You post every week and the same few people like it. You're not crazy. First, a reframe. My take: for a local business, who your followers are matters more than how many. A thousand people in your town beat fifty thousand strangers who will never buy a haircut in Napa. If the account really is stuck, here are the usual causes, and what Instagram has said in public about how it picks what to show.
Instagram has said in public that there's no single algorithm. Feed, Reels and Explore each rank posts their own way. In its 2023 ranking explainer, Instagram says Feed guesses how likely you are to stop on a post for a few seconds, comment, like it or share it. For Reels it guesses whether you'll reshare it, watch it all the way through and like it. It also says it shows fewer watermarked reels and fewer reels already posted on Instagram. My take for a business account: reach comes from posts people finish and share, not from posting every day or stacking hashtags. Posts your own followers scroll past make it harder to reach anyone new.
My take: three things usually stall a business account. One: the posts are about you, not for anyone. Announcements, logos, “we're hiring,” reposted flyers. Nobody sends a flyer to a friend. Two: they look like everyone else's. The same quote graphics and holiday posts every competitor runs. Three: there's no reason a stranger would care. Posts aimed only at current customers mostly reach current customers. The fix is one question before every post: would a person in your town send this to someone? Before-and-afters, how the work gets done, prices explained honestly, the weird job of the week. Those get sent. Announcements get scrolled past.
Ask what growing is for. If the goal is customers, check whether Instagram is even where your customers decide. Ask your last ten customers how they found you. My take: for a lot of local services, people decide on Google, in the reviews and on your website, and the feed touches none of those. So post when there's real work to show, and put the saved hours into your Google profile, your reviews and your website, where people look right before they buy. Growth on the platform is a means; if it stops serving the actual goal, stop feeding it.
My take: it's usually the posts, not a penalty. When your own followers stop engaging, fewer strangers tend to see you too. Sometimes it's mechanical: Instagram's 2023 ranking explainer says it shows fewer watermarked reels and fewer reels already posted on Instagram. Look at your last ten posts and ask what each one gave a stranger.
My take: a little, at most. Instagram's ranking explainer centers on watching, liking and sharing. A few local tags cost nothing, but no tag saves a post nobody would send. The post itself is what matters.
When there's something real to show. My take: two to four honest posts a week beats daily filler, because posts your own followers skip seem to hurt your reach to strangers. Post what someone would send to a friend.
No. My take: bought followers are strangers or bots who won't engage, so your posts look weaker to the ranking system, and the number is fake anyway. A thousand real locals beat any bought number. They're the ones who can actually walk in.
Not sure why your Instagram isn't bringing in customers? Email alejandro@ojedaworks.com and I'll look at your account and tell you what I see, for free.