2018 has been an intense year. Very intense.
In case you didn’t know, we are only 2 people behind Preview app: me and Andrew. I mostly take care of our Instagram account. So I totally get you if you ever feel overwhelmed by Instagram. I’ve been there, done that. I’ve been burned out too. And I’ve also been totally in love with my Instagram experience: meeting people from all around the world, preparing fun posts, scheduling, searching for new hashtags, featuring you guys, watching your Insta Stories with your beautiful creations (your feeds!).
I’ll be totally honest: it has been a roller coaster.
I’ve felt overwhelmed and I’ve also felt totally in love with Instagram.
And my oh my, this year, I’ve found the sweet spot: how to stay totally in love with Instagram everyday. Yes, it’s possible.
Want to know what goes on in my mind every time I plan our Instagram feed and post?
Here are 5 things I’ve learned about Instagram in 2018:
1. Plan your posts in advance
Ok I’m not saying this because of Preview. Planning helps. Planning works. I mean it. When I don’t plan some posts in advance I’m stressed. When I plan posts in advance, I’m looking forward to the next time I have to post on Instagram! I’m excited! I’m in a good groove.
When I plan, I can also see that you guys are loving our posts more than usual. This is awesome! So I’ve learned to really take my time to plan my posts and enjoy the process.
2. Find your own routine
Have you ever said something like this: “OMG, my analytics are showing that my best time to post is 10pm. But I can’t post at 10pm every day, I’ve got other stuff to do or I’m too tired at the end of a long day. What should I do? Should I post anyway? But I don’t want to post at 10pm *sad face*”.
Here is what I have learned: Don’t force Instagram into your life. Instead, fit Instagram into your life. Find your own routine.
Before, I used to be so strict with myself. So strict, that I would dread posting on Instagram. I would be scared. I would look at the clock and think “Oh gosh… I have to post soon!”.
But that all changed.
I assessed how my days looked like. And thought: “Okay, when is the best time to post for me and my life? When am I not too busy? When can I spend a lot of time on Instagram? When do I have time to read all our DMs? When do I want to check out what our peeps are posting? When do I want to chill and have fun the most?”
For some of you, some of these questions might sound ridiculous. Maybe posting at your best time fits your schedule and you’re having a blast. If that’s the case, keep doing what you’re doing. But if you have ever been in a situation where you don’t feel like posting, keep reading.
Once again, I’ll be totally honest with you: There are so many things I want to do during the day. I love working on Preview to create new features for you. And I also LOVE being on Instagram to hang out with you. So if I could, I would spend the whole day on Instagram. But that’s not possible. I have to set a time aside to be on Instagram otherwise I can’t work on new features.
So I decided to fit Instagram in my routine. Here is how my routine looks like:
- Morning: Check DMs, comments and post an Insta Story.
- Night: Post on Instagram, reshare your Insta Stories in our Insta Story, check out what you guys are posting.
Some days are packed and I’m only able to open Instagram at the end of the day. And that’s okay. By the end of the day, I’m so excited to open my Instagram app and check the Insta Stories you tagged us in. It’s a nice way to end the day.
You might like to start your day with Instagram.
Whatever suits you, find your flow and find your own routine that fits your life.
Like we always say: “Instagram is an app, not a torturing device”.
3. Don’t focus on the numbers
Talking about torture. Numbers (followers, comments, likes) can make you happy, disappointed or sad. Right?!
Have you ever thought: “oh… I didn’t get many likes… oh, I didn’t get many comments… My followers number is not growing…”. We’ve all been there.
Of course numbers can help a lot (analytics).
But I’ve learned that numbers shouldn’t dictate your entire Instagram experience every single day. Otherwise they can kill your vibes and creativity.
Instead of focusing on the numbers, I focus on having fun, helping people, meeting people and sharing my passion. I also take screenshots of the nice comments, messages and Stories you send us. They motivate us. You motivate us. We save them all in a special folder and re-read them.
I also change the way I look at numbers:
Now, behind every number I see a person.
It’s a simple thought, but it is powerful.
Think about it: We see a number of “followers”. But do you realise that if you have 1,000 followers it means that 1,000 people pressed the “follow” button for you? Imagine 1,000 people in a room. That’s a LOT of people!
4. It’s ok to have a break
It’s ok to have a break.
Don’t burn out because of Instagram. It’s totally ok to have a break. Instagram will still be here tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and the day after that.
Sometimes I take a break from Instagram for 2 or 3 days.
I have learned that after taking a break I feel more refreshed and creative. And when I’m refreshed and creative, I’m having even more fun on Instagram.
