Are you looking for answers to the questions that you have about Instagram? If so, you’re at the right place! We have combined a bunch of frequently asked questions about Instagram, best strategies, ways to grow on Instagram, followers, tools that can help your Instagram grow, and more. You’ll certainly find the answers that you’re looking for!
In this Ultimate Instagram FAQ, we’ll be answering the questions asked by our community members. The list of questions and answers is continuously updated, so if you cannot find an answer to your question, please contact us, and we’ll share the answer.
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Frequently Asked Instagram Questions:
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How many hashtags should I be adding?
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Is it a good idea to post 4-5 times a day?
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How can I know if I am shadowbanned by Instagram?
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Is follow unfollow a good strategy?
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Should I buy an existing Instagram account?
#1: How many hashtags should I be adding?
Hashtags are crucial for your Instagram growth. If your account is public, they are one of the most common ways for non-followers to discover your posts and account. Therefore, you should plan your hashtags very carefully, as they can have a huge impact on your growth.
Instagram allows adding 30 hashtags per post. However, it doesn’t mean that you should use all 30.
It’s best to keep the number somewhere between 10 and 15. The reason is simple – Instagram is all about quality content. Therefore, spamming hashtags with the aim of being discovered by more eyeballs is a big no to Instagram. How many times were you annoyed seeing irrelevant content under one of the hashtags that you follow? A ton, I’m sure!
For this reason, Instagram wants you to be specific and only use the most relevant hashtags. For this reason, try choosing no more than 15 high-quality and relevant hashtags that describe your post.
Avoid hashtags that are too generic (e.g., #holiday, #summer, #food, etc.). As they serve a minimal purpose and won’t bring much value. Instead, choose something that’s more specific.
#2: Is it a good idea to post 4-5 times a day?
The number of times you post on Instagram doesn’t really matter. What actually matters is the consistency and quality of your content. Therefore, it is crucial to have a content strategy and stick to it.
Posting multiple times a day may be a good idea; however, you should use different types of posts. Posting 4-5 daily posts on your feed may not be the best idea, but you can add Stories, Reels, or IGTV posts to diversify. Usually, it’s best to post 1-2 daily posts on your feed and post multiple IG Stories. However, whichever post type you choose, make sure to spread it. Don’t post all your content within the same hour; instead, spread it within an 8-12 hours timeframe.
Posting too much may be perceived as spamming and make your followers unfollow you.
#3: How can I know if I am shadowbanned by Instagram?
“Shadowban” isn’t an official term used by Instagram, but Instagram has the capacity to deprioritize accounts on its platform. In a nutshell, shadowbanning limits exposure to your content.
Instagram wants its users to follow the set of rules that are in place to ensure equal opportunities and offer the best quality content to all users.
If you haven’t violated any of the Instagram Community Guidelines, there is no reason for you to believe that your account is shadowbanned.
However, if you have doubts, there is an easy way to find out. Follow these steps:
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Create a post (preferably an image post) and use relevant hashtags;
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Post it;
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A minute or so after posting, click on one of the hashtags used;
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If you see your post in the feed under the hashtag, your account isn’t shadowbanned. Sometimes, you may need to scroll to find your post, especially if you’re using one of the popular hashtags that have millions of posts.
However, if you notice that your post didn’t come up on the feed, you’re, unfortunately, shadowbanned. You can refer to the article that I wrote earlier to find out what you should do to lift the ban.
You can also check your “Account Status” on Instagram Settings to see whether you have posted something that violated any of Instagram’s Community Policies.
#4: Is follow unfollow a good strategy?
One of the oldest Instagram hacks that many so-called Instagram experts promote is “follow/unfollow”. I’m sure that if you looked for ways to grow your Instagram, you have encountered many posts saying that it’s the fastest way to grow your following.
It’s utter nonsense! Don’t waste your time, as the “follow unfollow” strategy harms your Instagram growth.
The idea behind the “follow/unfollow strategy” is quite straightforward: all you have to do is follow a bunch of Instagram accounts within your niche and unfollow them a couple of days or weeks later. By following these accounts, you announce to the owners of the accounts that you exist. In return, you also expect them to follow you back.
Yes, many Instagram followers will follow back whoever follows them. So you may be lucky and actually increase the number of your followers. This is why the “follow-unfollow” worked well in the early stages of Instagram. Everyone on the platform wanted to have followers, and the number of followers indicated authority.
With time, Instagram has changed.
Instagram surely understood that users keep using illicit hacks to get followers (such as buying and engaging in similar schemes); thus, it prohibited the usage of such tricks to grow.
I’ve written the whole article on why you shouldn’t fall for follow/unfollow sham, where I even describe my experiment of following and then unfollowing.
I’ll spoil it for you – my account almost vanished, and all success I may have achieved by following and unfollowing was worthless as I was shadowbanned by Instagram.
#5: Should I buy an existing Instagram account?
Growing an Instagram account from scratch has never been harder. It may be tempting just to buy an existing account with an established community of followers.
A quick Google search will reveal thousands of marketplaces that offer buy and sell services for those keen to sell or purchase an account. However, is this something that you should do?
I’ve written a long article about buying an Instagram account and weighing all pros and cons.
There are multiple risks involved in buying an Instagram account:
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You may get scammed by the marketplaces as such transactions aren’t legal in Instagram’s eyes.
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You may buy an account with many fake followers.
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Your newly purchased account may be banned by Instagram.
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Your new community of followers may unfollow you after you rebrand your account.
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Buying an Instagram account isn’t a short-cut to having thousands of followers; it’ll still require a lot of work to maintain it, rebrand it, and grow it.
So, a short answer is no, you shouldn’t. But you can check a very detailed article on whether you should buy an Instagram account.
Published: 4 September 2022
Updated: 22 September 2022
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