Are you wondering why your Instagram videos aren’t getting the views you expected? Is your video content not building the following that you need in order to market your product and increase your brand’s visibility? You aren’t alone if your Instagram video marketing campaign has fallen short.
Chances are that you’re making common mistakes that many businesses fall into when using the platform. Here are seven Instagram video mistakes that you’ll want to avoid making if you want to maximize your success and build an ever-growing community of Instagram followers.
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No goals or strategy
The possibilities are truly endless on Instagram. It’s crucial to set goals and to identify a strategy so that you know exactly what you’re working towards. Think about why your business is on Instagram and what you want to achieve.
Do you want to increase brand recognition? Want to better engage with your customers and new followers? Interested in driving sales and highlighting your products?
Whatever your goal is, you need to have a strategy that allows you to create video content that works as a catalyst to meet those goals.
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Using the same content
So you recently posted a video on your business’ Facebook profile and it received tons of views and likes. If the content is successful in one place, it only makes sense that it’d do well elsewhere, right?
Just because the content was successful on another social platform doesn’t necessarily mean that you should put the same video on Instagram. This is because your audience on one site is likely to be different from your audience on another.
When using Instagram, it’s important to post content that is specifically made for the platform. For example, Instagram videos can only be 30 seconds long. You’ll also need to record vertical or square videos as opposed to landscape videos, which are common on most other social networks.
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Neglecting video captions
While the video you post is the most important part of the content you create, the caption also plays a role in the success of what you post. Captions provide context into your video and can help to drive engagement, especially when used properly.
When creating video captions:
- Include a call-to-action
- Use hashtags and emojis
- Keep it brief
By including effective video captions, you can get the engagement and results that you expect.
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Posting controversial content
While it can be fun to stir the pot and get people talking, as a business, it’s best to stay away from controversial content and topics. The one thing you don’t want to do is to stir up heated discussion or to hurt people’s feelings.
Imagine spending money to buy Instagram followers, only to have them lose interest or to unfollow you altogether.
In today’s cancel culture, it’s more important than ever to focus on neutral content that isn’t sarcastic or rude. Avoid posting anything that could be taken the wrong way and in turn, put your brand in a bad light.
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Not using IGTV
Instagram is home to hundreds of millions of profiles, which means that the competition is high and there’s endless content that you’re up against. Recently, Instagram introduced IGTV, which is a new network where reach is high and competition is relatively low (for now!).
By embracing IGTV before it booms in popularity, you can build up your following early on and drive high amounts of engagement. This is also a time when the algorithm is a little less rigid, so you can get ahead of the game.
What’s different about IGTV is that videos can be anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes long. Some videos can even be 60 minutes long, depending on if your account is verified and your number of followers.
IGTV is also different in that videos are viewed vertically and the content is unique to the platform. Because videos are so long, they can’t be shared on your Instagram profile.
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Focusing on quantity over quality
There’s nothing worse than clogging your followers’ feeds with nothing but your own content. Sharing too many videos can actually work against you. On Instagram, and any other social media platform, quality is always more important than quantity.
Posting dozens of videos that are poorly designed will have a negative impact on your brand. Instead of focusing on how many videos you can post, put more emphasis on creating eye-catching videos that are unique and captivating.
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Not promoting them
Instagram is used by millions of people, which means there are just as many pieces of content being posted on a daily basis. To be successful, you need to go above and beyond to ensure that your videos are seen.
Simply posting a video to your Instagram profile isn’t enough. You’ll need to go a step further and find effective ways to promote your content. Work with influencers. Use branded interactive hashtags. Cross post your videos on other social media platforms.
The more you put into promoting your videos, the more you’ll get out of them.
Conclusion
There are tons of pitfalls that businesses fall into when marketing on Instagram. To make the best out of your presence on the social media platform, it’s important to know which mistakes to avoid.
