If you’re in the creative industry, you may have noticed a buzz around everyone’s favorites social media tool: Instagram.
The Rising Tide Society is currently doing a 5 day challenge that I’m taking part in, Bonnie has a 4-week-long class dedicated to building an authentic instagram and Jenna has a free e-book dedicated to instagram (it’s so good!). I love seeing boss ladies step up and share their journey on this popular form of social media, and talk about why we should focus on it to begin with.
Maybe it’s because my feed is currently blowing up with instagram ideas, trends and philosophies, or maybe it’s because my own instagram feed reached a new milestone this week… whatever the reason, I’ve taken some time to think long and hard about my own outlook on Instagram, and I wanted to share it with you:
Instagram does not define me, and it should not define you.
I love a good instagram post! I love photos full of natural light, pink details, inspirational quotes and motivation to pump me up and encourage me through the work week. But the number of likes I receive, the number of comments I get and the number of followers I have, does not define my business or my life. You may be thinking: well that’s easy for you to say, you have 10K. No, actually, it’s not easy for me to say. I play the comparison game all the time, friends. I look at what other planners are creating, I see how fast other vendors are growing their accounts, and I allow myself to think that if I just get HERE (wherever “here” is), I’ll be okay. I’ll be successful. I’ll be worth it. But that’s not true, friends. That’s not true at all. Where you are MATTERS. What you’re doing and who you’re reaching MEANS SOMETHING. It’s time we start remembering that.
Words of affirmation is my love language; it’s how I receive love. (If you’re never read The 5 Love Languages and have no idea what I’m talking about, go read it! It not only helped me view love through marriage, but through ALL my relationships!!) This is both a blessing and a curse; it means that words matter to me. I rely on them to feel loved. In the lovely world of social media, that means I put a lot of stock in who’s commented, who’s sharing and who’s “loving” me by writing and speaking about me. UGH. That makes me sound horribly prideful, doesn’t it? Because words are my love language, I struggle with defining my self-worth in Instagram. And if I’m not carefully, and don’t keep myself in check, it can sometimes swallow me whole.
It doesn’t matter how many followers you have, it matters how you impact those followers.
I don’t care if you have 50 or 50K. Those people matter. Those people are a LIFE. They are beautiful people who have chosen to let you fill their feed with square-sized images… and those people deserve the best of you.
I won’t lie, I was really excited to hit 10K followers this week. It was a milestone I’ve been looking forward, too, and a milestone that put a big smile on my face! But when I let the realization of that number sink in, it was scary, friends. Social media demands responsibility. Being a business owner on social media demands responsibility. I have a brand to uphold and a reputation to maintain; I have a heart and mission for DSE that I want my followers to see. I want to “practice what I preach” in every way. There’s a high standard that comes with that, and I think it’s safe to say that the reality of that responsibility can cripple us. We can loose site of why we started in the first place; we can forget that EVERY SINGLE NUMER is an ACTUAL HUMAN BEING!!
The numbers on my instagram account won’t live forever. In 3 years, there might not even BE an instagram!!! (CRAZY, right?!) I don’t want to focus on numbers; I want to focus on content. I want to focus on loving an serving and building a community that points outward to each other, not inward to oneself. Do I want my numbers to grow so that I can reach more people? Absolutely! But I want them to grow so I can SERVE those people, not so they can fill my “number of followers” hat.
Ultimately, I want to use my Instagram feed to empower, inspire and lift up those around me; I want to show them the love and grace Jesus has blessed me with and find my worth in the arms of my Savior and nothing less.
xo!! kat
Image via SCStockop
Did you write this post with me in mind?! 🙂 You KNOW this is a huge struggle for me. Also, gift giving is my number one love language and for about a month I was depressed because I thought it meant I was prideful about material things! Instagram is a wonderful and awful tool at the same time 🙂 LOVE YOU!
Stumbled on this post today and so needed it! This is so beautifully written and reminded me to put my hope in Jesus! Thanks for sharing Kat!
Thank you! I am just getting started in my business and taking baby steps. I work a full time job and have my photography business part time. Social media is very time consuming ! I love looking and comparing . It is so easy to get caught up in the number game. I am inspired by the amount of talent and creativity ! I hope to be as advanced as the amazing photographers I follow and turn this into a full time profession. My retirement plan.. to learn and educate myself in the profession, get all of the experience I can so that I can retire from one job and be the best photographer that I can ! Thank you for your blogs and awesome words of wisdom♥