Top Instagram survival tips by Me!!
I have only ever used Instagram as a work based sharing tool for my art or for the creative community side. My tips are going to be useless to you if you are sharing photos of your lunch, or if you’re after a shit load of likes, follows and lovely comments just because you want them, or after being sent a free vacuum cleaner.
Well some tips might help you with this but this definitely isn’t the aim of this Blog.
The title to this blog sounds ridiculously dramatic, it’s social media for goodness sake, not a life or death situation. However, looking after our mental health is incredibly important and when we choose to use Instagram as a work based tool, which means we are on the platform regularly then it is really important to use it as a tool as it’s intended, and not hit said hammer/tool on our own head?
I will share some “tips” about what I have found helps get a better reach on Instagram, but these are not fail safe, foolproof, or guaranteed, I don’t believe there is any way to guarantee results, and that’s the first thing you need to realise. It’s a platform that is ever evolving, you will not beat it, keep up with it, or understand it, so make it your first job to realise this, so don’t look for the results to validate what you are doing.
A few things that seem to “work” for me, if working means reaching people who enjoy and interact with my posts and which might somewhere along the line result in a sale, commission, new connection or friend. I will talk about reach, please be aware that I do not mean this in reaching as a form of popularity, or validation or likes etc. In theory the more accounts my work reaches the more likely I am to find someone who enjoys my work and ultimately I need to sell my work to keep doing what I do.
The most important thing is to reach a loyal group of people, not just a huge group of people… and to look after your mental health whilst doing so, so first of all…
Tips for you…
Don’t always share your work the same day that you create it- Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I feel quite vulnerable about my work when I have just finished it, so then sharing it makes me feel even more sensitive. If you don’t feel ready to share it then don’t
Turn off your notifications - I have done this for everything apart from for messages, as those are the only things that really I might need to go back to more quickly
Don’t assume follower count means a good reach. I know many artists that have a “lower” follower count but they have a really loyal audience so the level of interaction is higher than many accounts with a higher following- don’t compare yourself in general to other numbers (It’s hard, but just try)
Post in a way that makes you happy, regardless of result.
Don’t let the outcome of a post influence how you feel about the work you have shared. If you love it, love it, let that be your Armour. My favourite paintings haven’t sold and rarely do “well” on Instagram, I still love them just as much
Be you, yes take tips from others but you must be your authentic self, not for Insta, for your own self preservation.
And a Reminder…. don’t try and predict the outcome- no 2 days are the same, it’s the same with Instagram
Tips for Instagram posting that I find help…
Post as regularly as you can manage- I post once a day, no more than this, and if I miss a day then so be it. You don’t owe it to anyone to post everyday. I don’t have any Instagram results figures to back this up- it’s just basic probability- the more seeds you plant the more likely you’ll end up with ones that grows.
Conflicting tip coming up…. post at a time when most of your followers are online…. but be careful!! Although I do think this helps your post potentially reach more people, maybe, don’t get caught into a trap like I did- I used to stick to an evening time rigidly. This created a mindset that if I didn’t post then, that it was pointless, a missed opportunity, which of course it wasn’t. Instagram is a worldwide platform, UK lunchtime is morning somewhere in the world, and night time elsewhere, so I say post whenever you like. I sometimes post at lunchtime, sometimes before the school run, quite frankly I post when it suits my day and when I have the time to respond and chat off of the back of comments I receive.
Reels for scale- I blooming hate creating reels! They just feel like extra admin to me. Luckily I take lots of photos of my work as I paint so I normally throw a few of these together to make a reel, as let’s face it we all seek some entertainment from our scrolling and reels give us that.
However, I am in no way shape of form suggesting you create something that is entertainment based, gimmick based or otherwise, (unless you really enjoy doing it) I think for the most part *that is just seeking something else from your share, which firstly I don’t believe will get you to reach the people you would like to reach as it essentially is nothing to do with what you actually do, and secondly is a slippery slope as you with have expectations that adhering to this entertainment format will please the Insta beast, then when it doesn’t you’ll be in even more of a kerfuffle as you didn’t actually want to do it in the first place!
*there is a caveat to this that I’ll share towards the end of the blog
I did say however that a reel can be good and there is an easy way to create one. If you follow my account on Instagram you might have seen a reel of me walking back and forth just showing my art. Now I know that majority of people hate being in front of a camera, me included, but if you are holding your artwork then I promise more people will be interested in looking at that than you, so for me that’s a relief. Having said this people do like to see who makes the stuff we share, and there is nothing wrong with this, in this crazy digital world it’s nice for it to feel a little more human. Once again, referring to the digital side, we mostly view things on tiny screens, I know I mostly browse on my phone, so we have lost all concept of scale. So if you hold your creations, then straight away people can recognise the scale of it, and when buying art this is of course important.
