An Instagram Manifesto: how I use Instagram and no longer feel rubbish about it
Write a manifesto for your own Instagram and set yourself up so it works for you, and not the other way round
At some point I’m going to write or record something about my thoughts around Mark Zuckerberg’s recent statements about the future of truth and safety on Meta but, to be honest, the tension I hold in my mind between my use of, and advocacy for, Instagram as a route to readers for writers, vs my political beliefs, long pre-dates the latest politically convenient snivelling of Meta’s resident billionaire tech-bro.
On a personal level, I’ve been working in social media since 2017 and, at times, managing multiple client accounts on multiple social media platforms, while growing my own personal Instagram account, made my relationship with Instagram distinctly unhealthy at times, and even harmful at others.
Over the years I’ve developed systems and processes that mean I can now mostly use the platform without falling into many of the traps it sets for us but, at times, I’m still dizzy from the cognitive dissonance of not only using Instagram to promote my own business, but also teaching Instagram to writers being my business, while being uncomfortably aware of the ways in which Instagram (alongside other social media platforms) drives and upholds systems I fundamentally disagree with.
I mean, my head hurts just writing that sentence.
Flawed, and hypocritical, and human, and ensnared in this system as I am though, I have found my way to a small resistance of sorts.
My method of using, and teaching others to use, Instagram deliberately seeks to undermine the value-systems Instagram tries to impose on all its users. The hierarchy of follower counts and ‘popularity’ is replaced in my philosophy with prioritising community, conversation, and connection across time and distance.
The slavish attention paid to ‘the algorithms’ is replaced by reflections on what is interesting to our potential readers, and what feels good to us.
It’s necessarily imperfect - I am still using the platform, after all - but essentially, I refuse to do all the things Instagram wants me to believe I should be doing, in the way it says I should be doing them, at the times of my day it says are best.
Instead I’ve defined for myself the place Instagram gets to occupy in my life. I’ve worked out a way of using it that works for me and my goals, and I’ve written my own rules so I can refer back to them whenever my ancient brain gets sucked in by Instagram’s seduction.
My rules - or Manifesto - for Instagram are below, but if you want to write your own, join me for one hour for this FREE workshop and perhaps I can help you feel better about using Instagram too:
How to feel better about Instagram
Despite its many, MANY well-documented failings, Instagram remains one of the best routes for writers and authors to get in front of your potential readers (caveat: IF you know how to use it strategically and effectively, rather than casually, which is an important distinction)
My Instagram Manifesto
I’m clear about my reasons for using Instagram
Crudely put, I’m on Instagram to market my business, but that doesn’t mean I prioritise growing a massive following. Instagram is a way that clients find me but as long as I have enough clients, it’s not important to me how many followers I have.
Instead…
I want to connect with writers and build a community.
I want to be useful to this community.
I want to be trustworthy, honest and respected in this space.
I want to teach writers how to sustainably and effectively use Instagram in a way that respects your time and creative energy.
I want to help writers get your writing and books in front of your readers.
I want to talk to writers about your writing and books because it is something you and I are interested in.
It’s my belief - and so far I’ve been proven right both in the work I’ve done for clients since 2017, and in marketing my own business - that focusing on the relational, rather than the transactional, leads to stronger, longer-lasting relationships with my clients. It is those relationships that ultimately sustain my business whether through direct bookings or referrals so as long as I have enough clients (which I do) Instagram is doing its job.
I define my own success
Dominant Instagram culture insists the value of your account and content is measured in followers counts, likes and video views.
I reject this, not only because it often seeps into giving Instagram too much sway in my sense of self-worth, but because these metrics do not align with my reasons for using the platform.
If my community are chatting with me in the comments, Dm-ing me their thoughts, saving my content or sharing it with others, I feel confident I am connecting with, and getting to know, my community and they are finding my content useful.
This is what success looks like to me.
I centre my audience, not the algorithm
Chasing the algorithm and trying to crack the code that will make content ‘go viral’ is a recipe for disillusionment and frustration.
Instead, I think about what writers want to hear from me: what will you care about, what will you find useful? I mix this in with some personal story-telling - not my deepest, darkest secrets; mostly about my own writing and reading life - and a sprinkling of promotional posts about my services.
Ironically, this often leads to consistently steady, respectable - if not stellar - performance. If my content is interesting to my community, they interact with it which then sends signals to the algorithm to show my content to more people. By not trying to please the algorithm, I end up pleasing the algorithm (at least a little).
I don’t do what I ‘should’
According to self-styled Instagram ‘gurus’ I should post every day at the optimum time as dictated by my insights. I should piggyback on viral trends. I should use Reels as much as possible and in those videos I should use trending audio, and This Hook to ‘go viral’.
Apparently, I should want to go viral.
None of this advice is wrong, exactly. It can help content reach more people BUT these shoulds are short-term tactics, not long-term strategy. They are the seasoning you add to a meal to lift the flavours, not the meal itself, and no one can live on salt alone.
I don’t post everyday because I don’t have the capacity to create that volume of content, and the weekend is the weekend, even on Instagram.
I don’t post at the time Instagram says I should because its when I’m cooking or eating dinner with my kids.
I don’t recreate viral trends unless they’re super relevant to my audience.
I don’t prioritise Reels. Some of my ‘useful’ content works better in carousel form, and static posts with story-telling captions create far more conversation in the comments than any Reel of mine ever has.
I don’t want to go viral. When I’ve gone viral in the past (on my personal account) it has made me nervous. Who were all these total strangers flooding into my account? And my experience is that after you go viral for one piece of content, lots of those new followers don’t engage with any subsequent posts. That feels very weird and unpleasant. I prefer steady, genuine growth which makes me feel confident new people have landed on and followed my account for the right reasons.
I embrace the work
There is no form of marketing or promotion that I know of that requires no commitment of energy or time, and inspiration is over-rated when it comes to promoting your work. It takes consistency. Consistent - not constant - effort, and even more importantly, consistency of message and purpose (see the first and third principles in this list).
It definitely helps to at least like the platform (who wants to spend time somewhere they don’t like) but, just like in work, it’s helpful to accept there are going to be parts I don’t love and foot-stamping doesn’t help anyone.
I play
Playfulness and experimentation are key to my use and enjoyment of Instagram. When I feel the self-doubt creeping in, I think well, let me try this and see what happens.
When Instagram starts to feel stagnant or stale, I mix it up - I try something new, take a break, or take a risk. If it flops, my other guiding principles are there to catch me and remind me Instagram does not determine my self-worth, it’s a tool I use so potential clients and community members can find me.
This is such helpful advice. I've only been there for six months and I'm constantly shown reels about how to go viral and it reinforces the feeling that this should be a goal - rather than the enjoyment I get out of the genuine human connection. Thank you for sharing!
These are helpful reminders! Now I’m going to search your content for how I can have a presence on social media to build up a better following for my writing, but still actually have time to write. Sigh. I know this is the constant conundrum. … Thanks for the reminder to stay true to myself and to focus on community, which is always my touchstone.