8 Common Instagram Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2020
Since coming into existence in 2010, Instagram has given brands the opportunity to engage with their audience and tell their story through the power of visuals.
The Facebook-owned app was one of the fastest growing major social networks in 2014, and is now home to more than 1 billion users.
Along with growing its user base, Instagram has expanded its features as well. In the last five years alone, it's embraced business accounts, live video, and advertising, but it's also become a leading platform for social media stories.
In addition to the network’s impressive growth, users are also highly engaged with the platform. Each day, half of all users use the app and spend an average of 21 minutes on the app. Top brands have quickly realized the potential Instagram presents.
But, while a number of brands have absolutely thrived on the platform, many still struggle to grow their audiences there. This is because a number of seemingly small mistakes could impact your whole strategy on the fast-paced platform.
Whether you’re considering joining, are new to the network, or feel like your Instagram game is lacking, learning about some of the most common Instagram mistakes can help you avoid them and build an effective social strategy.
In this post, we've gathered a list of eight mistakes brands make on the platform, backed by data and HubSpot's own social media team.
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The Most Common Mistakes Brands Make on Instagram
1. Brands don't take time to plan out an Instagram strategy.
Instagram offers brands a means of telling their story through photographs, video clips, live video, and Stories, but with all of the features on the app, it can be tempted to create content for every possible post and hope that it's engaging.
When used strategically Instagram is ideal for showcasing products being used in real-life situations, showing the progress of something through photos over time (such as the construction of a vehicle, the making of a new record, showing a new office space from empty to furnished and functional, or a new or favorite recipe from ingredients to the plated final product), or even answering frequently asked questions through short video clips or Instagram Live.
Yes, the possibilities are near limitless on Instagram, but like any other form of digital marketing, you’ll want to define goals early on and create a strategy to help you reach them.
Whether you’re on Instagram to increase brand awareness, showcase a new product line, or add a human element to your brand, each piece of content you publish on the platform should be adding value and help you attain goals.
Who’s doing it right? Quest Nutrition
Quest Nutrition is a nutrition company popular amongst the low carb and fitness crowds. They create nutritional food and drink products to help people reach their own health and fitness goals. According to TOTEMS Analytics, Quest Nutrition grows in follower count by roughly 15k / month. There’s no questioning how well of a job they do connecting with their audience and their lifestyles.
Furthermore, they’re making it work in a somewhat surprising fashion, through video.
Instagram introduced a 15-second video component to their platform back in June of 2013, and the adoption and engagement rates have been lesser than photo content. However, Quest Nutrition has found a way to make it work, driving far more engagement with video content, according to PicStats.
Here’s an example of Quest Nutrition creating a “how-to” video with one of their products, all while sticking to their #CheatClean (health and wellness) message and strategy.
[VIDEO] #Regram from @QuestCooking. Succulent and mouth-watering, these Quest Crab Cakes are deliciously packed with 15g of protein! This #CheatClean recipe gives ”feeling crabby" a whole new meaning. Give it a try! CLICK the link in our profile page to get the recipe or go here - http://po.st/questcrabcakes. Macros per cake (makes 4): Calories: 169. Protein: 15g. Fat: 10g. Net Carb: 4g. #QuestNutrition #OnaQuest #15SecondRecipe
2. Brands focus on production quality rather than audience value.
Because major brands might post high-resolution photos and video content on Instagram, smaller brands might get the impression that you need a fancy camera or a studio to succeed on Instagram. This is far from the truth, according to HubSpot's Social Media Manager Kelly Hendrickson:
"Quality is more than the video equipment you use to film or the design software you use to create. Quality is about providing value," Hendrickson explains.
When you don't focus on creating content that your audience enjoys or values, they might be less likely to like it, share it, or keep following you.
Take a second to think about how Instagram works. Users typically scroll through a single column of photos, quickly glancing at photos and skimming captions, only slowing down and stopping when something catches their eyes or piques their interest.
Other times they’re exploring content via hashtags, tapping quickly through Instagram Stories, or scrolling through a 3-column search layout until a photo or video stands out.
The more focus you put on the quality and value of the content you’re publishing on Instagram, the more likely users will be to slow down, stop at, and engage with your account and content.
Hendrickson suggests asking yourself, "What can your audience get from your brand’s Instagram account that they can’t get anywhere else? How are you improving their experience on the platform? How are you identifying with them?"
Who’s doing it right? Taco Bell
Taco Bell is no stranger to effectively utilizing social media. By summer of 2020, they had well over 1.4 million followers over a thousand posts with well over that amount of engagements.
And while you might not typically group fast food and photography, Taco Bell has always made it work and taken full advantage of Instagram's highly-engaged user base.
The fast-food chain does an extraordinary job leveraging vibrant colors in their photos and creates a laidback, entertaining feel through photo and video captions.
Taco Bell's posts and Stories, which often contain delectable images of food are eye-catching, relevant, engaging, and make you crave their products. On top of showing images of their most hunger-inducing meals, Taco Bell also regularly highlights images of customers eating their products in daily life.
Here's just one example where Taco Bell highlighted a recent graduate eating a wrap:
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