7 mistakes business owners make on Instagram that limits brand growth

I am excited and happy that you are already taking advantage of Instagram marketing for your brand growth. And possibly if you are not, your business brand is missing out a lot and here is why;

According to Instagram statistics, about 1billion people use Instagram every month. Over 200million Instagram users visit at least one business profile daily. Over 60% of people say they discover new products on Instagram. Also Instagram stories has become so popular that half a billion people use it every day, which makes it an important channel for brand building for small businesses. 

That said, Instagram marketing, when properly setup with the right strategy can,

      1. Helps you grow your brand,

      2. Allow you sell your products and services to a large audience and most importantly,

      3. Grow your audience

Photo credit: pexels.com

There are common mistakes that business owners do make that can limit them from having full benefits that comes with using Instagram marketing.

Let’s quickly take a look at the seven common mistakes that small business owners using Instagram do make, so that when you are running your own Instagram marketing strategy, you can avoid them and enhance your brand growth greatly.

1. Making your profile private:

When your account is private, only people you approve can see your post and videos on Instagram, your existing follower won’t be able to. The is a mistake because when people search for you on Instagram they won’t see any of your post and that’s bad because people always want to see what you are posting, the kind of pictures and post you are posting before making the decision of following you.

Also when your account is private, even when people get to follow you, you have to approve them manually. There is a time gap between the time they decide to follow you and the time you approve them, which is not good.

2. Not responding to followers comments:

This is very important in order to build an engagement with your followers that you are on Instagram as a company, as a brand to build a community engagement with your followers. 

The best way to engage your followers is to reply their comment with simple courtesy or more importantly, add a value to the subject they commented on. This is better, because you are not just recognizing that they are doing great by participating and engaging with your materials and post, but you are actually adding more value that is specific for this follower and other followers as well.

So always try to respond to all comments on your pictures. That’s very important

3. People don’t use hash tags or they don’t use it enough:

The best way for people to find you on Instagram is by searching for you and most of the users use the hash tags to do that. When using hash tags, it is important that you use hash tags you think users and your audience will look for when they are searching on Instagram. This so important, so pay attention to your hash tags when next you post.

4. Poorly handled Instagram Bio:

Properly filling out the bio section is very important because this is where you have the chance to direct people to your website, blog, products and services.

5. Not using stories through videos:

Videos are amazing, because it is the best way right now that you have with the available technology, to interact and get personal with your followers. When you are recoding videos of yourself or of your company, you are actually getting personal with your followers because you can talk with them and show them moving images of what you want to share. Post at least once a week, a video on your Instagram account and you would see the difference that videos make on your Instagram followers.

6. Not adding a profile picture:

This is unbelievable but good number of users are still on Instagram, trying to build an audience without an Instagram profile picture.

This is so important because, when people find you on Instagram, they are not going to follow you if you do not have on, a profile picture. People love to see the company behind the posts. They want to see the person.

7. Focusing only on products sale:

When all you do is post products and ask for sale, you can be sure your followers are going to get disinterested in your brand or company. They think all you want from them is to make sales. Beyond posting your products, ensure you spice up your contents with other materials that add values to your followers. This way, they have a feel of benefit from following you and not just that you are after their money. This trust in your brand is very important if your followers must grow.

In conclusion, you must be more conscious of the fact that what your potential customers want or expect of your brand, is much more important than what you think you want for yourself, if you must grow your audience. This is a major factor to be considered for every of your business strategies to be implemented.