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5 Travel Founders Who Are Giving Us Serious OOO FOMO on Instagram

Put that PTO to good use.

Photo: Spencer Davis from Pexels

Photo: Spencer Davis from Pexels

Welcome to 5 for 5, where we spotlight 5 women in 5 minutes or less.

We don’t know about you, but we’re currently daydreaming about signing out of Slack, setting our OOO emails, and getting far, far away from our WFH desk situations. Ahead are five travel founders who are seriously fueling our OOO FOMO and inspiring us to submit a PTO request, stat.

 
 
 

1. Katalina Mayorga

As the co-founder of El Camino Travel, an off-the-beaten-path travel company, and Casa Violeta, a private villa located in Granada, Nicaragua, it’s no surprise that Katalina Mayorga’s feed is filled with beautiful beaches, colorful streets, and unreal sunsets.

 
 
 

2. Marta Tucci

Travel photographer, writer, and co-founder of Naya Traveler, a travel company specializing in tailor-made journeys to destinations spanning Spain, Morocco, Argentina, and more, Marta Tucci documents her travels to everywhere from Bahia to Bali and Kashmir.

 
 
 

3. Cheraé Robinson

Cheraé Robinson, the founder of Tastemaker Africa, a platform that connect travelers with a range of unique tours and experiences created and hosted by artists, creators, and makers, shares swoon-worthy snaps from Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cape Verde, and more.

 
 
 

4. Achiraya Thamparipattra

The co-founder of Hivesters, an award-winning travel social enterprise created to preserve and help Thai culture flourish, Achiraya Thamparipattra often posts photos from her adventures in Phuket, Ayutthaya, Phang Nga, and more destinations throughout Thailand.

 
 
 

5. Phaka Dludla Hlazo

As the founder of Zulu Nomad, Phaka Dludla Hlazo is providing curated experiences in East and Southern Africa. Her IG feed is an enviable travel bucket list, featuring photos from UNESCO World Heritage site Maloti-Drakensberg Park in South Africa, Stone Town of Zanzibar, and more.

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Don't Be a Bore: 4 Ways to Engage Your Audience in a Meaningful Way

Let's ban basic together now. 

We all know how integral it is to have a following. To have an audience. Whether those people are reading your blog, buying your products, or double tapping your pictures, in order to have a brand or business you must have an audience.

However, if there’s one thing potentially more important than the size of your audience, it’s how likely that audience is to engage with you. Do they convert? Will they buy? Are they sharing insights? Are they so invested in what you’re building that they tell everyone they know? If they’re engaged, they’ll do all of the above.

So while it’s important to build that audience, it’s equally as important to engage with them. Here’s four valuable (and easy!) ways to do that:

STORYTELLING. STORYTELLING. STORYTELLING.

Even the most perfect shot won’t mean high engagement. So if you feel like your images, blog posts, or messages aren't nailing it, think about how often you’re sharing relatable stories. You can close the delta between your beautiful brand and meaningful engagement that adds to your audience's lives via storytelling. It’s in your stories, which naturally communicate trials and rumbles and victories, that someone will feel more connected and engaged to you. No, you don’t have to get all existential about the details of your morning in order to tell a good story, but don’t forget to open up about the life behind the brand. The message. Or the service. Through storytelling, you’ll build trust – which is the north star of any well-executed brand and business.

Open up about the life behind the brand. The message.

SWIPE RIGHT...TO 'VIDEO'

Ain’t nothing hotter right now than hot sauce in your bag, and video. Everything, all the stats, point to video. I could source and quote a million articles that make the point that we already know intuitively (“is video engaging?”). The better question to ask regarding the topic is... how. No, you don’t need to hire a full production team, yet. No, you don’t have to invest thousands of dollars in equipment. But you should try getting a feel for how video best integrates with your goals. Maybe in blog format? Swipe right in your iPhone to change from photo to video and get rolling. Or maybe you want to show your audience what’s going down at the event? Hi, SnapChat and Instagram stories. Or maybe you’re having lunch and an epic convo with your fellow boss biz woman of a friend, go live on Facebook and give audiences an insight into your problem-solving. Video rocks engagement like no other, and the barrier to entry is the lowest it’s ever been, both financially and in effort.

