People learn something every day, and a lot of times it's that what they learned the day before was wrong. ~Bill Vaughan
A new techno craze is upon us. All the cool kids are using the app. Many of my friends are using it. All the buzz marketers are sending me free e-books about it. Some of my fellow business owners are doing "contests". All you need is a photo and a good hash tag.
Yep. I'm talking about Instagram. I set out six months ago to figure it out, and found it too complicated. I also didn't want to have yet another form of social media marketing I needed to remember to do. Really, I didn't want to learn.
So several weeks ago, I got another free e-book that explained what a loser I was if I wasn't doing Instagram contests. And furthermore, I was going to lose customers eventually to cooler, hipper, smarter people than me. I promised myself I would figure it out.
For the second time, I sat down at the laptop and signed into my Instagram account. I had no followers, I was following no one and I couldn't figure out how to find or follow or even put up a photo. Naturally, the next step in learning was to google it and hope for an e-how article on how to use Instagram. (no, the free e-books weren't that technical - just "salesy". I found little help there.
So, I texted my 23 year old daughter (whom I knew by her facebook photos used Instagram). I asked for her help in figuring out how to use this tool, and she had a good laugh after I explained what I had done so far.
You see, Instagram is really only for phones. Smart phones. Not computers. Well, you can see things on the Instagram on the computer, but thats it. It's a "read only" kind of thing.
Oh. Secretly, I cried a little. I hate trying to use a phone for anything other than a text or a call. It's soooo small. And I can't really see. I like a great big monitor and zoom, but I don't want to be a loser than can't use her phone to do what everyone else seems to have done already - and happily.
So, my daughter taught me the ropes of installing the app and I managed to load a photo and "follow" her. Then she followed me. Baby steps. Then my phone was blowing up because it apparently synched all my facebook friends and gmail contacts and I was deep in following and followers and photos and hashtags. Ahhh - after a few days I realized the hashtag was important.
No one had explained that to me yet. I googled it, and found some helpful information, but really it was my youngest daughter and her friends that gave me the real skinny on the hashtags. It's all about the hashtag. For example, my first few days I should have used #rookie #frustrated #simpleheadedfool
Then I couldn't figure out to get multiple photos (a photo collage) in one "post". I had seen both my girls and one friend do that. So, again, I asked a daughter. Turns out you have to download a whole separate app to do that, then post it to Instgram via that app. Forget it. No picture collages on Instagram. That's just too much work.
Anyhow, after a few days I felt confident enough in using this new tool that I set out to explain it to Dewey. I told him it was just for phones and there was no posting, and it was just photographs and hashtags. I hit all the important points. He grumbled and said it better not cost anything and reminded me he hates the word "hashtag". (He also hates the word "Syllabus").
A few days after that conversation, he looked up from his paper and said "You were wrong about Instagram, babe. You can post things". I said "Yeah, pictures." And he said, "No you can write things". I said "Yeah, you can say something about your picture, babe. That's where the hash-tags come into play".
Dew was adamant though, and said "No. It says right here that Justin Beiber took to his Instagram to rant about [blah blah blah] . . . ". I laughed (because I know it all now, remember) and said "Yeah. But he ranted with a picture." Dew then said "Oh, so he wrote it down and took a picture of it". . .
You see, you can teach old dogs new tricks. It just takes a while - baby steps and a lot of unlearning in order to learn.
Follow us on instagram, LOL. EarthWorksGallery. No spaces. No @ sign. Hashtag us if you want. Maybe next month, a contest. We'll see.
PL&BB-
Penni
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