Being an acting teacher on Instagram, I’d like to share a couple of my experiences on my social media marketing journey, especially since I joined Instagram in March of 2019. I just realized that my Instagram feed has reached 300 posts.
Quality over Quantity
At first, I was addicted to analytics. The more likes, the more engagement, the better. But the longer I “play this game”, the more I realize that quality will always come first for me.
For a while, I managed to post six times a week. I felt obliged to do so. But it was EXHAUSTING! Then I boiled it down to three posts per week. Still EXHAUSTING! And I wasn’t satisfied with what I was posting either. I took a break and tried to remember WHY I joined the social media in the first place: To find the people who need my help and provide high quality insights. More than once, I had the thought: I’m an acting teacher, not an Instagram marketing expert!
So instead of bulldozing out all the content I possibly can – because somebody told me I had to – I want to create content I can stand behind in five years’ time. I will still post on the regular but I can guarantee you that every single post from now on will be sparked by inspiration and will be in line with my teaching philosophy, even if it only happens once or twice per week.
Having said that, I’m absolutely grateful for everyone on my my email list. This tool gives me the freedom to get the info to my subscribers without them having to look at their phone at a certain moment in time or whenever the algorithm decides to show it to them – or not. Even those who go on a well-deserved social media hiatus (it’s EXHAUSTING, right?) can still get the audition tips and tricks they need without even opening “the evil apps”.
It truly is a journey!
I recently scrolled down my feed and there are so many graphics that aren’t up to my current standard anymore. And that’s okay. The deeper I dive into Canva’s intricacies, the better I will be at expressing myself through graphics. It gets easier and easier to portray my values and teaching methods to my followers and potential students. It’s like in acting: The better I am at the craft, the easier it will become to touch people’s lives. And I need to be gracious with the imperfections that have led me here.
The downside of being an acting teacher on Instagram
Doom scrolling is a monster! I always say that theatre is a community effort and I don’t want social media to spoil this sentiment. If you ask me, we’re all colleagues, no matter how famous or far advanced we are. We’re all in the same trade.
The more time I spend on social media though, the more jealous I become of other people’s successes and I DO NOT like this side of me. Social media are ALWAYS staged, always only a fragment of what is happening. I could post a photo of a beautiful sunset and still be bawling in my bed. Life ain’t perfect, my friend.
What is your relationship with social media like? Comment below! 😊
Izzie xo.
