Instagram is the fourth most popular social media platform in the world (after Facebook) that can help you attract and engage new customers.
That’s why it’s critical to understand the most common Instagram marketing mistakes to ensure that you don’t end up spoiling the vast opportunity it presents to you.
As the network has almost 2 billion active users most of which are between 18 and 34 years old, it’s the perfect place to target your younger audience.
The type of content shared on Instagram is mainly visual in nature — pictures, IGTV, Instagram Stories, live videos, and so on.
And there’s a reason for it — video content performs best on most social media algorithms as it captures the user’s attention faster and then holds it for longer periods. Figure this —91% of surveyed businesses in 2024 used video for most of their social media marketing.
So far it sounds perfect, right?
All you have to do is share a few videos with your audience on Instagram and voila all your marketing goals are achieved in no time!
Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Many companies aren’t aware of how to promote their business or how to reach their potential customers, so they end up making some pretty common Instagram marketing mistakes on the platform. These mistakes end up jeopardizing your marketing efforts.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the 7 most common social media mistakes that you should avoid on Instagram so that you get the most out of this platform.
Yet, if you have already made some Instagram marketing mistakes, don’t worry as we also have the solutions to how to fix them.
When it comes to your personal profile on the platform, it’s completely up to you if you want to share it with the world or not. But your business account should be available and visible to anyone interested in your products/services.
Keeping your profile private is among the top Instagram marketing mistakes. You are sending the wrong message to your audience: “There’s nothing here for you to see. Also, you will have to wait for us to approve your request”. Additionally, it restricts your reach to just existing followers. This is one of the many mistakes brands make on social media.
The more accessible and open your business seems, the better your chances are of attracting new leads and increasing your follower base.
As this is among the most fixable Instagram marketing mistakes, all you have to do is open your Instagram profile and make sure it is not private.
The next step, which is actually a more common marketing mistake, is to ensure the account is switched to a business one.
Image via Instagram
By making this change, you’ll gain access to Instagram analytics and Insights, a built-in analytics platform that gives you an insight into your content performance and followers. You’ll also be able to track your performance and adjust your Instagram strategy accordingly.
All these helpful features are not available to regular profiles so if you’ve been committing the most common Instagram marketing mistakes, you’ve missed out on them.
The more information you get about your audience, the better you’ll become at targeting them with the right content and therefore achieving your marketing goals.
If you’ve never made the previous Instagram marketing mistake, then you might be doing this one (even without realizing it) or you’ve likely seen a company making it.
Posting the same type of content on your profile is one of the most rampant Instagram marketing mistakes. It’s a sure way of losing Instagram followers.
Whether it’s the same type of textual or visual content, your current and potential clients will probably get bored with it at some point. So, you need to stop making this marketing mistake. Instagram is a very competitive social platform and your competitors are aware of that.
That’s why they’re constantly bombarding your target audience with diverse and creative content to capture their interest. And you should be doing just the same, or else you risk losing out to them due to these kinds of Instagram marketing mistakes.
To fix these Instagram marketing mistakes, put time and effort into developing a well-planned content calendar for Instagram.
It should include the type of Instagram content you want to share with your followers in terms of its form (videos, posts), and purpose (informative, engaging, promotional). Note how Douglas Cosmetics uses a mix of content types below.
Image via Instagram
Make sure you provide your followers with an informative and captivating content mix related to your products and services. One of the biggest Instagram marketing mistakes businesses make is sticking to just one type of content.
Consider experimenting with Reels, live videos, and IGTV to promote your business. For instance, you could film a “How-to” video on using your products or answering questions about them.
The content calendar should map out the days and times for each post to be published.
Additionally, all content doesn’t necessarily have to be about your products or services. You could share relatable memes, quotes, or inspirational thoughts as well. The overall goal is to entertain your audience while marketing your brand on Instagram.
Diversifying your content helps you avoid common Instagram marketing mistakes.
One of the major Instagram marketing mistakes many businesses make is posting content irregularly. In most cases, they share content whenever they have the time to do it or if they feel there’s something worth sharing.
This means the content often goes unseen by their followers which is purely a waste of time for everyone involved in the content creation process from copywriters to graphic designers.
