I have been using Instagram as a public account now for two months and it has opened a world which I never knew existed!
I started a separate public account as a bit of a hobby to compliment the blog – which I also started as a hobby! My initial thoughts were for the content to be home, life, love, work and parenting…the blog has stayed true to this, but my Instagram has turned into mainly a home account. This is because I personally feel more comfortable having lots of photos of my home in the public domain rather than my loved ones.
I quickly became a little obsessed with seeing how many people had seen what I had posted, how many people had shared, saved, clicked though to the blog etc. I get a little buzz when someone has clicked follow – it’s a big confidence boost to know that someone can relate to something I have said or likes a photo I have taken.
Something I never knew existed and had never heard of were follow loops. For anyone not on Instagram they are groups where you follow everyone and (in theory) they follow you BUT in reality not everyone does this. After a loop has finished some people find that their follower numbers decrease where people have un-followed – I guess this is happens because there may be accounts people wouldn’t have followed outside of the group, or it is a business account which they just aren’t interested in. Loops have rules which you are expected to follow, un-following is strictly against them, but unless people can work out who is doing it then this rule will continue to be broken. Not many people I know would have the time to sit and go through everyone, I certainly don't...nor do I wan't to!
At the beginning I quite liked follow loops but I have fallen out of love with them. Aside from the fact that they actually take up a lot of time and the rules are very strict, I found that some of the accounts in the group were far more concerned with gaining new followers and increasing their number, constantly sending a message to the group saying I’m nearly at 500, 600, 700 followers etc so please make sure you are following me. This gets irritating very quickly if you are not concerned with your number. For me it is about discovering and interacting with accounts which I like and talking to the people behind the photos – basically the engagement.
This leads onto something else which has made me think – in it for the photos or the captions? Before having a public account, I would scroll through Instagram and double tap photos I liked without really looking too much at the captions. What I have realised through having a public account is that people (like I do) actually put a fair amount of time and thought into the captions and text they write underneath. It tells a story, either directly related to the photo, loosely related or about something completely unrelated. I now take the time to read them and try to comment a meaningful response as it really means a lot when someone does the same for me. This is how you discover new people and get a different experience out of using Instagram. High follower numbers may look impressive but if you are not inspiring people, making them smile or stimulating a conversation then what is the point?
For people who use Instagram to run a small (or big!) business they have said that they think loops actually have a negative effect on their visibility as it messes with the Instagram algorithm…something that I still don’t really understand and as I am not a business I don’t really need to invest too much time in getting to grips with!
I will do some loops occasionally, but they only tend to be small ones and ones which are very specific to home accounts like mine. What I do most of are engagement groups. These are small groups of accounts similar to yours where you like, save and comment on each others posts to boost engagement. I have found that these are far more meaningful – people take time to properly look at posts and interact. I have found so many accounts which I love looking at and so many lovely people who share tips, advice and ideas.
I am aware that this could be a controversial blog post for some and other people absolutely love doing loops but this has just been my view on a side to Instagram which I never knew existed and how I am making it work for me. What are your thoughts? Head over to my Instagram to let me know.
Instagram @acton.life.and.home
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