Share work you have shared before, I can guarantee there will be so many people that didn’t see it the first time around… don’t think it has to be new new new all of the time. Also think about how many times we have to see something before we either buy or invest more time in it.
If your current reach seems a bit low but you know of a previous post that seemed to get the interaction you were looking for, then share this image again. I often do this and it sparks interest back into your account from followers that might not have seen your work for a while. I have actually been doing this really recently- my follower count has grown and reach, but no additional sales at the moment- just remember though results aren’t instant.
Share other accounts on your stories, not only does it feel nice to share other accounts but also people may share your work in return. I get the most interaction when a post of mine has been shared….. and it genuinely does feel nice to share something back or at the very least thank the person. I do most of my shares through the “Small Voice” account, but need to get sharing again on my Art page.
Don’t share too many stories all at once- I find that I get more people viewing them if I post maybe 5 or so stories a day. Stories are viewed by your current followers so this is about making yourself visible to people who have chosen to follow your account, not about increasing your followers.
Reels again….
I started writing this blog pre Adam Monstera, Instagram head of person - (I know that isn’t his name but that’s how I say it in my head) - announcing that apparently still photos are going to be given more airspace again. Well I would like to hope it’s true, but again, there is no point jumping on any band wagon, hoping that will be the answer, as I’ve mentioned before don’t try and predict anything even if Adam Monstera says it. I am sure reels are here to stay, they keep people on the platform longer, I even had a message the other day about earning badges for my reels like I was joining the scouts or something. I will continue to post still photos as that is what I prefer to do and I’ll still do the odd reel.
I think most people are comfortable will sharing still photos, but I wanted to share a few Artists that use reels in various ways-
Lucy Pass @lucypassartist - Lucy shared the most beautiful reel the other day, and after chatting she was disappointed that after all of her efforts, as it took her a while to do, good old Instagram didn’t fire it out to as many people as one might hope considering Lucy’s loyal following. I know I mentioned previously that we can’t predict outcomes, neither do I recommend investing hundreds of hours of time that will not help support your business. The fact is though, that Lucy enjoyed making the reel, that lady has impeccable and elegant style in my opinion and her reel was created in the same vein- so why shouldn’t she create that sort of content? it represented what she does well, and she gained enjoyment from it, we shouldn’t allow the result “view wise” to influence our enjoyment.
Big Al @big.al.art - *here returns the caveat I mentioned earlier. Al is a wonderful artist with a great sense of fun. He makes reels that might fall under the “entertainment” type category- the ones I warned you about earlier- However there are of course exceptions to every rule. I believe that the reels that Al creates are in Sync with his work, he was even wrestling a crocodile in one the other day. Al often paints famous faces, they are characterful pieces of work, and yes it’s funny seeing Al dance and wrestle, but I still remember him and the painting he has shared- it is not a quick dopamine fix, it works for his art.
Amanda Mulquinney @amandamulquineyart and Andrew Cadima @andrewcadima both of these incredible artists share quite a few high speed process reels. They are comfortable with being filmed as they work (I know not everyone will be)- this again works for them, the speed they work at, and their audience.
Jo Bedell @jojobedell - Jo hasn’t shared lots of reels but if you want to see the impact a reel can have when visualising scale then please check her stills and then reels. I am lucky to have a print of Jo’s work but completely underestimated the scale she works at for some of her originals- oh my goodness it made me love her work even more. This was genuinely the first time I fully understood the impact of sharing your work as a reel with a human or objects for scale.
There are definitely lots more examples I could give but I think this covers a few reasons or ways of trying reels and surviving them, each working with and for the Artist and not trying to appease Instagram.
Finally there are 2 other people/businesses I would like to highlight. I get daily messages about increasing my reach or follower count on Instagram, false promises mostly, however if you are looking for genuinely useful tips for social media, that aren’t full of false promises, but full of encouragement and new ways to make it work for you then I would definitely check out Lou @spark_social
We also must realise that although social media can be a great tool for us, there are potentially better ways we can use our time to help further our businesses - Aime from @studio.cotton would absolutely say there are better ways, but I understand the pull of the interaction on social media makes it sometimes hard to resist.
Aime runs a website design company- but offers many other services and advice at a small cost and even shares tips for free on Instagram! I always check her posts and save her ideas, there are so many things I would love to implement. So if you find the whole social media thing just too much, there are many other ways to help promote what you do.
Thank you for reading…. just as a side note, all of the people/businesses I guess I’ve endorsed by virtue of the fact that I have mentioned them, is because I have chosen to do so because I believe they are authentic in what they do/offer.
With Love and thanks
Flo
X
If you would like to support me so I can keep doing something I love, please feel free to tap “Buy me a chocolate bar” to find out how- Thank you x