Example: Easiest of easy? Facebook videos shot on your iPhone in Bali. #justsaying

TWO WAYS WILL GO A LONG WAY

Think about your most avid readers, buyers, followers, share-ers… Have you followed them back? These ambassadors of your work are the entire reason you likely do what you do. It seems so simple but treating your audience and being there in return to follow what they are up to can go a crazy long way. Do you need to follow every single person that follows you? No and no. Always follow back your biggest supporters. Nothing encourages engagement and loyalty like treating your biggest supporter with a little support back.

Example: Take a cue from Sophia Macks of @beyondthemag. She does this. And I do say it’s workingggggg.

HAVE A CONVERSATION. LIKE, A REAL ONE. 

If you had a friend, advisor, boss, or sibling who was always giving her opinion, thoughts, and ideas but never asked for yours, how would you feel? If engagement with your audience isn’t where you want it to be, consider the opportunities that you’re giving your audience to ask. Have you opened up the space for them to do so, whether it’s with a final question before the comment section on your blog, or in the comments of your Instagram? Have you given your audience permission to chime in? Often, that’s all it takes.

Example: Take a look at this post from Amy Locurto. Lesson 101 on how to do this well. She not only asked, she demanded!

At the end of the day, engage with your online audience in the same way you would if they were sitting right in front of you. Which reminds me, if they ARE sitting right in front of you, share your energy and love. Show up as that fine person you are. Ask questions. Tell stories. Give hugs and high fives. Engagement goes a very long way in garnering support and business.

 

 Maxie McCoy is the energy designer of Maxie, where she shares soul wisdom on the digital video series #maxie and her weekly writings. If you want your spiritual and emotional IQ shooting to the stars, Maxie is the place to be.

Let Maxie be your guide to unlocking your brilliance by following along at maxiemccoy.com. Maxie offers soul sessions, workshops, one-on-one coaching, and words of wisdom you really shouldn't miss. 

 

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Instagram 101: 5 Quick Ways To Grow Your Following

From 0 to 100k, real quick.

When it comes to social media for brands and influencers, it's fair to say its all a numbers game. But let's face it: if you don't have a proper plan in place to grow your Instagram, you can't expect your profile to have 1000+ followers from one day to another, and it definitely isn't a matter of posting on Instagram just to post something. By having a strategic plan in place and following these quick 5 tips to boost your engagement, you can expect a steady growth in your following and a much more engaged audience! 
 


1. Engage and comment!

Engaging and commenting is a given when it comes to growing your social media numbers. This is how you keep the followers you have, and also attract new ones by putting yourself on their radar. The purpose of social media is to stay connected, so make your followers and audience feel like you're accessible rather than just posting a photo and waiting for the likes to come through.


2. Unfollow the fluff

Sometimes, who we follow is a strategic part of how you maintain your account, so always be sure to follow people or brands that are in line with what your brand represents. Unfollow profiles that are irrelevant to what your brand is about, inactive profiles, or even brands that are your competition. If you're following your 4th grade classmate that you haven't talked to in 20+ years and the last time they posted was in 2016, might just need to hit that unfollow button.


3. Participate in popular hashtags

Thanks to the Instagram search page, you can immediately see what's trending on Instagram. If you see something trending that's relevant to your brand, go crazy and ENGAGE ENGAGE ENGAGE. Not only that, but use the hashtags with your own content and end your captions with 3-5 hashtags that are most important to what your content is about. However, make sure to keep your hashtags to a minimum. There more you add can seem a bit spammy, and if you have to add more, make sure to add it in a second comment aside from the caption in order to avoid distracting your followers with 30+ hashtags that will probably make them unfollow you.


4. Put your photography skills into practice with the use of props, great angles, and good lighting!

Think of your Instagram as a perfect opportunity to do some styling in order to get the perfect shot. For the perfect Insta, use the best lighting, the right angles, the right props, and make sure that the shot is cohesive to what the rest of your Instagram looks like. The more thought out and aesthetically pleasing your Instagram is, the more more you can expect new followers coming in on the daily. To build the perfect feed, check out some of our tips here!


