Creative Biz Advice
I have a love/hate relationship with Instagram. While I love sharing my content, I don’t like it to take up so much time and space that it disrupts my creativity. Here are a few ways to tackle Instagram battle.
A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
As I learn more and navigate the algorithm, I will add more info to this list.
Instagram is not your MAIN selling point
Yes, there are a few artists that have found success selling their art and courses on Social Media. However, remember you do not own that list of followers. Instagram can take it away without notice. Your best success for generating income in your creative business is your email list. While Instagram is a great way to tell the universe who you are - we are at the mercy of the ALGORITHM and cannot guarantee results on this platform. Build up your own website.
Create Call to ACTIONS
Don’t worry about the views or likes - provide an action for viewers to find your email list. Create a FREEBIE - like a free course, pdf, print, etc…. Give them an email opt-in to get the FREEBIE and in turn gets them on your list.
YES! Create good Content
Visuals are everything. Lighting, sound, and high-quality photos and videos are key to getting people to tune in. I have been using my iPhone for this - so you don’t need to have expensive equipment for this. Film outside or in a place that has good natural light. Invest in a microphone for better sound quality. Scroll and look at what other creators are doing and use these as inspiration.
Don’t Get Discouraged
Yes, I know it stinks when Instagram doesn’t push out your content. But don’t let that get you down. Post consistently, but create a balance, too. Your goal should be building up your email list. Unless you want to be a content creator rather than an artist - it just doesn’t make sense to spend all of your time creating content just for the likes and follows. Encourage, share your stories, your art, and use Instagram build up your own confidence. You just need one person who connects.
The Instagram Algorithm is always changing
How many times have you posted something and heard crickets? Low views on those reels you spend hours making and next to no likes. All of the experts say - just make better content. Look the algorithm is always changing and we can never truly know what is going on in the minds of the back end of Instagram. The best advice is: to just keep posting content, Do it consistently, Don’t worry about the views and likes and try to provide a call to action with every post. Find a way to direct them to your email list!
Encourage Activity
One way to tell the algorithm to notice you is to encourage viewers to react to your posts, reels, and stories. One way is to ask a question either by adding a question as text within the reel or post OR, by asking a question or poll in your caption area. Another way is to ask the viewer to comment, for example, if you are showing newly available art, you could say in the caption, “Comment below you are interested and I can send you the link.” Then you can send them a message in their DMs with the information. This creates a warm lead for you to go back and follow up with them and lead them toward your email list.
BE Consistent
While I don’t feel like it is necessary to post every day or 5-10 times a day. I do think you should find a consistent posting schedule. Maybe every other day or whatever is comfortable for you. Just be consistent with it. I feel the more consistency in your posting - the more the algorithm will find you and push your content out.