Learn from the Instagram Mistakes I made
I have a monetized Instagram channel and I’m deleting it. Social media influencers rarely discuss difficult topics like growth, but I am going to be vulnerable and share my Instagram mistakes. How my Instagram page grew from 0-20k Instagram followers only to drop back down to under 10,000 followers. Mistakes are inevitable in business or life, so here is what happened with mine:
Instagram mistake to avoid: focusing on quantityÂ
Four and a half years ago, I deactivated my Instagram account without doing anything with social media. But then as I built up my personal brand and wrote a book, it became necessary to join the platform again. So I did – posting content regularly, engaging with people, and using posts on Instagram and hashtags for the organic growth of followers who were genuinely interested in what I had to offer. However, if you are an entrepreneur or someone who generates the majority of their revenue from the services you sell, then you have to really evaluate what Instagram is for you. Shortly after my efforts to authentically grow my page, there came an invitation from a US-based Growth Agency which promised me even more engagement & number of followers– but I made a mistake and fell for the trap of believing that when I buy Instagram followers, that would also lead me to business growth. In reality, these were not authentic engagements or interests in my services; instead, they used influencers to draw people into entering contests (to follow your account) with no real incentive to actually engage with what I was selling. It is important to remember that there are no shortcuts when it comes to effective influencer marketing and building genuine relationships on social media platforms.
Bots over hashtags, and followers over engagement: Common Instagram Marketing Mistakes
So my account kept growing. But I began to notice my engagement rate is significantly suffering. To combat this, I got an engagement group in the hopes of boosting vanity metrics – however, it quickly became clear that these groups were damaging and detrimental to genuine interest on my page. The fabricated views and comments, Instagram bots from people who had no real connection with me or what I do ultimately led to funneling out any potential support for business success. As a CEO, I don’t care about having a blue checkmark on Instagram or building up my personal brand. What matters more to me is helping clients generate real money through growth and revenue. However, many people out there make the social media marketing mistake of having thousands of followers but the engagement isn’t authentic – it’s all spam with rented Ferraris and houses just for pictures. So authentic businesses that show struggles are really impressive.
Removing my Followers and Solving the common Instagram Mistakes
After making mistakes on my Instagram page, I outsourced the work of deleting fake followers and bots to get an authentic audience. It was frustrating because when I first started out with 20K followers per story would have over a thousand views, but then having only 10k left it dwindled down to barely 18 views! As such, in order to build up my channel again authentically without being bombarded by spam accounts and bots; I decided that for every two genuine people who followed me – four or five would be deleted instead. This strategy ran its course for about one year until finally reaching a 94% authenticity rate among those following.
Deleting my Instagram account… and fake followers
Then a colleague suggested getting likes from an unreliable website. But I learned my lesson and didn’t want any more fake bots or likes. I want authenticity. So connecting with another social media coach who was deleting her first page to start a new one in line with what she’s currently doing gave me the motivation to restart my own account too. After considering the advice of influential and successful people in my network, I realized that there was no shortcut to building an authentic audience on Instagram. So I decided to go ahead with a fresh start – we have made the decision to delete my channel page as part of our new journey!
Restarting my Instagram marketing strategy
Anthony Garcia, Inc. is my personal brand and corporation that focuses on sales motivation for small business owners and service-based professionals. Through my new Instagram page @anthonygarciainc, I want to reach out to entrepreneurs struggling with making sales in their businesses and guide those who have gone through the same experience before me, offering genuine advice about it instead of relying too much on vanity metrics such as those used by social media influencers or stars who post pictures from rented cars, homes or vacations without actually owning any of these things themselves. I encourage young people to start authentically if they want to grow their business – while also reminding experienced ones that when using social media they should keep in mind how this could benefit others more than themselves.
If you made that mistake, it’s okay. Go and start over. We all make mistakes and we grow from them. Chances are you can grow from the next mistake you make!
Mistakes to avoid in your sales business
It can be tough to make the right decisions for your business on your own. You’re not sure what you should do, and you don’t want to make any mistakes that could damage your business.
Consulting with Anthony Garcia will help take the guesswork out of making decisions for your business. He has years of experience in small business consulting, so he knows what works and what doesn’t. He’ll help you avoid common mistakes, and steer your business in the right direction. Click here to book a strategy call
Avoid costly mistakes and partner with a skilled small business consultant like Anthony Garcia. With his insights, objectivity, and efficiency, you’ll be able to grow your business!