13 Small Details That F*ck Your Instagram

Summary

The video script discusses common issues hindering Instagram account growth, offering 13 fixes to overcome algorithmic barriers. It advises against using old or multiple accounts with similar content, reposting, and artificially boosting engagement. The script also warns against content related to tobacco, adult products, pharmaceuticals, and certain cosmetic procedures, as well as the use of engagement bait and giveaways. It highlights the importance of original content and diverse traffic sources, and addresses potential issues with ad account restrictions.

Takeaways

• 🔒 If you have old or multiple accounts with similar content, it may suppress the reach of your current account.
• 🚫 Deleting old accounts or making them private can help overcome the reach threshold issue.
• 🔑 Having a verified account with similar content on another account can lead to more scrutiny and lower reach.
• 📸 Avoid reposting or cross-posting content between accounts to prevent algorithmic suppression.
• 🙅‍♂️ Do not use secondary accounts to artificially boost engagement on your main account.
• 🛑 Avoid buying engagement, as Instagram's algorithm can detect and penalize this behavior.
• 🚭 Stay away from content related to tobacco, adult products, pharmaceutical drugs, and certain cosmetic procedures, as they may suppress your reach.
• ⚠️ Be cautious with discussing weight loss supplements, as they might be flagged by Instagram's algorithm.
• 🔗 Ensure your website is not overly reliant on Instagram for traffic, as this could negatively impact your reach.
• 🚫 Avoid clickbait, engagement bait, and running contests or giveaways, as they are frowned upon by Instagram.
• 🔄 Check if your ad account is restricted, as this could indirectly affect your Instagram account's reach.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video script?

The script discusses common issues that prevent Instagram accounts from growing, including algorithmic challenges and specific settings or behaviors that may be inadvertently limiting an account's reach.

What is one of the first fixes suggested for growing an Instagram account?

One of the first fixes is to check if having old or multiple accounts with similar content and profile details is affecting the current account's growth, and if so, to either privatize or delete these old accounts.

Why might having similar accounts affect an Instagram account's reach?

Having similar accounts can confuse Instagram's algorithm, especially if they are in the same niche, leading to a suppression of reach as the platform may perceive it as duplicate content or impersonation.

What is the stance on reposting content on Instagram?

The stance is against reposting content. The algorithm suppresses reach for reposted content, and it's recommended not to cross-post the same content across multiple accounts.

What is considered as artificially increasing engagement on Instagram?

Artificially increasing engagement includes using a second account to give likes, comments, or shares to another account, especially if they are affiliated or if the pattern of engagement is inauthentic.

Why is buying engagement harmful to an Instagram account?

Buying engagement is harmful because Instagram's algorithm can recognize such behavior, and it violates community guidelines. This can lead to the account being suppressed in organic reach.

What is the issue with engaging in engagement groups or like exchanges?

Engagement groups or like exchanges are problematic because they are seen as artificially boosting engagement, which can confuse the algorithm and lead to reach suppression.

What are some content topics that Instagram's algorithm might suppress?

Content topics that might be suppressed include tobacco-related content, adult products or services, pharmaceutical drugs, cosmetic procedures, and weight loss supplements.

What is the impact of having a website that gets a disproportionate amount of traffic from Instagram?

If a website gets most of its traffic from Instagram, the platform may suppress the reach of the content associated with that website, as it is considered low-quality traffic source diversification.

What is considered clickbait or engagement bait content on Instagram?

Clickbait or engagement bait content includes posts that use deceptive tactics to entice clicks or engagement, such as asking users to comment a specific word to receive something in their direct messages.

Why are giveaways or contests no longer recommended on Instagram?

Giveaways or contests are no longer recommended as they are considered content that users broadly dislike and Instagram's algorithm may suppress such content to improve the platform's user experience.

What is the potential consequence of having a restricted ad account linked to an Instagram account?

A restricted ad account linked to an Instagram account can result in the suppression of the Instagram account's reach, as the platform may associate the restriction with the Instagram account.

What steps can be taken to ensure compliance with Instagram's algorithm and community guidelines?

To ensure compliance, one should avoid reposting, not artificially boost engagement, refrain from discussing restricted topics, diversify traffic sources, and avoid clickbait or engagement bait tactics.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 Overcoming Instagram Growth Barriers

This paragraph discusses common issues that may prevent an Instagram account from growing, such as old or similar accounts affecting the current one's reach. The speaker suggests that having multiple old accounts with the same profile picture and niche can suppress the reach of new content. The solution proposed is to either set old accounts to private or delete them. Additionally, the speaker warns against reposting content and using multiple accounts to artificially boost engagement, as Instagram's algorithm now actively suppresses such behavior.

