In the previous article, we covered 6 common mistakes: having a common Instagram handle, unoptimized bio, not utilizing links on the bio, publishing too many posts at a given time, sharing irrelevant content, and no value creation.

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7. Not using a CTA or call to action

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Being successful on Instagram is not solely about pretty photos. An engaging caption, a visual that tells a story, and a strong CTA will help make your Instagram post more effective. 

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By ensuring a CTA is in place, you can guide your audience on what to do next.

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Some examples of a good call to action are:

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• asking a question and prompting them to leave comments
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• tagging friends
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• ask them share on their stories
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• direct them to click a link on your bio
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• following your page

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A tip when using CTAs is to bring out a sense of urgency, such as “limited offer only" or “offer ends on...", especially when your goal is to increase signups or subscriptions. 

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Avoid making your CTAs difficult to execute for your audience. The fewer steps, the better.

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8. Not using hashtags correctly

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What can happen? You can miss out on reaching your ideal audience. Hashtags give you better visibility and help your post show up when your audience searches for your topic or business. 

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In order to increase your reach and draw in new followers, do your research and use the right hashtags that suit your brand and target market.

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9. No interaction with your target audience

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The essence of social media is social interaction. Initiating interaction is key to increasing your audience. Social interaction through commenting and reacting makes your business feel more personalized. 

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Always keep in mind that a good foundation for building good business relationships is the positive interactions made between a business and customer. Yes, this part can be time-consuming, but it’s time worth spending. Constantly engaging with your followers ensures that friendships are built and cared for.

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10. Buying followers or engaging bots to increase follower count

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There are two main reasons why you should never buy your followers or use bots.

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First, it goes against Instagram’s terms of service. This might result in your account being suspended or, at worst, deleted.

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Second, it makes your business less credible and can damage the trustworthiness you want to build with your current and potential customers.

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Stay authentic and gain those followers organically.

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11. Using spammy comments

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Yes, engaging with your target audience is a good practice. But if you resort to generic responses and comments, this could turn downhill for your profile's credibility. You could be mistaken for a fake account or a bot account.

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Using words such as "follow4follow," “nice pic. DM for shoutout," “like for like?” and "Let's grow together, follow me!" don’t add any value and are seen as spammy comments.  

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We don’t want to be flagged as a fake account, right?

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12. Being impatient

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Building your business on Instagram takes time and a lot of effort. Stretch out your patience and celebrate every little progress.

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Don’t resort to shortcuts to avoid undermining the authenticity of your account. Take time to plan, do your research, prepare, and continuously work on your business's presence, image, and services.

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Remember that just like entrepreneurs, creators have to extend their patience and be consistent over a longer period of time. 

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So that wraps up the 12 common mistakes you should avoid committing when building your business on Instagram. 

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Which ones do you need to work on soon? We look forward to hearing from you in the comments section about the improvements you've made!

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