Don’t Go Dark! How to Avoid and Recover from an Instagram Shadowban!
Social media can be your best friend…you know, that friend you totally love, except when she steals your favorite clothes and then ghosts you for weeks. In short, sometimes it’s great, but it can also be a real bitch.
Especially when you’re trying to use it to grow your brand. One of the bitchiest things that trips up a ton of people in the the camming and adult industry is the dreaded shadowban…
Ahhh! What is a shadowban???
If you don’t know, consider yourself lucky! A shadowban is kind of like a time-out. You won’t see your account disappear, but you will see your engagement drop and your follower count get stuck in neutral.
What??? How??? Why does a shadowban happen?
Basically, if IG gets tipped off about something you posted that they don’t like, they say, “nuh-uh” and essentially put you in a dark corner. Your followers can still see your stuff, but all that traffic you’re still trying to reach? Nope. You’re invisible to them. And not only that, your hashtags are now set to ‘off’ so all that precious tagging time is worthless.
So what can you do? While IG is notoriously strict about their content, there are ways to avoid getting shadowbanned without resorting to posting only cat pics and motivational posters.
Here are some easy tips and tricks to help you beat the shadowban.
#1 Watch Your Tags
Did you know that hashtags get banned? Yup, LOTS of ’em. And if you’re using them, even an innocent pic could get you shadowbanned. Here’s a handy tool to help you FIND and DELETE bad hashtags: https://bannedhashtags.com/ It’s worth it to keep checking on hashtag bans because they are always changing!
#2 Embrace Change
Whatever you do, DON’T use the same hashtags day in and day out. Get creative and switch it up. Constant use of the same tags means that people might be able to find you, but it’s more than likely it’ll just bite you in the ass.
#3 Be Suspicious
An easy way to get shadowbanned? Piss someone off. Users reporting your profile will easily get you put into time-out, so if you feel like a user is dragging you down, block ’em.
#4 RELAX!
It’s great to share the love, but go easy on your activity throughout the day. Too many likes, comments, follows and unfollows…well, that smells like a bot to the folks at IG.
Now, the big question…
What should you do if your account is shadowbanned?
The truly sucky thing is, you ain’t gonna know about it. There’s no, “Surprise! You’ve Been SHADOWBANNED!” notification on IG, so you’ll only really know if you start paying attention to your stats.
If you do see a lag, try these quick tricks for removing shadowbans.
Take a break
Let your IG account snooze for a bit. Users have reported that after a 2 or 3 day hiatus they were shadow-free and back in business. Of course, this means COMPLETE ABSTINENCE, so no posts, no likes, and no logging in! Insta-Vacation! I know it’s hard, but it’s worth it in the end.
Tell Instagram
If you suspect a shadowban, call ’em out! Send a report to Instagram and ask them what’s up. It’s easy–click the icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen, scroll down and select “Report a Problem.” Tell them that “Something isn’t working” and fingers-crossed your ban may lift.
NO SHORTCUTS!
Anything that promises quick and easy growth is not a road you want to take. Try to build your following as organically as possible, and that means no hashtag soup, no tracker apps, and no random engagement groups. Just…no.
As we know, Instagram is a fickle little devil, but we love it anyway, and it is a great way to promote yourself. A little care goes a long way, so treat your IG account well and it will reward you.
Find this post helpful? Share your thoughts with us. If you’ve got more tips, DROP ‘em below!
