Dear Instagram, did I do something to offend you?

Dear Instagram, did I do something to offend you?

Dear Instagram,

I am writing to you today as I am bit concerned that I may have done something to upset you? I am not sure what exactly but you seem to be punishing me for some reason. It hardly seems fair to me, considering the hours I spend with you every single day and the fact I have been in love with you since around about the summer of 2013. You definitely are not treating me as nice as you once did though so I need to ask you this question- have I done something to offend you?

Each day I open you up on my phone and I love nothing more than to browse all the little squares of beauty filling up my screen. Inspirational posts, motivational posts, stunning posts and (my favourite) oh so relatable posts. If I had more hours in my day I would happily let myself get lost down the rabbit hole that is my Instagram feed, I have responsibilities though so I have learnt to drag my eyes away from you.

I would be lying if I said I only use you for browsing other people’s beautiful photographs though. My relationship with you has always been a little bit of give and take, I am a blogger you see so that’s the way it needs to be.  As well as looking at everyone else’s little squares of pixels, I also regularly like to chuck some of my own photographs into the mix too: photos of my sons, a cake I have baked or a pretty beach scene. I love how you make me try and take better photos, how you have shown me the power of editing and how you have connected me to so many other people sharing similar interests to me. I will always love the communities that live within you Instagram but I am starting to fall out of love with you.

I just want to ask, why won’t you let me grow? Why are you stopping my little squares reaching the eyes of those who might be interested in what I have to say? For a long while my followers were growing nicely but the past 6 months or so they have pretty much been stagnant. Is it because I haven’t mastered creating that almost unachievable goal of the perfect Insta theme? Is it because my photographs aren’t all carefully composed flat lays or have a brilliant white background? Perhaps the photographs I am putting out there just aren’t good enough, maybe my captions are just not engaging and maybe my inability to grow has nothing to do with you at all. That might sometimes be the case, we all chuck out a photo that’s a little bit pants every now and then, but I think your evil algorithm is to blame.

instagram

Once upon a time I would get over 100 people pressing that little heart of yours and sharing the love on every single one of my photos. Those were the good days, when my followers actually got to see my photos and were able to engage with me. Not like now, when unless I behave like some kind of digital ninja to beat your algorithm my photos are only being seen by a handful of my followers. I know it’s not just me, that other people who use you also feel the same. There are so many bloggers like me, trying to grow but just can’t seem to do it. Some businesses and bloggers have you all figured out, I have tried following their secret tips though and so far none of their Insta magic is working for me. So I have to ask you again Instagram, have I done something to offend you?

You won’t let me grow even though I post a new photo almost every single day.  You won’t let me grow even though I like and comment on so many of the beautiful photos that flood my iPhone screen every hour of every day. Why won’t you let me grow even though I hashtag all my little squares to within an inch of their life and then search those hashtags, liking, commenting and following the feeds that spark my interest and make my eyes smile with their beauty? I ask questions, I write long captions, I write short captions and, hell, I chuck the odd emoji in there too. I use key words, I write about things my followers are interested in, I spend time trying to take photos that people will actually enjoy looking at. I post in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and even in the middle of the night. Yet still you don’t let me grow.

I don’t know what more I can do Instagram. Do you want me to pay you, is that it? Do I need to sponsor all my own content if I want any hope of getting noticed in this cut throat platform of yours? Well, I am not willing to do that. I have had it with your torturous algorithm . If I lose out on blog work because I don’t have enough engagement or followers then so be it. I am fed up with seeing my likes drop with every photo I post and watching my followers go up by 2 every week only for 10 people to unfollow me the next. I’ve had enough.

No matter how much I wish I could, I am not leaving you for good Instagram. You are like that boyfriend I had as a teenager, you are so not good for me but for some reason I just can’t stop coming back to you for more. I am giving up checking my stats though, any theme I was trying to establish is being thrown in the bin and instead I will be posting whatever I fancy, whenever I fancy. I liked it when things were fun between us and I want to find that again, it got lost somewhere along my journey for more followers and your refusal to let me reach them.

I love you Instagram, I just don’t like you very much right now.

Best wishes (but not really),

@wendy_naptimenatterblog
**

Are you a blogger struggling to grow your Instagram following? Have you noticed a drop in engagement recently too? For those of you who have mastered the fine art of Instagramming, please share your secrets in the comments.

