All you need to succeed on Instagram is a great content strategy & the discipline to follow it through. However, there are HUNDREDS of gurus out there who will sell you HACKS instead of STRATEGIES.
Here are my top 5 unnecessary behaviours to look out for that will KILL your account in NO TIME:
🚨 OVER-ENGAGING
What is it?
“Engagement Strategies” are an extremely common hack. Instead of engaging with content you like (like a normal person..!) or engaging with your community in your own comments section, “engagement strategies” use engagement as a ploy for attention. Often, it encompasses leaving “thoughtful comments” and liking many many posts.
Why is it a problem?
Over-engaging is a problem for multiple reasons:
- Instagram has put in engagement limits to try to mitigate this behaviour. Engagement strategies often accidentally exceeds these limits. This can result in action-limits, action flags, and in extreme cases, account bans.
- Over-engagement often looks similar to bot-use. Using bots or programmes to artificially engage is against community guidelines. This can result in action-limits, action flags, and in extreme cases, account bans.
- Over-engaging is transparent to most users, and is read as inauthentic and “scam-like” behaviour. This will ruin your brand trust and reputation.
- It isn’t actually very effective in gaining more engagement and followers, compared to the amount of time it takes to complete. The followers it does attract tend to be less highly engaged and less likely to purchase than those found organically through content.
What should I do instead?
- Engage like a normal person! There is no need to try and trick people into thinking you like their content to grow. It is ineffective, it is inauthentic and, quite frankly, it’s tacky.
- Engage with your community - respond to comments with follow up questions and respond to DMs enthusiastically! You will reap the rewards for nurturing your audience properly for years to come!
- Be mindful of engagement limits! To be safe, like under 100 posts per hour and leave less than 15 comments per hour. If you are engaging, take your time and actually consume the content before hitting the like button mindlessly.
What should I do if I have already done this hack?
- Keep calm and carry on! Flags for over-engagement tend to be minor, and can last for as little as an hour or two.
- If you are concerned you may have a flag, be mindful that generally you will get a notification from Instagram. If not, you can check your account status by going to settings > account > account status.
🚨 CLEANING YOUR FOLLOWER LIST
What is it?
Removing followers can also lead to short term action bans and strikes. It can also give the algorithm the impression your followers are leaving in droves…!
Why is it a problem?
- Removing too many followers too quick (or, indeed following too many people too quickly) violates action limits. This can result in action-limits, action flags, and in extreme cases, account bans.
- Removing too many followers too quickly also gives the impression to the algorithm that your followers are leaving your community at speed and in earnest! This may result in a lower ranking within the algorithm
What should I do instead?
- If you really really need to remove followers (because, for example, you bought followers) then this must be done extremely slowly, usually over the space of a month or so. Never remove more than 150 in a day, or 30 in on sitting to be safe.
- If you are just removing followers in an attempt to gain better favour in the algorithm - just don’t! It is totally unnecessary and potentially counter productive.
What should I do if I have already done this hack?
- Any limits or action bans from removing followers (or over following OR over unfollowing) are usually short as a first offence (hours), but will get longer and more severe the more regularly you do it. Cease this behaviour asap.
- Any potential algorithmic damage from doing this consistently will take longer to fully heal (weeks, minimum). Just continue to post fantastic content and let your followers to the healing for you through their engagement!
🚨 NICHE HOPPING
What is it?
Changing niche or trying to serve multiple niches results in a following that is split into multiple camps of interest. This leads to a low engagement rate.
Why is it a problem?
- When you change niche, or use multiple niches for the same page, you end up with a follower list split into multiple sections (dependant on what kind of content it was they followed you for!)
- This means that every time you post, only the relevant section will engage. If followers from other sections see this content, they are unlikely to engage.
- This results in a low engagement rate, which drives down your reach and ultimately stalls your growth.
- Furthermore, when you post about multiple niches, it makes it more and more difficult for the algorithm to know who to target your content to. This can lead to even lower engagement and growth.
What should I do instead?
- Choose one niche / audience and serve it well. If you are multi-passionate and don’t want to stop making content about all areas, split these into multiple pages.
- Pick 3-5 content pillars (closely related topics within your niche) and stick to them like GLUE! Your kids, your dog and your breakfast are likely NOT relevant to your target audience for your business!
What should I do if I have already done this?
- If you have changed niche on your page and are struggling with very low engagement and reach, it is likely more functional to start on a new page, with a targetted audience and fresh algorithmic data.
- If you have multiple areas of interest, have separate accounts for these.
🚨 HASHTAG SPAMMING
What is it?
Using lots and lots of hashtags makes it more likely that you will use a banned hashtag. Furthermore, if they are not all highly relevant, it can also affect your targeting.
Why is it a problem?
- When you use lots of hashtags, you are at higher risk of using a banned hashtag. Using banned hashtags immediately limit the reach of said post.
- If all the hashtags you use are not 100% relevant to your post, this will confuse the algorithm, resulting in poor targeting. Poor targeting leads to low engagement, leading to low reach and a stall in growth,
What should I do instead?
- Use between 3 and 10 hashtags that are highly targeted to the post, your audience and your value proposition (what you do).
- Regularly check for banned hashtags in your hashtag set (monthly or if you see a big dip in reach from outside your following in insights).
- For more on banned hashtags, click here.
What if I have already used this hack?
- Check for banned hashtags
- Remove any banned hashtags from your last 20 posts. Any further back won’t make much difference.
🚨 COPYING SUCCESSFUL ACCOUNTS
What is it?
You can not copy what someone else has done on Instagram and expect the same results. Take inspiration, sure, but make sure to bring your own energy, perspective and style to everything you do!
Why is it a problem?
- Copying successful accounts encourages your to make generic content that is unlikely to inspire and wow your audience.
- You are always making content that your target audience has potentially seen before. Audiences LOVE originality
- It dampens your voice! People want to hear what YOU have to say, not just a regurgitation of the same thing everything else is saying!
- It lacks authenticity. Authenticity is 100% central to growing an engaged community on Instagram!
What should I do instead?
- Create an original content strategy based on your unique business goals & target audience
- Take inspiration from content from multiple niches and genres. Looking within your own industry for inspiration is limiting and more likely to dampen your creativity.
- Inject your own thoughts, personality and energy into your content. This is your secret sauce, and NO ONE can copy that!
If you want to leave the time-consuming and damaging hacks in the past and ACTUALLY learn how to thrive on Instagram, you NEED to check out my 1-1 Instagram Strategy Sessions. During these sessions I will help you identify & understand your target market and create content strategies to achieve your specific goals on IG! Sound good?! Click here NOW!