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The tricky thing about Instagram is maintaining this balance of caring enough to grow your account, while also not caring enough to feel shitty when your post doesn’t perform as well as you thought it would, or when someone else’s account is growing way faster than yours.
I learned a lot about growing an Instagram account over the year and a half that I’ve had @basicposhbabe (formally @newyorkposher), and if you want more on that, you can read some basic engagement tips in my blog post here.
What I wasn't quite ready to learn about was the process of burning out: losing my inspiration, my steam, and feeling irrelevant and trapped. There were warning signs before my ultimate burnout: this fear of what would happen if I didn't post on Instagram for a day, this sort of pity towards people who had taken a break from Instagram, my own refusal to take a break from Instagram, etc.
And wow oh wow, did I royally burnout. It truly was this slow and torturous burning out, too. Like, I really tried to hold everything together for way too long.
Anyways, I wanted to talk about it: my burning out on Instagram. Maybe give you an idea of how not to approach Instagram, or when you should probably take a break before you really burnout.
Actually, before that, here are a few quick takeaways for a healthy Instagram relationship (1) set boundaries--don't feel the need to post every day or document every cute thing, (2) take a break when you need to, (3) try not to compare yourself to others, and (4) you gotta have fun--if you're not having fun, stop and start over.
Okay, now, here's my 15 step guide for how to grow on Instagram and then royally burnout:
Step 1
Create an Instagram account for your side hustle/passion. Probably a business account so that you’re able to see insights such as the demographic breakdowns of your audience, despite never really putting that to use.
Step 2
Spend time researching how to grow on Instagram. Use your lunch break to watch YouTube videos on this. You’ll hear things like “find your niche”, follow similar accounts, use relevant hashtags, maintain a consistent aesthetic, use call-to-actions in your captions, be active, and post often. Take notes.
Step 3
Implement all the above. Post every day. Use hashtags, tag relevant accounts, and then network. Find similar accounts, like their posts, comment on their posts, follow accounts similar to their accounts. Download an app to plan out your feed: see how a photo will look on your page before posting it.
Step 4
Refine your brand. Learn which posts do well, and make more posts like those. Narrow down the filters you use to just a few, creating a consistent aesthetic. Brainstorm content and captions for future posts. Save them as notes to your phone. Go to sleep thinking of what you’ll post the next day. Rarely leave for work without having a photo ready to post on Instagram. Draft up your post on the train on the way to work. Post on your lunch break. Respond to comments and DM’s in your downtime.
Step 5
Keep posting every day. Do an Instagram giveaway. Get recognized in public, “Are you Newyorkposher?” Start to feel validated and worthy because of your Instagram. Keep focusing on which posts are doing well. Which posts get the most likes? Which posts got you the most followers? Imagine a Venn diagram: posts that have performed super well in one circle, things you’re excited to share in the other circle. Hone in on what’s in the overlap, and pump out that content.
Step 6
Keep refining your brand. Your posts should be getting better and better: more aesthetically pleasing, better-worded captions. Make sure your story highlights are up to date with cute, on-brand story covers. Stop going out of your way to network. Slow down on finding new accounts to follow. Slack on liking and commenting on other people’s posts. You notice other accounts taking a break from Instagram, and you kind of feel sorry for them. You think it’s something like survival of the fittest--they didn’t make it. You realize that’s probably a red flag for something.
Step 7
Start to lose inspiration. Maybe you move halfway across the country. Maybe you change jobs. Maybe you have a baby, start school, get a new passion, etc. You start to lose inspiration, and you know it. You're almost desperate. You’re trying, but you're grasping at straws. Still, you don’t know what else to do but post everyday. Some posts don’t do very well. Then, a lot of your posts don’t do very well, and it starts to bother you. You’re just finding a new groove, though, you think, and you shrug it off. You still want to post the things you want to post, and so you do.
Step 8
Start focusing too much on the wrong things. You calculate your engagement rate using some website, and it’s not great. You start to compare yourself to others. You start to focus on your engagement rate: how can you raise it? You archive posts that didn’t do well. You make sure to use those call-to-actions in your captions: “leave a comment below…” or “double tap if you agree”.
Step 9
Post just to post. You feel obligated to. Check Instagram multiple times a day. Any time there’s something funny, cute, or aesthetic, you feel like you have to share it on Instagram, so you do. You waste lot of time on Instagram posting just to post: flowers and coffee and your dog and your outfits, adding gifs and squiggles to your story posts. You fear there’s some terrible omen the algorithm will cast should you go a day without posting something on Instagram.
Step 10
Keep comparing yourself to others. You can’t help it. The numbers are just right there in front of you. You start to lose confidence, second-guessing the things you post: will enough people like this? Try to use the abundance mindset: there’s enough opportunities and growth for everyone; you are not competing against others. Try to believe that.
Step 11
Try to re-strategize your Instagram account. Make a list of accounts you love to follow, and jot down what it is about their content that you love: motivating, inspiring, positive, helpful, cute, etc. Listen to podcasts about Instagram. Still, something’s off and you don’t know what it is. You can’t stop comparing yourself to others. It’s embarrassing. It’s what you strive for your brand to avoid. It makes you feel shitty.
Step 12
Decide to take a break from Instagram for a day. You hide the app on your phone’s home page so that you don’t subconsciously open it in your downtime. You're a bit scared to do this (see bad omen in Step 9), but you find that it actually feels good, a breath of fresh air. You find that you’re way more productive. You focus on things that actually move the needle for your business. You're not feeling shitty from comparing yourself to others.
Step 13
You wake up a few more days without opening the app, and it feels good. You’re free and you’re getting shit done! One day, you accidentally open it trying to click on an artist’s website, and you close it immediately. It terrifies you--PTSD almost. Another day, you have to open it to check a particular DM, and it's overwhelming and stressful. Still, some days you kind of miss it. You think, what is it that you miss? The validation of having people like your posts? The creative outlet? You’re not sure.
Step 14
Plan to have renewed energy, focus and direction for Instagram, but not yet experience it. You’re waiting. You think you’re ready to jump back in with a commanding presence, but you’re not actually ready. Still waiting. Casually think of cute photos you could post, but you're glad that you’re not actually having to take and post them. You’re still enjoying your freedom--it still feels like freedom.
Step 15
Decide you have inspiration and energy to spend on other outlets. You should write more on your blog. Maybe start a podcast or something. You have things you want to say, but mostly, you just want to stay relevant. Mostly, you’re scared people will forget about you, that people will have moved on from you. Even now, as you prepare to post on your blog, you’re worried: am I posting just to post?