The Instagram Uglies

Hey hey babes! Welcome back to my blog. Today I wanted to talk about "the uglies of instagram". I wish that going into social media content creation I would have known what was lying ahead of me. This post isn't intended to put anyone down in the dumps about this industry, and I'm not trying to shy anyone away thinking that this is all you're going to run into. 

Instagram is an amazing platform that you can post photos, tell stories, connect with others, and grow your business. A year ago, I was just posting whatever I wanted with no sort of theme going on. I pretty much just used it for more personal reasons like your average Joe. Then, a few months into the new year I just decided to start having more of a theme...and let me tell you, I change(d) it so often because I am just an indecisive person like that. I really like trying out new styles of editing and I definitely don't think there is anything wrong with that. Soon after that, I really liked the idea of "growing my instagram" just for fun. I got into a couple engagement groups which is basically a DM thread of others posting when they've posted, and basically everyone will engage with their post and help them with the Instagram algorithm. I did that for a while, and it definitely did seem to help my engagement increase. 

I got my first brand collaboration around May I believe, and I was just shocked because I didn't think little ole me would ever be capable of doing stuff like that. Once I got the first one, I knew that I could definitely get more if I kept up with what I was doing. I increased my engagement with others, followed other people with similar editing styles, and interests, and took this a little more seriously. It was just a fun hobby because I've always loved taking photos, editing, and also writing. 

This is when things got kind of tough. After having a handful of trade brand work collaborations, I started comparing  myself. To everyone, to everything. "Why don't my photos look like that?" "I can't do stuff like that because I don't have this or that" "I'm held back because I don't live in a big city" etc. You get it. Things went from super fun to super not fun quick. My hobby, my pride and joy, went to shit real quick. I started to overanalyze everything, and I just really struggled. 

What we must first understand is that Instagram is the highlight reel. Instagram isn't completely real life. People obviously don't put the ugly, not so glamorous parts of their life on their social media all the time. Some do, but most content creators and influencers do not. This whole industry is full of the pretty feeds, and connections with others. It's not hard to get caught up on someone else's pretty feed wondering why the hell your life isn't like that. 

Another thing that I came to realize is that these photos that content creators post, sometimes aren't taken in a glamorous location. One of the things that bothered me was I would see others post photos with this beautiful background or maybe just a cool wall and I would think, "I just can't do that...I live in a small town" When doing further research (feed stalking lol) I found out that a lot of these locations are food buildings, sides of the rd, tire stores, a field etc. I was definitely not looking closer if that makes sense...I was sort of looking at everything as a whole but most the time we are the focal points and the background won't always be in focus anyway. 

"Why are they growing quicker than I am?" This is one that would drive me nuts. Seeing someone like you, with the same amount of followers, then the next week them having like 3k more than you. You might get a little mad. I did. Honestly, there are a few things that probably contribute to this. 

1.You might not be engaging enough

2.You have been shadow banned
3.Your content isn't as good, or maybe it is but...

Here's what you can do...
You simply might need to give more to receive more. I notice majorly when I don't engage as much, I don't receive as much. Instagram is changing all the time, and they are truly watching. They want you to organically engage and build connections. Another thing is maybe you've been shadow banned, and don't know it. Shadow banning can occur if you are using the same hashtags over and over again.  It can occur when you are posting the same comments on others posts...or you aren't posting more than 4 words. Like I said, Instagram wants to see you make real organic connections, so if you're posting "so cute" or just emojis all the time...it looks spammy and like you're a bot. I hope this makes sense. And last point, is that maybe your content just isn't as great. That's harsh, huh? It can be true or not...however, if you are wanting to grow and you keep posting the same stuff with no change in your followers or engagement, maybe ask yourself what more could you do! Sometimes if we want to grow, and get ourselves out there, we just have to step it up. I have been challenged with this. This is another topic, but this lead me to work on making social media my full time job. I realized that when I started putting more effort and what not, it felt like a full time job so yeah, I wanted to start making it mine. It takes a while to do that, and we are off topic but it is something I'm working on! Last but least, maybe your content is great but you're not seeing any change...I would recommend, trying something new and doing more research. Like I said, Instagram is always changing so sometimes we have to be always changing up things.

Those were the uglies that I've dealt with, and I'm sure there are more. The most important thing is to not get stuck, and if you do, don't stay too long. Instagram can be an amazing platform for you if you stay positive, focus on the good, and do you. I've really enjoyed it, and especially looking at it with a new mindset. It's really helped me get more creative, and truly my passion a career. So anyway, I hope I didn't bore you to death, but I know I wish I would've known some of this stuff. I hope you all have a great weekend!