5. Plan ahead with a content calendar!

IMG_1498.jpg

So you haven't posted in two days, and now you're left thinking "oh man, what should I post today?" Avoid the drama of figuring out what you're going to post and plan out your content ahead of time! Spend a day collecting photos to post throughout the week, and use tools like Planogr.am to schedule your posts ahead of time and also to style how you want your feed to look ahead of time! That way you can focus more of your week on other important things that constantly wondering what you're going to post next!


What tactics have helped you grow your platforms? Let us know below!

PriscillaC.jpg

 

 

Priscilla Castro is Create & Cultivate's Director of Social Media and Community in Los Angeles. She also does social media client work at (No Subject), and was previously Editorial Director at BeautyCon. Follow her @kodeofkondukt

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5 Women of Color You Need to Follow on IG Right Now

You're missing out. 

Fact: Women of color are dominating the business world. They represent the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S.

According to Fortune “black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S.” A 2015 report found “women own 30% of businesses in the U.S.” Of that, women of color own 14% of these companies. Hello! The facts are all here. From clothing lines to nonprofits to tech startups, let’s just say these 5 women of color are KILLING the entrepreneurial game. You are going to want to follow them ASAP. Here’s why.

1. Morgan Debaun

Company: CEO and Founder of Blavity

About: @MorganDebaun, the founder of @blavity, is a forward-thinking black millennial who is pushing the boundaries of culture and the status quo. As @blavity’s Founder + CEO, Morgan is disrupting traditional media by creating a (much needed) world class community of diverse creators + influencers.

2. Gabrielle Deculus

Company: Founder of Business Rules for Women

About: @BusinessRulesforWomen is a mega media platform making life easier for the emerging entrepreneur. @Gabrielle.Deculus has created an online business community for women that is guaranteed to help you succeed. Looking to grow and expand your business? Business Rules for Women will give you all the tactics, tools, and connections you need to be successful.

3. Grace Mahary

Company: Project Tsehigh- Clean Energy For All

About: Not only can @GraceMahary rock the runway, but she’s the founder and executive director of @ProjectTsehigh. This nonprofit organization has one goal: to decrease global energy and improve the quality of life for impoverished families. Using her entrepreneurial skills, she has worked passionately over the last four years to help get closer to accomplishing her goal. This powerhouse is a force to be reckoned with.


4. Carly Cushnie

Company: Co-Founder and Designer for Cushnie et Ochs

About: @CarlyCushnie is changing the game of fashion. The co-founder and designer for @CushnieetOchs has been featured on Forbes’ “30 Under 30 List,” and she is not stopping there. According to Complex, Carly is showing us how to “let a woman’s most feminine side shine.” She is bringing her beautiful, most alluring seductive side to the runway making Cushnie et Ochs a forefront in the fashion world.

5. Kitty Cash

 

Company: Founder of “The I Am Woman Project”

About: A successful fashion publicist and DJ? What more could she do? Well, @kittycash is at it again. The successful DJ Kitty has created a multi-media platform for women looking for some motivation and celebration. The @iamwomanproject is an online community to empower women. DJ Kitty Cash is doing it all, and we can’t wait to watch the @iamwomanproject grow.


These 5 #powerhouse women of color are not only rocking the world of business, but are working to make the world a better place. Now it’s your turn to contribute.  Add some daily inspiration into your life and follow the journey’s of these amazing women. We can’t wait to watch their growing success, can you?

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This Shocking Detail Is Going to Change the Way You Use Instagram

The social times are a-chh-h-anging. 

photo credit: Becki Smith/ Smith House Photography 

Photos came first and then Instagram changed the entire game. On a monthly basis Instagram is used by 700M plus people worldwide. And it's not only influencers. Brands have totally revamped their marketing strategies and rely on the social platform to grow their businesses. That’s huge. And it’s not going away.  

At Create & Cultivate NYC, we chatted Claudine Cazian, Lila King, Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood, and Virginia Nam, all of whom work in different verticals at the social platform, about how to do it right and drive impact in a meaningful way. 

It may come as a surprise that the concept of "get your grid right," is shifting. No doubt, people love pretty pics, but Cazian, Head of Entertainment Partnerships at Instagram, says that old way of thinking of the 'gram is wrong. (Don't stress, yet.) 

Social is changing. The way we use social is changing. And you should assume that your strategy should shift as the platform does.  

