Every single business uses social media nowadays, especially Instagram. The social network is one of the best because it focuses on the visually appealing. The downside? Standing out & growing an account is very difficult without an Instagram automation tool.
With users from around the world, there isn’t a lack of spectators but definitely a lack of followers for a lot of small brands. The winners are those who were early adopters and stayed consistent throughout their growth. Companies know the importance of Instagram, it’s why we wrote this article.
Is there a little hack to grow your Instagram faster? Most definitely, but it doesn’t come without risk. Instagram automation allows you to reach more people & finally gain that initial visibility when you were invisible.
Let’s just take a quick dive into the world of Instagram automations first.
What is Instagram Automation & How does It Work?
If you’ve been using Instagram in the past year, you’ve definitely came across an Instagram automation. There’s the aspect of planning your content but there’s an entirely other world using the Instagram API.
For instance, you can manage accounts, interact with your followers by liking or commenting on their posts and many more aspects.
We often say that Instagram automation has two categories: interacting & managing. The interacting part focused on liking, commenting and following. The managing part takes care of publishing and reporting. Note that this does not cover Instagram advertising.
This is where the dark Instagram bots come in. These bots generate hashtags, schedule your posts, follow, like, comment and even send DM’s. While some Instagram bots are full of spam, most bots are very reliable and respect Instagram’s guideline & best practices. We can think of all the social media management softwares!
All that to say that your Instagram automation really depends on the tool you choose. It’s about finding one that has a good reputation for respecting Instagram’s guideline. The worst thing you can do is get shadow banned which would limit the amount of reach you get per post.
In fact, this is one of the biggest danger. If you use a tool that goes against Instagram’s guideline, you risk being in big trouble. We highly recommend you do your due diligence before choosing your Instagram automation tool because once you are shadow banned you can’t go back.
How to Choose the Right Instagram Automation Software?
Choosing the right software is extremely important to keep you safe but also deliver results. Let’s explore the different options you have when it comes to Instagram automation:
Content Scheduling
The most popular tools for social media management are Hootsuite, Buffer and AgoraPulse. In reality, there are hundreds of social media management tool so you could spend a lifetime choosing the right one for your business.
Let’s cut your research time so you can get results faster with your social media strategy. Choose the content scheduler you find easiest to use on a daily basis. They usually all have the same features anyways.
Now, when it comes to using the tool, we recommend creating your content in advance (one week or one month). This will allow you to create a well rounded strategy and post at the right time to get the maximum amount of engagement.
Most social media tools work with multiple social media platforms. While it can be easy to use the same content everywhere, we highly recommend creating different posts for each platform. This will ensure you get the maximal results in terms of interactions.
You should also be careful with any changes in your results to understand if you’ve been blocked or shadow banned. Don’t be afraid, using a content scheduler is the least risky strategy. In fact, we’ve never heard of any Instagram account being negatively affected because of the use of a content scheduler.
Automatic Engagement
I remember paying someone to follow, unfollow, like & comment on an Instagram account. It was highly expensive and the return on investment wasn’t fantastic either. If you still want to use such strategies, you must consider Instagram automation tools. They will save you time & money!
When it comes to Instagram bots for engagement, you need a powerful computer. These bots are often very power intensive and might require your computer to use all its juice at the same time. Don’t worry though, they are quite simple to use. You just have to press enter and the software will start its interactions.
I would also highly recommend that you think about your strategy beforehand:
- How many followers will you follow per day?
- Will you make the timing random or consistent?
- How many likes will you try to get?
There are a lot of questions to answer but it’s very important if you don’t want to get banned. You’ll also need a proxy which we will discuss in the next section. Proxies will allow you to run your automation on multiple accounts at the same time.
In terms of interactions, Instagram bots usually allow you to:
- Send direct messages
- Like
- Comment
- Answer polls
- Follow & Unfollow
Instagram’s Anti-Spam Algorithm
In 2017, Instagram started fighting to eliminate the use of third-party applications. Most of the popular bots and schedulers had been negatively impacted.
It’s why you should be careful with your Instagram automation strategy to not trigger suspicious activities on your account. How can you not trigger suspicious activities? Don’t over interact with your audience. Almost every banning or shadow banning happens because of strategies such as follow for follow or liking & commenting automatically.
The consequences are harsh. You will probably get even less reach on all your posts and the impact will last for a long time. It means very low follower growth for your account if any.
The Proxy Secret
Do you know what a Proxy is? I didn’t either but apparently it’s quite useful for Instagram bots. It’s a way to make your activities look more authentic in the eye of Instagram. Using proxies seems like an essential part of not getting flagged by Instagram while leveraging automations.
For instance, Instagram only allows access to 5 Instagram accounts as their terms of use. If you want to use an Instagram bot in more than 5 accounts, you will most definitely encounter problems. This is where Instagram proxies can come handy because they block your IP address. You guessed it, Instagram won’t know how many Instagram accounts you are using.
The best proxies on the market are mobile proxies or residential proxies. They deliver excellent speed, efficiency, security, and guaranteed anonymity. As with anything, be careful because no strategy is fully bulletproof.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
While leveraging automation is all the hype today, you must not dive in it with two feet. A strategic approach is very important to get the best and not the worst. Let’s start with the good of using Instagram automation:
- Save yourself a lot of time to interact & post
- Grow your followers at a faster rate
- Discover insights around your audience
The bad is also important to consider in your Instagram automation strategy:
- Being shadow banned or blocked for over usage.
- Lack of personality in your interactions.
- Missed out 1:1 interactions to close deals.
Conclusion
Instagram is one of the most important social media nowadays for brands. The truth is that without Instagram, brands lack a serious asset to attract new customers. For instance, real estate companies can drive serious leads from Instagram.
To grow on Instagram, companies need to leverage every tool they have and automation is definitely one of them. You can schedule, analyze and interact with your audience constantly without lifting a finger.
Just be careful which tool you decide to use because the risks are many. Some tools could negatively affect your reach on Instagram in a non reversible way. In general, scheduling & analyzing are safer than using a bot to interact on the platform for you.