How to be Interesting on Instagram (Again)

Engage your audience rather than amuse them from a novelty perspective.

Once upon a time, before influencers, curated accounts and “aesthetics” took over, social media apps were used to just document your life. How unique your photos were didn’t matter that much; the aim was just to let your friends know what you were up to. Today, social media has become a place where we “live our best lives”, and the pressure to cultivate an interesting online persona is very real. Between bad bosses, breakups and just general blahs, that’s hard work.

So how can we be more original on social media and hopefully get more out of it than just a #followforfollow? We asked some experts for their opinions.

Follow me, followers!

Simon Kemp, a digital marketing strategist, believes it’s impossible to give advice on how to be different, since once someone copies you, that’s it. “It’s the same problem for musicians and artists,” he says. “As humans, we are psychologically programmed to copy since it reduces stress and allows us to envision success. But at the same time, we’re also drawn to original things.” This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take inspiration from your favourite Instagrammers – it’s more about asking yourself why you like what they do, and figuring out if you can adapt it in a way that jives with your personality.

“Basically, if you’re trying to be someone you’re not, someone else will do that better than you – that’s why being yourself is always your strongest content,”says Simon.

Keep it real

Kelly Fan of Studiokel Photography has made it her business to capture candid, real emotions, and she strongly believes that without injecting your own personality into your pictures, any pose can become meaningless. “When the photo reflects individuality, it’s more impactful and memorable,” she says.

Simon also suggests keeping your followers’ interests in mind. “With social media, trends come and go, so focus on finding methods that let you engage your audience rather than amuse them from a novelty perspective.”

Make social media social again

It’s human nature to seek approval and validation, and Simon believes social media is so popular as a result of these needs. But it can also bring out our critical side. “Regularly, we see people attacking each other online. Rather than give in to the urge to complain, pause and ask yourself why you’re doing it. Complaining is an important part of building relationships – but it has to be constructive,” he says.

Living authentically

Simon suggests it’s important to remember the original purpose of social media. “It would be nice to return to actual social interactions on social media,” he says. “Getting ‘likes’ is an addiction and it can get very hollow. It’s a lot more constructive to get back to building relationships, as it can cancel out the loneliness we may feel when we focus too much on social media metrics.”

Another thing we can do is stop living for perfection. “It’s not wrong to want to look perfect; most people are guilty of that,” says a representative from Sweet Escape, a group that offers photography services to travellers who want good photos on location. “[But] I think imperfection is perfect. It shows our human side, and most of the time, it’s the prettiest thing to capture in photos.” 

What trends do photographers want to see go away?

“The hipster trend of photographing a person/couple standing dead-still, emotionless. Images like these are repeated again and again, and are very forgettable. I’d like to see more emotion captured instead, so there’s more life and story to the image.” – Kelly, Studiokel Photography

"The selfie pose! And not to mention the duck face and peace signs.” – Sweet Escape

Images 123RF.com Text Karen Fong.