Are you struggling to grow your Instagram? You’re putting in the time and effort, but you’re just not seeing the results you would like to and you don’t know what Instagram mistakes you are making.

Trying to grow your Instagram can become frustrating and very time-consuming. There are so many do’s and dont’s when it comes to social media and it’s pretty hard to stay updated with all the technological advances. It seems like every other week there’s a new addition on the block. If your days are as busy as mine and you don’t have time to spend hours figuring out what Instagram mistakes your making and why it’s not growing then this blog is for you.

6 Instagram mistakes your making in 2020

Related post: 5 Instagram trends you have to know about in 2020

Here are a few reasons you might not be growing on Instagram :

1. You’re focusing on the audience you DON’T have, instead of the audience you DO have.

Now I know you might not think this sounds correct, but did you know that 500 followers are actually a lot? Think about it like this, you’re on stage and 500 people are listening to YOU. We need to stop thinking that we NEED thousands and thousands of followers before we can start posting photos or starting new things.
You need to start focusing on the audience you have now and make an effort to serve them with the highest quality content possible.

These few followers are the ones that will share and engage in your content.
If you keep focusing on growing your followers then you will end up neglecting the ones that are already loyal to you. Rather put your energy to use by getting to know them and finding out exactly what kind of content they enjoy most.
This will result in these few followers recommending your profile to others and that’s how you grow your followers authentically.

2. Forget about fake followers

This is the short cut that’s oh so tempting, but like anything in life, nothing comes easy.
There’s definitely a catch when it comes to buying bots or followers that not many people speak about. When you post something, Instagram will show your post to only a percentage of your followers.
As an example, if Instagram shows 6 percent of your audience your latest post, and that 6 percent engages with your post then Instagram classifies your post as relevant and will show it to another 6 percent.

But if you have bought followers then chances are they are not your ideal audience and will not be interested in what you have posted and therefore they will not engage.
That means that your content will not reach the next 6 percent of your followers and your engagement will drop and not match your following.

3. Sharing content that is trending

Usually when it comes to social media, staying up to date with trends is important. But by sharing content that is trending I’m referring to things like captions that everyone is using, the same kind of photos as everyone else, or using the same quotes over and over again.

Think about what makes you unique and what separates you from the others. Let your personality flow through your content in a way that similar people can relate to.
Stop doing things or posting things just because you’ve seen others do it. You should value your content and find out how YOU can connect with your audience on a deeper level.

4. Overthinking your content

I think most of us can relate to this one. I know I can!
You have an amazing photo with the best background, but…you can’t stop looking at your hair that’s all messed up from the wind. You look and you look and you end up not posting that photo all because of the wind.
If you overthink everything you share on Instagram you will end up posting nothing at all.

In the end, people want to see the real you, the more genuine you are the more people can relate to you. So forget about the picture-perfect, and post what is real.

5. Inconsistent posting

Some of you are probably thinking that you’ve heard this one over and over again. But that’s because it is extremely important and I’m just going to remind you about it.
If you’re only posting on your Instagram once a month you cannot expect to grow. Consistency is key to having an engaged audience, your followers need something to look forward to. This will keep them interested in you and your content.

You can decide how many times you want to post a week, but you need to stick to it and post every week consistently. A good way to stay consistent and engaging is to challenge yourself to post an Instagram story every day, it doesn’t have to be something great. It can be small everyday things that happen in your life, like a morning coffee story, or a random thought that pops into your head.

The reality is that some days we are not in the mood for posting or being consistent, but you can easily plan your posts and automatically get them posted with apps like Planoly or Unum.

6. Getting Exposure

The last of the Instagram mistakes that we forget about is focusing on getting exposure. You can be consistent and post great content but still not grow, or you might be growing but at a slow pace. If you want to speed things up a bit you need to get exposure, for example, people sharing your posts.
How are you getting people to your page? People need to see your profile or content in order for them to know you exist. A few ways you can do this is by doing giveaways or collaborate with others.

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