With the number of active Instagram users and brands, the last thing you want for your content is to be left behind.
Fighting for your followers’ attention is difficult enough on Instagram, so don’t make your struggle even bigger by making such Instagram marketing mistakes. Post too often and your followers will be irked out, post too little and they’ll forget you.
If you commit these kinds of Instagram marketing mistakes, your visibility decreases and this would directly impact your bottom line. The people who follow you are also following many other businesses, so don’t let them forget you.
Finally, without regularity, it’s almost impossible to track and measure the performance of your posts, which, in turn, can mess up your content strategy on Instagram. So, avoid Instagram marketing mistakes like these at all costs.
The best way to rectify Instagram marketing mistakes like these is to schedule your posts by creating a content calendar and using social media scheduling tools. That’s how you’ll be sure there won’t be long periods where you won’t be communicating with your followers.
The unwritten rule is to post a maximum of once a day on Instagram or 2-3 times a week if you feel more comfortable. As for your Instagram Stories timeline, you can be even more regular daily.
Unlike Facebook, scheduling posts in advance on Instagram only happens through a third party app.
Since there’s a slight chance you forget or don’t manage to post according to your content plan, we advise you to assign this task to your content/marketing team or an employee you trust. This can help you overcome Instagram marketing mistakes like these.
Instagram is the perfect platform to join forces with popular influencers and brands to fulfill your marketing goals.
However, many businesses make Instagram marketing mistakes by not utilizing these types of collaborations. They can be extremely beneficial, especially for small businesses or startups.
You could either collaborate with an Instagram influencer or another brand on social media for this.
Some of the other advantages for your business here include increasing your followers, lead generation, and thus, your sales.
Another great benefit of avoiding Instagram marketing mistakes is that you will be saving on marketing, as you will get instant visibility through the influencer or brand’s popularity.
If you make Instagram marketing mistakes of skipping or missing out on such collaborations, you’ll likely miss out on numerous business opportunities that would perhaps cost you a fortune.
Don’t be afraid to reach out for such connections, whether you’re just starting out or are an already established brand.
But what if you have to face rejections?
There’s a way to avoid this too. We advise you to conduct a profound analysis of influencers and brands on Instagram to identify those that share similarities with your business. These are the ones you should consider reaching out to avoid similar Instagram marketing mistakes.
And once you’ve found the right fit, create content with them. Be proactive and make sure your content is authentic for best results.
Note how Karen Millen has partnered with Lydia Millen for this post below.
Image via Instagram
This is probably one of the most common Instagram marketing mistakes that you could make. No matter how engaging and original your content is, if you skip adding a CTA (Call-to-Action) to your posts, it’s very likely that the post won’t serve its purpose.
If you go through Instagram, you’ll find many brands making these Instagram marketing mistakes. These brands have high-quality pictures and amazing copywriting, but that’s pretty much all.
They are not leading you to any action, whether it’s to check their Story, follow the link in their bio, visit their website, or something else, and that’s one of the worst Instagram marketing mistakes. Without a purpose, such posts are a waste of time and budget for both your copywriters and graphic designers.
At the end of the day, the goal of your Instagram page is to support your social media marketing strategy. That’s why you always need to be thinking about how you can promote your business even via seemingly not-so-promotional posts.
This lets you avoid common Instagram marketing mistakes so you can focus on driving results.
Let’s take a look at how you can incorporate CTAs into your Instagram content. The great thing about a CTA is that it can take many forms like asking people to comment, share, follow, or check out the link in bio, among others.
The goal here is to tell your audience exactly what action you need them to take after checking out your content on Instagram.
For instance, note how the CTA here is “View Shop”.
Image via Instagram
We know it, you know it, and your followers know it — the goal of your Instagram profile is to popularize your business and grow sales. So, it’s expected that you’ll share promotional content. Yet, if you do it all the time, it’s one of the most common Instagram mistakes and you’re at risk of losing your followers.
Just consider how you’d feel (as a regular user of social media) if you follow a brand that’s constantly advertising its services/products without giving you any useful, engaging, or interesting content.