Which brings me to my final point…
5. Have fun
What the heck am I doing on Instagram if I’m not having fun?
I made it my motto that:
- I should always have fun when I’m on Instagram, and
- I should always have fun when I’m preparing new posts in my Preview app
Thinking like this dramatically changed my Instagram experience – for the better. I was not focusing on numbers anymore. I was focusing on fun! And then, everything became easy.
If you use Instagram for your business, I challenge you to think this way. It will make such a big difference in your work and life.
If you use Instagram for fun, but you feel stressed, I challenge you to stop putting so much pressure on yourself and to just have fun and create what you want to create.
I truly hope this motto and mindset will help you in 2019 as much as it helped me this year.
That’s it! These were my 5 biggest Instagram lessons of 2018.
What did you learn this year? Do you have other tips that would help us and other people too? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
And until next time, happy New Year to you, happy planning (have fun!) and see you on Instagram!
Alex & Andrew
Great article. I agree that we place too much pressure on ourselves to be present on social media for our business. I’ve had more fun with my Instagram lately and it’s made a big difference. Thank you
So happy to hear this! Keep having fun. I think it’s Insta’s secret sauce 🙂
Hey guys! I really enjoyed reading this! I almost felt like I could hear your voice saying this to me (although I’ve never heard your voice lol!)! I can truly relate to everything you said and it makes me happy to know that I’m not all alone in my Instagram woes. The email title made me open it, the content in the email made me click, and I enjoyed reading this! I’m saying all of that bc as a small business owner, I know exactly how hard it is to create content that makes people click, read, and engage. Thank you!
So happy everything resonated with you! You’re definitely not alone! Thank you for the kind words. We hope you’re having a relaxing end of 2018. Happy New Creative Year to you!
Hey there! Really useful article! All the tips are helpful and supportive. Keep it up, guys!
Thank you! 🙂
What a brilliant article, thank you sooo much Alex! It’s 100% me you are writing about 🙂 I need to have more fun and this article is going in my goals for 2019! It seems to get a little bit too serious sometimes, even this Christmas break I was thinking that I HAVE to post on Instagram but I just need to relax a little bit and have more FUN! Thank you for all your help for such a small business as myself not to get lost in this complicated social media world xx
You’re so welcome! Enjoy your break. You deserve it! 🙂
I love this, thank you for reminding me to have fun and that each number is a person! It’s easy to forget that in amongst all the hype and pressure of social media.
You’re so welcome. Have an awesome start of 2019!
I love that all of these are really “personal” style idea’s. It’s not “here’s how I made my analytics better” – it’s simply, human. 🙂 Sometimes all we want is to remember that there’s a human on the other end. 🙂
Thank you so much for this, I was very overwhelmed with insta gram and have been trying to learn the difference between micro influencers and macro influencers. I am a micro influencer and I should not beat myself up over followers and comments and learn to enjoy insta for what it is. This was so helpful in how I need to plan out my new year and how I am going to use social media to my benefit.
Thank you Alex! Such a great article and fantastic ideas. I’m quite new to Instagram and a bit older so am having to step out of my comfort zone, but definitely in my 2019 goals will be to remember to plan, have fun and relax with it! Best wishes to you and Andrew this year for Preview and yourselves. Gina @kitmaii
Thank you. ur apps really help me. i love it so much.
Hi, is there any support for this app? I can’t find a help section or any way to make contact besides in the blog comments. I signed up for a monthly paid account yesterday, but still don’t have access to the paid features – it asks me if I want to upgrade, but I’ve already done it (I have my receipt to show that the first payment has been made). Please direct me to your support team!
Hello! Yes please end us an email here: [email protected] . Or you can go in your Preview app settings and press on “Email us”. We’ll help you as fast as we can!
Thanks Alexandra!
Preview app has so much critical information…what a great resource…thank you for being thorough and loving what you do!
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You’re like a breath of fresh air ❤️
It’s so important to take a brake every now and then, to have a healthy distance to all this. IG is just a tool, a great one, and with enormous community and opportunities, but it’s still just a tool.
Thanks for all your valuable articles ?
Ahh thanks lovely! So good to see you here ❤️
Great advice, thank you! I especially resonate with the motto: if you are not having fun, what’s the point? This goes for Instagram as well as the rest of your life. Good to stay focused and remember at the end of the day to have fun and be gentle with our perfectionist selves! Its the journey, not the destination!
Exactly! Super happy it resonated with you too 🙂
hello guys is my first time reading your blog (article) and i feel much better, thank you for share this , becouse yeah we always focus more in number and forget about what is more important, having fun and help people with that, im glad i read this i feel more confident, God bless