Why Instagram sucks

Y’all ruined Instagram for your own personal gain.

I love Instagram, I really do. For entrepreneurs, startups and business owners, this social media platform is a great way to connect with potential customers all around the world. Building these connections is quick, easy, and, if done through paid content, efficient and cheap. Just like its former rival (now owner) Facebook, and the multitude of similar platforms, Instagram was created to allow users to share snippets of their daily life with a wide-ranging audience.

To me, Instagram has become a medium to share my opinion, and connect with both potential customers and “the competition”. I probably spend way too much time diving in the depths of content, looking at a never-ending stream of pictures, inspirational quotes and memes. Every time I go to use the bathroom, my girlfriend is quick to remind me not to take my phone with me, as she knows that I’d be gone for hours if I had access to my Instagram account while sitting idly.

Recently however I started diving deeper into the posts of many start-ups and young agencies like my own, with the intention to learn more about customer interactions by my “competition”. Instead of focusing on the actual content posted, I wanted to observe the activities taking place the comment section, to better understand how brands engage with potential customers. And you know what I learned? I learned that people on the ‘gram suck. Why? Because they have absolutely no desire to build long-term relationships. It’s all about “conversion” (or a sad example thereof). Instead of focusing on building a reputation and trust with potential clients, everybody just wants immediate results/sales/attention without offering anything in return. And that is, as some would say, “Sad!”

To give you an idea of what I mean, check out the following four comments that I ran across within 5 minutes this morning:

Attention our page info urgently!! Pleasure to meet.

I can forgive incorrect spelling or grammar — as an immigrant and non-native English speaker I can appreciate how difficult it can be to capture your intentions in words, especially in a language that is not your native tongue. What I don’t understand thought is the actual context of this comment. It sounds as if the person posting this comment strongly believes that you need to see his/her amazing content, with no regard to the content that the comment was made on. To me, this seems not only disrespectful, but also counterproductive. I for one would be more than happy to ignore this “urgent” request.

You have decent profile. I think you’ll like what we’re doing, check me out and let me know if I can help you in ANY way!

Slightly better than the previous comment, the poster wants to offer you his/her help in any way possible. Let’s ignore the spelling and grammar errors on this post for a second, and focus solely on the context. As the owner of the original content, what would your reaction be if someone called your profile “decent”? Would you be offended? Amused? Bewildered? All of these reactions would come to mind, but rest assured, you would not reply to this comment asking for help.

You have really nice IG. Visit my profile when you will get the chance.

Starting off with a compliment is always a great idea. It makes the owner of the content feel better about themselves, and evokes a friendly intention. But let’s be real — comments like this are posted under thousands of pictures every day, a simple copy-and-paste comment without any regard for the actual content. You wouldn’t walk up to a person you fancy in the streets, dropping a quick compliment and asking them to come over to your place, would you? Don’t do it on Instagram either then! Offer some actual context prior to asking another user to come check out your profile.

Hey check out our page!

Alright now, this is just plain desperate. If this is all you have to say, then you shouldn’t be using Instagram for your business.

I am all for brands and businesses using Instagram to promote themselves and interact with potential customers and consumers all around the globe. Hell, I want brands to use Instagram as a promotional platform, because I love to consume content. But please, remember that Instagram is just another way to create social connections. Create real engagement and foster conversations, instead of pushing your own agenda down the throats of others.

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by 310,538+ people.

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