5 Instagram Mistakes You Must Avoid - part ll

Hey you! Perhaps it's been the craze with binge-watching Squid Game, then Alice in Borderland, and now - YOU, that I haven't written my part ll yet of 5 Instagram Mistakes You Must Avoid. If you're new here or need to refresh your learnings, take a look at the first part.

1. Sharing awkward links

You probably didn't expect this. But yes! There are still businesses and many other creators who copy-paste their links under their posts. Not only it looks quite bad (Instagram doesn’t hyperlink URLs in comments, captions nor you can copy the text), but also affects your image and your overall marketing.

Let's be real, no one will type that long link into their browser. In the end, if you're a business, you won't convert your users into potential clients nor anyone will see what is this thing about anyway.

So how do we fix this?

That's why try to share the link in your Stories and move your current audience. Perhaps include stickers asking a topic-related question, which will help the engagement and allow the Story to reach a bigger audience.

Yet, the link sticker applies only to Stories, meaning, that mainly your current audience will see the link. There are two ways how you can move your current and new audience:

Firstly, when posting content, use a CTA (call-to-action) instead. For example, I offer Lightroom presets. In order for my audience to view what exactly I offer, I first tell them what to do:

"Link in bio for magical Lightroom presets". I tell that that in my bio there is a link for this.

But what to do if you're offering Lightroom presets, but at the same time you want your audience who are not interested in presets, read your latest blog article? As we know, Instagram allows you to type your website without any additional links.

But there is a fix! Yas! 🔥

I use Linktree. Linktree is one type of link that connects audiences to all of your content with yeah... just one link. In my case, the link looks like linktr.ee/madara.magicalflowers .

When clicked on it, a new page appears that looks similar to this:

The best part? You can use it for FREE! Of course, the analytics are limited, you can't customize as much as when paid, yet for starters - this is a great alternative to move your followers to different channels! You can always upgrade to the paid version, which is 6$/montly and includes analytics and insights, third-party integrations, scheduling, and priority link feature, and much more!.

I know I hype it, and it's not an AD! 🙂 There are probably many more similar services, but this one works for me, so try it out!

Yet, I would like to mention bio.link, which I haven't tried to use myself. If you have, let me know in the comments!

Picture from bio.link

It's completely free and is more or less similar to Linktree, yet Linktree offers many more features in the paid subscription, whereas bio.link is free for a lifetime, yet offers the basics. But who needs more, right? So try it out!

2. Buying likes and followers

Yes, still in 2021. Users like these don't really realize the problem they are creating. So deeply focused on the numbers, completely downgrading their quality. The sky-rocketing follower count might look good, yet what's the point?

Is having bots your audience? Audience that says nothing of value and doesn't help you build your community? The success is in connecting with real people. Yeah, exactly, just like in real life, having conversations with others, you connect with people also on social media. So.Just.Don't. Buy.Likes.And.Followers!

Yet, accounts, who realized that real people bring value, started another trend. Yep...

Users who don't follow you keep sharing their content via DMs

At least once a day as a minimum, I receive message requests from accounts that in a passive way share their recent content. And this is a huge NO! You create the opposite effect. Most accounts will simply delete your message, or in a nicer way, ask you why are you doing this. In the worst, if you keep on doing this - block you.

How to fix this?

Personally, I don't mind if you share content you want my opinion on. I like helping others and if my opinion is important to you, I'm more than happy to help. Include an introduction or at least a greeting, and what exactly is it that you're looking for.

Don't ask for likes or a follow. It's something you earn, genuine followers will boost your engagement. Accounts you ask to follow you - not!

Engage with the account. Comment genuinely on their account and perhaps you will be noticed. You might also have shared very good content, but it doesn't mean everyone has to become your follower. Having genuine followers who actually like your content is gold.

P.S tagging someone's else account "just to get likes" into your post if you're not a Feature Account is also a big no-no. It's pointless.

3. Using poor quality images

With nowadays tech, you can easily take beautiful, sharp, and eye-catchy photos with just your mobile phone. No need for a fancy digital camera. Nevertheless, Instagram is a visual medium, meaning, you must focus on the visual part of your brand. Don't be lazy and think that your low-resolution picture or video will attract users, this will only affect your reach and engagement in general.

Tips for Taking Better Smartphone Photos

• Clean your lens! Yes, some phones automatically have a pop-up message, telling you to do so. Be sure to clean this lens with a soft handkerchief before taking a photo;
  

• Take photos in daylight, preferably in front of the window where the light comes in the most;
  

• If indoors is still dark, take your photos outdoors - no excuse!
  

• Avoid zooming in - this will lower the quality of your photo;
  

• No one that can take photos of you? Purchase a mobile tripod - you can find pretty affordable ones nowadays;
  

• Need a photo now, but no tripod? Experiment! Try to find a spot in your home where you can place your phone, believe me - been there, done that;
  

• Set focus manually - simply compose your shot, then tap on the screen where you want to set focus;
  

• Use HDR setting - especially useful for landscape photos. It allows you to capture detail in both the shadows and the highlights;
  

• For beautiful portraits - shoot in portrait mode - your background will be nicely blurred;
  

• Once you've taken your photo, try to play around with filters, sharpness, saturation, etc., download apps, there's plenty of them! I prefer using the free version of Mobile Lightroom, especially when I travel.

4. Neglecting to share user-generated content

Sharing UGC, serves as an excellent social proof. This applies not only to photographers like me but to any other business, that can use this strategy to increase their credibility.

If you're a brand that sells clothing, share a positive comment on your story that your follower left and tag them. If it was a DM, ask them first and share it.

You can also share their post with your product on your story or your feed.

Create a hashtag! In my blog - The Ultimate Guide To Instagram Hashtags , I talk about different types of hashtags, where one of them is a so-called "branded hashtag"

It can be for competition purposes, for your product, a cause, mission, anything. For a clothing brand - use a hashtag that others can use when they purchase your product and share it on their feed. Even when they don't tag you, you can find the user-generated content via the hashtag.

Nothing to share though? No worries. Is your brand educating others in sustainability, slow fashion? Share an account, content on your story within these topics. It's not always about you and your product. It can be shared values with others - in this way you build stronger relationships with other like-minded businesses, which who-knows, might end up in collaboration.

Not just that. Your followers will find the information valuable and that your brand is fighting for a specific cause.

5. Having no strategy or goals

Honestly, the most important question you should ask yourself - Why are you on Instagram? What is your goal? What is it that you want to achieve? Are you here for fun or are you here for business? (It can be both too! Honestly, have fun!) Yet, without a concrete goal, you won't be able to develop a strong strategy.

Effective Instagram Goals:

• Brand awareness - as one of the top reasons why brands use Instagram, boosting your brand awareness helps your audiences understand, recall, and become comfortable with your branding and products. This can be measured by ➡️ follower count (yet, remember engagement rate is the top metric, you can have a high follower count but your engagement rate might be very low) ➡️ reach - how many followers and non-followers do you reach daily/weekly/monthly. Is your strategy currently aimed at your current followers or at a potentially new audience? ➡️ mentions, shares, saves - from all these, "saves" for Instagram users is the "double like"; this measures how many users find your content valuable and most likely will return to your post once again.

Brand awareness measurements

• Brand - engagement - the second top reason, that improves your brand's loyalty and word of mouth recommendations; the most important metric that I mentioned before in brand awareness is your engagement rate. Highly engaging content will be prioritized by Instagram, which can lead to Explore page. Showing up on the Instagram Explore page means more potential customers get to know your brand. Every user will see different content on their Explore page, and this is based on the posts they like, and the people they follow.

Showing up on the Instagram Explore page means more potential customers get to know your brand

What is your engagement rate? You can find it out pretty easily. There are many engagement rate calculators, but one of my favorites is Phlanx .

You type your Instagram username and press "enter". The more followers you have, the more likely your engagement will be lower and lower. This is why I suggest getting rid of "ghost followers" and "bots" that might be following you.

Instagram ER calculator by Phlanx .

On average, most businesses will fall into the category of engagement rate, between 1% and 3.5% = average/good engagement rate. Higher than 3.5% ER, is considered a very high ER. As you can see my engagement rate is extremely high, this is due to the fact that I fall into the "photography" industry and it's much easier to keep the engagement rate high.

If you fall under 1%, you need to change your strategy asap!

Average ER on Instagram by Phlanx

• Drive traffic to your website - If you have a website, move your followers there, that can offer your audience much more than on Instagram - a blog, product showcase, sign-ups, etc., can increase your sales, views on the blog, or better - gain more clients. In order to move your audience, don't forget to use the "link in bio" CTA. Never copy-paste your link under your post! In order to measure, if this works, take a look at: ➡️ traffic from Instagram (use Google Analytics - Acquisition - Overview), however, if you start using Linktree, your data will appear in Referral, not Social.

Use Google Analytics to view where your audience is coming from

➡️ The quality of the traffic from social media - take a look at your bounce rate (the percentage of sessions that result in a bounce—that is, sessions that begin and end on the same page). Anything below 70% is considered good, whereas 25-40% is an excellent score.

• Generate new leads - if you have a good following on Instagram, perhaps it's time to "warm-up" your followers to your business. Usually collecting personal information, which can be done through newsletter sign-ups. Or perhaps you're giving away free infographics, brochures, catalogs, any other freebies on your website. How many visits did you get from Instagram and how many downloaded the content. Once you've taken them through your sales funnel (customer journey), the final stage is to convert your potential customers into paying customers.

• Community growth - create content that others can relate to by triggering an emotion that builds trust and connection with your brand. In order to measure, use these community growth hack examples : ➡️ double-tap if.... -let your audience be part of the decision-making. This can be used in any industry: “Double-tap if you think you could eat this whole pizza.” “Double-tap if you love silky hair.” “Double-tap if you love the scent of roses.” .. and many more ➡️ tag someone who... - more eyes will see your content, good for the reach! “Tag that friend who always comes late” “Tag someone you would share this cake with.” “Tag someone you trust.” .. and many more ➡️ create a hashtag. - create a hashtag that your community can use and grow with. It can be related to your cause, values, contest, etc. Another way how to build a smaller community is to create Instagram groups with other photographers, creators, etc. Also, Facebook Groups is an additional place where you can move your followers, which gives you a bigger community and many ways how to keep it engaged and growing. Of course, there are many more social media goals that you can aim for, but most importantly you must understand in order to achieve them, going through analytics and insights - data in general, is very important in order to create and adapt your strategy.
  

I will talk more about Instagram's strategy in my next post. Stay safe!

Thank you for reading! If you have any suggestions what should I write next, write in the comments :))