Engagement is dropping rapidly and bloggers/influencers are frantic! All we can do is “assume” reasons.
I thought of creating this post after reading 3 great links that I’d like to share with you all (thanks to My Custard Pie)!
Number 1: The biggest reason – “Shadow Ban”
Some users have found their engagement to be significantly low. Everything looks normal from their end, so it’s hard to figure out why – until they log out, or check for their posts from an account that doesn’t follow them. Then they see that their post is not showing in any of the hashtag grids that they have posted with. They’re essentially invisible.
Without #’s you’re essentially posting as private, to only your followers. So suddenly being removed from all hashtag visibility absolutely would account for a big drop in engagement, and is worrying indeed!
Apparently, it’s because of the below “bad habits”;
- Repeatedly using the same hashtags, every day
- Using bots or automated likes
- Follow-to-unfollow practice, either via automation or manually
To remove a ‘shadowban’ then, a user needs to refrain from these activities. Reports suggest bans can lift in a couple of days, and that taking a break from posting at all might be beneficial if you think you’re affected.
Instagram is trying to keep the platform as authentic as possible. It has deleted almost every app that allows you to purchase likes/followers from the AppStore. Soon enough it may delete the ones online (or at least detect who uses them and make them face repercussions).
Click here to read more.
Number 2: Your “Followers to following” ratio
Instagram is legit, tryna be identical to Facebook. If you don’t interact with the people following you, you’re bound to not appear on their pages either.
On Facebook, randomly pick a “friend” that you rarely see in your feed. Go to their profile, like a few posts. Watch your feed over the next day or so. Suddenly you see their posts creep into your feed when, before, you never saw their posts.
The key: The algorithm rewards *mutual* engagement. In the recent past your posts were still getting good engagement but that was due to an over-reliance on hashtags, and that isn’t working anymore.
If you aren’t following your Followers back they are *most likely* not seeing your posts. Instagram’s leadership has acknowledged that Hashtags don’t work like they used to, and they are encouraging users to get new higher engagement the good old fashion way: by posting great content.
Click here and here to read more.
Number 3: You just have bad engagement
Wrt point number 2 – due to our overreliance on hashtags (& since it isn’t as effective anymore) we can no longer connect effectively with the people other than our followers.
Social platforms are intended to help people connect with friends, family, and to create new friendships. Instead, we are turning the platforms into more of a marketplace. Here’s the problem: “People” don’t use hashtags. Marketers do. The overwhelming majority of hashtag-users are marketers, not “ordinary people”.
“*Marketers* use hashtags to gain publicity for their accounts. And *marketers* are searching hashtags to find accounts to Like/Follow. What we are all experiencing is marketers are liking and following accounts of other marketers.” The key to social media success is to connect with ordinary people, not other marketers.
You’re probably not being shadow banned. You’re probably experiencing the negative effects of not engaging back with your Followers. Instagram has decreased your reach.
Click here to read more.
Number 4: Our “business” accounts
There are several articles out there that our business account is one of the main reasons for “bad engagement”. Rumor has it, that the content we post doesn’t even appear to half our followers. That’s why we get the notification – “Your post is performing better than 95% of other posts on that page. Promote it to get even better results.” At the end of the day fam, Instagram is running a business too. If they don’t make money outa business accounts, how would they? It’s all monetary. It’s all adverts.
So if you are a business then you are their primary target and they would love to have you on board as business so that you can advertise with them otherwise get ready to being demoted in their algorithm (source: Quora)
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