Why Your Instagram Account is Falling Flat

I’m going to say something that is not that popular in the social media world…Instagram isn’t for every business owner. Yep. I said it. It’s true. Here’s how you know if you and Instagram are not meant to be besties. Here we go.

1. You’re not interested in making real connections with people on the app. Did you notice I didn’t say “accounts” or your “community”? It’s because you have to treat every interaction/conversation like you’re in a conversation with someone in real life (IRL). That means looking them in the eye, listening, and responding. In Instagram speak that translates to: reading each individual’s comment or direct message, reading it, and responding thoughtfully. This requires time, a system, and a commitment to consistency.
2. You’re not interested in the long game. You want results now and fast. Growing your Instagram account requires patience, commitment, visibility, and a strategy. I’m talking to you business owners whose business name is their actual name. People want to make connections with people; not brands.
3. You have no strategy or goals for your account. You need to understand who your audience is, what they want from you, what kind of content they interact with most online, and how your content will meet their needs.
4. You want to overproduce your content, especially Reels. While it’s awesome that you’re putting a lot of effort into your videos🥳, know the platform you’re on and cater your videos to that platform. You have a few seconds to capture someone’s attention. Always start your content–captions, videos, and static posts with a hook. Make them want more, not skip through because you failed to capture their attention. There’s so much more to say about this, but I’ll save that for another post.
5. You do not have the capacity to make a weekly time commitment to your account. There are ways to be super-efficient that require only an hour or two of your time per week and allow you to delegate to a team member like a virtual assistant or a social media manager. More on that in an upcoming post. If you do not have time to consistently record videos or approve content, then maybe you should put growing your Instagram account on the back burner and focus no another avenue to connect with your audience.
6. You are not interested in showing your face on your account. Yes, showing up on Instagram requires you to connect with real people, but how can you connect if you don’t want to show your face or your team’s face? I know. It can feel intimidating to show up on social media. It might feel strange to post and be the face of your business, but what is the alternative? The alternative is an out-of-touch account that is stale and uninteresting. The only type of accounts that get away with not showing up are artists, typographers, news/media outlets, or meme accounts. Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app, especially if you’re a business owner. Storytelling is the name of the game. If you’re a business that wants to grow its audience and convert interactions with them into sales, then you must show up as a person on Instagram.
   

💡QUICK TIP: What to stop doing on Instagram IMMEDIATELY
Please stop putting your logo on every post. It’s outdated and a turn-off to users. It immediately signals the user that this is a brand trying to sell them something and you instantly become white noise.