Instagram Mistakes That Businesses Make Daily – so how can you make mistakes on Instagram if it’s just posting photos?
Very easily
If you’re a regular reader of Altrincham HQ you’ll know how popular Instagram is
Our blog on Instagram for Business was the most read blog of last year
Last year we looked at Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Mistakes That Businesses Make Daily
Here is our 4th in the series : 10 Instagram Mistakes That Businesses Make Daily
1. No Plan
People underestimate the power of Instagram – they only see it on the surface level of photos and videos
So they don’t plan all the things as they would do for any other Social Network
They don’t plan what they will post; when they will post it; how often they will post it; who to follow; who to engage with; how to convert followers to customers; and so on
If you look at our Instagram there’s a structure – it’s always 4 behind the scenes photos and then 1 quote image about marketing or social media
Since we set that structure our Instagram doesn’t deviate from it
2. Low Quality Photos
Instagram is all about high quality feel good photos – the very best of the best
Imagine flicking through a glossy magazine and then wondering why a poorly quality / poorly framed image in there
That’s the same feeling people get when they see low quality photos on Instagram
It’s why teenagers spend so long getting the perfect photo and then delete it if it doesn’t get over 60 likes
We’re not suggesting to act like a teenager – but have some quality control
3. Not Filling In Your Profile
This sounds simple – but a lot of businesses don’t fill in their biog or web address
Telling people what you do, what to expect and including somewhere they can click on to find out more about the business is essential
Apart from the profile set up this is the only place on Instagram where regular users can have clickable links
(Note: Verified Accounts can include this in Instagram Stories and others can use sponsored Instagram ads for clickable links)
4 & 5. Not Enough Hashtags / Too Many Hashtags
Hashtags are the route to discovery on Instagram
And like other Social Networks a good place to start is the local area. People like to search the local towns to find out what is going on in their hometown
However unlike Twitter, where research shows the most level of engagement is 2 Hashtags per tweet, the optimum number of hashtags per Instagram post is 11-13
Instagram allows up to 30 # per post – but you could say that any more over the 13 is too many
6. Vanity Hashtags
All of these hashtags are the most popular hashtags on Instagram
#love #TagsForLikes #TagsForLikesApp #TFLers #tweegram #photooftheday #20likes #amazing #smile #follow4follow #like4like #look #instalike #igers #picoftheday #food #instadaily #instafollow #followme #girl #iphoneonly #instagood
#bestoftheday #instacool #instago #all_shots #follow #webstagram #colorful #style #swag
They’ll get you a stack of new likes and new followers
Are they likely to bring your local business any genuine business though? Probably not
7. Not Using Instagram Search
Instagram search is a gold mine – seriously – if you’re not using this every day you’re missing out
Search for people, tags and places
Particularly useful for B2C businesses searching for customer pics – not all of your customers will tag your Instagram account and many will use a local hashtag, tag you in the location search or hashtag your brand
It’s so useful for regrams and user generated content
8. Tagging People In Photo’s They’re Not Actually In
This is a BIG problem on Twitter – which means our advice for that is exactly the same for Instagram
There’s a prompt that comes up when you upload a Instagram photo to tag people in the photo
Now my eyesight can be a little iffy at times, but I don’t think I’ve read that as tag people who aren’t in the photo in this photo as a sly marketing tool
It’s very simple – only tag people / businesses in the photo that are actually in the photo
9. No Engagement
So many businesses see Instagram as a post and go platform
Think of all the options there are for engagement and / or comments
* New Followers
* Your Photo Comments
* Prospective Customers Photos
* Existing Customers Photos
* Local Media / Influencers
Engage Engage Engage
10. Not Measuring Stats
Earlier this year Instagram introduced business profiles which allowed you to get insights for Instagram (think Facebook insights, but not as in-depth) and the Social Media debated should you active your Instagram For Business Profile
or not
Naysayers said no because it’s likely Instagram will throttle businesses organic reach like it does for Facebook business pages
Other people said yes as it gives you access to data to improve your Instagram marketing
The key is GREAT CONTENT will always great through and some of the Facebook pages that have seen massive drops in organic reach have been ones posting really poor quality posts
The choice is yours but look at this blog to see how to activate your Instagram Business Profile
https://altrinchamhq.co.uk/instagram-for-business-how-to-activate-your-business-profile-and-why/
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 500+ LinkedIn testimonials and is Ranked Number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.
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[…] Instagram actually allows for up to 30 hashtags – though using all of them isn’t necessary. And definitely don’t use more than that or “none of your hashtags will work and your Instagram caption might not post at all.” The target number is 11-13. […]