You’ll probably be captivated at first, as you are a fan of what the brand is offering, but soon enough, you’ll feel overwhelmed and sincerely bored by the constant advertising.
As this is the last thing you would want your followers to experience, avoiding this Instagram marketing mistake is crucial for the success of your business marketing strategy. And now, we’ll discuss how you can steer clear of Instagram marketing mistakes like these.
Unlike the previous Instagram mistakes, this one’s slightly difficult to detect, as finding a balance between marketing and bringing value on Instagram is a tricky thing to accomplish.
So, the very first step in rectifying this Instagram marketing mistake would be to examine your content so far and be as objective as possible. The better option is to assign this task to a bystander or someone who hasn’t seen your profile, to get honest feedback.
Here are a few tips to ensure that you don’t end up promoting your products and services way too frequently and outrightly.
Our first tip is to promote your business as a solution to a problem your target audience is facing.
For example, if you’re selling a product that has multiple functions, instead of focusing on its features, emphasize on why and how it could facilitate the everyday life of your followers.
Or in other words, make them realize they have a need that only you can answer.
Another way to present your brand in the best possible light without committing the Instagram marketing mistake of outright promotion is to emphasize your contribution to society or the environment.
Sustainability has become a prime requirement consumers have for brands these days.
So, if you have a positive impact on nature (i.e. offering reusable products or packing your goods in eco-friendly materials), try to direct your followers’ attention to that so that you add a different value and meaning to your business. Take cue from this post by Levi’s.
Image via Instagram
When it comes to Instagram marketing mistakes, this one is not only the biggest one you can make but also the worst one.
It may sound tempting to acquire a huge amount of followers without putting almost any effort into it, yet the consequences of this Instagram marketing mistake can hurt your Instagram profile and business, in general.
The first thing that happens once you buy thousands of followers is that most of them are fake accounts that have no interest in your products or services. This leads to a low engagement rate, which may further hamper your account’s performance.
Moreover, you risk losing your reputation on the platform: if a customer decides to check your Instagram followers, they’ll immediately discover what you’ve done.
This happens especially when you have a small fan base that increases quickly in a short period without any visible reason.
If the damage is already done, the only way to fix this Instagram marketing mistake is to start over with a new Instagram account.
If you had only a few followers before buying the fake ones, the good news is that this Instagram marketing mistake won’t cost you too much. Our advice is to back up your content and start building on top of it instead of starting from ground zero.
Also, you can make a list of your real followers and follow them back with your brand new profile. They will get notified and will most likely follow you again (if they haven’t figured out your marketing mistake).
From this point onward, your only goal should be to increase your followers organically. This happens through carefully researching and targeting the right audience and then providing them with informative and engaging content.
Q1. What’s the biggest mistake businesses make on Instagram?
A. Focusing too much on sales and not enough on building engagement with followers can make your content feel pushy, leading to a lack of trust and reduced long-term loyalty.
Q2. Why is inconsistent posting a problem for Instagram marketing?
It harms your visibility and reduces the chances of building a loyal, engaged audience. Additionally, irregular posting can cause followers to lose interest or forget about your brand.
Q3. How does neglecting analytics hurt your Instagram strategy?
A. Performance tracking is essential for optimizing content and gaining insights into audience engagement. This results in inefficient use of resources on content that fails to produce meaningful results or engagement.
Q4. Can poor visual quality damage your Instagram marketing?
Yes, low-quality images and videos can make your brand seem unprofessional and less appealing.
Q5. What’s wrong with ignoring Instagram’s algorithm?
A. Ignoring the Instagram algorithm means missing out on maximizing reach and engagement, as the algorithm favors content that drives interaction.
Now you know all the 7 most common Instagram marketing mistakes and why you need to avoid them. From buying fake followers to irregular posting schedules, there are loads of mistakes that you might end up making on Instagram.
Each of these Instagram marketing mistakes could potentially damage your reputation, limit your reach, and even have a direct impact on your sales and revenue.
That’s why it’s essential to rectify each of these mistakes, if you’ve been making them, and start to upscale your marketing strategy on Instagram to fulfill your goals.
Have any questions about these Instagram marketing mistakes? Ask them in the comments section below.
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