Lol at me. I originally wanted a post on improving my Instagram engagement as it’s taken a nose dive but then discovered I was probably shadowbanned, so instead this is the third and final post in my mini-series about Instagram, banned hashtags and shadowbanning.
Read the previous two posts:
How to prevent being shadowbanned.
So now we’re on to the final post:
What to do if you have been shadowbanned.
Remove all banned hashtags.
There are a few ways you can find out which hashtags are banned:
- Manually click each hashtag and see if it’s banned
- Search for lists of banned hashtags
- Use a banned hashtag tool such as this one (you can search on the free trial or get a subscription to see which banned hashtags you have used on your profile).
Some articles advise removing all hashtags! So it’s up to you which road you take.
Stop using bots immediately!
If you have been using any automation software, then stop!
Unauthorise any apps.
Go onto the desktop version of Instagram and in ‘edit profile’ go to the ‘authorized applications’ tab and remove any apps.
Take a break.
Taking 2-3 days off from posting, commenting or liking on Instagram has caused some users shadowbans to be lifted. If you’re thinking of taking a social media break, now is the time!
Switch to personal/business account.
Whichever one you have, switch to the other.
If you have a personal account and are using it to promote something, Instagram may mark you as spam for using a personal account for promotion.
If you have a business account, it’s though these are often more targeted and marked as spam as business accounts are more likely to pay for advertising so are monitored more closely than a personal account so switching might allow you to fall off the radar and get the ban lifted.
Be mindful that if you have a personal account, you can’t post directly from Instagram to your Facebook page.
Report it to Instagram.
Report the problem to Instagram and let them know that your account isn’t showing in hashtag search!
