Just because it's easy doesn't mean there's something wrong
Experimenting on social media
Hi friends,
This week, I experimented on Instagram.
I decided that I would post a reel on Instagram for a week without complicating things. Usually, I would create a complicated sequence where I would film different shots, record some voice-over, and then find a trending song.
The whole thing would take me over an hour to do.
I don't really care about growing on Instagram, but I like Instagram because I feel that most people I'm trying to reach are mainly on Instagram, so in that sense, I feel obliged to share my thoughts on Instagram.
I've been working on the energy of "I'm going to post whatever I want and not care about the results."
This isn't about faking it or secretly hoping I'll get the results by pretending not to care. I want to learn to trust that my words are powerful enough that everything else is secondary.
I wanted the process of posting to be less than 30 minutes every day.
So here's what I did:
Throughout the day, I'd film random things I'm doing: nature walking, working out, cooking, making a floral arrangement, reading or even journalling.
(Remember, there's not much effort involved because I'm just filming things I'm already doing)
Then, sometimes, I'll get inspired to write. For instance, when I'm journalling or when I'm reading. So, I quickly write down things on my Notes app.
Then, at night, around 8 - 9 pm, I sit down to create a reel (which by the way, is a therapeutic process for me—I love editing videos). I'll choose a video I already filmed, and put the thoughts I'd already written over the video. I'll quickly scroll reels to find the music that matches the mood I'm going for.
In 15 - 20 minutes, I have a 15-second reel.
After creating the reel, I shut down my phone and don't open Instagram until the next day—partly because I'm scared of the results.
Here's the result from this experiment:
Reel 1: 97 likes + 18 shares + 14 bookmarks
Reel 2: 36 likes + 0 shares + 0 bookmark
Reel 3: 20 likes + 0 shares + 0 bookmark
Reel 4: 450 likes + 32 shares + 50 bookmarks
Reel 5: 226 likes + 3 comments + 9 shares + 24 bookmarks
Before this, my reels would get between 20 - 40 likes, with no shares or bookmarks.
So what changed?
I decided to make things easy for me.
I decided to go with the things that felt natural to me. Filming random stuff I'm doing throughout the day feels natural. Writing my random but real thoughts throughout the day feels easy.
The hard part is sitting down, editing the reel and trusting that your work matters. After all, publishing your thoughts makes you extremely vulnerable so it’s terrifying.
But I've also learned to detach myself from the pieces I publish out there.
This way, whether I have a reel that gets 1K likes or 0 likes, it won't affect me as much.
I'm learning to embrace the process that works with my flow instead of forcing different strategies that other people are doing. I'm learning the strategies that are easy for me.
I'm learning that just because things are easy doesn't mean it's wrong.
Here's your weekly prompt:
In what ways are you making things complicated that you end up working against yourself?