 

 

 

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18 Comments

  1. September 27, 2017 / 9:22 pm

    I feel exactly the same lovely and I’m really struggling to not feel a little put down by the algorithm and huge drop in engagement. I just don’t understand it, it just feels like we’re all being penalised for something but I can’t imagine what. Hopefully it will soon return to the platform we once all knew and loved but for now I think it’s ok that we feel a little let down by it. You’ve written this beautifully lovely xx

  2. September 28, 2017 / 7:06 am

    I love Instagram too but try to not focus on number of followers. It’s annoying people can’t see our posts as I love it when people engage or comment that one of my posts has been helpful (my blog is about career and wellbeing). The algorithm is very cheeky. You have a fab Instagram corner. #coolmumclub

  3. September 28, 2017 / 8:34 am

    I feel you on this one. I’ve been struggling with instagram and it seems as if my follower amount is stagnating. And every day it seems as if I dropped 3 or 5 followers. I’ve been playing around with hastags and keywords but no can do. So annoying.

  4. September 28, 2017 / 9:38 am

    I think we all feel the same. It’s very hard to understand it these days. Even when I have promoted my posts don’t appear properly, especially in Facebook. It’s all a bit of a mystery! #coolmumclub x

  5. September 28, 2017 / 10:14 am

    I feel the same darling Instagram is killing the love of the platform it’s such a crying shame. Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub x
    Talya recently posted…5 awesome workouts for mums and kidsMy Profile

  6. September 28, 2017 / 10:36 am

    I am definitely with you on this! I haven’t actively tried to grow my insta because I can’t be arsed right now. I’m still seeing photos from 6+ days ago. Which is all fine and good, they’re beautiful photos, but I’m missing out on photos people are posting NOW! I don’t want to see them in 6 days time…it’s a bit ridiculous isn’t it? I hope they sort it out soon! #coolmumclub

  7. September 28, 2017 / 11:04 am

    I can relate to this. I have totally changed my approach now and tend to ignore the stats. I do it for fun and if it isn’t fun I don’t do it. I am taking time curating photos which is where my love lies anyway. Good luck getting back to that boyfriend 😉
    #coolmumclub

  8. September 28, 2017 / 1:30 pm

    Totally agree with all the other commenters! My engagement has dropped by about half. And my feed is a tragedy. I get clusters of photos from the same accounts from many days before (nothing ‘insta’ about that!!). And I’m missing out on so many accounts I love but no longer appear in my feed. I have better engagement on the IG posts I share to FB. Which makes me very suspicious!!

  9. September 28, 2017 / 3:02 pm

    I feel the same way! I have two Instagram accounts, one for the blog and one for my Zazzle store. My Zazzle store has been growing pretty steadily and then completely flattened out. My blog has lost over 30 followers in the past week. But I’m not doing anything differently !!! It’s so frustrating!
    Heather Keet recently posted…Poll Tuesday week 29…My Profile

  10. September 28, 2017 / 3:16 pm

    It is definitely a hard one to crack, I spend far too many hours thinking about Instagram, you are not alone! x #coolmumclub

  11. September 28, 2017 / 6:52 pm

    Oh I can definitely relate! I thought it was me and my nontechnical brain! I wonder what’s happened? Perhaps one of the Instagram fairies is on holiday?? See! No idea me! #coolmumclub

  12. September 28, 2017 / 7:15 pm

    It’s really frustrating isn’t it! I’m exactly the same. I thought I was doing ok with Instagram but then the last few weeks have been awful, less people liking unless I spend ages engaging with loads of others.
    #coolmumclub

  13. September 28, 2017 / 7:34 pm

    I hope they read all these articles and opinions. It seems like they are losing a massive audience. #CoolMumClub
    Mama Grace recently posted…Where’s Your Shoe?My Profile

  14. September 29, 2017 / 6:50 pm

    I totally agree with you! Love this piece. I love Instagram and have been hoping to grow my following, but more than that I hope to reach people with well thought out, relatable copy to go with my posts – like mini blogs. I’ve started to feel like focusing too much energy on growing my audience affects the quality of my posts so, like you, I’ve thrown in the towel. Just going to enjoy it for what it is and hope that the few people who do see my posts enjoy them. Thanks for writing this piece – it made me smile.

  15. September 30, 2017 / 7:17 am

    I think every single blogger out there will agree with you on this one, it’s just not the same platform it used to be and it’s so sad x
    #Coolmumclub
    Alana – Burnished Chaos recently posted…12 Top Potty Training TipsMy Profile

  16. October 2, 2017 / 6:33 pm

    I’ve noticed a few bloggers posting about their frustration with instagram recently. I think you’ve got the right attitude by finding what makes you enjoy it. #coolmumclub
    Helena recently posted…How to Get Kids to Sleep on HolidayMy Profile

  17. June 28, 2018 / 2:29 pm

    Oh I think this will hot a cord with so many. I blame Mark. Facebook and Instagram are after all trying to loose all their followers and if they keep going they WILL succeed. I have already stopped engaging with Facebook other than groups because I hate their ethos and punishment of those who want to use them. They are greedy and manipulative and Instagram is going the same way. Pinterest is the way forward. Move over Mark – your greed will be your downfall like so many other dictators. (Can you tell I’m pretty annoyed and slightly bitter about this?!)