Written by Follow us on Instagram (@mvsltd): https://www.instagram.com/mvsltd/
On or about December 1st 2019 we made the decision here at the Vault (Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.) to start up a company Instagram account. Why now? Well, for some time we weren’t really sure how to represent ourselves on Instagram. We had already tackled this puzzle for many clients, sure, but as a full service digital marketing agency ourselves the running joke was, “Okay. Sure. What are we gonna post? Some screen shots of the code we just wrote? Or … Ooh! I know! Project workflow diagrams!” (LOL!) As far as I’m concerned they were all equally hilarious. So much so that I ran with them. For a really long time.
But I always had a thought. As a full service graphic design studio embedded within a digital marketing agency we did have one advantage. The output of all that graphic design. The only issue was, obviously, that we didn’t own any of it. I mean we created it, sure, but we did so while under contract, which legally meant that the final output, whatever it was, no longer “belonged” to us as a company. This was a basic tenet of our business model so I never gave it a second thought. Until a very dear client said to me one day, rather offhandedly, “I would love to show the world what you’ve done for us. Can you post it on Instagram and tag us? Thanks!” And just like that my mind was blown. That was all we needed all along. Permission and proper reference. I had simply never thought to ask.
And so, armed with these two new ideas I began reaching out to clients and posting to our new Instagram account that which we had been given permission to post. And all was going well. Our account was about 8 or 9 days old and we had posted maybe 10 or 15 project-related items. We went to login on the 10th day and were greeted with a very quick “YOUR ACCOUNT HAS BEEN DISABLED FOR VIOLATION OF OUR COMMUNITY GUIDELINES.”
And that was it. Precisely which guidelines? Meh. Who knows. The message disappeared before I could even read the rest of it. After a couple more login attempts, which each provided the same message, I noticed a tiny link at the bottom that read “Let us know if you think this was a mistake.” You think? I thought. Click. And a form appeared. I filled it out. Final form request: “Please provide proof of business identity in the form of your state issued business license, IRS-issued EIN tax filing certificate, articles of incorporation or state issued vendor’s sales tax license. Please provide all requested documentation in JPG format if possible.” Sure. No problem I thought. I mean who doesn’t have all that documentation just sitting at the ready in JPG format on their mobile device? I know I do. NOT. Ugh. But I was able to get it there and get it submitted.
Days go by. We still know nothing. We don’t even receive confirmation that they received our business documentation. So we start to worry that the account may never be reinstated. So? We start a new one. And we upload to it a single video. And we wait. At least now our clients have somewhere to land when they hit our Instagram link.
More days go by. We receive an email from Instagram requesting a copy of my personal photo ID, as well as a photo of myself, taken on the spot, showing me holding up a piece of paper with a code on it that they provided within the email. Sure, we thought. Why not. Done and done.
More days go by.
Finally this morning, about 20 days later, we receive an email from Instagram which reads, “Your account has been reactivated, and you should be able to access it now. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”
That was it. 20 days lost to “Sorry for the inconvenience.”
So. The moral of the story? Two-fold. The first? Getting your business on Instagram isn’t always as easy as they make it out to be, so be prepared. The second? I would like to direct you to our new official Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/mvsltd/ 🌐 (@mvsltd)! Check us out!
Follow us and we’ll follow you back!
Aaron Di Blasi, PMP
Project Management Professional
Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.
Office: (440) 442-9011 ☎
Toll Free: (855) 578-6660 ☎
Web: https://mvsltd.com 🌐
Facebook: https://facebook.com/mvsltd 🌐
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mvsltd 🌐
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mvsltd 🌐
YouTube: https://bit.ly/mvsltd-youtube 🌐
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/mvsltd 🌐