Frequently Asked Questions About Instagram

Everyone is on Instagram. What about you?

If your business is eligible for an Instagram account, it's time you created one. If you aren't actively posting, odds are your competitors are! You don't want to miss out on this press opportunity for your company. While Instagram used to be a young platform for those too "cool" for Facebook, there is now a place for everyone on the app - including your business, regardless of what industry you're in.

Instagram is a great place to promote your business because there are so many fantastic ways you can interact with your audience. That being said, it can be a little daunting because of that and you may have a lot of questions on how to get started. That's where we come in to play.

Today, we are going to go through some of our most frequently asked questions on Instagram so that you too can start turning Social Into Sales!

If your question isn't answered below, click HERE to schedule a free social media marketing consultation so that we can help you take your Instagram to the next level.

How Often Should I Post to my Instagram Feed Each Week?

For most businesses, we recommend posting 2-3 times a week. This gives you room to play with new ideas while still promoting your product or services. These posts should be geared toward a good mix of goals. Think one post for brand awareness, one post for thought leadership, and one for overall sales. That way, at the end of the month you can group your top-performing posts into "buckets" to see what type of post generated the best results for you.

If coming up with a month's worth of content seems daunting to you, check out our blog on planning a content calendar so that you never run out of ideas!

Is There a Limit to How Often I Can Post on Instagram?

While Instagram doesn't enforce a post limit on its own, there is an unspoken etiquette to follow when it comes to how much you post. We strongly advise you to not post to your feed more than once a day. On average, most companies post 1.56 times to their feeds a day. Instagram stories are a different, well… story!

How Many Instagram Stories Should I Post Per Day?

During Instagram's Creator Week hosted by the platform in June 2021, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri recommended 2 posts a day to adequately build a following. Stories are what keep your audience engaged with your brand after they hit that follow button. It's where they'll be able to reply to your stickers, take part in your polls, and answer your quizzes, making it a huge part of increasing engagement. You should post to your story at least once a day, but stories can be posted much more frequently. We recommend 1-3 times a day, but if you are at a conference or hosting a client event, seize the opportunity to share that primetime behind-the-scenes content!

How Do I Boost a Post on Instagram?

After you publish an Instagram post to your feed, you'll see a blue button in the bottom right corner below your post. You can click here to be taken to the promotions portal, where you'll be able to create your own specific audience through demographic targeting. You'll also be able to set a goal for your promotion. Instagram's three boosting goals are more profile visits, more website clicks, and more messages. If you want followers, I suggest selecting profile visits! Website clicks and messages are more geared towards lead generation and will require a larger budget to get those actions.

How Do I Know If I'm "Shadowbanned" on Instagram?

In the previous section, I mentioned that Instagram has an unspoken etiquette for how often you should post. In actuality, Instagram has a set of rules for everything. They want the platform to be as genuine as possible, which is why they have cracked down on spam accounts and harshly enforced what most users call "shadowbanning". This is when Instagram suppresses your content after you are flagged for spamming behaviors. To avoid this, stay away from buying followers, using too many hashtags, and posting too much.

Should I Buy Followers on Instagram?

NO. Did you hear me? Absolutely not. Buying followers on Instagram is just like buying your friends - they aren't real. You'll never see actual conversions if you're too focused on your follower count. Oftentimes, businesses get caught up in the reputation of wanting to have more followers than their competitors and choose the easy way out. They'll buy followers from a company that offers mainly fake accounts. It's easy to spot companies that have bought followers because their number of likes is significantly less than their following. Buying followers reverses the idea that you're a reliable business and makes you look less trustworthy.

How Do I Find Trending Sounds to Create Instagram Reels?

One tricky facet of Instagram Reels is that the trending sounds don't align with what's trending on TikTok. Oftentimes, we find that the trending Instagram Reels sounds are 1-2 weeks behind what you'll hear on TikTok. On TikTok, you can go viral whether or not you're utilizing a trending sound but on Instagram Reels, virality is highly based on what sound you're using. When you're scrolling through your Reels feed, you can tell when a sound is trending because in the bottom left-hand corner you will see an arrow trending upwards by the title.

If you haven't started posting to Instagram, what are you waiting for? Create your profile today! If you have any questions or need help getting started, we are happy to help. Schedule a no-obligation, free social media consultation with one of our co-founders today!