Lets start from the beginning. I started up my supplement business 2 years ago. Im in a specific niche, and my product is effective, so I saw success from the get go. I recouped my startup costs after a month a few days.
What brought attention to my product was creative marketing by way of Instagram and adult streaming sites. I had the idea to get adult film stars to endorse my product, as they would be the best influence for this type of niche. Keep in mind, that out of all my competitors, I was the only one using real people for advertising.
I started a campaign, using the word "Approved", which was a HUGE hit on Instagram. I basically used free content, blended it with music, and uploaded. The page gained a generic 4,000 followers in less than a year, and a majority of purchase referrals came from this page. I'd get tons of DMs of people telling me that they realized what I was doing with my advertising, and that it was a fresh idea.
But here's when things took a turn......
On IG I would use hashtags of rival/competitor products to bring attention to my page. Apparently, this got the attention of one of them. After a few months, I checked their page out, and they were featuring endorsements from adult film stars.
I know it wasn't a coincidence, but I couldn't get mad. They were confirming that my mind was in the right place.
But the the next thing you know, my IG posts start getting shadowbanned. Before, I would get post views in the THOUSANDS almost every time I made a post. But now I was only getting 100-200.
At that point I wasn't sure if I was being targeted.
But I had another page, that was nothing but straightforward advertising. Customer quotes, bottle images, product related cartoons. Out of nowhere, it gets deleted by Instagram. There was NOTHING on that page that broke any type of rules, and there was no explanation of how I violated any terms.
THEN I notice that the famous "approved" hashtag gets shadowbanned on IG. If you click it, none of the 400+ posts that I made are viewable. Its basically impossible for new people to find that page.
I know for a fact that the rival company made moves against me. Their website all but confirms it, as they are using the whole "approved" idea.
I have to be honest and say that they struck a blow.
Ive actually managed to keep growing despite this setback, but I can only imagine how well things would be if I could get this Instagram lane back.
The question now is, how do I do it? How do I fight back?
Its basically impossible to contact IG. I don't know if I can recreate the magic run I had on IG with the "approved" idea. Is there any way to hit back at my rivals? Should I even try?
What brought attention to my product was creative marketing by way of Instagram and adult streaming sites. I had the idea to get adult film stars to endorse my product, as they would be the best influence for this type of niche. Keep in mind, that out of all my competitors, I was the only one using real people for advertising.
I started a campaign, using the word "Approved", which was a HUGE hit on Instagram. I basically used free content, blended it with music, and uploaded. The page gained a generic 4,000 followers in less than a year, and a majority of purchase referrals came from this page. I'd get tons of DMs of people telling me that they realized what I was doing with my advertising, and that it was a fresh idea.
But here's when things took a turn......
On IG I would use hashtags of rival/competitor products to bring attention to my page. Apparently, this got the attention of one of them. After a few months, I checked their page out, and they were featuring endorsements from adult film stars.
I know it wasn't a coincidence, but I couldn't get mad. They were confirming that my mind was in the right place.
But the the next thing you know, my IG posts start getting shadowbanned. Before, I would get post views in the THOUSANDS almost every time I made a post. But now I was only getting 100-200.
At that point I wasn't sure if I was being targeted.
But I had another page, that was nothing but straightforward advertising. Customer quotes, bottle images, product related cartoons. Out of nowhere, it gets deleted by Instagram. There was NOTHING on that page that broke any type of rules, and there was no explanation of how I violated any terms.
THEN I notice that the famous "approved" hashtag gets shadowbanned on IG. If you click it, none of the 400+ posts that I made are viewable. Its basically impossible for new people to find that page.
I know for a fact that the rival company made moves against me. Their website all but confirms it, as they are using the whole "approved" idea.
I have to be honest and say that they struck a blow.
Ive actually managed to keep growing despite this setback, but I can only imagine how well things would be if I could get this Instagram lane back.
The question now is, how do I do it? How do I fight back?
Its basically impossible to contact IG. I don't know if I can recreate the magic run I had on IG with the "approved" idea. Is there any way to hit back at my rivals? Should I even try?
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