Let's take a closer look at the business on Instagram. Let's consider its main problems: from business registration to fraud and account blocking, as well as analyze 5 mistakes of newcomers in the Instagram business.

Today, creating a profile on a social network and building a business on this is a standard scheme. Instagram has become a powerful trading platform where various goods and services are successfully sold. And here the main thing is to choose the right niche. You can read about a selection of business ideas on Instagram here .  

And in this article we will talk about the pitfalls and peculiarities of the business on Instagram. Forewarned is forearmed!

Do I need to register a business

Yes. But there are many assumptions and options here. Considering that the path to sales on Instagram is quite long (creating content, attracting an audience, advertising a product / service), then it 's better not to rush to get a business permit. But in this case, it is more correct to talk about the "trial stage" during which you will set up the business. And when sales start, register a business and be calm. 

Also, today you need to keep in mind the self-employment format, which is becoming available in an increasing number of regions of the Philippines due to the Pandemic. For a business on Instagram, it is suitable in cases where you do not resell goods and do not hire employees, but, for example, sell handmade goods that you make yourself. You can read more about the handmade topic on Instagram here.

About business taxation on Instagram

You also have to pay taxes. Recently, the business on Instagram has attracted a lot of attention from the regulatory authorities. The social network has turned into a powerful trading platform in which large sums of money circulate. 

The Philippines have the heaviest internet users in the world. Just like regular business transactions, income from sales on Instagram according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. 

Fraud on Instagram 

When running your business on Instagram, you can face fraud in various forms. Unscrupulous clients, partners and competitors are deceiving. Both beginners and seasoned entrepreneurs can fall into the trap.

Scam clients

Fraud in this category is usually associated with a payment problem. The classic scheme: a person who wants to place a large order writes to you. But suddenly one problem arises - he has a card from another bank, and for the transfer he needs your card number, expiration date and CVS number on the back. The scheme may change, but the essence is the same: the client has a problem with payment and he offers you to perform some actions with his card. Obviously, you don't need to do this.

Some customers try to dictate their terms of sale and insist on postpay. It's not a fact that these are scammers, but the risk is very high. It is recommended to work on a 100% prepayment, providing buyers with all guarantees of your reliability. Postpay may apply if you are shipping by cash on delivery. But if you provide services, then it is better to forget about postpay. There is a risk that after receiving the service, the client will decide to save money and simply refuse to pay. He may say that he is dissatisfied with the quality of the service or simply block your account and disappear into the fog. Usually, 100% prepayment is used for services. In some cases, advance payments. 

Another problem is the fake funds transfer screenshot. There are special sites that allow you to forge a payment check. Therefore, do not ship items until you are sure that the order has been paid for.

Scam partners

There are frequent cases of deception in matters of promotion. The first case is when a business owner buys advertising from a blogger, but he does not fulfill the agreement or does the job poorly, which entails a drain on the advertising budget.

The second case is when the organizers of the Giveaway offer services to the owner of a business account. Participation in such events can cost from a couple to several hundred thousand rubles. For this money, they promise an influx of subscribers and many, many orders. Such conditions still attract many. Then the development of events may be different, but the result is the same - there are no promised results, the money was wasted, and the account statistics are spoiled. Unscrupulous organizers can disappear by collecting a sum of money and not completing the work; or they can launch fake subscriptions on your account, which will negatively affect the statistics. In practice, it happened that Instagram blocked an account after giving a Giveaway.

Unfair competitors

The main problem is copyright infringement. When a brand on Instagram becomes popular, they immediately start to fake it. They copy not only the product itself, but also the account - style, features, design, etc. And the peculiarity of business on Instagram is just that plagiarism occurs much faster than offline.

There is no copyright protection in this case. Moreover, your business reputation may suffer. Among such plagiarists, there are also scammers who scam their clients. And dissatisfied customers form a negative opinion of your brand, although you have nothing to do with it. 

It is quite difficult to protect your business from such situations. You must always be ready to quickly solve such problems.

For which they can block an account on Instagram

Accounts on the Philippine Internet are practically not protected. They can be easily hacked or blocked. For a business that is completely built on an Instagram account, this is a serious problem. 

