With an ever-changing Instagram algorithm, it’s certainly challenging to keep up with the trends and adapt accordingly. However, several elements of Instagram remain universally consistent. When creating a solid social media strategy, it’s essential to cover your bases first and foremost, recognizing some key factors that can make or break social media success and ensuring they aren’t missed!

For today’s blog, we’re bringing it back to basics and highlighting some of the most common mistakes that users tend to make on their accounts, which could be harming growth and engagement. We’ll admit it; we’ve experienced a few of these ourselves. No shame in learning from mistakes!

Without further ado, here are nine common Instagram blunders you can fix today!

Mistake #1: Having The Wrong Profile Image

Your profile picture is quite literally your first impression on potential followers, so it’s best to make sure it stands out! If you’re a brand, we highly recommend featuring your logo or company name over top of an eye-catching background. Make sure that the font and the background color don’t blend together, use your brand colors, and make sure the text is large enough to be legible on a tiny bubble but not so big that it’s cut off. 

We especially recommend this for small business owners rather than using a photo of yourself! A logo profile image that is done right instantly lets your followers know that you are a professional brand. 

Mistake #2: Not Making The Most Of Your Bio

Don’t overcrowd your bio; make it quick and concise. Share your key messages right at the forefront so your potential followers know what you do within the first seconds.

Mistake #3: Too Many Links

While having some links in your bio can be beneficial, having too many can overwhelm your audience. We recommend limiting links to four max.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Analytics

One of the biggest mistakes when growing your account is ignoring the facts! Looking at your previous content’s performance should shape the content you choose to put time into in the future. What were your top-performing posts in the past three months? Identify those and find ways to repurpose them in different ways. When researching what your followers want to see from you, proof is in the pudding, as they say.

Mistake #5: Forgetting To Use CTA’s

Give your content meaning by adding a CTA. This can be as direct as “visit our website” or as simple as asking a question to your followers to get their opinion. Check out our previous blog on what makes an excellent call to action here!

Mistake #6: Not Pinning Your Best Posts

This may be a newer feature, but it’s one that’s bound to stick around forever. Remember when you would dread having your best post get lost in the feed? That’s not longer the case with the pinning feature. Put your best foot forward to new followers by showcasing your top posts at the very top of your feed. Go ahead, do it now!

Mistake #7: Not Taking Advantage Of Stories

The feed isn’t everything! Sharing your feed content to stories, posting original stories, sharing others' content, and engaging with other accounts via their stories is crucial when telling the algorithm that you are an active account. We wrote a blog about stories that you can refer to here!

Mistake #8: Using The Follow/Unfollow Method

Once upon a time, there was a follower growth trend where you could keep following/unfollowing people until they followed you back. Point blank: don’t do this. The algorithm will be onto you and actually punish your account!

Mistake #9: Not Engaging With Other Content

Don’t just post and go! You can’t expect love on your content if you don’t give it back, so after you post a story or feed content, try spending at least five minutes engaging with others in your community.

What are some of the most standard Instagram mistakes you’ve come across recently?