Instagram Review

Instagram is one of those sites that everyone is always talking about to the point that it feels like not having an IG account is social suicide.

Still, I managed to resist until recently.

It's honestly not a social network I thought I would be for me. I'm not really into photography. Obviously I take some photos for my blog, but other than that I rarely do.

I'm definitely not a selfie queen. In my whole life I have taken the grand total of one selfie. That was only because a blog I was guest posting on required a photo of the writer and there was no else around to take a picture.

I hate having my photo taken altogether, and I am yet to see a photo of myself I like. I am that person who always gets caught blinking, or moving or looking a bit demented!

Aside from that, I quite like the idea of having photographic memories, I just always kind of forget to take the photos. I have seen me go on holiday and come back and I haven't had the camera out of my bag - I carry it around but just never think to use it.

I like the idea of seeing other people's pictures, but before blogging, when it would have just been an account for personal use, it seemed pointless because everyone I know who has IG has it set up to post their photos from IG onto Facebook anyway.

Anyway, since starting blogging, every blogger I've spoke to has been shocked when I say I don't have an IG account. After some debate I finally bit the bullet and joined.

Things I like:

1. Although I'm not into taking pictures, I do enjoy looking at other people's (nosey much!)
2. If used correctly, it can really show what your brand/blog is all about. I don't use it correctly! It's something I'm working on, and recently I have read a fab series about this by Nikki at The View From In Here. Check it out, it really is a fantastic IG guide.

Things I don't like:

1. I hate the fact everything has to be done on my phone. A lot of the images I want on there are ones I have designed on my laptop - its such a mess about sending them to my phone to post instead of doing it direct.
2. Not being able to add clickable links to each photo. I have the main blog link in my bio, but who actually goes and clicks on it? If it's there, people are much more likely to click through.

Top tip for bloggers:

If your IG account is your personal one, I understand why you might have it private. If it's your blog account, don't do that. You are more likely to get followers if your account isn't private. Partly because people can see some examples of your photos and get a sense of whether your account is of interest to them. Mainly though, if your account is private, people will assume you don't want strangers following you. If I come across a private account, I only request to follow them if its someone I have already connected with on their blog/other social media. I find it quite unwelcoming.

Love it or hate it?

As a fun network, I love it. I enjoy taking a little glimpse into other people's lives. As a blog promotion, I don't think it's all that great though to be honest. Having said that, I haven't focused much attention on it. I think I might up my game a bit, try to post more regularly and see how it goes!

What do you think? Are you an IG lover or hater? Let me know in the comments and if you are on IG, feel free to leave your links in the comments and follow each other :)

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