Taking a mini break from #APrettyLittleChristmas content today because I want to talk about something that’s been on my (or seemingly everyone’s) mind lately: Instagram. Dun dun dun…

Photos by Laurel Creative

At this point, I think it’s safe to say that the popular opinion is “Instagram sucks” and “the algorithm is ruining our lives”, at least in the blogging space. I can’t go a day or maybe even an hour without reading someone’s rant or venting session about how their engagement is down and their account isn’t growing and how disheartening it all is. And I get it! I 100% get it because hey, it’s happening to all of us, myself included.

But the thing is…I just can’t dwell on it anymore.

Earlier this year when I took my blogging break and I was in the thick of the “blogging blues”, Instagram played a huge role in how I was feeling. I let all the negative thoughts and feelings swirl inside of me and even contemplated giving up this whole thing. That feels awful to type out now, but it’s the truth. I was doubting my abilities. I was doubting my blog. I was doubting myself. And that’s when I knew I needed to take a step back.

No social media platform should ever make you feel like you aren’t good enough or question your self worth. I think that goes without saying, but I also know that sometimes we need that little reminder. Instagram is just that: instagram. It’s a social media platform; a tool that you can choose to utilize however you please. It is NOT the end all be all, and it is not an indication of the success or future success of your blog/business. The sooner we all realize and accept that, the better.

It’s crazy because I’m in such a different headspace now than I was six months ago. Sure, sometimes the godforsaken Instagram algorithm will get me down when I see that my post only reached about 15% of my audience. But seriously, who cares? What I’ve decided, after reading and researching this topic relentlessly this year, is that I can’t change the algorithm to fit me so I need to adapt to fit it. Simple as that. Learn what the algorithm is rewarding and do more of that. Honestly it’s just like life. When things don’t go your way, you change and you adapt and find new ways to reach your goal, right? Why should this be any different?

We’ve got to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and rise to the occasion. I just feel like it doesn’t do any good to complain and cry about it to anyone who will listen; you’ve gotta take action! Good things don’t come to those who wait complain, they come to those who hustle; so that’s what I’ve been trying to do. And I know that it may feel like you’re spinning your wheels and trying your hardest to grow on Instagram to no avail, but maybe you just need to keep trying and try something different. Keep researching and finding new strategies to try. Push your creativity and imagination to create more beautiful content than you ever thought you would. And after all of that, take a break. Breathe. Read a book. Get outside or hang out with friends. Remember to unplug and don’t let yourself get too caught up in it all.

At the end of the day, we’re doing all of this for a platform that may not even be here a decade from now, or even five years from now. I know that may sound crazy to some, but we’ve all seen it happen to plenty of social media platforms before Instagram *RIP MySpace*. Invest your time in what you can control and don’t let the rest get you too down.

Honestly, I don’t have any grand revelation or moral to the story here. I’ve just been seeing an uptick in the number of posts regarding Instagram frustrations and figured I’d share where I’m at in all of this. Since taking this new approach, I’ve felt exponentially better. Things that used to get me so down, I can now shake my head at, laugh, and exit the app. It’s such a free-ing feeling really. Keeping things in perspective has done wonders for my mental health and my mood this year and I feel good going into 2019 in a few weeks with this clarity.

How do you feel about the Instagram algorithm and what are you doing to combat low engagement/growth? I’d love to hear and I’m sure others reading this would too, so let’s start a conversation! Comment below so others can see and let’s go into 2019 with an arsenal of strategies.

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