7 Things I Learned During my First Week on Instagram

I joined Instagram this week! 

At the encouragement of my friend Ryan Dalgliesh of R T Dalgliesh Fine Art, I did a little Googling about Instagram and decided to take the plunge! 

And plunge I did!  I posted 34 times in the last 6 days!

Now that I’m an Instagram expert (hahahaha!), I want to share with you 7 things that I learned that you could also use to up your Instagram game!

1. If you’re not using hashtags, you’re not really Instagramming.

Hashtags, the tags with a pound sign in front of it like #music or #confidentmusicians, are your connection to the vast world outside of your world. 

If you are content to only share content with your friends/followers, then you can skip hashtagging and move on to point #3.  

If you’re like me and want to meet new people and make connections all over the world, then hashtagging is a must!

2. If you’re not using the right hashtags, you’re not reaching the right people.

On Facebook, I always thought it was fun to make up ridiculous, silly, extra long hashtags just for a laugh. #yesIknowitsfoolishtoarguewithatoddler for example.  Surprisingly, there are no other posts with that hashtag.  

On Instagram, though, if no one else is using that hashtag, then you and your friends are the only ones who will see it.  (There are however 9.6 million posts with the hashtag #toddler.)

Less is More is Less. 

I thought I wanted my posts to go on the feeds with the largest number of posts, but last night I posted something with the hashtag #moms and when I went to look for my post in the #moms feed 30 minutes later, there were at least 30 other posts above mine in the "Most Recent" category.  So, though lots of people are using and probably viewing that hashtag, it is also easy to get lost in the crowd.

Relevant

Your hashtag should not only be relevant to what is in your post; it should also be relevant to the types of people you want your post to reach.  

I posted something about music theory (as I often do) and decided to tag every popular orchestra instrument, knowing that these fellow music-readers would appreciate what I had posted.  Though my post said nothing specific about flutes, trumpets, or violins, the content was something relevant and helpful to them.  And I ended up with a lot of likes and follows from trumpet players, flute players, and a one-girl band

3.  If you want to see your private messages, you click on the little paper airplane looking thing on the top right of the screen.

Oh. My. Gosh.  I just now realized WHY that’s the icon they chose.  It’s like writing a note, folding it into a paper airplane, and tossing it across the Internet to its recipient!  I spent a couple of days going to a person’s profile and clicking “Message” in order to read their response! 

4. If you want to make real connections, you have to be real.

There are enough fake profiles and fake people in the world to last a thousand lifetimes.  

Why not mix it up and be yourself?  No, you don’t have to air all your dirty laundry or confess everything you ever did wrong (Those are the same thing, aren’t they?).  

But you should post things that you genuinely care about.  Some people may think that what you care about is dumb, but since there's no "dislike" button on Instagram, those people will likely just keep scrolling and not waste time posting a comment to share how they feel

There are other people out there who will say “Oh my gosh, I feel the EXACT same way!” and leave you a like and probably a comment, too!   

Boom! Instant friend!  (Insta-friend? Wait, no, they call them followers, not friends.)

5. If you want people to like and follow you, like and follow them!

Let me clarify.  As I said in point 4, you have to be real.  

Don’t just go find random people, like 7 of their posts, follow them, and expect them to jump on your train.  Find people whose posts you really do like and do more than just like their post, write a comment!  

I light up anytime someone writes a comment on one of my posts!  If I’m really interested in a person’s profile, I’ll even send a DM to find out more about their goals, their music, their inspiration, or their backstory.   

If you show genuine interest in other people, they will show genuine interest in you.  

6. There are enough followers to go around. 

Instagram is not a competition.  Just because someone has 10x as many followers as you do, doesn’t make them a better person/musician/teacher/student/whatever.  

If you see someone on Instagram who you might consider your “competition,” check out what they’re doing and see what you can learn from them!  

Follow them. Like and comment on a few posts.  They may choose to follow you and learn something from your posts, too!  

Win-win!  

They may even encourage their followers to check out what you’re doing.  You never know!

7. Just post it!

It doesn't have to be perfect.  It doesn't have to be beautiful.  It doesn't have to be popular.  If it's something that interests or amuses or concerns you, post it!  

Post a picture of that obscure Russian novel that you're reading.  There are currently 22,629 posts with the hashtag #russianliterature! I bet at least one of them is about the same book you're reading!

So much fun!

I am having a blast on Instagram!  I have met people from all over the world, whose passions include everything from marketing for musicians to creating inspirational jewelry out of old books. 

I am a brand new baby Instagram rookie with so much still to learn! But I love learning new things, so it should be fun!

I would love for you to join me on Instagram @confidentmusicians !  

Send me a message or tag me in a comment if you’d like for me check out how you’re rocking the Instagram game!

Now go forth and post something!