Thoughts on Social Media - Instagram

Worth Your Time or Not?

When I first heard of Instagram, back in 2010, I didn’t get it. Young people were posting their random photos with no rhyme or reason. Why?

By 2014, I began to get the gist of what was happening there. Still did not really understand what the point was, but started to post arty photos. My first two posts were macro shots of watercolor blobs in a palette. Then I moved on to some flowers. I started to look around more and saw that artists were now using Instagram as their galleries, and there was lots of artwork being “discovered”.

I had been lamenting the death of art magazines by then. ”Mixed Media” in the form of messy collage had taken over the newstands and the good new art magazines had not yet arrived from Europe. So, I decided to stick with Instagram as my place to relax with an “art” magazine in the evening.

There were no “Reels” then. It was a peaceful place if you chose who to follow carefully. There was interesting artwork to be seen, and a demo now and then (when you could just post a short video in your feed). More about videos in a bit.

For several years, I enjoyed the experience. I made some online friends and was exposed to a lot of the art world I would not have experienced otherwise. Instagram had already been acquired by Facebook - in 2012 - so I was not there to see what changes happened then. Instagram was an OK place to spend a little relaxed time.

From 2014 to early this year, I had garnered only 850 followers. The number did not vary no matter if I posted a few times a week or skipped a month or whatever. I wasn’t really there for followers, so I didn’t care much.

My feed was good and I did not doubt that. It had some good art, some good photography, some garden flowers and info, lots of sketchbook spreads and some darling dogs and cats.

What’s not to love?

In February of this year, I left a comment on a gel print “influencer’s” feed. She was asking about how to price an “original” gel print as opposed to her usual prints of gel prints. I left a thoughtful answer. Over the next two days, my followers went to 1311 - a gain of almost 500! Wow, I thought. Pricing information is really needed out there.

So I invested some time and wrote four “chapters” on how to price your art. The first one was read by many and “Liked” by 200. The second chapter, a couple days later was down to 114. Third Chapter down to 80 and the Fourth down to 54 - suspiciously close to my usual “Likes”. There was one more Chapter to write, but I didn’t bother because I realized it would not be seen.

I want to clarify that watching Like numbers is about the worst thing you can do on social media. I use them to figure out how bad the Instagram algorithm really is. I did research and found that if you are a so/so Instagrammer, only ,5% to 1% of your followers see your posts. My posts consistently got 30-40 Likes. Not bad when only 42 - 85 followers are seeing them. Even “influencers” get only 1% viewership!

The popular theory is that if you post hyped up short videos, it builds your following. And it can if something goes viral. But, usually, your “Reel” takes your viewer off into the vast Reels library and plays reel after reel by strangers until your reader doesn’t even know what they are looking at anymore - or how to get out of there.

So why not dump Instagram altogether? Many artists are doing just that. But, many of them are coming back again.

I’m not going to dump it. I have found a way to use it for my purposes (reading an “art” publication), and actually enjoy it.

I am going to share that with you.

How an Artist can benefit from Instagram

1. Don’t make Instagram a repeat of your Facebook account. I do not socialize on Facebook. I don’t really socialize much anyway, except in phone calls and in person with close friends and family. I hardly look at my Facebook newsfeed because there is too much stuff I don’t want to hear. So, I don’t follow any non-art accounts on Instagram. I follow people who will add creative learning and appreciation to my life - or some humor. A smile is a beautiful gift to receive.

2. Make the accounts you really enjoy Favorites. You can have up to 50 Favorites on Instagram. To make a person a favorite, go to their Home page and click the arrow next to “Following”. If you are not following them yet, do that first. In the drop down menu, you will find the choice to make this account a Favorite. You will see all the posts made by your Favorites.

3. Watch just one Reel. This is a bit confusing. If someone you follow has put a video in their feed, it will start up immediately as it scrolls into view. Just watch it there. You can turn the sound on or off with the icon located bottom right in the video. If you tap on the video anywhere or tap on Watch Again when it finishes, you have entered another space - the Reels library. When the video you are watching ends, another will start and it will not be from anyone you are following. Pretty soon, you will be wondering what happened. There is a Back Arrow upper left and tapping it should return you to your feed.

4. Control the Ads You See. When an ad pops up (about every third post in your feed), tap the three dots next to the title. You can Hide the Ad. Then you will be asked why you don’t want to see it. Any of the answers will make sure you don’t see that ad again. Tapping It’s Irrelevant will usually block other ads like it as well. This is not foolproof, but it does help you to see mostly ads you might be interested in.

   If you should tap Learn More in an ad, you will get lost in another space. Quickly pull down on the page and an X will appear. Tap it to return to your feed.

5. Stop Suggested Posts. If you are seeing a bunch of posts from strangers, look to see if they are Suggested Posts from Instagram. If they are, tap the three dots and Suspend Suggested Posts. You can usually only do that for a time period like 30 days. When the Suggested Posts show up again, suspend them again.

6. Stories Stories show up at the top of your feed and they are from people you follow - interspersed with Stories that are ads. Stories disappear after 24 hours.

If you follow these suggestions, you can have a pleasant time on Instagram. TOO MUCH advertising, but that is true almost anywhere.

I will also suggest accounts I really enjoy here in the newsletter - just a couple at a time.

If you are reading this on a tablet or phone, the link below will take you there. If on the computer, just go to Instagram.com and search the name.

Leah Houghtaling

This person is a woodworker - one of the most entertaining people on Instagram. She is just lovable and makes you laugh - whether you give a hoot about woodworking or not.

https://www.instagram.com/leahhoughtalingwoodworking/

Abstract Sunday

An amazingly creative illustrator.

https://www.instagram.com/abstractsunday/

Jane Maday

Wonderful, whimsical daily sketchbook spreads

https://www.instagram.com/janemaday/

That’s it for now. Enjoy.

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