I initially got into Instagram because of my calligraphy phase. After almost a year of aimless fun posting my artwork, my dog Jones, the cake I baked and random sunsets, I saw that I had 700 followers.
I said, “Ok, cool.”
But when I started taking Instagram a little bit more seriously, it changed my life.
I don’t make sweeping statements so I’m not even kidding. It changed the way I perceived my work, conducted myself online and it actually gave me a professional direction in my art.
Ultimately, I found a way to make Instagram work for me. I recently passed the 20k mark and have to admit, the numbers have pushed me globally in directions I could not have foreseen. I’ve begun conducting a sketchbook class and creative forum and started an art community on IG called Sketchbook People. I don’t dish out gospel truth, but the thoughts I share below are a few of the things that have worked for me.
What’s in a name?
“So why the Jar Of Salt?” is a question I get asked almost all the time.
Easy.
I used to be a food writer who eventually started a food blog named after something I used to collect: salt. Hence, www.jarofsalt.com and @thejarofsalt (only because the name without a ‘the’ is already taken) 🙁
When I got over my 5-year creative block and decided to go full-steam ahead into my professional art career, I needed to re-brand myself. I’ve met people randomly and upon exchanging cards exclaim, “Oh you’re the Jar Of Salt!”.
It seems by then, the name has stuck so I decided to keep it. Why?
It’s not too long.
It’s easy to recall.
And it’s a word that’s easy to comprehend across different cultures.
I wanted a name people could remember even if it’s said in passing or in a rush. So I kept it even if the name has nothing really to do with art because it’s a word that has already been identified with me.
Choose and create your OWN photos well.
Ah. Where to even begin on this topic?
For starters, “nice” photos are the ones that get a lot of support. In social media terms, that’s called “engagement”. Keep the shot clean, well-composed and well-lit.If you’re posting a painting or a drawing, try to refrain from using filters so as not to distort the details or colors of your work. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to get the job done. A steady hand, a good eye and proper timing is all you need. Take it easy on the filters and focus on crisp lighting. There are so many apps out there to help you get the job done without tinkering in Photoshop or Lightroom so give Snapseed a try.
My thoughts on selfies?
I’m not a fan especially of accounts that contain almost only just your face for its own sake, unless you’re documenting your journey to health and fitness. Then that’s a different topic altogether. Why? Because I’d rather follow something or someone else whose content adds value to my life and interests. Many celebrities actually don’t post much of their physical selves online, and I appreciate that. To me, their photos actually tell me a story of a life, and somewhat shows me their vision of their own world. And that they are actually interested in things out there other than overly indulging in their self.
In my case, I’m a painter. What I choose to wear really has no bearing on my work and I have no plans of celebritifying myself with posed photos. I do, however, try to insert myself casually in slivers as minimally as possible so as not to distract, and just to let people know there really is a human being lurking in there somewhere.
Seek professional help.
By seeking help from the pros, I don’t mean buying your followers, god forbid. To me it’s like paying “people” to pretend to be your friends. Stay far away from that unfortunate scam.
What I’m talking about is taking professional coaching and classes that teach you how to make the most of your life and time online to make it work for you. I took an Instagram class from Melissa almost exactly a year ago. It was to be the one of the best decisions I have made for myself. All the insights, ideas and options she presented helped to social media an extension of my work and the curated life I choose to share. It was this class that helped put a very efficient system in my online life. For anyone who wants to make Instagram work for them, and not the other way around, I highly recommend her class.
Update: She has a class coming up and you can still sign up until Oct. 31, 2017. Use the code IGHOLIDAY to get a $100 discount for this year’s class 🙂
Keep it real.
As an artist, I post my work-related mess. My cluttered workspace. The errors on my sketchpad. My words thinking out loud. I refuse to look “Instagrammy” (if you’re on IG you know what I’m talking about). It was only recently that I realised that showing this side of me is something that my IG community seems to look forward seeing.
My account is a personal documentation of a person’s creative journey and body of work. And I try my best to let it reflect exactly that in the most relaxed way possible.
It doesn’t really bode well with me, calling myself an artist and not being able to muster enough creativity to come up with original content. This is the reason I do not re-post stock photos of beaches I’ve never been to, or coffee shots that don’t belong to me just to prettify my account. It makes me feel weird.
This is also another topic altogether I’d like to talk about later on regarding copyrights.
And no, tagging and giving credit does not absolve you of infringement.
Be very careful when it comes to borrowing and sharing photos. The last thing you want is to receive a cease-and-desist letter form the lawyer of the person who took that photo.
Good manners.
More than the aesthetics, I try to treat people online as I do in real life. I never followed people asking them to follow me back, nor do I spam people’s accounts with smiley faces and words like “cool” with hopes that they will click my name and follow me. I also try to respond to all the comments as soon as I can.
Unlike Facebook, IG only allows for 80 of the latests notifications to show on my phone, and there is no way to scroll back to that once the new alerts come in. If I don’t respond to you, it means one of two things:
- I either didn’t see because it has been buried by the newer notifications,
- You really didn’t say anything that merits a response, or
- You happened to ask a question that’s been asked many times over. If that’s the case, the answers might already be on the blog.
Posting a pink flower, a thumbs-up or heart on the comment field is not something I would actually regard as a comment, unfortunately.
Finally, if there is one behaviour on IG that still surprises me it’s this:: people who will follow you but will immediately unfollow you when you decide to follow them.
Yikes.
It’s like a person sweet-talking you to purchasing something who will suddenly turn cold as soon as you’re done with your purchase.
*****
I had a very looooong dinner last night with a friend and social media was the one thing we spent a great deal of time bantering about. We realised that we come from that generation of kids that crossed from analogue living to digital lifestyle.
As we sipped the last drop of wine from our stained glasses, we concluded this: social media is no longer just any other tool external to us. It has now become an integral part of our existence and a secondary voice to interact with the world today. And no matter how we choose to sculpt our image and curate our lives online, it always helps to remember old school values when using Instagram and social media:
Be kind.
Show respect.
Stay real.
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