1. RIGHT NOW, FOCUS on MAKING STORIES YOUR NO. 1 

You may be surprised to hear that right now it’s more about your Insta Stories, and the “Explore” section, over the actual “feed experience.”

In the last year since Instagram added Stories, it has added 100 million global users to the platform. That means, those 100 million user have never known IG without Stories. It's a vital part of how they do social-- and it's where you should be focusing your efforts as well. 

As to how? Cazian says 5-8 great stories per day is a solid number and will help grow your following. 

"5-8 great Instagram Stories per day will help grow your following."  

Tweet this. 

If you’re working a big event, Virginia Nam, who works on the fashion partnerships team with Eva Chen, says that you should “front load the best content.” People don't love seeing a million tiny dashes, but if the first 5-8 stories are compelling it will draw them in to watch the rest. If you're posting so-so content as you go, you're more likely to lose their attention. 

When it comes to creating compelling Story content, Lila King, who leads global news and publisher partnerships, suggests using different formats (i.e. a still, followed by a video, followed by some Boomerangs) and mixing it up is key! Throw in some front-facing (#selfies) with some rear-facing camera action. People want to see the behind-the-scenes. And even though "news" isn't typically associated with selfies, King says people love to see "the human factor." 

2. YOUR ENGAGEMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR GRID

This might be hard to hear, but when it comes to engagement and content, Instagram is “mobile first.” So while we’ve been working hard to “get our grids right,” Instagram is all about “real-time” in-the-moment pics. All four women agreed that pretty, neat, "mosaic patterns," etc., are not what's driving new followers to your page. And four out of four said that making it pretty is currently the wrong strategy. "It's engagement over grid, every time," said Cazian. 

At the conference, panel moderator Arianna Schioldager asked the crowd, “How many of you don't post videos because you are scared of how messy it makes your feed?” A sea of hands raised. “GET OVER IT!” called out Cabizan. “It’s a huge opportunity you are missing.”

Most people are using Instagram via their feed, which means you have to hook them while they are scrolling.

3. THINK ABOUT THE EXPLORE PAGE & THEN STOCK THOSE SHELVES

When you think IG, your first thought should be how people consume social. To see it in real time, take a trip over to Instagram’s Explore page and look at how the content is displayed.

Since “Stories” are the first thing in the “Explore” section, followed by “Video” (which is super attention-grabbing), then followed by "Photos," you need to make sure you keep your “shelves” stocked with content.

If you aren’t creating content for all three mediums, you are missing out on exposure opportunities at every turn, shared Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood, Head of Music Partnerships. 

4. SHOULD YOU TURN YOUR PROFILE INTO A BIZ?

Are you a brand or a person? Or are you a little of both? If your goal is to grow your following and you have a business, it seems obvious that you should have a business profile. But some things are too big to see. 

Some bloggers and influencers have been reluctant to do this. They want to remain authentic to their audience. They don’t want to feel like they’ve ‘sold out.’ But it’s possible that you’re selling yourself short.

Business profiles have hidden benefits. You can access your Insights, have people contact you, and sponsor a post every now and then.

5. ACCOUNTS WHO ARE USING THE NEW FEATURES WELL

Virginia Nam highligted Philip Lim as a fashion brand using the carousel feature the right way. She specifically references this post, as a one that really got it right. It shows a final product and the behind-the-scenes content people crave. 

Lila King shared that the The NY Times does a great job with their IG Stories content. 

Arianna Schioldager is Editor-in-Chief at Create & Cultivate. You can follow her @ariannawrotethis. 

How are you using Instagram's new features to grow? Share in the comments below!

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Gridwork: 10 Instagrammers Keeping Us On Top of Our Visual Game

Some visual inspiration for your Labor Day weekend. 

With Instagram constantly evolving, you have to make sure you step up your game with the visuals to keep up with the rest of the amazing feeds. 

However, there are those times where you get in a creative block and you need a creative boost to find that one photo that will fit your feed perfectly. If you need a little boost to get your creative juices flowing, you’re in luck. Lucky for you, we keep our eye on some of the most amazing Instagrammers that are killing it on their own visual game. 

Check out the 10 Instagrammers that are killing it at their own Instagram feeds that will for sure give you visual inspiration for your own feed.

@jamdownflava

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Who are your favorite Instagrammers to follow for inspiration? Let us know below!

