Instagram is a great tool. I’ve not used it to its full potential, but was determined to change that this year. A lot of bloggers use Instagram as part of their marketing efforts. Me? Not so much. I personally like my Instagram feed to be full of “real life” versus the promotional.
So if you are looking for a post on how to use Instagram in your blog marketing efforts, this probably isn’t going to be of much use to you. If you want to see how Instagram is a great tool for the intentional life, just keep reading, just keep reading…did you read that in your best Dory voice? I did as I wrote it. The toddler is on a Finding Nemo kick right now.
What is Instagram?
In an effort to not put the cart before the horse, I’ll start here. Instagram is an app for smart phones where you can create a profile to share photos you take with said smart phone. You can follow your friends (or friendly bloggers…) and see their photos in your feed.
In your feed, you can heart (similar to liking on FB) and comment on those photos. There is also an explore section where you can search for people sharing specific topics and hashtags (like #capturinglifelaughterlove).
That’s the nuts and bolts of Instagram.
The What & Why of an Instagram Challenge
An Instagram challenge is simply a set of prompts for a set number of days that is meant to inspire you to post to your Instagram account. The prompts are simple and there is no right or wrong way to interpret them. A few examples from last month’s Capturing Life, Laughter and Love challenges, click on the prompt to see how I interpreted it in my photos:
Why would I participate and even co-host an Instagram challenge? For me, it’s personal. I am terrible about taking photos, even though I have an awesome DSLR (actually, I have two…), a great point and shoot camera, an iPhone, and various other devices that take decent photos at my disposal each day. I wanted to change that.
I wanted to be intentional about capturing these moments before they become memories long-forgotten. That’s my why.
If you have ever started a 365 photo challenge and run out of steam, then using a prompt guided challenge may be a great way to help you meet that goal!
Instagram Challenges
Capturing Life, Laughter, and Love isn’t the only Instagram challenge out there, though I am pretty partial to it. 😉 Here are a few other options to check out:
- Capture Play – Aims to encourage parents to play with their kids with one word prompts each month.
- 10 iPhoto Photo Challenges – No need to commit to a long term challenge if you aren’t up to it. This can be done on your own time.
- #100HappyDays – I simply love the concept of this challenge. Look for the happy every day!
- Project 52 – Maybe every day isn’t your thing, surely you can manage on a week?
Finally, here is a list of 11 Tips for Completing a Project 365 that is helpful for any photo challenge you may take on. There really isn’t a wrong way to go about this, just be intentional to snap some photos each day. You don’t even have to share them on Instagram!
If you decide to join us for Capturing Life, Laughter, and Love, you will receive a free ebook in your welcome email called 20 Tips to Improve Your Instagram Photos.
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