In the world of social media, marketers know that change is the only thing they can count on. From algorithms and APIs to features and best post times, last year’s best practices may turn out to be faux pas this year. So how do you avoid mistakes in Instagram marketing?
Do not be afraid; we got your back. We’ve compiled a list of the 12 most common Instagram marketing mistakes in 2022 so you know what not to do on Instagram.
1. Ignoring your analytics
One of the most common mistakes a social media marketer can make is ignoring their data (or not making full use of it).
Instagram gives you an incredible amount of analytics, both at the level of each post and at the account level as a whole.
Looking at your data is the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t. If a post is doing really well, you should definitely check out the analytics of that post to find out why.
If you want to go beyond Instagram’s built-in analysis tool, we recommend checking out Hootsuite Analyze.
Obviously we’re a little biased. But for the record, here are some things the Hootsuite analytics dashboard can do that Instagram can’t:
- Show you data from the distant past (Instagram analytics can only tell you what happened in the last 30 days)
- Compare performance over specific periods to get a historical perspective
- Show you the best posting time based on past engagement, reach, and clicks
Try it for free. You can cancel at any time.
Here are some other tools and ways to understand your Instagram analytics.
For brands, hashtags are a double-edged sword. They can help other Instagram users find your content, but they can also make your content look like spam.
You can use up to 30 hashtags, but the most common use for brand accounts is one to three hashtags per post. AdEspresso suggests using up to 11 hashtags. You will need to experiment to see what works best for your account.
Check out our guide to mastering hashtags on Instagram.
Who is good at it: @adidaswomen
Adidas Women uses hashtags quite a bit, averaging 3 or less per post. They strike a good balance between branded hashtags (#adidasbystellamccartney) and searchable hashtags (#workout, #style) that signal the topic of the post and help it get more reach.
Social media isn’t a one-way broadcast, it’s a conversation. But, unfortunately, one of the most common mistakes in social networks is forgetting the “social” part.
As a marketer, you should be spending as much time interacting as you are creating and posting content. And don’t just talk to your followers: joining the conversation with other brands is a great way to increase engagement.
Every comment, question, mention, and private message is an opportunity to build loyalty and create a positive brand experience for your audience.
Who is good at it: @netflix
Netflix is one of the brands that I follow more for its social media strategy than the product. Sure, their content is funny and I love The Umbrella Academy as much as anyone, but the real gold is in the comments.
In this post, you can see how Netflix responds to commentators with its brash, recognizable brand voice that matches the tone of the comments. And their viewers love it!
4. Fast without a strategy
Many companies know they need to be active on social media, but don’t think about why.
Want to drive traffic to your site? Do you want to become the most famous brand in your category? Making sales directly through your Instagram store?
It’s hard to be successful with Instagram marketing if you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve.
Choose one goal to start with and develop a strategic plan to achieve it. That way, you’ll have something to guide every decision you make, as well as a way to measure the impact of your work.
5. Not using the latest features
Although the Instagram algorithm is constantly changing, introducing the platform’s latest features has always seemed like a successful tactic.
Marketers who move fast can benefit from better engagement, faster growth, and greater reach. They are even more likely to be featured on the Overview page.
First it was Instagram Stories, then Instagram TV (IGTV), and now Instagram Reels. If you haven’t switched to a video strategy yet, now is the time. Here’s our guide to getting started with Instagram Reels.
Who is good at it: @glowrecipe
Leave it to beauty brands to figure out how to use Instagram’s features to their full potential. Glow Recipe covers multiple formats, from IGTV to guides and now videos. I especially love how they use both videos and videos to share tutorials and educate their audience in related skills.
6. Don’t use tracked links for attribution
Do you use Instagram to drive traffic to your website or app? If yes, do you track every link click from Instagram?
Social media managers are constantly being asked to prove the ROI of platforms like Instagram. If you include links through Instagram Stories, Reels, Shops, or your bio, make sure you can prove they work.
