Are You Making These Common Instagram Mistakes? Here’s How To Fix Them

Published on October 11, 2019 - By Jo Meunier (née Disney)

• Instagram is a powerful marketing tool for coworking and flexible workspace operators. 
• Next Wednesday, Cat Johnson and Karina Patel are hosting an advanced Instagram Marketing workshop.
• Two of the most common Instagram mistakes are not posting often enough and not having a strategy.

Did you know that one billion people use Instagram every month?

It’s a pretty powerful marketing tool for flexible workspaces. If you’re not using Instagram, you’re missing out on a potentially huge audience of would-be coworking members and clients.

Earlier this year, we learned how to get started on Instagram through an in-depth workshop with content marketer Cat Johnson and Karina Patel, Director of Marketing at Pacific Workplaces. The training session covered the basics of Instagram and how to use it to strengthen your brand, attract new members, and promote events.

Next up, the coworking marketing duo are running an advanced workshop on Wednesday, October 16th 2019, to tackle the finer points of Instagram marketing and how to take your social media performance to the next level.

Book Your Spot: Advanced Instagram Marketing for Coworking Spaces

This training is for workspace operators who are up and running on Instagram and who want to finetune their technique, or find solutions to common roadblocks. Perhaps engagement has dropped, you’re lacking inspiration, or you’re struggling to find the time to post regularly.

Ahead of Wednesday’s training, Allwork.Space spoke with Karina Patel, who will be co-hosting the session with Cat Johnson, to learn some of the most common mistakes flexible workspace operators are making when it comes to Instagram, and how to put them right.

Allwork.Space: Let’s dive right in. What are the biggest mistakes that you see coworking spaces making on Instagram?

Karina Patel: The biggest mistakes are not posting consistently and a lack of strategy. Instagram is a visual social channel, and brands often forget that their profiles serve as their business card or portfolio.

There has to be a strategy that aligns with their brand values, voice, and mission, while remaining visually appealing. This could be as simple as using 1-2 filters, instead of 5, or rotating between 3-5 different types of content themes to keep storytelling and engagement meaningful.

However, the number one mistake I see (not just coworking spaces) but all sorts of brands making is inconsistency. Inconsistency in frequency of posts, time of posts, or the brand messaging. This is due to not having a defined brand message, or mission, or clear objectives with content. Often it comes down to not having enough time to dedicate to social media.

Allwork.Space: How can these mistakes be put right?

To correct inconsistency, start with defining why you are using Instagram – what is your objective and message? If this channel is important for your overall marketing efforts, make time in the week to create and schedule content. Whether it’s posting once a week, or once every two weeks, be consistent. If there are gaps in posting, you lose engagement, and your efforts will just be wasted.

In terms of strategy, I shared the foundation of building your business profile, types of content, and how to strategize in part one of this training series (watch the replay here).

Content strategy seems overwhelming for operators because they might not know where to begin, especially when they are managing operations, staffing, billing, etc., so strategy may be the last thing on their mind. But trust me, posting just to post is not a wise strategy. Spending a few minutes to map out why you are sharing a particular piece of content and what you hope to gain by sharing is critical. I’ll be covering strategy in regards to growth in Wednesday’s training.

Allwork.Space: Let’s say it’s an average day at the office and the person behind the camera is lacking inspiration. Can you share any helpful content ideas?

Honestly, this is a great article on content ideas. Content can be found anywhere, at the front desk, within the meeting room or in the lounge or open workspace.

Look for members who engage with other members or are active in community events – these are the members you can begin highlighting to tell a story about your brand or services, community, and their brand. Look for spaces that are setup for different types of members and feature those – team spaces, private offices, coworking lounge, and any other spaces you offer.

Show the external community how these spaces are setup and how a member can benefit from working there. Include features like wellness, tech, and so on. Browse through the article Cat put together for some simple ideas.

Allwork.Space: Hashtags. Some people smother their posts in hashtags while others leave them out. What’s the best approach?

30 is the max. In the last training, I suggested starting with a handful of hashtags that included tags relevant to your location, products, and brand message. Always include your brand name as well. I think 10 is a good number to start with, and then you can build from there. I’m actually going to be talking about hashtag groups in the upcoming training.

Allwork.Space: Workspace operators have 101 things to do on any given day. Do you have any tips to help them save time and streamline their social media activity?

Use tools. Again, if this social channel is an important channel to reach your target audience, you will need to make time each week. A content calendar helps you keep content ideas and formats in one place with deadlines and tags.

Suggested Reading: How to Create a Simple Yet Powerful Content Calendar

If you plan content on a quarterly basis, you just then need to spend 30-60 minutes a week creating content and scheduling it. If you are posting once a day, you may spend time twice a week on creating and scheduling content.

There are tools that enable you to autopost as well. Finally, remember that posting is half the battle. You need to actually engage with your audience in order to keep them as your audience.

Tune into Cat and Karina’s workshop on Wednesday October 16th, 2019, for step-by-step training on Instagram marketing techniques. Book your spot here