Instagram, IG, the ‘gram, the grid: whatever you like to call it, this social media platform is now an inherent part of most of our lives.
It’s that small cluster of squares that we go to in order to share and observe the length and breadth of life: from photographs of avocado on toast and fluffy puppies, to images of new lives and recent deaths. It’s a place where politicians, actors, activists, CEOs and the average Joe, rub alongside one another: a place where I can leave Justin Timberlake a complimentary message, before giving my Mum a ‘like’ for her recent photo of the cat.
It’s a place where the world is now small enough to fit inside a neatly symmetrical grid: a global community that is now only a ‘double tap’ away from each other. Thanks to Instagram, the world shares an intimacy that it didn’t before. It’s this convening power of the platform that still blows me away, even four years after starting the Twins That Travel account.
Yet as this social media platform has grown wildly more popular, so it’s also risen in importance – socially and financially. As people seek to grow their accounts, questions, speculation and myths have grown around Instagram. It’s social media’s version of bitcoin.
We too had questions of our own, and at the start of this year we decided to see if we could get them answered. The result? Remarkably, we were welcomed into Instagram to record this podcast: the incredibly articulate and smart Whitney Rosenthal, Instagram’s Head of Emerging Talent, waiting with free doughnuts and a cup of coffee.
There is so much we want to say about our visit – it was a (the?) highlight of our career as bloggers. But for now, we simply want to share with you the finished product: our podcast with Whitney and her answers that we hope, you’ll find as inspiring as we did.
From telling us where Instagram is headed, what we should be doing more of, how to grow your Instagram account, how the platform perceives its purpose and of course, addressing the Instagram algorithm – Whitney is honest, inspiring and at all times – genuinely helpful.
So, and without further ado, here goes. Over an hour of advice from Instagram: straight from the horse’s mouth. We’re not going to pretend to be Instagram gurus, so instead we’ll just let you listen to the guru herself.
We hope you enjoy! And of course, please feel free to share.
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