Oh, that's why it's called Social Media

I’ve been on Instagram for a while. I love it. I love looking at all the beautiful pictures and finding new little brands to admire, and now and then patronize.

I pop a picture up every few days, because I used to do an email to all my friends and family overseas, but since having the second child, I don’t have time for that. Now pictures with a caption keep them updated and happy in the little time I have between, feeds, nappies, potty dramas, train track/Duplo non-compliance and cleaning up all the bloody mess the toddler makes. That they can be filtered to the point you can’t see the kids could both do with fresh (i.e. not food encrusted) T-shirts is a serious bonus too.

So, when I launched the swimwear business, that we’d have an Instagram page seemed to make sense. What better way for people to see our products, right?

Well, if you have any followers that is!

Personally I have around a hundred. I think I know most of them in real life too. I mean, that was the point for me. A place to share fast kid fixes for the people who don’t get to see us day to day.

Turns out, that it isn’t the (only) point of social media though. Especially if you’re a business or a brand. Who knew?!

I’m not sure what I thought would happen when I started to put pictures up of my kids in our swimmers. Anything…

Naturally, it didn’t.

When I was at the dizzying heights of 11 followers over on the business page, I had a quick look into how to get our product noticed by at least a handful more. And you know what? It’s pretty simple. You just have to be social.

Now, I figure, if I don’t know you and you’ve found the blog, you’re already all over this, but honestly, I was not.

I might well like other people’s posts, but I pretty much never ‘liked’ them. And I certainly never commented, because, my mentality was - who gives a shit what I think?

But people do. (Look, not really me per se perhaps; I’m not an influencer of any kind. Hell, I can’t influence the two small people I’m supposed to be the boss of most days). People on there do want to hear from others though. So, I’ve started to comment, dammit. If like it and I think something, I’ve started pressing the little heart button. If I think it, well, I'm saying what crossed my mind too.

And, it’s brilliant. Not only do people want to hear from and about other people they know, sometimes even beyond the scope of those they know in ‘real’ life too.

Having worked this out: I’ve made a few new friends; I’ve got a few more followers. And I’ve realised, as a small business, hearing from people out there and getting their views, input, and ideas on what we offer and what we do is invaluable.

It’s also changed the way that I look at my own account here. Hence this (pretty new) blog. As well as keeping those I know updated, I’ve found a way to reach out and share, explore, and feel a little more connected as I live the often lonely life of being a stay at home mum building a business.

#Social #Instagram