I have a client in the fashion space who has been working with me (mainly F/UF automation) - out of nowhere, last week, the amount of likes their posts are getting has dropped considerably (100s to 1k likes to less than a 100)
I’ve switched from F/UF to Likes on their own followers but could use some other ideas to boost engagement.
Any thoughts?
Tell them that it’s spring break and that reach/engagement is down for everyone right now, and always is this time of year. Although it does sound like something else could be going on if it’s that drastic.
Have you been PV’d or had the account disabled lately, or possibly using banned/reduced hashtags?
If it doesn’t pick back up in a week or two, then maybe they can start to panic 
Haha thanks for the tip.
I find it hard to believe spring break/the time of year leads to a drop in engagement but who knows…
Wish there was some setting switch I could make in this case.
Ian brought up some good points. A few other factors to consider:
If your client has a business account I’d ask them to take a look at their insights as well and see if that has changed drastically this past week as well.
For the most recent post, or a few of them that did really poorly, click through all hashtags and scroll down on the page.
If any of them are cut off after a few with a message that looks like this, you’re reducing exposure almost automatically, which could lead to what you’re running into.
happend to me a month ago. limited exposure for 2 full weeks… it was no fun.
Yeah, same. Actually I’m dealing with it right now for a totally different reason. One of the 2 accounts running on my home IP got disabled, currently waiting for it to be reactivated, but they must flag the IP during that time period, along with device ID’s and any associated accounts.
Posted a photo with the other account on it and was so ghosted it received 2 likes in 10 minutes and almost nothing more. Usually I’m at around 30-50 likes by 10 minutes. So essentially completely hidden from the feed.
Have to wait until it’s reactivated to test again, but posted two times on a totally different account with the same results. Sometimes it’s truly insane that they do these things.
I know your pain man.
I lost over 5k followers in the 2 weeks and it took me another 2 to compensate for my loses…
Yes, I agree with what the guys above said, spring break always brings my account’s engagement rate down a bit. It’s normal, but if it keeps being like that for a long time, then you should worry about solutions.
Crazy how much spring break can affect engagment. I haven’t seen this (yet) on my accounts but i guess it depends on niches.
A female fashion niche will see a drop for sure as people are out on the piss!
Hey, are you sure your client account did not have a PV? Many users experience this in the past 3 weeks. After a PV accounts are usually shadowbanned for 2 weeks.
Easy to check, look at recent hashtags after the post, if it doesn’t show - it’s shadowban
I’m sure they don’t because I have them on Jarvee with no issues.
They rarely use hashtags in their posts to begin with, so I dont think a shadow ban is the issue, more that their reach has been crushed (IMO)
Also working in the fashion space. Last week was a very slow week. If you have a bit of a search on the forum you will see that it’s a seasonal trend.
Is shadowbanning a confirmed true phenomenon?
I’ve always thought it was a rumor because I’ve never been able to find proof when researching it. And Instagram has made statements about it, saying they do not do this.
How would we go about removing ghosts? I can’t seem to find any current or recent guide on doing so?
We all seem to believe that shadowbanning exists because we have all experienced it. Instagram can deny its existence all they want, we know that they lie through their teeth. I trust their statements like that about as far as I can throw a hippo… [spoiler; not very far].
There’s no “conclusive” evidence of it existing, but by doing some of the tests recommended on this forum and following some of the steps to rectifying it, you’re able to turn the situation around most times.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, its fricken duck… even if instagram says its not. 
Yeah it is for sure. IG can mess with your reach both in hashtags and organic, no matter how much they enjoy denying it.
The guides in level 2 or 3 still work exactly the same.