Each link you post must have tracking parameters attached to it. So you can chalk up business results to your Instagram marketing efforts.
7. Posting Horizontal Content
To be honest, this is one of the most amazing mistakes I still see marketers make.
If the goal of your Instagram content (be it a photo or video) is to capture attention and stop users in the middle of a scroll, you should only post vertical content. Let me explain why.
92.1% of Internet use occurs on mobile phones. This means that you want your content to take up as much vertical space as possible in order to engage users. A landscape (horizontal) photo or video takes up half as much space as a vertical one!
8. Ignoring trends
Trends aren’t just for influencers and Gen Z. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not suggesting that brands grab every real-time marketing opportunity (it’s a quick recipe for cringing).
But social media marketers should always be on top of Instagram trends so they can tailor them in a way that aligns with the voice of their brand and audience.
For example: Posting screenshots of tweets (with attribution) and using pop culture reaction GIFs is always a good bet. Both are enduring Instagram trends that brands can easily participate in.
Who does it well: @grittynhl
So, not all marketers are blessed with golden content that is the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them.
Gritty does a great job with pop culture trends, but only in a way that captures the humor that Gritty is known for. If it doesn’t make sense for their brand, they don’t get involved at all.
9. Don’t experiment with your strategy
Worse than having no strategy on Instagram can only be an outdated strategy.
Given the pace of change at Instagram, all “best practices”should be taken with a grain of salt. What works for other brands may not work for your brand and your audience.
Experimentation is the only way to find out what really works for your brand. You should always test:
- Publication time
- Publication frequency
- Signature length
- Number and types of hashtags
- Content Formats
- Content Themes and Pillars
While it’s not an exact science, I generally recommend testing one variable on at least 5 posts (or 2-3 weeks, whichever yields more data) before drawing a conclusion.
10. Posting over-produced or enhanced visuals.
When brands first started using Instagram, users expected to see beautiful and high-quality photos in their feed.
These days, we know more about the impact of social media and comparison culture on our mental health. Many Instagram users are now moving to less curated and polished channels.
This is actually great news for marketers. You don’t have to spend tons of time and money on fancy staging to create content for Instagram. Over-produced visuals don’t look authentic and stand out (for the wrong reasons) in the feed.
Instead, use your phone’s camera to capture instant content and skip the photo filters.
Who is good at it: @eatbehave
The Candy Behave brand has completely adopted the Gen Z aesthetic with messy visuals and contrasting colors. They post a mixture of user-generated content, memes and some professionally taken photos, but they’re styled so they don’t stand out in the Instagram feed as looking too much like an ad.
11. Lack of Search Optimization
Thanks to an Instagram blog post from 2021, we now know a lot more about how search results are served and how brands can improve their search rankings.
Just like you optimize your website content for SEO, your Instagram bio, captions, and alt text can also be optimized. This means that your social copy should include words that will match what someone who is looking for your content type will use.
12. Don’t make your content available
Raise your hand if you always add alt text to every image you post on social media. If you do that, you’re way ahead of the game (and everyone who uses screen readers to navigate the web thanks you).
If not, then it is important for all marketers to learn how to make their social media content more inclusive for all users who could potentially consume it.
Here is a checklist (read the full guide here):
- Add descriptive alt text for each photo
- Write hashtags using Camel Case (#CamelCaseLooksLikeThis)
- Add closed captions (or subtitles) to all videos with sound
- Don’t Use Fancy Font Generators
- Don’t use emoticons as bullets or in the middle of a sentence.
Who is good at it: @spotify
This example from Spotify checks all required accessibility fields. The hashtags are written in camel case and the video is subtitled to the audio.
In general, Spotify publishes a lot of video content in a variety of formats and includes a mix of text graphics and captions all the time. This conscious choice makes Spotify videos accessible to all viewers.
That’s it: 12 common marketing mistakes you won’t make on your Instagram again.
Of course, social media rules are constantly changing, so don’t be afraid to try different things. As long as you learn from what works and what doesn’t. Good luck!