Saturday 25 January 2014

INSTAGRAM and the art of gentle persuasion! (mostly)




I am having a lot of fun on Instagram (along with 150 million others! ) and was surprised when my daughter-in-law told me a while back that the Instagram team have decided to allow formal advertising - and I quote ...

"In the next couple of months, you may begin seeing an occasional ad in your Instagram  feed if you are in the United States.  Seeing photos and videos from brands you don't follow will be new, so we'll start slow" 

  At first I thought - "Kiss of death"!! .... look what's happened to Facebook.  Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for $1billion.. and I was thinking how nice that they were leaving Instagram to grow organically without introducing advertising.  Advertising is already happening unofficially on Instagram,   but without any "hard sell" techniques and without any financial spin off going to Instagram/Facebook (that I know of)!     


I have experienced  my unique  "Insta" community to be rather delightful!  There appears to be a certain reverence for politeness (in my circles anyway) and respect and support flow freely!  Advertising by Instagramers has been developing slowly  and up until now, has remained restrained.    Photographs  are used to showcase new arrivals in store,  and/or new developments on websites.   Mostly however,   people use Instagram to share what they enjoy visually. 





Instagram also allows access into the private lives and whereabouts of many international celebrities who sometimes post photos of their daily experiences.  This is a space that even the most persistant paparazzi cannot invade!

Interiors, gardens, crafts, books, dogs and food are some of  my passions,  and I enjoy following people in these fields.    




One, in particular, is Howard Slatkin  a designer who lives in New York and has recently launched his fabulous book "Fifth Avenue Style".   Mr Slatkin,   amusingly posted snippets from his book  weeks before the launch on Instagram.  He  accompanied the posts with the hashtag #spdj - "Shameless plug du jour".  It was this exposure to the delights of his new book that prompted me to order a copy from Amazon... Insta-success!






Another example of the power of Instagram was a photo posted by Oliveaux of a lovely little white cane side table that they carry in their shop.  I got in touch (most people include their websites on their Insta profiles) and bought one.. (see below)




Another favourite is @printeryoysterbay near New York, who produce beautiful handmade stationery of the finest quality (see below)  Have a look at their website - www.iprintery.com - you won't be disappointed!  

                

I also know of an instance where Instagram helped  friends to sell their farm.  This beautiful farm in the Southern Highlands NSW is for sale too!



Old friends from South Africa have joined and the opportunity of an  instant, visual "catch-up" is fun!

One can also pass on information which might be of interest to others.   My daughter is very interested in raw food and if I stumble across anything of interest,  I am able to alert her by simply typing her Instagram name on the relevant photo, which will then appear on her news feed.. quick and easy! 

Recipes, food ideas, beautiful interiors, gardens, new products, words to inspire, doggies, sharing holidays and more... it's all there and I have to admit that scrolling through the new photos each day has become a "fix"!


An autumn landscape from New England, a dinner table in New York,  a garden in Hampshire and home-made soup in Western Australia… personal images from all over the world,  floating up the screen continuously.    A while ago,  Instagram introduced a video option which adds to the fun!

It does seem such a shame that the Team at Instagram have made this decision.. perhaps if enough of us complain they might decide against it?

Below are a just a handful of my favourites.. 

















I hope all my fellow Australians have had a wonderful Australia Day and wishing everyone a happy Sunday!


12 comments:

  1. Lovely images - all of them Jenny! I haven't got on the instagram bandwagon - I spend too much time on the net etc already, plus I worry about copyright as Instagram claim copyright (I believe) of images posted. I have noticed a lot of my favourite blogs have gone quiet as they use instagram instead, which makes me sad. Plus a lot of action on Facebook has also transferred over. I guess I like writing, and my photos are generally poor quality, which is why I haven't really embraced it fully! But as a marketing tool, it's obviously working. All these things have difficulty transferring over to paid platforms though. Pinterest is worth $2billion (I think?) and they're trying to work out a way of transferring all that pinning to actual real money.... not easy!

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    1. Thanks Heidi!... I first took it up about 2 years ago and then only again last year!... It could be keeping bloggers busy... not sure ... your posts are so informative, fun and interesting!... hoping you are having a great holiday! xx

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  2. I love insta too! Everyone is so friendly and polite and encouraging and funny. I like the insights into people's lives too. I found your blog via insta!!! Happy Australia Day Jenny xxx

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    1. I know FF... I think it's a wonderful thing for people who might be lonely or live alone too...I also love the insights .. and the sharing of ideas, travel tips, any tips!!! xxx

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  3. Also just screen shot your favourites, download them into iPhoto, they will appear as the last photos in your iPhone photo stream and upload in moments (if that makes sense) x

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    1. I've got the hang of it now!... I sync my iphone to my computer which then downloads all my screen-shots of Insta users... and then upload... I was using the 'icloud' onto photostream and that was taking ages!!

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  4. You are a pro instagramer and you post amazing photos - but meaning to ask do you use your iphone or another camera? Bc they look high quality. But if I am being honest I like pinterest better because on instagram not everyone has nice photos like yours. But yes I have noticed that there is definitely a soft sell but much more effective because of it. I adore the pics Mr Slatkin shares on instagram - but I think he is being too generous because I haven't bought the book yet because he keeps feeding us pictures! :) x

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    1. I use my iphone Naomi!... only!! Thanks for the compliment re photos... I like zooming in a lot!!! Have a lovely week... AND ... I'll be in London in May!!! will email you xx

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  5. Lovely to have you back Jenny! Belated Happy Australia Day! A reader

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  6. What you're saying is completely true. I know that everybody must say the same thing, but I just think that you put it in a way that everyone can understand. I'm sure you'll reach so many people with what you've got to say.

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  7. Hi, Really great effort. Everyone must read this article. Thanks for sharing.

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