4 Easy Ways to Begin Your Love Affair with Instagram!

 I’m so not a take-a-photo-of-my-lunch-and-post-it-on-Instagram kind of girl, so the push to be active on social media to build up a platform doesn’t feel natural to me. If you’re in that same boat, read on and see how you can easily start loving Instagram and maybe even enjoy it just a little!

1.Participate

• So much content already exists. Don’t hesitate with the excuse that you don’t know what to post. Just join in the discussions that are already happening!

• If you’re up for it, commit to an Instagram challenge. Here are a few that are happing now (April2017):

#mglitchallenge and #writelifeapril

2. Distinguish Yourself

• Start with your bio. Include what you do. I want to know who I’m connecting with, so others are going to want to know why they should connect with you.

• Know you’re target audience (readers, authors, librarians, teachers, etc.) and share things that will connect you both. You might not feel you have anything new or special to say, so share the things that others already have (articles, pictures, facts, etc.)  

3. Brand

•  Similar to above, once you’ve established who you’re reaching, be consistent with every aspect of your sharing—from the color, filter, age appropriateness, font. Of course you can share on various subject matter, but if you want people to instantly recognize something as very You- give yourself an image and keep it consistent.

4. Connect

• Not with people, connect all your social media outlets. This has come under scrutiny with Goodreads/Amazon, but as far as having a platform it’s easier to kill all your social media birds with one post if they’re all connected.

No more excuses! Jump in and eventually you might just post that photo you took of your dinner!