How Hospitality Operators Can Avoid These 5 Common Instagram Mishaps

Believe it or not, Instagram is not just for tech-savvy and next-gen individuals. In fact, businesses – including the hospitality industry – are taking advantage of this innovative social platform to give their brands a boost in popularity and overall public exposure.

With that said, there are many things that can go wrong when using Instagram. Luckily, this article will show you 5 of the most common mistakes that businesses make on Instagram, and how you can avoid making them yourself.

“Instagram is mainly known for their video and image content,” says Poppy McDowall, a business writer at Lia help and Oxessays. “However, posting random content – especially poor-quality photos or videos – will make potential customers turn away before passing the threshold. So, make sure that your content is top-notch and appealing to prospects.”

You can create good-quality content in one of two ways:

Consistency is crucial when posting to Instagram. Followers (and Instagram’s algorithms) don’t like when you post too many times a day, or when you don’t post very often. It’s your job to create an effective posting schedule for your Instagram channel so you can ensure you’re targeting the right audience at the right time. According to suggested practices, it’s recommended that you post at least once per day to best reach your customers.

Cross-promotion can be helpful at times. However, you can’t always do that on Instagram or else your posts will look repetitive.

It’s important to offer something fresh every time you post. Pick a goal and stick to it, meaning that for every post on places like Instagram, you should have a clear goal on what you want customers to see and what you want from them (i.e. the call-to-action, or CTA). Whether it’s likes, reservations or online orders, having a goal for each post can help improve your brand awareness and engagement.

“Businesses don’t have to have a ‘business’ type attitude 24/7,” says Scarlett Callister, a blogger at Paper Fellows and Academized. “With Instagram, you can show another side of your business that takes viewers behind the scenes, showcasing your staff, or highlighting the happenings in your community. With fun photos and videos every so often, your customers can tell who you really are, and not be afraid to approach you with any questions, concerns, or compliments.”

Finally, it’s best to grab your followers’ attention organically, and not try to buy them. Buying followers can actually cause less engagement on your Instagram, along with legitimate followers doubting your integrity and reputation as a company.

Customer sentiment is always in flux, especially this year when COVID-19 has changed the way consumers interact with brands. Make sure you do your research, and even A/B test various posts and content to see what resonates with your audience. This will create the best engagements on your posts without having to resort to buying followers.

Ultimately, Instagram is a great way to engage with your customers. However, when you’re not careful about how you conduct yourself, you might lose valuable customers.

So, as long as you work to avoid these 5 mistakes, you can continue to grow high-performing accounts on Instagram. So, remember:

If you want to learn more about how to gain more customers for your hospitality business, visit SevenRooms’ Resource Center for insightful webinars, downloadable resources, and more.