Too much 'noise'
lost mojo and how to get it back
Every now and then I lose my Instagram / business mojo and the last few weeks have been a classic case in point. I don’t think the change of seasons is a coincidence as I am very much a sun and warmth lover so reaching for the woolies and turning on the lights that little bit earlier each evening doesn’t help. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I have ‘SAD’ (seasonal affective disorder) but I suspect I hover on the edges.
My real problem is the perishing Instagram algorithm and its ever changing presence. When I first started using Instagram it was like a ‘digital coffee table book’; full of gorgeous photos and styling. Obviously, I knew it wasn’t all true and that behind the stunning interiors photo was probably a pile of washing to be ironed or a stack of dishes to wash but still, it provided a degree of escapism as well as some inspiration.
Now though, I am tormented by the endless ‘hooks’ designed to keep us glued to a reel to watch it to the end. I know this is their ‘purpose’ and as a result just scroll on by these days as I know it is just a ploy to lure me in to selling me something or getting me to subscribe to some tips or tricks that I never knew I needed. The constant voices are like a verbal prod in the ribs and it was starting to grate. It feels like ‘noise’ in what used to be a beautiful quiet ‘library’ of images and I don’t mind telling you I’m struggling.
The question is do we join in so that we are seen or fade into the background? Dithering over that has caused a bit of posting inertia on Instagram as I’ve wrestled with where I want to ‘sit’ in that noisy space.
My main interests are photography, taking photos of vintage pieces in the home, as well as country-house style interiors and so I am torn. I do sell some vintage treasures but that is a side-line of my Instagram account rather than the staple part of it. All this got me wondering if I really want to be part of the current flavour of marketing.
I realised I don’t and that left me without any mojo for taking photos especially when they are likely to be unseen. A break in the sunshine didn’t help my lack of creativity either although it certainly helped my mood!
I have given myself a good talking to now I am back and remember that the interest I have is in the ‘process’ of taking the photos and not the number of likes, comments or shares. While I might not find it so easy to get inspiration appearing on my Instagram feed these days I can still seek out my favourite accounts and make sure I am marking them as ‘favourites’ so I can find them easily when I need a hit of just plain, good old fashioned, lovely images without the ‘chatter’.
The algorithm is apparently going to be showing us less of the accounts we follow and flooding our feed with more accounts we don’t so it is even more important to hang on to the good stuff by favouriting it. Here’s how to do it in case you don’t know:
find a post for an account you like and want to favourite.
in the top right hand corner alongside their account name you will see three dots …
click on the dots and select the star where it says ‘add to favourites’. This will put a red star by the side of the account name you have favourited.
when you want to see only your favourites in your feed click on the Instagram text on the top left of your screen. There is a little arrow next to the word ‘Instagram’'.
Click on the arrow and you will see a drop-down menu with 2 options; ‘following’ and ‘favourites’.
If you click on the word ‘following’ you will see posts from everyone you follow.
If you click on ‘favourites’ you will just see those with a red star instead.
It is worth noting that you can only select 50 ‘favourites’ so while it can be hard narrowing down the choices it does mean you can be selective with your viewing when you choose to be and filter out the ‘noise’. That way you can have a quick fix of pleasure instead of enduring the endless calls for attention.
I gather Instagram are rolling out a new feature too where you pay £3.99 a month to be ‘ad free’. That is so appealing on so many levels but also annoying that it is yet another subscription to get back to the way it was before. Will I do it? I don’t know- what about you, worth the spend for the ad-free content?
I might occasionally do a reel and it might even include some lovely music but mostly I intend to stay true to what I love doing and that is country-home, vintage styling type interior photos with the odd holiday photo of chippy shutters and doors. If that is up your street and you don’t want my Instagram content buried in the ‘noise’ do think about favouriting my account.
Since starting to write this newsletter I have attended a really rather wonderful workshop at Margot in Lewes. A lovely morning with like-minded women taking photos of citrus fruit under the instruction of the very talented Charlotte Bland photographer. We had free rein to use any of the homeware for sale in the shop as part of our photos, what with that and the shop being so gorgeous providing the perfect backdrop the time flew, the creative juices flowed and I felt uplifted. Hard on the heels of my wonderful time at Margot I went in search of winter sunshine.
Having had some sun, inspiration from being with a group of other women and doing a photography course in London I can slowly feel my inspiration seeping back in. Sometimes it just takes a little time to oneself and also having fun with a group of others to lift the spirits. Thank you for sticking with me.
