4 Reasons Your Instagram Posts Blow Chunks

Pretty descriptive headline, huh?

But seriously, for the brands that use Instagram for business, the image of a sickly person hunched over a trashcan with last night’s dinner coming out the wrong end might perfectly describe how they feel when their Instagram posts fail to engage. You probably need better Instagram posts. 

Think about it—widespread likes and comments are the stuff of Instagram marketing champions. For those on the outside looking in, however, they often seem like more than a hopeless wish …

Does any of this sound painfully familiar to you and your team?

If so, it’s without a doubt a good idea to take a hard look at your current Instagram marketing strategy. That said, the key culprit might have little to do with strategy, and everything to do with the content you’re sharing …

Anyway, if the latter is stealing your business account’s Instagram thunder, there’s a good chance at least one of the following four reasons is keeping your posts from drawing much attention.

Keep reading to see if you’re content is doing more harm than good:

1) Your Camera Sucks – Get Better Instagram Posts 

Here, you’re going to have to be honest with yourself for a moment—does your camera suck?

And no, you don’t need to be a tech junkie to know if your camera is performing poorly …

Flip through your current photo library—are the vast majority of your photos blurry? Do far too many photos come complete with over-exposed highlights and under-exposed shadows?

If so, your camera isn’t helping your cause. To make things right in a timely fashion, though requiring you to fork over some cash in the process, you’ve largely got two options:

• • Purchase a new smartphone with a better camera.
  • Purchase a high-performance digital camera.

Needless to say, there are pros and cons to either one.

Few things are more exciting than a new, state-of-the-art smartphone. Unfortunately, they’re expensive. And while digital cameras are fairly affordable and take great pictures, you’ll have to tote one around with you, hoping that each image will crop to Instagram’s aspect ratio.

Whatever you decide to do, make certain your camera is up to par.

2) You’re Limiting Yourself to Instagram’s Tools

Shockingly, we’re not yet done talking about equipment. Only, for this point, instead of focusing on your camera, we’ll be zeroing in on the tools you’ll need to get the job done right.

You know those breathtaking Instagram photos household brands are always publishing? Believe it or not, most of them weren’t edited using Instagram’s in-app tools …

More often than not, professional photographers are taking them, uploading them to their laptops and then using programs like Photoshop or Lightroom to make them as stunning as possible.

You’re probably not a professional photographer, and you know what? You don’t have to be. There are a number of highly affordable (and free) editing apps for Instagrammers just like you:

• • Pixlr
  • Over
  • Litely
  • VSCO Cam

The sooner you experiment with a few of the above (or others just like them), the sooner your content will start flirting with the likes of National Geographic’s Instagram account—impressive.

3) You Don’t Understand the Basics of Photography

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again—you don’t need to be a professional photographer to take professional-grade Instagram photos. Still, quality editing programs can only do so much to get better Instagram posts …

Eventually, you’re going to have to take an hour or two to learn the basics behind what makes a photo pleasing to the eye. And while this might seem somewhat over-the-top, remember …

Instagram users scroll fast—yours are the images that must get them to pause.

Good news, though—thanks to the Internet, there’s more than enough free information online to get both you and your camera pointed (pun intended) in the right direction.

Heck, if the World Wide Web’s mountain of photography blogs isn’t enough to help out, the likes of MIT even goes as far as offering a free photography course for anyone who’s interested.

Not bad, eh? Simply click here to check it out.

4) You Fail to Take Note of What Works

Relatively speaking, Instagram is a simple marketing channel.

Because of this, don’t overcomplicate things. If a certain kind of image, caption copy or CTA seems to be generating a positive response, stick with it.

Write this stuff down, though—you’ll forget it if you don’t.

Besides, the more you’re able to identify successful elements, the easier it will become to use Instagram for business in the future.

Whip It Into High Gear!

Our best guess is that you’ve heard this one before, but it’s worth repeating—it was Albert Einstein who once famously said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

No offense, but when using Instagram for business, do you sometimes fit the mold?

Whether you have or haven’t, now is the time to flush the toilet, rinse out your mouth, drink some ginger ale and kick vomit-inducing Instagram posts to the curb for good …

Accounting for each of the above is bound to get you there—best of luck!