Social Media Examiner - Is your Instagram strategy outdated?

It’s National 🏃 Chase Day, Reader...

Tag, you’re it!

Have you been chasing success? Our customers tell us that attending Social Media Marketing World flipped the script and had people coming to them for help!

In this edition:

We’re also covering what you need to build a DAO, plus bringing Twitter news and updates.

But first, a word from our sponsor:

What’s Better Than the Chase? The Catch!
Want to know what it feels like to seize success after attending Social Media Marketing World? Here’s what attendee Emily Rae Schutte had to say: "My business has since doubled in size and I’m a much more confident entrepreneur and storyteller." Grab your ticket now.

See what tools and apps we recommend to support your strategy.


Instagram Strategy Audit: How to Renew Your Results

Social media marketers don’t like to live in the past, but it is worth looking back every now and then. There’s always more you can do to target your audience, understand their needs, and create an offer that entices them off the social network and into a sale.

IG first launched in 2010 and some of us have been marketing on the platform for over a decade. Over time, it’s easy for bad habits to creep in. You can instantly improve your IG presence, simply by dropping these outdated tactics.

The “follow/unfollow” tactic was popularized by bloggers around 2015. It was an effective hack in the early days of the algorithm when simply following someone would get their attention. It was easy. You followed someone, maybe they followed you back, and then you instantly unfollowed them to keep your feed tidy.

But there are several problems with follow/unfollow:
1. You’ll get followed back by accounts that crave engagement, not accounts from your target audience.
2. You risk getting flagged by the algorithm for spam.
3. It’s disrespectful to other accounts that are trying to build a genuine audience. 

Not to mention that follow/unfollow is slow, time-consuming, and boring! There are much more effective, creative ways to use your time on Instagram.

Engagement pods or engagement groups are other tactics that grew out of blogging. Bloggers are a tight-knit community, and back in the day, some of them banded together to boost their IG engagement. In an engagement pod, you agree to like, comment, or share each other’s Instagram posts. If you scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours.

The problem is that the platform actively tracks engagement pods or patterns of activity that look like engagement pods. So even if your engagement pod is organized elsewhere—for example, through a private Facebook group—IG could limit your reach or even ban your account.

In the right circumstances, a giveaway can be an effective way to build your community or showcase products and services. But it has to be targeted, purposeful, and executed within IG’s guidelines.

Don’t get involved in giveaways with multiple brands. These pop up all the time. Businesses group together to offer a prize with broad appeal (such as gift cards) and ask entrants to follow every business in the group on IG. 

There are two problems here. First, IG frowns on this kind of giveaway; it’s spammy and encourages artificial engagement. Secondly, you won’t attract your target audience this way. You’ll just get a bunch of follows from people who want discounts and deals, and they’ll either unfollow immediately or damage your engagement ratio by ignoring your posts.

The final tactic on our blacklist is untargeted engagement. This is harder to define but it can include things like:
1. Liking posts at random
2. Commenting on posts just to get attention
3. Commenting on posts to announce deals or information about your business

There’s a place for commenting on posts from your target audience or even reaching out to them via direct messages (DMs). But that kind of hands-on engagement has to be selective, targeted, and valuable to the person you’re interacting with.

If you just comment on and like random posts as they come into your feed, that’s spam. It damages both your reputation and standing with the algorithm.

Examining your past content will help you understand what works and where you’re missing out. Specifically auditing your account can get rid of outdated strategies that are holding you back, boost conversions from your profile page, smarten up your evergreen content (like highlights), and explore new (and old) content formats to find new audiences.

For a five-step checklist to audit your Instagram strategy, click below:


Here is some more great content you won't want to miss:

Creating a DAO: The Fundamental Building Blocks
Want to create a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to give all members a voice and vote? Wondering how to structure and grow a DAO? Discover how to develop a thriving DAO. 

Discover the Latest Twitter Changes, Updates, and More
Tune into the Social Media Marketing Talk Show podcast for current news that matters to marketers.


Michael Stelzner, Founder and CEO

P.S. Add michael@socialmediaexaminer.com into your contacts list. Use Gmail? Go here to add us as a contact.  

We publish updates with links for our new posts and content from partners. Your information: Email: you Opted in on: 2020-04-05 14:53:59 UTC.

Key phrases

Older messages

Schedule IG content w/o Creator Studio…

Thursday, November 10, 2022

📰 Wednesday is "News You Can Use" day, Reader! Invest in yourself and your career—leave with the knowledge and connections you need to succeed in the ever changing world of social media

Using Instagram to get more customers...

Monday, November 7, 2022

It's National Bittersweet Chocolate and Almonds Day, Reader... Grab a bar 🍫 and do your part. Chocolate might make you feel good, but so does expanding your value to your employer or clients.

Using personal brands...

Friday, November 4, 2022

It's National Fun With 🫕Fondue Month, Reader... Delicious 🥖 bread and melted 🧀cheese are a complete meal, right? This newsletter is brought to you by Social Media Marketing World. In this edition:

Instagram reach ‘rebalanced’…

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

📰 Wednesday is "News You Can Use" day, Reader! This newsletter is brought to you by Social Media Marketing World. Before we get to the news, here's a word from our sponsor: Feeling

How to grow your sales...

Monday, October 31, 2022

It's National Psychic Powers Day, Reader! I 🔮 predict you'll spend a lot time answering the door with 🍬candy tonight! This newsletter is brought to you by Social Media Marketing World. In

You Might Also Like

Orders went up by 20%

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Today's hack Walmart's responsive redesign boosted their sales by 20% Wal-Mart Canada boosted their sales by 20%. Here is what they did: 1. Analyzed their audience. 2. Noticed that a big and

India feels the Baltimore blues

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Also in today's edition: Going green is costing the government; Tata's bucket lists ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

🔍 The Best Guide to Influencer Marketing Pt. 2

Thursday, March 28, 2024

March 27, 2024 | Read Online All Case Studies 🔍 Learn About Sponsorships Hey hey. Last week I sent part one of the influencer guide. Today we're hitting part two. It's a deep dive. So, I'm

Recap#1 of FMOps: key concepts, techniques, and resources

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Systematizing the knowledge about foundation models that are the backbone of generative AI ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Content that delivers reach and engagement…

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Today's Guide to the Marketing Jungle from Social Media Examiner... Presented by Social Media Marketing World logo It's Manatee Appreciation Day, Reader! Aren't sea cows the cutest? In

Jontay Porter, hilarious dummy

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Wed, March 27th, 2024 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

How to Get TONS of Traffic from Google Discover...

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Getting traffic from traditional SEO and Google is one way to get visitors to your website. But with all the algorithm updates, things are currently a bit uncertain. However, there's a lesser known

🤯[$110k] Remote Full Stack, Junior Developer, Freelance and more!

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024 | Read Online 🤯[$110k] Remote Full Stack, Junior Developer, Freelance and more! fb tw in email Welcome to another CrackedDevs Daily, this time with some hot new jobs! 🚀 1. Web Developer

DOJ Indicts KuCoin for $9B Laundering

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Plus House GOP Questions Prometheum's SEC Approval ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Shopify Dispatch Issue #444 - Create a marketing strategy

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

​ Issue #444 - March 27th, 2024 How to Create a Marketing Strategy: 7 Steps Michael Keenan writes a guide for to getting started with a marketing strategy. Planning is great but more often than not,