Although today’s generation isn’t very fond of the controversial Youtuber-turned-athlete, Jake Paul – his viral statement about building an online brand, i.e., “Being a social media entrepreneur is more exhausting than training for a boxing career”, is a hard fact to deny.
While, it may sound absurd at first; developing a thriving online income stream from the ground up isn’t for the faint of heart. And it’s especially a nightmare when social media shadowbans your page. That being said, let’s talk about the kryptonite that weakens the e-commerce businesses today.
What Is Stealth Ban/Shadow banning?
Stealth ban or shadowbanning is when social media platforms like Instagram attempt to hide, restrict, or censor your uploaded content without prior warnings or notifications. Posts that are shadowbanned don’t show up on anybody’s newsfeeds except for the users who are following that particular page. hmm, quite ruthless huh?
So, How to Tell If You’re Being Shadowbanned?
In a typical scenario, you’ll notice that your business page has started becoming invisible to your followers, prospects, and even to the repeating customers. For instance, a post that usually bags 100 likes within an hour hardly crosses 20 or 30 at the best. This ban is also inclusive of lesser views, a deserted comments section, zero clicks, no new followers, and whatnot.
Honestly, nobody likes it when their social media engagement drops to an all-time low. It’s even worse when you’re unaware of why it’s happening. However, you can verify the same by simply checking your engagement level stats. If the graph is plummeting, then you’ve probably pushed into the shadowed realm.
How To Prevent a Social Media Shadowban?
Although social media gurus worldwide have multiple reasons as to why stealth bans happen, there isn’t a definitive answer yet. Nevertheless, here are a few tips to save yourself from being shadowbanned:
1. Stop Using Automated Bots for Posting
Social media platforms, including Instagram, have started blocking the content of users who rely on bots. Since, bot-posting increases spamming on social media, continuing to use them may not be a good idea.
These platforms can detect if you’re using bots by simply looking into your IP address. Suppose an automated post goes live from New Jersey, and 15 minutes later, you’re uploading another live and original post from California; then the app will automatically detect fraud and start restricting your content. So, don’t be so lazy; start posting natively and eliminate the bot-posting tactic from your social media strategy.
2. Start Using Hashtags Correctly
You’ve seen this before — people using #instalove, #fashion, #love, #sunset, and hundreds of other vague hashtags on an ordinary selfie. Makes you wonder, if it’s all just another free strategy to boost their outreach.
Well, these social media clichés are a big no when your focus is to increase engagement among followers or to create a social media voice. Also, using the same, old, irrelevant, or banned hashtags can increase your chances of ending up in a long shadowban. It’s imperative to be more creative with your hashtags.
3. Take A Short Break, Once in A While
If you didn’t know – On a daily basis, Instagram allows users to take 500 actions only. This limit exists to detect and restrict spambots. And it’s inclusive of activities like liking, following, and unfollowing.
Exceeding the 500-action limit will trigger an algorithm that flags your high-volume activity as suspected spam. However, if you’ve accidentally been flagged as spam, then wait for 48-hours for the algorithm to stop receiving spam alerts.
Summing It Up
In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be a limit on how many social media actions you can take in a single day. But the reality is bitter, and we have some bad news — the shadowban is real, and it hurts badly. However, these quick tips can help you dodge the wrath of the algorithms.
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Very true. I would agree with the part where it talks about the hashtags. Using them correctly is everything when trying to organically reach a wider audience.