My 30-day Instagram challenge: how’s it going after 10 days?
This week, I saw something on Instagram that confirmed a thought I’ve been having: we are thrilled by other people’s mundanity.
Talking to the camera about your new diet? Showing off your kids’ new triple bunk bed?? Has your dog become a celebrity in her own right because you post pictures of her everyday?! People love it.
Welcome to my 30-day Instagram challenge update — the challenge where I, an introverted food writer and photographer, work to promote my business and expand my audience by taking myself out of my comfort zone on Instagram! If you missed last week’s update where I revealed my initial findings over the first 5 days, check it out here.
So, what did I see on Instagram that was so mundane?
Let me tell you.
Selling boring ‘real-life’
The other day, someone I follow encouraged all her followers to STOP WHAT THEY WERE DOING and go and watch so-and-so’s stories RIGHT NOW. Apparently, people had stopped their working days to become invested in this woman’s stories as she… wait for it… took a 6-hour plane journey.
I then wasted 10 minutes of my life catching up on this woman’s seemingly endless story in which she revealed a lot of personal triviality, discussed the in-flight menu and her conversations with the guy sitting next to her, and even shared her walk to the toilets.
Is this where we’re at in life? Waiting for updates from people we don’t know, who share nothing impactful or interesting, and instead just reveal their lives in such a way that we become addicted?
Making people believe they need your drama — or should I say, lack of it — in their day is impressive marketing.
Why do we love ‘real life’ on social media?
We’re all nosey creatures. We are comforted by the patterns and similarities in our lives (it’s what I hoped to get from Stanley Tucci, and thank goodness, he delivered).
We love to be told a story that we recognise. We are hooked to find out what will happen next.
This way, we feel less alone, and if someone can wrap up something similar to our own daily mundanity with witty commentary and nice bow of self-deprecation, they have an audience. Heck, that’s why I have a blog, to share the everyday trials and triumphs of a foodie (god, especially during lockdown!).
However, over-sharing on a social media platform requires removing a layer of armour. How much do we actually want people to know about us? What journey do we take our invisible followers on? And in the case of this woman on the 6-hour flight, when do we get to the point of paying £20 for in-flight wifi to keep our eager followers up-to-date?
Is that still living for ourselves or are we now living for others?
Is that the kind of Instagram persona I want to have?
So, how have the last 5 days of my Instagram challenge been?
There have been lulls this week! (Which explains the self-reflection above!)
My attitude is still determined and resolute especially as I’m a third of the way through this challenge, however, dare I say it — I sometimes find Instagram rather boring. If I have low engagement, it requires energy to go out and find it.
Posts
For example, I posted a picture of an eggs Benedict on a Tuesday — my best day for engagement —and in the morning as it’s a breakfast dish. The overall reach for this photo was one of the lowest of the year, despite me promoting it on my stories.
Evidently timing is of the essence. The mid-morning is not my optimum timeframe.
Stories
Still busy in the stories thanks to my new habit of taking pictures all the time! Some interesting things to note:
- After dropping a link to a recipe, 10% of followers stopped watching, yet the next time I included a link in my stories, it was clicked on more than the one in my bio. (The algorithm apparently doesn’t like links away from the platform so won’t favour you if you use them a lot, however, you can’t control people’s instincts, and we like convenient things to click!)
- I shared personal photographs because — well, people are nosey, just remember the 6-hour flight saga, and traction dropped at a rate of 13.6%.
This interested me because people don’t care about your personal life unless you’re telling a story.
My photos from the wedding were random with only a little context.
Instead, taking followers with you on a journey (something as normal as going to the supermarket), or sharing a saga you’re dealing with (on the phone to a customer service desk? Put it on your stories!) will keep them coming back because they want to know how it will end.
I just need to work out if this is something that’s right for me. Who else finds over-sharing makes them uncomfortable?!
Reels
I like reels with voiceovers because it makes it personal. However. It’s not doing me any favours.
I searched for the patterns in my previous content and realised my highest reach was for a reel I made with trending music. Objectively, there is nothing distinct about this video (other than it’s a dessert and everyone loves dessert), so I for my next reel of me making mayonnaise, I will use trending music WITH my voiceover.
Will keep you posted!
Just gonna keep it sexy!