05:01

🚫 Avoiding Engagement Baiting and Content Restrictions

The speaker warns against engaging in practices that Instagram considers as artificially increasing engagement, such as buying likes or comments, which can lead to an account's suppression in the algorithm. They also mention that certain topics and behaviors, like discussing tobacco products, adult services, or pharmaceutical drugs, can hinder growth. Moreover, the speaker advises against participating in engagement groups or using clickbait tactics, as these are not well-received by the algorithm and can negatively impact an account's reach.

10:03

⚠️ Navigating Algorithmic Dislikes and Shadow Bans

This paragraph covers the disapproval of clickbait and engagement bait content by Instagram, which can lead to content not being shown to users. The speaker also touches on the topic of shadow banning, where an account may not reach a certain threshold despite adhering to community guidelines. They mention that having a restricted ad account linked to Instagram can cause reach issues. Lastly, the speaker advises checking ad accounts for any restrictions and emphasizes the importance of diversifying traffic sources beyond Instagram to maintain a healthy online presence.

Keywords

💡Instagram Algorithm

The Instagram Algorithm refers to the set of rules and processes that Instagram uses to determine the order and content of posts in a user's feed. In the video, it's mentioned as a factor that can limit the growth of an account if not navigated properly. The speaker discusses various ways in which the algorithm can suppress reach, such as through content duplication or engagement manipulation.

💡Reach Threshold

Reach Threshold is the point at which an Instagram account stops growing its audience despite consistent efforts. The video script suggests that certain account settings or behaviors can inadvertently limit an account's reach, and the speaker offers advice on overcoming these barriers to growth.

💡Account Suppression

Account Suppression is the act of limiting the visibility of an account's content on Instagram, often due to perceived violations of community guidelines or engagement manipulation. The script mentions that having multiple similar accounts or artificially boosting engagement can lead to suppression.

💡Inauthentic Engagement

Inauthentic Engagement refers to the practice of artificially inflating an account's likes, comments, or other forms of interaction, often through the use of bots or paid services. The video warns against this practice, stating that Instagram's algorithm can detect and penalize such behavior.

💡Content Duplication

Content Duplication is the act of reposting or cross-posting the same content across multiple accounts. The script mentions that this can negatively impact an account's reach, as the algorithm favors original content.

💡Verified Account

A Verified Account on Instagram is an account that has been confirmed by Instagram as the authentic presence of a public figure, celebrity, or global brand. The video notes that having a verified account can exacerbate reach issues if there are other accounts with similar content, as Instagram actively monitors for impersonation.

💡Engagement Bait

Engagement Bait is a term used to describe content or calls to action designed to artificially boost engagement, such as asking users to comment or tag friends. The video script indicates that Instagram discourages this practice and that it can lead to account suppression.

💡Shadow Ban

A Shadow Ban is an unofficial term used to describe a situation where a user's content is less visible to others without the user being notified of any changes or restrictions. The video suggests that minor infractions or oversights can lead to a shadow ban, limiting an account's reach.

💡Giveaways and Contests

Giveaways and Contests are promotional strategies often used on social media to increase engagement and attract new followers. However, the video script states that Instagram now discourages this practice, labeling it as content that users broadly dislike and that can negatively affect an account's reach.

💡Clickbait

Clickbait is content designed to attract clicks by using sensational or misleading headlines or thumbnails. The video script warns that Instagram does not tolerate clickbait content and that it can result in reduced visibility for an account.

💡Meta Ad Platform

The Meta Ad Platform refers to the advertising system used across Facebook and Instagram, allowing businesses and individuals to promote their content. The video mentions that restrictions or bans on the Meta Ad Platform can impact an Instagram account's reach, even if the user is unaware of the issue.

Highlights

Instagram accounts can be stuck due to seemingly innocent settings changes or old accounts.

Old accounts with similar content and profile details to the current account can suppress reach.

Deleting old accounts or setting them to private can resolve reach issues.

Instagram's algorithm may suppress reach for accounts with multiple similar profiles.

Reposting content and cross-posting between similar accounts is discouraged by Instagram.

Engagement from a secondary account to the primary account can be penalized by the algorithm.

Buying engagement or using engagement groups is considered artificially increasing engagement and is not recommended.

Instagram's algorithm can recognize and penalize inauthentic engagement patterns.

Content related to tobacco, adult products, or pharmaceutical drugs can be suppressed on Instagram.

Cosmetic procedures and weight loss supplements discussions might lead to reach suppression.

Accounts consistently posting low-quality content may be suppressed by Instagram.

Websites with disproportionate Instagram traffic may have their content reach suppressed.

