Since it's launch in October 2010, Instagram has accumulated over 700 million users. This photo sharing app sees an average of 95 million posts every day, which can be a daunting number for people using Instagram for their businesses. While there are many ways to make your account stand out, there are just as many Mistakes you might be making that can keep your Instagram from reaching its full potential.

Paying for followers

The biggest mistake many Instagram accounts make is to buy followers. It's super easy and not as expensive as you may think.

While having a large following can be an attractive trait on an Instagram account, it completely loses its appeal as soon as the potential new followers realize that the community is fake.

It's very easy to know whether or not an Instagram account has fake followers. The biggest giveaway is a lack of engagement. If an account has 50,000+ followers and only 35 likes on their posts, those followers were bought. This makes the account seem untrustworthy.

Ignoring the stats

Instagram offers insights for business accounts that provide crucial information to growing your community and cultivating a gallery that attracts your audience. These insights show important statistics pertaining to follower growth and loss, audience demographics, engagement, and so much more.

Not studying the trends on your account can potentially hurt your growth.

If you are running an Instagram account focused on travel and you notice an increase in followers after you post a photo of your golden retriever in a kayak, you may want to consider featuring your dog on your trips more. On the flip side, if you observe a sharp decline in likes when you post on Mondays at 6 AM, you may want to reevaluate your posting schedule.

Using the wrong hashtags

Hashtags may very well be the most important aspect of Instagram. Selecting the right or wrong ones will determine whether or not your post is seen. You could have the most magnificent image that should be in National Geographic, but no one will see it if you don't include the correct hashtags.

There is an art to choosing the right hashtags for Instagram.

It is recommended to go with ones that have between 10,000 and 500,000 posts. Hashtags with millions of posts will not do you any good because your post will get lost in the sea of content.

You can use up to 30 hashtags per post. Keep in mind that one mistake some people make is using too many hashtags. You don't want to appear spammy, so choose five to 10 relevant, popular hashtags to run with for a while. You should also consider changing them up every couple of months to keep up with current Instagram trends.

Ignoring the captions

If you want more engagement with your posts besides likes, you will need to craft an eye-catching caption. It is very difficult to keep an Instagram user's attention nowadays.

Most people scroll through, double tapping when they see something the like. In order to grab their attention enough to warrant a comment from them, you will need a good caption. Check out this article about writing the best captions for your Instagram posts!

Posting too much product

Using Instagram for business is a great way to boost sales. However, if all you are posting is your newest product, you will lose the interest of your audience quite quickly. Instead, find your niche and choose images and videos that play into it. For example, a clothing company may want to consider posting their store employees doing their daily tasks or a behind-the-scenes look at the design process of a new line.

Posts like this will help humanize the business and pique the interest of it's following on Instagram.

Posting unedited images

Instagram posts should be edited, well-lit, and curated. You don't have to be a professional photographer to take a great picture to post on Instagram, but you do need to have good judgment and a basic understanding of photography principles.

There are hundreds of apps out there that can help with photo editing. You don't need to drop a lot of money on Photoshop. Free apps like Enlight, Facetune, Werble, and many others can help you edit and add special effects to your images before posting them to Instagram.

Ignoring ad features

Instagram ad campaigns can completely transform a business.

Over 70 percent of business accounts on Instagram saw an increase in website visits and sales after running an ad. There are a number of ways to create a revenue-generating ad including a photo, video, story, and carousel ads. This service is also reasonably priced and provides you with insights on your ad's statistics.

Forgetting about followers

It isn't enough to simply post on Instagram. You should engage with your community and make them feel welcome. Respond to comments, like photos that your followers tag you in, ask questions, and follow other accounts that are relevant to yours. These simple tips can help to generate more engagement from your audience and also help to establish trust.

Instagram isn't just a photo sharing app. When used properly, it can be a crucial tool for generating revenue for your business. If you avoid making these mistakes on Instagram, the potential of success for your account will rise.
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