Why I Love Instagram (and You Will Too)!

Friends, as you are perfectly aware, I have a blog, no big surprise there. However, what you may not know is that part and parcel of having a blog like mine is also engaging in social media on some level. I always liked Facebook because it keeps me connected to friends, relatives and my homeschool community. I have actually found “long lost” family members and childhood friends on Facebook. Bonus! Sweet.

But, lookie lookie, here comes Instagram! I’m thinking, “what’s this now?” I knew friends that were on Instagram but at the time had very little interest in learning any new social media because there are quite enough social platforms out there to make your head spin and they all can eat up your valuable time, if you’re not careful.  Long story short, I was happy when I finally decided to check out Instagram because it is now my favorite! Here’s why I like, ok….love Instagram.

Instagram 

• I can do quick picture shares of projects, books or other things that don’t require a long blog post.
• I can post to my Facebook from my Instagram in one click (time saver!)
• I can utilize unique hashtags (what’s that?)
• I can connect with other moms/homeschoolers. (I’ve gotten some great advice – from recipes to teaching reading tips)
• I can easily post short teaching videos as well

Here’s a preview of some of my Instagram shares:

 

My Instagram feed is also on the right hand side of my blog’s homepage. Click here.

If you’d like to know more, here’s a detailed breakdown of how Instagram works.

Guess what happened?…TRUE STORY

I connect with friends, relatives and some bloggers on Instagram. And can I tell you, bloggers are just awesome!! I learn so much from them. In fact, here’s a true story. I went to the Chic Fil A the other day. While the boys were romping in the play area, I struck up a conversation with two moms sitting across from our table. We had some really good conversation about kids and education. Bright mamas. Afterwards, right before they left, one of the lady’s daughter handed  me her mama’s business card. Guess what people? I glanced at her card before securing it in my purse and realized I had “met” this mom on Instagram a week before! I was like, whattt??? I quickly walked over to her before she scurried through the door so I could share my discovery. It clicked and she was just as surprised as I was at our chance in-person meeting.  Well, this lady has THE neatest little blog that solves the problem of trying to figure out what events and activities are happening for kids in the Washington DC Metro region. She’s done all the work for you, mamas. Here’s her blog, if you want to check it out, she’s pretty cool. 🙂

Social media is also making the world smaller place, so it pays to be nice to folk, ’cause ya never know who you’ll run into.

“…if I’m going to engage in it, I may as well enjoy it.”

Finally

I don’t need anything complicated or time consuming. This is why I love Instagram. My general rule when it comes to social media is if I’m going to engage in it, I may as well enjoy it. Yes, I am a blogger and it is important to maintain a social media presence – especially from a marketing perspective. However, I carve out a little bit of time to do what I can right now and ask God to take care of the rest. At the moment, just having an outlet to write, to get my thoughts out and share with you, makes me super happy!! I check in on Instagram a few times a week, I post shares on my Facebook some evenings,  I love Pinterest as well, but have neglected it for some time – I’ll be working on it in the coming weeks. Throughout the year I manage to do just a little YouTube, I’m doing a little better with my Twitter, thanks to Hootsuite, and I am on Google+ but still trying to see if that’s a good fit for me.

If you’re on social media, here are the places you can connect with me:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• YouTube (check out this super cute video Lego video!)
• Twitter

Do you have a favorite social media platform? Or is social media a no-go?

Wendy, xoxo