10 Rookie Instagram Mistakes and How To InstaFix Them

At this point, most salon/spa owners, hair stylist, and MUAs, KNOW that using Instagram is one of the best ways to highlight their products and showcase their offers. But a lot fall short in actual making Instagram WORK as a consistent and legitimate lead source

It might be due to some rookie mistakes that people are making, and, if you’re not careful, you can fall into the same traps.

Let’s explore these 10 Rookie Instagram Mistakes and how to InstaFix Them

1. ONLY USING HASHTAGS THAT BENEFIT YOUR SHOP, NOT YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER.

I love the popularity of group or movement hashtags, but do they connect to your ideal customer? Although you want other businesses to know and support you you have to remember your bottom line here: converting fans into customers.

Fix: Add relevant hashtags that your customer would search, in addition to the community/popular based hashtags.

To really connect, think back to your ideal customer profile. If you sell lashes, #lashesonfleek is more likely to catch your customers eye, as opposed to them potentially searching #businessowner, because that focuses more on you + your shop and less on them + their interests.

2. POSTING SPORADICALLY OR TAKING LONG (UNANNOUNCED) BREAKS.

Seen Instagram accounts do this a lot. Businesses will be here one day and gone the next five. It’s really frustrating and difficult to fall in #instalove with a brand when they are not consistent. Your followers (your customers!) want to understand what to expect from you. And with new shops popping up online all the time followers need to feel like they can count on you.

Fix: Create a social media strategy and go in with a plan.

I know it sounds a little insane to have a “strategy” for posting pictures, but a beautiful feed that stands out and tells a story does matter.

3.POSTING POORLY LIT/BLURRY SHOP OR PRODUCT PHOTOS.

As it turns out, Instagram is a very visual platform and as it turns out again, we are highly visual human beings – 93% of our communication is basically non-verbal! Blurry photos give off the vibe that you don’t care about your shop or your products. It sends a less than favorable impression.

You want to help the customer feel like the product is already theirs, in their own home or space, and that’s best created when experiencing small moments – like they would in person. Negative space is really your friend here, don’t cram every nook and cranny of the photo with something to look at.

Fix: photos should be clean, clear and well lit. Invest in your business by buying or building your own lightbox. Check this link out to make your own DIY lightbox. https://expertphotography.com/diy-light-box/

4. POSTING JUST TO POST

We’ve all been there… we’ve run out of content, and we turn to the depths of our camera roll to hopefully find something to post. Typically we are not in love with this photo...but eh.. It will do the job, right?

If you’re not proud of your content the odds are your followers won’t be either. If you need to post to keep the algorithm happy turn to your IG Stories and keep your followers up to date on something more candid.

Fix: Reposts and stories are great way to keep your followers up to date. But if you are struggling to come up with fresh content that actually converts and sells your products, book a call with us and see how we can help!

5. LAUNCHING YOUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT WITHOUT “INVENTORY"

Imagine you’re a consumer scrolling through Instagram and all of a sudden you see a great picture from a brand that made you laugh or cry or happy, and you just have to follow to see what else they have and ehh it’s only their second post. Bummer right?

Chances are you’ll move on without following since you don’t have much to go off of. And that becomes a wasted opportunity as they likely found it by clicking through a comment, hashtag searches or creeping around on others profiles.

Fix: Build up your feed to start telling your story before you announce and actively promote your presence.

Create a place to connect the very first moment of visitor clicks on your site. After all, you wouldn’t open your shop and then buy the inventory, right?

6. NO SHOP LINK IN BIO

Ultimately all the followers in the world don’t mean a thang if they’re not driving your business don’t get caught up in the numbers game it’s all about conversion at the end of the day.

Fix: add link to profile

This is the only place where Instagram allows clickable links take This is the only place where Instagram allows clickable links take advantage

7. NOT RESPONDING TO COMMENTS.

It’s called social media for reason right? Be social! While we all want to think we’re strangers hiding behind computer screens, the reality is it feels like you ignore me right to my face when I take the time to leave a thoughtful or encouraging comment and get not so much as a fist pound emoji in return.

Fix: spend 15 minutes a day responding.

At least make an effort to check once a day, cause showing that you care about what the customer says about your brand will help you in the long run.

8. POSTING ONLY PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT SHOTS.

Reduce the promotional look, while still keeping your products the main focus, by taking lifestyle shots. You want to create more natural vignettes – bring the item out to play in the real world for your customers to relate to, show how you incorporate it into your life and mix with non-shop elements.

Fix: Brainstorm other aspects of your business that you can share and weave those in throughout your feed.

9. NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF GEO-TAGGING.

Small business or working from home I definitely don’t recommend doing sharing your location, But it can be a powerful addition and an easy add, plus – Adweek shows posts that use geotags get 79% more engagement.

Fix: share location from favorite spots.

Tag your city, favorite coffee shop or favorite nature trail to hike, customers love going behind the scenes!

10. BUYING FOLLOWERS

It’s not a good idea to buy Instagram followers. These followers are likely inactive accounts. They won’t engage with your posts because there are not interested in your content. This means your posts won’t show up on Explore Pages, or on your real audience’s newsfeeds.

We want it or not, these followers are not permanent so, there are becoming fake ones. Fake followers will lead you nowhere. To grow your business, it is crucial to have real followers and people who will help you to grow it.

Fix: You should concentrate on gaining new followers and interest them with your product. You should have a good marketing strategy and of course follow new trends like using new tools.

Humans love visuals. And, that’s one of the core reasons why Instagram is so wildly popular. A recent study shows that Instagram has more engagement than other social media networks. Specifically, Instagram is now seeing 15x more engagement than Facebook and 20x more than Twitter. So the last thing your business should be doing is driving away followers because of common Instagram mistakes. Avoid these 10 rookie mistakes and you’ll turn your Instagram into a success.