Instagram has been one of the most significant things in my life these past couple years. I probably spend more time staring at my Instagram screen each weekday than I do talking to my boyfriend. It sounds kinda sad, but since Instagram is my main (really only) marketing tool, it kind of makes sense too.
Recently this happened....
How, you ask?
These guys -->
I got featured by @diyfurious - an account with almost 4 million followers. 4 MILLION! Within minutes, my own follower count started growing rapidly.
The odd thing is, the video they featured was one I posted almost exactly a year ago (April 13, 2016 to be exact).
THE LESSON? Keep putting great shit out there! Even if it seems like nothing is happening, that stuff is working its way around and may very well come back to you, bringing AMAZING stuff with it!
The power of an account like DiyFurious is in the vast exposure. Just look at how many views this video got in 24 hours. Over 3000 views in the first 6 minutes, over 200,000 during the course of the day.
In the end, I got almost 2500 new followers. Great right?? Totally, but... of course, with a caveat.
I'm not sure how many of these followers I'll end up keeping in the long run. These people followed me because they saw a really cool video of up-close pointed pen action, one of the coolest I've ever done because the nib accidentally ran out of ink at the very end. I don't think I'll be able to repeat this video without a lot of trial and error and effort. But, more importantly, that's not what I want my Instagram account to be. There are accounts out there that are only pointed pen videos - followers know exactly what they're going to get and they follow for one reason only - videos. I want my account to be something more: cool videos, an outlet for my creative ideas, somewhere I can showcase new mediums, a place where lettering enthusiasts can learn and be inspired.
So, if I continue to post brush pen tips and workshop advertisements and snarky greeting cards and reviews of calligraphy ink, chances are I'll lose some or most of those new followers.
THE TAKEAWAY?
Be creative! Follow your inspiration and just keep putting your best stuff out there. Some happy accident may happen that leads to something amazing. There are probably a handful of videos I made pretty early on that have led to the VAST MAJORITY of my following. Of course, you don't know which ones will be the gems, so your best chance is to keep making the things you love and putting them out into the world.
BTW - I never tag huge accounts in the hopes that I'll be featured. In my experience, it hardly ever works. Actually, sometimes, the videos I LEAST expect to be a hit are the ones that get featured. More on that in the next INSTAGRAM TIPS post...