Top Instagram Mistakes that eCommerce Owners Should Avoid

In Oct 2020, Instagram reached close to 1200 million active users. This vast number suggests the potential Instagram holds for eCommerce store owners to leverage it for their business. It is a goldmine for businesses if done right and the best thing, it’s free to use.

Also, small businesses that are counterparts of bigger and more influential businesses can easily surpass them with their targeted content. Implementing and sustaining the strategic marketing efforts on Instagram will help you rise above any difficulty. However, a majority of businesses on the Instagram struggle with creating a brand image to boost sales. And some critical mistakes can hinder the growth of your brand on Instagram.

Here’re some of the top Instagram mistakes eCommerce business owners must avoid to increase their potential reach and boost sales.

Instagram Mistakes that you Should avoid to Boost Sales

All of the mistakes listed here are easily avoidable and necessary for any business to expand its reach on Instagram. Some may seem pretty impressive at first and look very promising but they are hiding the whole truth. So, let’s get on with the mistakes and know the real truth.

1. Buying Fake Followers/Likes/Comments:

You must have searched about how you can get more followers or increase the count of followers, likes, or comments for your Instagram account. Not only businesses at the starting phase but also many well-established brands conduct such illegal activity. All business accounts must avoid buying followers, likes, or comments at all costs.

When you buy followers, those followers are mostly fake or inactive for a longer period. These kinds of followers don’t generally increase your Instagram reach and some even have dubious posts or made-up names. Also, Instagram algorithms take note of suspicious activities such as a vast increase in the number of followers in a short time. It can penalize or even ban your account permanently.

All in all, paying just to increase the number of followers to look impressive is worthless. Instead, businesses should engage in authentic and organic ways to do so.

2. Ignoring the Profile Optimization:

Your Instagram profile consists of many things such as your brand image, your bio, web link, contact info, and others. Out of all, your bio, brand image, and link to your website are the most important aspect you must optimize. For small businesses, these tiniest aspects of your brand could help to create the biggest difference for you.

Leaving such introductory features blank means ignoring the chances of creating a loyal fanbase for your brand. These features signify the essentials of your business and what you’ll be recognized for. Whenever your brand image appears, they will think about you. The bio description will let followers know what your business is all about. And a link to your website acts as a call-to-action for followers to take the next steps. Ignoring the profile optimization could cost you more than you think.

3. Improper Use of Hashtags:

All of us use hashtags when we post something on Instagram. Including hashtags is one of the popular ways to boost your organic reach and find interested followers. However, going overboard with it might not be that fruitful as you expect it to be.

Also, using too popular hashtags don’t generate out of the ordinary results because your posts will get buried under the mass of other posts not allowing you to reach expected users. The key here is to use relevant long-tail and branded hashtags. Interested customers will use such hashtags to discover your brand on Instagram.

4. Drifting Away from Your Brand Voice:

Your followers follow your account because they want to get new and the latest updates about your current and upcoming products. Going beyond the topic of your niche or posting content out of your brand tone will be a big turn off for your followers. Posting funny content that is relevant for your brand is occasionally fine.

However, brands must stay away from the topics that can heat up the discussions and jeopardize their brand image. Because you want your followers to get familiar with your brand and stay loyal to it. And the only way to do so is to stay relevant to your niche and brand voice.

5. Not Posting Regularly:

The one least mistake that brands often do is post only when they want to. This is not the way to go if your goal is to bolster the reach and boost followers of your brand. You owe it to the people who have followed your account just because they want to get updated. And not posting regularly would make your account irrelevant to your followers.

Besides, posting regularly translates to how active you are and more activity may get you more engagement, more followers, and ultimately more sales. Also, it encourages your followers to do business as you are always active on your Instagram account.

6. Disregarding Your Followers

Consumers now opt for social media platforms to interact with brands. And Instagram provides an easy way for consumers to get in touch with your brand. Social media platforms like Instagram and others make the communication more streamlined and it’s more comforting for users than other means of contacting a brand.

Disregarding your audience’s DMs and comments overthrow the purpose of being on the social media platforms. Your followers will have a jarred perception of your brand. Also, it directly mars the customer services of your brand. Thus, avoid this mistake and build a rapport with your audience. You can hire virtual assistants to not leave your followers hanging.

Wrapping Up

Being successful in your social media marketing is a tricky part but not that hard as businesses perceive it to be. Seeing the potential of Instagram, businesses want to leverage it to the fullest for their brand. But many failed to do so just because they make critical mistakes that hinder their growth. However, knowing what mistakes to avoid can help you rise above them. And with this article, we list out top Instagram mistakes eCommerce business owners must avoid in order to be a successful brand.

You can consult our eCommerce experts if you need help with your eCommerce and social media marketing planning. Also, our experts can help you with your eCommerce development needs.