Shadowban: What is it and how to avoid it?

Shadowban is a punishment that can affect your social media strategy. Visit our blog and learn what to do to resolve and overcome this problem!

If you're present on social media , you've probably heard of the controversial shadowban . Just hearing this name can make many social media and digital marketing professionals lose sleep. In fact, you can quickly determine if your account is affected by taking the Twitter Shadowban Test. After all, a lot of their time and effort is spent thinking about the most visual network on the internet.

Despite this, we can already tell you that there is nothing to fear: it is possible to avoid being shadowbanned and continue with your social media planning as normal – with a little caution and attention to the platform's policies, of course.

What is Shadowban and why does it happen?

Shadowban is a “discreet” impediment that Instagram imposes on users who try to improve their numbers using inappropriate techniques . Literally translated, it means “ghost ban”, done implicitly by the platform’s artificial intelligence .

Among the main causes of shadowban , we can mention the purchase of followers, the use of bots (robots that feed fake accounts) and irrelevant hashtags , as well as some automation mechanisms to increase your fan base.

Signs that your account has been shadowbanned

Have you noticed that you have been losing followers for no reason and that engagement on your posts has been decreasing? Be alert, as this is the main characteristic of shadowban . With this measure, your profile has a reduced reach and it is practically impossible to gain new audiences . This is because almost no one finds posts from the “banned” user in their feed anymore, except for their own followers.

But before you go thinking that your profile has been shadowbanned by Instagram, do a simple test first :

1. Publish a post on the profile you suspect has been shadowbanned ;
2. In the post, include one of the hashtags that you frequently use (choose one that is not so popular among users, as it may be difficult to assess whether the post was hidden by shadowban or by competition from the tag );
3. Ask five profiles that don't follow you to search for the hashtag you used in the post;
4. See if you're showing up for people in that hashtag feed .

If your post still doesn't appear, there's a good chance you've been shadowbanned by Instagram. However, this isn't the only way to detect a shadowban on your profile. Check out other common signs :

• Sudden decrease in account reach;
• Sudden decrease in follower engagement;
• Significant loss of followers for no apparent reason.

I was shadowbanned. What now?

First, there is no reason to despair. As we said at the beginning of this post, the situation is reversible. To get around the problem, you can:

1. Take a break from social media

Think of it as a detox. Spend 24 to 48 hours without taking any action on your profile (and when we say “no action,” we mean none, including logging in). This can cause Instagram to stop tracking your account for a while and your metrics will naturally return to normal.

2. Cancel your account access

Disconnect all access to your Instagram profile on third-party devices. This will reduce account activity and minimize the chances of someone creating an inappropriate post and further increasing the period of punishment.

3. Post less frequently

If you’ve been posting a lot of content in a single day, Instagram may label you as a spammer . So try to keep your number of posts to a reasonable level, like a personal account would. A good average is between one and two posts per day. For marketers looking to enhance their content strategy, Twitter video tools can be incredibly useful, helping to create and optimize engaging video content that boosts audience interaction and brand visibility.

4. Change your profile status from business to personal

And speaking of getting inspired by a personal profile: one of the alternatives to overturning the shadowban is to stop being a business account, at least temporarily. This is because Instagram's algorithm is much more committed to tracking business profiles than personal accounts, which do not monetize with the platform. This can be a good option for the "monitors" to stop paying attention to you for a while , helping to normalize your situation.

5. None of this worked? Contact Instagram!

This isn't the best option on the list, but if all other alternatives have been exhausted, you should contact the people responsible for the platform. Yes, this tactic promises to work. The only problem is the time you'll have to wait for Instagram support.

Keep an eye on these steps and avoid shadowban once and for all

a) Interact in moderation

You know when you find an interesting hashtag for your business and you realize that liking and commenting on photos related to it is a good idea? Be careful, because even if it is manual work, it can be interpreted as automation by Instagram. Take it slow and try to take a break between likes and comments.

b) Unfollow with caution

You know the old trick of following everyone to gain followers and then unfollowing them? Well, this behavior can now be penalized with a shadowban. Always remember to be careful not to be mistaken for a spammer or automation software.

c) Choose hashtags wisely for your posts

Always try to vary the hashtags you use . This way, your profile won't run the risk of being seen as just another spammer. Also, be aware of hashtags that have already been banned by Instagram itself . If you use them, your posts will be affected.

To find out if a hashtag is banned, simply search for it. If you see a message that recent posts tagged with that tag have been hidden, forget about it and try another one.

d) Stop using automations

Instagram makes this clear in its terms of use: you can't use automations that help your account gain followers , such as liking multiple posts per minute or following dozens of people at once.

The platform can detect this type of behavior because it is not human and because these actions lack context (as in the case of profiles that comment on publications in another language).

This way, Instagram can quickly ban your posts and even block your actions within the account, preventing you from liking posts, following profiles and even publishing again for some time.

Need to improve your profile's reach? Find out what to do

Use new hashtags

Using new and relevant hashtags is the number one way to quickly and organically increase your reach on Instagram. By diversifying the hashtags that are still “hot” for your target audience, you’ll keep your posts on trend.

Post at different peak times

There’s no doubt that posting during peak times, when your followers are most likely to engage with your posts, helps increase your reach. Plus, you don’t have to pick the “ideal peak time” – you can map out and test the most strategic time slots.

Make stories frequently

Instagram Stories is a great way to generate interaction with your audience. So, make good use of this feature. What's more, Stories allow for a multitude of interactions between profiles and followers, boosting engagement even further.