Your business has its social media accounts set up. The quality of the content is excellent, meaning it provides useful information, looks aesthetically pleasing, and uses related hashtags and buzzwords. However, your content isn’t reaching out to people and, overall, the engagement is low. What is happening with your social platforms?
Shadowban is a mysterious term in social media. Many say it’s a myth; meanwhile, others believe they are living proof of the effects of manipulating the algorithm. So,what is shadow ban? Mostly used on Instagram, it refers to restricting the visibility of a user’s content; therefore, their posts don’t show up in searches. How do you know if it’s happening to your account?
Your Content Is Not Showing on the Hashtags
Are your posts appearing on the hashtags you used? If you think that they’re not showing up, do some research to verify if it’s happening to your account.First, ask a friend, family member, or peer who doesn’t follow your business.Then, indicate them to search for one of the hashtags you used for a post. If your content doesn’t appear in the Recent post of their social account, then your profile may be shadowbanned.
Make sure you’re not using broken or banned hashtags. Avoid using those that havemillions of posts. Instagram bans them due to content that goes against their Terms & Conditions. They also halt hashtags to prevent spam accounts fromreaching users.
You’re Constantly Using the Same Hashtags
Let’s say your content shares topics regarding healthcare, and all your posts have the same related hashtags. Though you’re posting great content, Instagram’s algorithm might detect this activity as suspicious, and may consider this as spamming.
Stay away from overusing the same hashtags in every post. Although it discusses a concept related to your business, that image, video, or carousel is unique.Therefore, differentiate yourself by mixing and matching hashtags. On each post, combine slightly popular hashtags with ones that have less traffic. That way, your post reaches people interested in your content, while avoiding the shadowban.
You’re Using Bots
Buying likes or followers can be tempting. On the outside, you seem to have a large following, and people are enjoying your content. However, once Instagram detects the lack of authenticity on your account, the platform will likely shadowban you. In the long run, having bots on your socials will hurt your business account and your brand’s reputation.
In short, don’t buy fake followers and likes. Instead, use that budget on advertising your posts. Instagram aims to provide authentic, high-quality content to users while striving for real engagement. The platform is in the user’s favor, so don’t try to manipulate the system.
Do You Need to Worry About Shadow Banning?
In general, you don’t have to worry about the shadowban or getting booted from Instagram. What matters is that you avoid breaking the rules of Instagram. Moreover, having this type of knowledge is useful to navigate in the right direction of your strategy and authentically grow your following and expand reach.
