Social media platforms have become the best way businesses can reach their audience. Whether a company wants to attract new leads, raise its brand awareness, or interact with its audience – social media is the place to start. No successful digital marketing strategy is complete without social media marketing. But that doesn’t mean that marketers don’t face any challenges on these platforms.
Marketers need to overcome account limitations, IP bans, issues with automation, and geo-restrictions. While these may sound like many hurdles to overcome, one simple tool can help you navigate these challenges. Keep reading to find out how proxies can help you bypass geo-restrictions and enable Instagram marketing automation.
What is Geo-Restricted Content?
One of the most significant issues facing social media marketers is geo-restrictions. Geo-restrictions are geographical limitations that keep certain types of content available in only certain countries. These limitations make it impossible for someone to access the content if they aren’t in a specific location.
Geo-restrictions can be applied to local websites, social media, and streaming services. The biggest example of geo-restrictions is having certain shows available on Netflix in the US but having different ones in the UK. Have you ever wanted to watch a YouTube video only to get an error message that the video isn’t available in your location? This is another form of geo-restriction.
Why is Content Restricted?
In many cases, geo-restrictions aren’t as apparent as with streaming services. In most cases, you won’t even be aware that what you see online is restricted to your location. However, it does become apparent when you’re looking for specific information or if you want to enter a new market.
Content can be restricted for a number of reasons. The most popular reason is because of licensing and trademark issues. This applies to most streaming services and explains why you’ll see different shows or movies in different locations.
Other uses of geo-blocking include location-based authentication, fraud prevention, and blocking malicious or harmful content. In some cases, governments will also restrict their content so that it’s only seen by users within the country.
Using Proxies to Bypass Restrictions?
Proxies enable marketers to run multiple accounts on social media without getting a ban, but they also make automation possible. By using a high-quality proxy, businesses can set up Instagram marketing automation to streamline their strategies without being blocked as bots or spam.
Proxies also make it possible for marketers to bypass any blocks due to geo-restrictions. This means that if your business is looking to branch out into new markets, you’ll be able to do so efficiently with a good proxy.
Pros
Let’s take a look at some more benefits of using proxies for accessing restricted content on social media.
Accessing Geo-Restricted Content
As we’ve mentioned, proxies are great for accessing restricted content. A proxy gives the user a new IP address. Since IPs are directly linked to your location, getting a new IP in the location where you want to access content will unblock all of that content.
Avoiding IP Bans
Using high-quality proxies, such as mobile or residential ones, ’ll lower the chances of getting an IP ban. Platforms deal out IP bans when you manage too many accounts from the same IP or when they suspect your IP to be a bot.
Makes Automation Possible
Social media platforms ban accounts that use automation tools because these techniques can be spammy. However, for marketers who want to use automation tools, a proxy is the best way to avoid your tools being picked up and blocked. Instagram marketing automation becomes possible when you use a proxy.
Ensured Privacy and Security
Using a proxy also has the benefit of protecting your online privacy and boosting your security. A proxy masks your IP address, protecting any of your personal information associated with it. It also makes it difficult to track you using your IP address, which protects you from malicious tracking activities.
Reduces Bandwidth and Speeds Up the Connection
Proxies run through large servers and are, therefore, able to stabilize your internet connection. Also, the websites you visit are stored in the server’s cache, making it faster for the server to call up the data once you access the site again. This all contributes to a faster and more stable connection.
Cons
While no tool is perfect, there are some cons to be aware of when using proxies to bypass geo-restrictions. Let’s take a look at some of those cons now.
Requires Initial Investment
Getting a good-quality proxy can require an initial investment. While cheap, and even free, proxies are available, we don’t recommend using them. With a proxy, you definitely get what you pay for. Cheap proxies will be more likely to get banned. As such, make sure you consider high-quality mobile and residential proxies if you want to use them to improve your social media marketing efforts.
Can be Technical to Use
While proxies are being simplified all the time to make them easier to use, they can still be quite technical for some people. If you’re new to using proxies, make sure you choose a provider that offers support so that you have someone available to help you if you hit a roadblock.
Final Thoughts
Using proxies to bypass content restrictions isn’t only a viable option, but it’s one of the best. Not only will you be able to access content in new markets, but you’ll also be able to set up Instagram marketing automation, manage multiple accounts, avoid IP bans, and more. When it comes to choosing the best proxies for social media, look at high-quality mobile and residential proxies, as they work best on sophisticated platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