Clickbait and engagement bait content are not tolerated by Instagram and can lead to reach suppression.

Giveaways and contests are considered engagement bait and can negatively impact account reach.

Shadow banning can occur even without violating community guidelines due to minor details.

Bans or restrictions on the Meta ad platform can affect Instagram account reach.

Uploading an ID or verifying it can resolve ad account restrictions affecting Instagram reach.

Creating content aligned with the latest Instagram algorithm is key to increasing reach and views.

Transcripts

If your Instagram reaches low and it feels

like you just can't go past a certain

threshold, there actually might be something seemingly innocent,

like a setting you forgot you changed three

years ago or something like that, and that

is actually what could keep your account from

growing anywhere or growing anything at all.

And because Instagram is Instagram, obviously, there's an

endless list of little details that people just

don't even know about that could keep you

stuck.

And because I've been working with probably 200

plus creators hands-on within my Creator Mentorship

program over the past 12 months, let me

actually show you the 13 most common easy

fixes you can implement right now to grow

your account and to get out of this

weird algorithm mess.

Now, the first one has actually been something

I've been tracking recently, and I don't have

100% clear proof data on that, but

you're actually the first ones that I shared

this with.

If you have an old account or multiple

old accounts you used to create content for,

whether it's a private account or some account

that you actively used actually with your name

and with a similar, or actually you were

the profile picture of the account, this could

be why your current account or any of

the accounts you create are stuck with very

low numbers.

Now, usually you can get rid of this

whole reach threshold by putting the original accounts

that you have to private at least, but

the safest fix is actually just to delete

those old accounts and just use one of

your main accounts.

Now, here's what's up though.

This only applies if the account that you

have right now is somewhat similar to the

ones you were doing before, so if it's

in the same niche or something like this.

So if it's about something totally different, let's

say one account is about you and your

pet cow, Tracy, the cow whisperer, or something

like that, and the other account is about

you, the airplane mechanic, obviously it's a little

bit different, but if it's very similar, your

reach might be suppressed.

Like I said, I don't have a hundred

percent data on that.

I'm still collecting, but it seems like they

take a look at your name and your

profile picture and similar style of content.

And if they see you have two or

three similar accounts, your reach will just be

locked down and really low.

If you have met a verified, by the

way, that's even worse because they actively take

a look out at accounts that impersonate you.

So if they find another account that actually

has content from you or, you know, with

the image recognition software and stuff like this,

if they see, well, this is actually, might

be actually the cow whisperer, Tracy, the cow

whisperer.

Well, we're going to keep the reach down

and you'll have issues growing with another account.

Now this whole thing has to do obviously

with this new original content update about the

algorithm where they basically suppress reach with reposted

content and stuff like this.

So that's the next thing you really have

to be careful with.

Do not repost stuff.

Do not cross post stuff from two accounts

unless it's a collaborator thing.

And unless it's not really just basically don't

have two accounts doing similar things or the

same things again, it just doesn't work anymore.

That's one thing that has totally changed since,

let's say a year ago, where I totally

recommended that to a lot of people.

Now the next one is actually a lot

similar to that, but it's actually a little

bit more nuanced and you actually have to

be really, really careful.

What Instagram really hates the most and the

algorithm really punishes it is if you have

a second account, doesn't matter if it's affiliated

with it or whether it's totally different with

a different email address, with a different name,

with different profile picture.

And you actually use that one to give

the other account engagement, like giving comments, giving

likes, liking stuff like this, sharing stuff like

this.

Now, if you only use this every once

in a while to kind of incite some

discussion in the comments, which is yet another

growth hack, by the way, it's all right.

But if the algorithm recognizes some sort of

pattern where they can see, okay, this account,

which is affiliated with the other account by

using the same phone or internet and stuff

like this, and they give each other inauthentic

engagement, that's a bad thing.

And this could be a reason why your

reach just doesn't grow past a certain threshold.

Now, they actually talk about this whole thing

in their community guidelines.

They call it something like artificially increasing engagement.

Great.

Artificially increasing engagement on a small scale, also

bad, but even worse if it's on a

bigger scale, for example, with buying engagement, for

example, buying comments, buying likes.

And there's actually plenty of sites out there

that promise real followers, real likes, real engagement

by promoting it to the right kinds of

people.

Let me tell you, I've been in this

game for seven, eight years.

It's always, it's a scam.

There's not a single site that actually promises

you that, that is actually legit.

Because why, how?

These things don't work anymore.

Actually, they never worked in the first place.

And actually, if you do that, the algorithm

has ways of recognizing that.

And in their community guidelines and in their

recommendation guidelines, they talk about that.

