Most of us have probably dealt with the annoyance of getting wrongfully shadowbanned on Instagram before.
And if you haven’t, lucky you. But Instagram has actually ADDRESSED the shadowbanning issue.
So we’re going to cover what they said about Instagram shadowbanning and what business owners marketing on the platform need to know.
Let’s start by defining what it means to be Instagram shadowbanned.
What Instagram Shadowbanning Means
Instagram said, “Though there isn’t one shared definition, we know some people use this term to imply…
…that a user’s account or content is limited or hidden without a clear explanation or justification.
When we rank content across Instagram, that is not our intention.”
So yes, that’s a pretty accurate definition. Let’s say you post an Instagram reel and you normally get 200 likes on it, give or take with 1000 views.
But this time, you post something and you get zero. You post another one and get zero views and zero likes. You stop receiving followers.
It just seems like your content isn’t getting served at all because all of your engagement just abruptly stops without warning and for no reason.
That’s what people are calling getting shadowbanned.
And the people have been @ ing Instagram about it for a long time because it’s just another roadblock in the way of organic growth.
Instagram Has Finally Addressed Shadowbanning
“These concerns about shadowbanning have made it clear that there is more we can do to increase transparency…
…so people have more information about what’s going on with their account.
If anything makes your content less visible, you should know about it and be able to appeal.
That’s why we’ve built features like Account Status to help you understand why your account’s content may not be eligible to be recommended…
…allow you to delete any content affecting your account and appeal the decision if you think we made a mistake.”
Looking at your profile page, tap the 3 hamburger lines in the top right, tap settings and privacy, and scroll down to account status.
Tap on that to see if you have any flags against your content. This is what it looks like for the LYFE Marketing account.
And this is what the same screen looked like for my creator account.
So, depending on the type of account you have, you may see different options here.
But regardless, you wanna see green check marks across the board.
Now, this is all good, and well, it’s not like the Account Status tool is a bad thing. However, does it really answer the question or solve the problem?
What The People Had To Say
This person commented on Instagram’s post and said…
“The account status is a good addition but what about everyone who sees massive drops in engagement without having any problems with their account status?
It happens to people a lot (especially artists) and there’s nothing they can do.”
Another person commented and said…
“You missed the point; People use the term “shadow banned” to describe the shade you put on our posts by limiting the reach.
You say our posts are measured and recommended based on interactions by users but if no one sees them how can they be interacted with?”
And there were many more comments echoing the same sentiment.
Basically, people are saying that even if their account status is all green check marks, they are still seeing inexplicable, drastic, sudden (not gradual) drops in reach and engagement.
This leads them to believe they’re still being shadowbanned even though their account status is all good.
In which case, Instagram’s statement answers nothing and solves nothing.
What Should You Do If Your Reach Has Dropped?
1. Double-check your account status
If you do have a red flag there, you need to get that taken care of first.
2. Work on some engagement hacks
Read these two posts to learn tips you can use on Instagram to jumpstart your reach and engagement again:
3. Boost your posts
We know it sucks and feels like you’re letting the algorithm win by paying them to promote your post.
But sometimes, the algorithm needs to see people engaging with your content before it puts your content in front of more people organically.
Which we know can be backward thinking like that one user commented…
…because how can you prove to the algorithm that people would engage with your content if nobody sees it, to begin with?
But sometimes if you wanna play on their platform, you gotta play by their rules.
So throw some ad spend at it, boost a couple of posts, and see if that helps jumpstart your organic reach and engagement again.
And if you want to work with an expert Instagram marketing agency to help you better results (a.k.a engagement, reach, and conversions) on IG…
…fill out our contact form today to get started.