Let's consider the main reasons why your account may be blocked:

  • Account activity has increased dramatically: a rapid increase in subscriptions, likes or comments. The system recognizes this as the use of black promotion methods - mass following or mass liking. Giveaway often leads to such consequences.
  • Infringement of copyright in photos or texts. Therefore, generate unique content, do not download pictures from the Internet and, moreover, do not steal other people's texts. 
  • Publishing a large number of photos per minute. Use the carousel to place several photos.
  • Spam from your account
  • Numerous complaints about your content. You can make high-quality content and run your business honestly, then anger your competitor - and he decides to incite bots and spammers on your account. As a result of such attacks, your account will be blocked.
  • Posts that violate the rules of Instagram. We will not dwell on this in more detail. You can find them on the social network itself. 
  • Failure of "Instagram". This does not happen often, but there are still known cases when Instagram has blocked accounts for no apparent reason. So even compliance with all the rules is not a guarantee that your account will not be blocked.

And if this did happen, then it is not always possible to leave the bloc. Technical support on Facebook, which owns Instagram, does not always promptly resolve issues. So it’s better to be careful and not lead to this.

The risk also lies in the fact that Instagram is a dynamic social network that is constantly changing, including the rules of the community. You may encounter a situation when your account fully met the requirements, and then something changed - and your account was blacklisted.

For example, for some time on Instagram it was possible to freely sell services and products for weight loss. After all, along with conscientious specialists, there were many scammers and spammers. Instagram has banned advertising for weight loss products. In any case, this is a limitation for business development. And those who came to Instagram a long time ago, developed their business and invested in it, have now suffered because of the new rules.


5 mistakes aspiring entrepreneurs make on Instagram

Mistake 1. Overwhelmed / inactive subscribers

On Instagram, the main thing is not the number of subscribers, but their interest in your product. You can have 10 thousand subscribers, of which only 10 people are your potential buyers. Or maybe 1 thousand subscribers, where everyone will be interested in your product / service. 

Therefore, increasing the number of subscribers using bots is no longer relevant and, moreover, dangerous. First, bots reduce the engagement rate in your account. Secondly, Instagram started blocking accounts with bots. The conclusion is obvious. 

Mistake 2. Inattention to design

Instagram is a showcase where you showcase your product. And your main task is to present it beautifully. Bad texts and photos will not be able to sell even the highest quality product. But beautiful and correct content can attract a customer more than the product itself. 

Mistake 3. Long way to buy

Some sellers on Instagram arrange a real quest for their customers. Direct price, product description on the site, to get the details, write to Whatsapp. Such complex schemes still exist, although it has long been clear that they only scare customers away. 

It should be remembered: the less the client needs to make "gestures" to buy, the better the sales go. Therefore, you need to think over the scheme of working with the client in advance, simplifying the ordering process as much as possible. 

Mistake 4. Ineffective collaboration with bloggers

One of the most common ways to promote on Instagram is advertising with opinion leaders. Bloggers cooperate in terms of payment for advertising posts, as well as on a barter basis (it all depends on the blogger himself and your product). And here it is very important to mention: before you offer cooperation to a blogger, check out his account. At the very least, make sure that your product / service fits into the concept of the blogger himself, and the offer may be relevant to him. Some, for example, do not cooperate on a barter basis. And there have been cases when a vegetarian blogger was offered to advertise a meat restaurant. Such "mistakes" are small things that can negatively affect the reputation of your business. But in this case, the error does not cause serious financial losses. 

But the wrong choice of a blogger for advertising can lead to a drain on the advertising budget. The reasons may be different - mismatch with the target audience, bad advertising, low activity in the account itself - that is, you buy advertising, hoping to reach an audience of 10 thousand people, but in fact, 50-60 real subscribers see ads, and everything else - inactive or cheating. To avoid this problem, first check your account statistics on third-party sites. For example, there is the Livedune service. 

Mistake 5. Inconsistent progress

So, you have beautifully designed your profile, made high-quality content, bought ads from a blogger and received your first orders. What's next? 

And then - the same thing. You need to be constantly active on Instagram. It will not be possible to leave on past merits. Include a target, arrange collaborations with opinion leaders, generate interesting content, engage your audience, and implement new promotion schemes. Then your business on Instagram will be able to develop.

Making money on Instagram is quite real. But when you are going to open your business on this social network, you need to follow all the rules and take into account the nuances. An entrepreneur may face specific risks - some can be avoided, others not manageable.

Instagram is a living, growing network. Something is constantly changing here: the settings of the system itself, the rating of posts, new promotion technologies. Everything needs to be monitored and adjusted. Business on Instagram is a constant struggle with competitors and the system itself.