This is a subject that a lot of my followers have been talking about and asking about, so I will try and answer some of your questions. If you have noticed a dramatic drop in your reach or in people commenting, liking, or sharing your posts, you could be subject to this kind of ban.

What is a shadow ban?

A Shadow Ban is something that happens to your posts. It puts your posts into a sort of invisible mode, or a shadow that no one can see apart from you – the person who is banned!

But you won’t have been notified that you’ve been banned, so it’s a bit of a vicious circle. In most instances you’ll be able to still see your own content and will have no idea that no one else can see them.

Why do social media sites do this?

Although very frustrating and annoying for us every day social media users and small businesses, there is a valid reason why Shadow Banning is a thing.

It’s a way to let people who post spam content continue to post without their posts reaching anyone. As they’re not notified, they are unaware, so continue with their spam to no effect. If they were notified they would look for other ways to get around the ban, such as creating a new account and starting the process all over again.

While I understand this and it seems like a good solution to the spamming problem, that doesn’t help us small businesses who rely on social media to promote our products and services.

Shadow Bans can also happen because of a change to the newsfeed algorithm, but the algorithms and how they work are not generally available to the public, so you wouldn’t know if this was the case! I know – not really helpful.   

How to tell if you are the victim of a Shadow Ban

As I’ve already said, the first thing you might notice is that your engagement is at an all-time low.

• A sudden and dramatic drop from your normal engagement could be a clue, for example, if your posts normally get seen by hundreds or thousands of people, you get 200 comments and hundreds of likes, as well as loads of shares….and suddenly, that drops to much lower levels, you could be Shadow Banned.
• You might also find that you don’t appear in search results or suggestions on Instagram – and your posts no longer appear in the hashtag groups that you use regularly and normally appear in. If you think your posts are subject to a ban, you can check to see if you’re appearing under your normal hashtags.
• An obvious sign of a ban is that you are unable to like or reply to the comments on your post, or on other peoples’ posts.
• On Facebook, you might see a drop in your impression’s figures.  

Facebook and Instagram both say they don’t use Shadow Bans, but even if they don’t refer to it as that, we all know that it exists!

How can you avoid being Shadow Banned?

There are ways to avoid this as much as you possibly can, but you can never guarantee that it won’t happen as algorithms pick up all sorts of stuff that could them be deemed bannable! (if there is such a word!).

OK, let’s look at some ways to avoid it…

• If you share links from unreputable sources, fake news, sexually suggestive content, or whatever they deem to be inappropriate content, you could be banned.
• Avoid sharing any misleading information.
• Avoid using clickbait – where you post specifically to attract attention and to get an answer, users must click on a link. You see these all the time – I’ve clicked on this type of link. Let me give you an example – I’VE MADE £500,000 IN JUST 10 DAYS ON INSTAGRAM – CLICK HERE FOR MY FOOLPROOF SOLUTION! And you know that you’ll be taken to a video that goes on and on and never gets to the point – until the end when you’re asked to subscribe to a course which is only £XXXXX which will give you all the answers. Errrr – NO!
• The most important thing to remember is to adhere to social media terms and conditions or rules – some call them Terms of Service.
• Act like a real person and not like a bot. Don’t copy and paste the same content and links over and over again. I have seen some posts where the person posting says the same thing every day – or comments with the same comment every day – this is seen as spam, so could get you banned.
• If you’re not sure about content and whether it is appropriate, avoid sharing it. If you’re sharing sensitive information, flag it so people can choose whether to read your whole post or not.  
• Don’t pay for likes and follows. And don’t do follow for follow – this really influences your figures, as most of them will unfollow you within a few days.
• Don’t steal other peoples’ content – you can get ideas from other’s posts, but them make them your own.
• Don’t use banned hashtags – you can see a list of banned hashtags here – LINK
• Don’t overuse hashtags.
• Don’t follow too many accounts in one go and don’t like or comment on too many posts at once. Do a few, go away and come back and do more later.
• Be consistent with your posting.
• Don’t post about anything that is illegal or damning to another business or person.
• Treat other people with respect and be polite.

How can I fix or remove a Shadow Ban?

First, you’re not going to know for certain that you are the subject of a Shadow Ban, but if you suspect you are, there are a few things you can do.

• If you know a particular post gave you the ban, delete it.
• Take a break from that social media account for a couple of days and don’t post, like, or comment on anything. That can help reset the algorithm.
• Check all the hashtags on your recent posts to see if they are banned. Delete those hashtags on your posts.
• Check that the scheduling tools or other services or third-party apps you use are legitimate.
• If it keeps happening to you, you could temporarily deactivate your account for a few days – DON’T delete it – there is a feature to deactivate. However, personally I don’t think this is a good idea, as accounts have been deleted instead of deactivated, so I wouldn’t recommend this.
• Sometimes a simple log out and log back in again works. This actually worked for me when I wasn’t allowed to comment on posts.  
• If you think you are Shadow Banned on Instagram, concentrate on just posting reels for a few days. Apparently reels can help your account return to normal. The reason is that reels drive engagement to the Instagram platform, so they won’t want your account not reaching people.  
• If all else fails you can contact the Help Centre for Instagram or Facebook. Whether you get a prompt reply is another matter, but it’s worth a punt!

At the end of the day, it’s about being patient until your ‘prison sentence’ is over! A Shadow Ban typically lasts for around two weeks.

I am by no means an expert in the field of Shadow Bans and have used information in this article from research I’ve done online. I’ve learnt a few things myself from doing the research, so I hope that this helps explain things and gives some reasons and solutions.  

Please, as always, feel free to message me if you want to chat about your small business or need help with your marketing.