If you do that, we will just not

show your account organically at all anymore.

So if you do that, you'll hurt your

chances of ever growing, or at least in

the near future, growing organically at all.

Now, again, please don't fall into the trap

of getting fast likes or easy and quick

followers and engagement, even if they're real looking.

I know some creators that I'm not going

to mention right now, or should I?

No, we're not going to.

They make at least 20K per month dollars,

probably even more, by selling this crap to

unsuspecting.

Why did I say crap?

This crap to unsuspecting creators and businesses even,

because I don't even want to get into

that because it actually looks a hundred percent

real from the outside.

Again, it's not, it will mess up your

account for a long time.

Same thing, by the way.

And I shouldn't have to mention this, but

a lot of times when I work with

new clients, or if I scroll through my

comments, it's not clear.

It seems like, which is engagement groups, meaning

groups or like exchanges where you're in a

group, whether it's in the same niche, let's

say you're all fashion creators and you basically

post each other's links.

Whenever you post, everybody goes to each other,

likes and comments something because you're in the

same niche.

And because you give each other engagement, you

just help each other out.

But please do not do that.

It's not going to help you.

It's counted as artificially boosting engagement.

Also, it just confuses the hell out of

the algorithm.

So organic video content, first and foremost, is

the only way to grow.

Of course, there's a few good hacks that

help you.

We're not going to talk about them today,

which is by the way, why you should

subscribe right now to not miss out on

future videos, obviously.

But here's actually another few things where it

actually gets really special and weird.

And you would have never thought about this

at all.

If you talk about certain things, if you

post certain things, or if you have certain

things in the background, I'm not going to

show you apart from the obvious stuff again,

like something that might be back there or

talking about self-harm and stuff like this.

You're also not supposed to talk about or

show stuff that's related to tobacco, like smoking

or vaping related things, or adult products or

services, or even stuff like pharmaceutical drugs.

If you're in any of these niches, obviously

it's kind of hard for you to grow.

There are ways, but the best thing is

just to tiptoe around these things if it's

in your own niche.

But, and here's where it gets really crazy,

my friends.

Even if it has nothing to do with

the content at all, if there's a vape

in the background or something else, or if

you're just creating your content and you're just

smoking while you create the content because you

feel like it's cool.

I'm smoking a cigar or stuff like this.

Yeah, but Instagram might suppress and will suppress

your reach actually with that.

Now that by far is not all though,

because if we again go through the continually

updated list of things that they don't really

like.

One thing they totally hate is content about

cosmetic procedures.

You know, I don't even know what exactly

they mean and that's the issue with Instagram.

They don't really specify that, but if you

talk about, you know, lip filler or cutting

your up for the sense of being more

beautiful, stuff like this, no go for Instagram,

your reach will be suppressed.

The other thing is that might be actually

a little bit more relevant to a lot

of you is if you talk about supplements,

like weight loss supplements.

And if you're in the fitness niche, which

some of my clients are, and obviously fitness,

health, and nutrition are all related.

And as we know, the algorithms are by

far not good and not perfect.

And they could miss, kind of misunderstand things

that you talk about.

Let's say you talk about a certain supplement

and you kind of, the algorithm kind of

figures out that this could be something to

do with weight loss.

It could be a supplement for weight loss.

Don't ask me why they're so focused on

weight loss supplements, especially because that's what they

call out there.

Well, they will just suppress your reach.

So be really careful with that.

Now there's actually another issue that's related to

that, but on a bigger scale, and that's

even something that could really mess up your

account.

We're going to talk about this in a

second.

But the other thing that you just should

not talk about is anything that you could

label as risk-free, especially if you have

a business that is kind of attached to

Instagram, could get you into trouble.

Let me just pull this up.

And they will not show, or they will

suppress accounts that consistently post low quality stuff.

Now, what does that mean?

There's a few things, pause or take a

screenshot right here, if you want to see

the whole thing.

But one thing that actually not a lot

of people are aware of is what they

call content from websites that get a disproportionate

amount of clicks from Instagram versus other places

of websites.

So if your content is somehow associated with

a website that mostly gets their traffic from

Instagram or Meta or Facebook, they will suppress

your reach, which is kind of an issue.

Let's say you're a creator and you have

a business, you sell a course or whatever

it is.

And obviously most of your traffic comes from

Instagram.

This could potentially be bad.

Now they have a whole rating around that,

has a lot to do with your whole

trust score about the algorithm, about your Instagram

account, stuff like this.

But be careful with that.

Ideally, you have other traffic sources as well,

like Google, trying to rank in Google, just

trying to rank, right?

Or just on YouTube or stuff like this,

just to get more traffic sources to your

website.

