crop them in the Instagram app before you post them.
2. Not using all of your hashtags
Hashtags are a vital part of the Instagram ecosystem. They always have been and they’re possibly even more important than ever. You’re allowed to post up to 30 hashtags with every post, so why would you not take advantage of that? Hashtags allow you to be found easier on the discovery page and to reach your target audience.
You may be fearful of the infamous Instagram shadowban*, but you have nothing to worry about if you use relevant hashtags and you don’t spam the system.
*A shadowban is when Instagram hides your account from everyone not following you.
How to fix it?
Include between 25-30 targeted hashtags per post & switch up which hashtags you use every couple of days. If you don’t like how the hashtags look in your caption, you can post them as a comment in your comments section. It makes absolutely no difference!
Pssst, find out how to hide hashtags in your captions when you’re using a scheduling tool here.
3. Not including a call to action
You keep posting amazing pictures but no one ever seems to want to comment? Have you thought about simply asking?
No really, even a simple call to action like, ‘what do you think about this?’ can great a lot of interaction on your post compared to just leaving it blank or filling it only with hashtags.
If you’re looking for people’s opinions, let them know that you’re looking! ?
How to fix it?
Include an enticing call to action at the beginning of your caption to create a discussion. Caption this, rate this pic 1-10, etc. are some of the best performing basic call-to-actions you can include in your posts.
4. Lack of focus and no niche
Is your profile all over the place? You post images of your business, your dog, the neighbor’s cat, your children’s first shoes, etc. but you never seem to have a specific theme or focus that ties everything together?
When someone visits your profile, from one of your posts, they’re going to see this chaos and click away immediately. The benefit of Instagram’s grid is that it allows you to display your profile to new visitors and immediately showcase what you’re all about.
If you’re all over the place and a visitor can’t immediately see whether or not you create images they will enjoy, the simple fact of the matter is that they’re just not going to follow you & you’re going to continue not growing your account.
How to fix it?
Decide on a niche, a theme, a focus for your profile. If it’s your personal account or a lifestyle account, choose a set of colors & create a color scheme that is clearly visible in your images and account.
Create a profile that clearly shows what you’re all about and why people should follow you.
Sarah Peretz (@sarah_peretz) does a great job of joining together a wide variety of topics through the power of color schemes.
5. Posting too many times a day
People that venture over from Twitter to Instagram are generally under the impression that more is better & will lead to faster growth. Now for Twitter, that may be the case, but with Instagram, you’re going to want to contain yourself a little & stick to your focus area. Quality is better than quantity on Instagram.
If you post too many times a day, your followers may become oversaturated with your images and Instagram won’t show them all of your images in their feed. This will lead to people unfollowing you and your posts not receiving the necessary attention that they deserve and require to feature in discovery.
How to fix it?
Create a posting schedule & stick to it. Generally, 1-2 is the max amount you’re going to want to post per day to your feed, but this can vary depending on your audience. See what brings the best results for your posts and then create a schedule around that.
Pro tip: If you want to post more frequently, make use of Instagram Stories, IGTV, or Instagram Reels!
6. You’re not engaging with your community
When your followers ask questions, post comments, and interact with you, do you think they’re going to keep interacting and leaving comments if you never reply?
They won’t, and that’s a shame. For one, you’re missing a great opportunity to build a community around your Instagram account and create trust and build relationships with your followers. Another thing that you’ll be missing is the added comments and likes that those followers will leave on your next post, which could be the extra incentive it needs to rocket to the top of the discovery page!
How to fix it?
Spend some time interacting with your followers on your posts. Answer questions, thank them, etc. Mix it up to make it more personal. Go the extra mile and comment on other people’s posts in your niche. Keep it relevant and write well-thought-out comments that don’t come across as spammy, no one likes spam and you can notice it from a mile away!
7. Posting inconsistently
The opposite of posting too much would be posting too little, or not posting consistently. Social media networks, in general, love it when you post fairly consistently and reward consistent accounts with better ranking on feeds & on the discovery page. Another reason to keep your posts consistent is to satisfy your follower’s desire to see your posts. If you can’t provide them with what they want to see, there are plenty of other accounts that can.
How to fix it?
Post consistently according to a schedule. It doesn’t have to be a written schedule (although that helps!) but try sticking to it. I recommend posting daily, but if you create super high-quality images that take a long time to create, space it out to create a schedule that your followers will easily be able to follow! Better yet, throw in some behind the scene’s Instagram Stories to build the hype on your next post and to keep your audience engaged!
What’s next after fixing these massive Instagram mistakes?
These Instagram mistakes are more common than you may think, but they can be easily overcome by putting some thought into your next post. Implement the fixes I’ve mentioned and you will already be on your way to growing your Instagram profile and getting the engagement you deserve.
It’s all about trial and error after that, seeing what works and what doesn’t, and then rolling with the things that brought you the best results.
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