We all remember what it was like when we were first starting out trying to gain more followers on Instagram. Everyone else made it look so easy. Maybe you know this feeling – you see all of these influencers who built giant audiences, and even some of your friends seem to get loads of followers every day without any problems.

If you feel like you're stuck or always getting tripped up by the pesky Instagram algorithm that seems to hold you back, then this post is for you.

That's because there are a few mistakes that most beginners make when they're starting out on Instagram. Avoiding these mistakes will make a night-and-day difference for your growth on the platform.

And once you start to really pay attention to what the successful influencers are doing, you will soon realize that they too were making these same Instagram mistakes in the beginning, and they're now avoiding them like the plague.

If you're just starting out on Instagram, chances are you're already encountering these common pitfalls – and if not, you're likely to stumble upon them soon.

And once you start making these mistakes, you’re going to find out that reverting them by revamping your entire content strategy and your profile can be time-consuming, expensive, and even painful.

Unless, of course, you learn how to avoid them.

So forget about experimenting around with random posts, stories, and reels. Forget about learning this stuff through the school of hard knocks. Instead, learn from others' mistakes – and save yourself a lot of time, grief, and money.

Simply read on to learn these 5 mistakes – and how to get ahead of your competition on Instagram by simply staying clear of them…

Mistake #1: Ignoring trends

Staying up-to-date with current trends is crucial for keeping your content relevant and engaging. Ignoring trends can make your content seem outdated and might lead the Instagram algorithm to ignore it, causing you to miss out on potential engagement and growth opportunities. From trending audio to the current hot topics – pay attention to what's popular in your niche and find creative ways to incorporate these trends into your content.

Mistake #2: Using too many hashtags

Instead of cluttering your post captions with irrelevant hashtags, try using a targeted selection of hashtags that are relevant to your audience and content – or ditch the hashtags altogether. The days where you need to let Instagram's algorithm know what your post is about with hashtags are long gone. It's much better to use the available 'real estate' under your posts to tell a personal story about your life, your business, or other things relevant to your niche. You’ll likely see much better engagement if you are aware of this.

Mistake #3: Not being social on social media

Most people don’t even realize they’re making this mistake until their engagement rate has dropped to zero and they have to rebuild it from scratch. Let your audience know you are there for them! You can do this by actively engaging with your followers and other creators through comments, likes, and direct messages.

Mistake #4: Posting without a strategy

If you ever found yourself wondering why your growth has stalled when you were trying to expand your reach, then you were probably making this mistake. You can't 'boil the ocean'. It's much better to create content that resonates with a specific niche instead of trying to target every audience at the same time. Next time, try developing a coherent content strategy that aligns with your niche and audience interests, and see if you get better results.

Mistake #5: Not using Instagram's flagship features

It's surprising how often Instagram's more recent flagship features like reels or IGTV get ignored by beginner creators, but it really hurts your chances of getting noticed on the platform. By simply integrating these features into your content strategy, you can easily avoid getting lost in the crowd, because the Instagram algorithm will reward you for it. And the best part? It's much simpler than you might imagine!

And that's a wrap for the 5 biggest mistakes beginners make on Instagram!

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Give yourself a pat on the back for paying attention to this article. Now that you know the top 5 mistakes and how to avoid them, you’ll be miles ahead of all the other people trying to level up their Instagram game.

So take this newfound knowledge and confidence and start refining your Instagram strategy today!

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