Why You’re Failing On Instagram

Liam J Cross
Aug 31, 2018 · 4 min read

Instagram’s no longer the amazing and terrifying app it once was. A few years back, everyone was watching from the sideline, wondering what on earth it was and whether or not they should waste their time on it. But now, it’s just an accepted part of everyday life and society.

And even more… it’s such a crucial part of business and marketing. That still blows my goddamn mind.

If you’d stood in front of a bunch of business owners fifteen years ago and told them that the future success of their business hinged on whether or not they could adapt their marketing strategy to suit a predominantly mobile device-based photo-sharing app, they’d have slapped you and had you escorted from the premises.

But now, in 2018, that’s the way it is.

Of course, it’s not just Instagram. It’s social media and online presence as a whole. But for the purposes of this article, I’m going to stick to Instagram, and delve into why you aren’t winning there.


You’re Treating It Like An Advertising Platform

Don’t get it twisted. Instagram is a great place for advertising and bringing awareness to your business… it’s just that ninety-nine percent of people are going about it in the wrong sort of way.

Your goal shouldn’t be out to garner sales through the direct advertisement of your product. That can of course work, but it shouldn’t take up one-hundred (or even twenty) percent of your content.

Boosting posts and running story ads to bring awareness to a particular product, campaign, service, or program is a great idea. I don’t disagree with that. Instagram ads are still hugely under-priced, and if you run a business right now and aren’t cashing in on them, you should think about changing that.

However, no matter how cheap or expensive they are, you should never run them in the hopes of activating direct action all the time. Sometimes they’re best ran for no other reason than to drive people to your account and your content. Which brings us to our next point…


You’re Not Building A Genuine Brand

And I’d just like to take a quick second to place great emphasis on ‘genuine’. No matter how believable you may make it seem, the market will sniff out your bullshit — it has a very strong scent.

Don’t be a dickbag and try to sell through false branding. You’ll only ever lose if you do — you’ll be a dickbag, and your business will flop because the market will sense your scandal and won’t tolerate it from that point on. Double dickbag.

Having said that…

Building a genuine brand is what Instagram is all about. You need to spend less time telling consumers why they should buy your product or service, and more time showing them. That’s what a brand is. You shouldn’t need to tell anyone anything. Your brand should absolutely speak for itself through the message it spreads. And more to the point, how genuine and truthful that message is.

If your business chooses to focus on you, you, you, chances are it’s going to fail. There is a great strategy that can work in that respect, and that’s choosing to tell a story — but… you’d better make sure the story is damn interesting, and that it eventually turns around and brings value to the consumer.

Your content should be the thing that drives your brand forward. If you bring value and are interesting to follow, people will follow. Crazy, right? And when people follow you and consume your content daily, you’re always on their subconscious mind.

If your content stands out from the crowd, those thoughts are going to be good thoughts. And then when the time comes to buy a product or service in your niche or market, guess who they’re going to think of first? Fucking you!


Don’t Overthink It

Your social content doesn’t need to be as difficult as you think. You just need to find creative ways to project your vision and truth. Let your audience know what you’re about and what you want to do in the world.

What you need to do is establish a message and project it in a meaningful way. Your content should build a brand, and your brand should speak for itself. With a great brand, you don’t need to tell your consumer why you’re the best.

Your brand will do it for you.

Don’t tell them how great the steak is… show them how much effort went into making it. That’s how you win.

Clap-Clap

If this article brought you any sort of value — even if it was just a single sentence — please leave a some applause. It would mean a lot to me. Like a lot-lot.

Picking Up What I’m Putting Down?

Then what are you waiting for? Check out my other social accounts…

Instagram: @the_editing_diaries

Twitter: @_liamjcross

Facebook: Liam J Cross

Liam J Cross

Written by

✍🏻CEO of LJC EDITING📲I help writers better their craft, generate income, and sell more books📚 Writing all things biz and lifestyle.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade