3 Reasons Why People Fail at Instagram
Instagram is a social platform and was created for that purpose. If you read my post, Should I Create a Business Profile for My Business, you'll know that I'm not a big fan of the business profile. Why? Because nobody wants to be sold to. What do you do when you see the words "SPONSORED" on a post? Do you go, "Oh, YES! Let's see what this advertiser has to say!", or is it more like, "Ugh" **scroll scroll scroll***.
Yep, me too. So what's a brand to do when the idea is to sell? Beats me! LOL, but I've discovered some things NOT to do. I think there are 3 main reasons people fail at Instagram for business.
Too Many Promo Posts
You know those profiles that contain only selfies? That's what it's like when a brand only posts product photos. WE GET IT. You sell stuff. I don't think anyone opens up Instagram because they feel like buying something at that moment.
Of course you want to post product photos, but it's a good idea if the majority of your posts provide value to your audience. What is value? Think of it as something that makes someone want to stick around and maybe see what else you've got.
Not only that, when you think of posting a promotional photo, think about your audience. Focus on selling the SOLUTION that your product, idea, or program solves. The more you can relate to your audience, the more likely they'll trust you.
And they SHOULD trust you. You are building a business with integrity that offers something of value - an awesome product you believe in or created yourself, a program that helped you, something that increases productivity or efficiency, a shop that sells your favorite kinds of things, knowledge or lessons about something you know a lot about...you get the picture...Something of value to YOU and to OTHERS.
If you're trying to grow an Instagram account to MAKE MONEY, and to build a website business or blog to MAKE MONEY, and if your description on your insta profile is something like, "Do you want to make $4000 a week the easy way?", or your actual profile name is something like "BillionaireGuruMoneyBags", you could be missing the point.
Money is a byproduct of offering something of value to others. Rant over.
Here's a suggestion for a good rotation of posts for your brand:
- a great product photo
- a random cool, 'lifestyle' photo
- a candid action photo with your product
- a funny meme
They're Not Credible
A lot of people get excited about the ideology that they can earn a BMW in 5 months. Not realistic, but they're easily enticed by the next big product to promote because they believe THIS IS THE ONE. Again, if your motive is strictly money, it will be obvious to others. How many people do you know have jumped from one direct sales business to another and tried to recruit you to follow along?
Hey - I've been guilty of it. All those years of me searching for the perfect opportunity in my 20s and 30s left me with less and less credibility. Many times my friends were like, "So......what are you doing now?" 
**cringe** Luckily Instagram wasn't around at that time! 
The good news is that you can be credible - even if you haven't been up til now. What do you believe in? What are you passionate about? What do you love? Build your business foundation on that and you'll speak with conviction and authority.
They Don't Commit
Building a business takes a commitment and consistency, and so does growing a brand on Instagram.
The content you create for your website is pretty much fixed. Once you get the foundation of it set (yes, it takes time and commitment), your work on it is, for the most part, done.
With Instagram, though, you need to be active and interactive daily - posting and engaging with your followers and other people in your niche (interest community). .
When it's managed effectively, it will drive a steady stream of traffic to your website - even without paying for advertising with a business profile.
Takeaway:
- Keep your promotional posts to a minimum
- Rotate funny memes, niche-related photos, and candid shots with your product photos
- Believe in what you do and what you're sharing
- Be consistent with your business and engaged with your followers
Focus on these things this week and stay tuned for my next post - How to Increase Your Instagram Followers
Danielle
Recent Comments
17
Great advice for every platform! No one likes a constant sales pitch and they do turn it off after a while. We need consistency across the board as well - it plays into ratings in multiple areas on the internet. Thanks for this informative and helpful post.
Blessings,
Debby
I agree 100% although I don't have an Instagram account yet, but this post has definitely enlightened for the time when I decide to do so. Great information!
Good thoughts! I'm still pretty behind with both Instagram and Pinterest. This is helpful!
Thank you, I have found this insightful and of great value.
I do like to add photos on Instagram that are engaging and fun but looking at it with the approach of a follower, very clever indeed.
I will be applying and managing more effectively from now on and very much looking forward to your next step.
Interesting post, I am so behind with the times I will have to look into getting an instagram account. But thank you for the tips Danielle
I've found that inspirational quote memes get massive likes and follows. So many people eat that stuff up and love seeing them on their feed. I've been alternating between inspirational quotes and pictures I've taken on my travels. Someone who likes the pictures will click to your profile to see more or see more about who you are and that's where they can see a link to your business for themselves instead of every caption trying to yank them there. Nice post!
I took a picture on london underground and I posted that to my instagram, and it got quite a lot of likes! Still I have been just sharing my posts, so that needs to change. I have started to just interact in a natural way and that seems to help :)
Thanks for this, I have just started to ramp up my social media persence to attempt to increase traffic and engagement!
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Great suggestions! :)