Now it's not the biggest issue to be

honest.

And I do have a lot of clients

who are creators who mainly get their revenue

through Instagram and mainly get their reach, their

traffic on their website through Instagram.

But I just wanted to have that set

because it's in there and it's one of

the things that Instagram just apparently really doesn't

like.

Now, another thing Instagram really does not like

at all is, and unfortunately that's not defined

again by Instagram because they suck.

Did I just say that?

But yeah, at least they suck in terms

of communicating a lot of things.

They say clickbait and engagement bait content is

not being tolerated and they will not show

this to people.

Now, what exactly that means?

Again, we have no real idea because this

is where some people might be like, damn,

I'm doing this all the time.

For example, with ManyChat.

Because a lot of times I'm like, comment

the word apple strudel and I will send

you something in the DMs. Obviously, the whole

ManyChat type of thing.

We've talked about this here before.

And a few weeks ago, the Instagram creator

account had a weird video going up where

they were like, we don't tolerate that anymore.

So a lot of people were confused, especially

about the whole ManyChat situation.

They were like, well, ManyChat, that's like one

reason why I actually get so much reach

and why I got a lot of business

and revenue and stuff like this through Instagram.

And suddenly it's not allowed anymore.

Here's what's up.

All of the accounts that we work, that

I work with, one-on-one in my

career.

ManyChat is still okay.

It's still an official way of using that.

And I can 100% say, if you

say comment the word X and you'll get

Y, it's not considered engagement bait.

However, a lot of the times, and I

see that here on Instagram, on YouTube, and

also in some courses that I sometimes buy

from some people just to see what's out

there.

They say stuff, for example, like you need

to post, follow the account name, add the

account name and paste it three times in

a row just for people to click on

it.

Please don't do that.

This is what would be considered engagement bait.

Also stuff like tag of friends and stuff

like this.

They don't really like that anymore.

Used to work really well, which gets me

into the next very related thing.

That's probably a surprise to some of you.

Anything, what we just talked about in relation

to engagement bait or click bait and in

relation with giveaways or contests of any sort,

no go.

So giveaways used to be a very good

way of getting followers and getting your reach

through Instagram.

Not so much anymore.

Instagram actually calls out giveaways or contests and

labels them as content users broadly dislike.

So just don't use them.

It will not help you quite the opposite

actually.

Now, here's where it gets even more special

and crazy on a bigger scale, because even

if you don't do any of the things

we just talked about, and if you're totally

fine in terms of with things about the

community guidelines and adhering, just being a good

cat on Instagram, your account still might what

people call shadow banned.

And you still might not be able to

reach past a certain reach threshold because of

some other minor small details you might've missed.

The first thing is something that I actually

have battled for a long time on my

private account.

And it took, it was a pain in

the ass to fix.

It actually took me more than a month

to fix.

Yeah, we're not going to get into that

right now.

But if you have been banned from running

ads on the meta ad platform somewhere on

Facebook, for example.

So be it on Facebook or an Instagram

doesn't matter.

Or if any of the ad accounts are

restricted from advertising who are actually linked to

your Instagram account.

Yeah.

You might not even be aware of that.

But for example, if you use ManyChat, if

you just have a professional account, a lot

of times people have a Facebook account, a

Facebook page, actually, that's linked to it in

order to run certain things like ManyChat.

And you might not be aware that this

account might be restricted from advertising.

And that's what keeps it reached down.

For example, at the beginning of my recent

creative management cohort, right?

Just a month or two ago when we

started, we went through some of the accounts

of our clients and turns out some actually

had their Facebook ad account restricted without them

even knowing because they never got a notification

because they never log into Facebook anymore.

Cause they're like, we just need to have

this account.

Turns out a lot of times it actually

was restricted.

So please take a look right now at

your ad account.

Chances are it's locked for most of our

clients.

It was a very easy fix because I

think you need to kind of upload an

ID or verify your ID or something like

that in order to be technically able to

use meta advertising.

It's a law or something like that.

And if you don't have an ID on

file or something like that, your account gets

restricted and that has repercussions for your Instagram

account.

Now there's a bunch of more things.

Instagram just doesn't like things that will just

not get your account recommended anymore.

That will keep your reach low.

Feel free to pause the screen right now

and screenshot stuff like this.

There's actually a lot.

So make sure to fix all of these

things that we talked about, first of all,

and now that we've actually taken care of

these issues, now it's time to create videos

that actually blow up with the latest algorithm

in mind.

And guess what?

Thankfully made a video right here, showing you

some untapped strategies, all in line with the

latest Instagram algorithm that get my clients tons

of views every day.