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Why You Need To Tap Into User-Generated Content Now

There's tons of content at your disposal that you've yet to use. 

Every brand has their own social media strategy. If you’ve nailed yours by now, then awesome - you’ve crafted your secret sauce to your digital success.

However, every now and then, you have to try moving outside of your box and add a few more ingredients that not only will make your social strategy better but will open the doors to tons of more content that you can work with without you even having to create any of it.

If you have yet to tap into integrating user-generated content into your social strategy, then it’s time that you do. There are many reasons why brands can be a little hesitant to share content that isn’t produced in-house, but as long as it aligns with your brand, aesthetic, and messaging, you’re in the clear. Here are the three reasons why you need to get on user-generated content STAT.

Trusted More Than OG Content

User-generated content is authentic - plain and simple. When your audience sees people that are just like them and they can relate to sharing content than a staged post directly from the brand, they will instantly feel that they can trust your brand more. While original content is always great, it’s never a bad idea to sprinkle in user-generated content to ensure that your audience can be shown as an integral part of your content.

Don’t believe us? In a study done by Crowdtap, millennials trust user-generated content 50% more than any other media and is 35% more memorable. The numbers show it’s time to switch up your strategy.

User generated content is trusted 50% than any other media and is 35% more memorable.

Tweet this.

Minimal Effort, Maximum Reward

When we say minimal effort, we say that loosely because, in order to make sure that your audience engages with you and creates content for you to share, you have to put just as much effort to engage with them so they can reciprocate the love.

A great way to get started is to regram content from people who follow you that are posting photos that are on brand, and encourage other followers to share their photos with a specific hashtag for a chance to be featured from there on. Once you build traction, you will see more and more people will tag you and use your hashtag, and you will have more user-generated content to work with (none of which required any production from your end to create.) Also, you start building an online community this way, so double whammy. 

Encourage your community to share their photos with a hashtag for a chance to be regrammed

Tweet this. 

An easy way to keep track of those who use your hashtag on Instagram and regram it without a watermark is using PLANOLY, which will allow you to see how the image will look on your feed even before you post it live.

When developing PLANOLY, founder and Create & Cultivate Dallas alumni Brandy Pham kept the importance of user-generated content in its interface. “Since the launch of PLANOLY’s Discover feature, it’s been so much easier for our users to discover user-generated content from their audience and customers and working regrams into their grids effortlessly. They’ve been utilizing it on the go on our app and also on the web dashboard."

Builds Brand Loyalty

Sharing user-generated content shows your followers that you’re paying attention to them and have created a two-way connection in what is often seen as a one-way connection with a lot of other brands online. The minute that you can turn your brand into a personality and actually connect and engage with your audience, their loyalty towards your brand will grow exponentially.

Have you used user-generated content, and how have you integrated it into your social media strategy? If you haven’t started, are you planning on doing it now? Let us know in the comments below.

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Why Poetess Rupi Kaur Follows Zero People on Instagram

No, she's not pulling a Beyoncé. 

photo credit: Rupi Kaur 

Like most writers, Rupi Kaur, the 23-year-old Toronto-based poet, illustrator, and photographer thinks she’s better at putting pen to paper than she is at giving an oral interview. “I’m a better writer than I am a speaker,” she tells us.

On one hand, we believe her. Her work is biting and soft. She twists language in a way that makes you want to walk into a forest and stare up at the sky through the trees. Her words allow you the space to see the world a little differently.

On the other, we don’t. Not really. Especially when the author/mother of “milk and honey,” her debut book of poetry and prose which shot to the New York Times Bestseller List says this: “We navigate the world, come across so many people, but at the core of our experience is love. I think that’s the message I’m trying to consistently share, without even really realizing that I’m sharing it.” The message that, “you deserve to be here and you’re welcome here and allowed space.”

"You deserve to be here and you’re welcome here and allowed space.”

Tweet this. 

 

A native of the Punjab region in India, Kaur spent her formative years in Toronto, where she currently resides. She is a modern day storyteller, using her poetry and social handle @rupikaur_ to explore beauty standards, violence, love, injustice, the female body, and more. “my issue with what they consider beautiful/is their concept of beauty/centers around excluding people,” she wrote in an Instagram post on July 11th of this year. It's the same platform that deleted a photo of Kaur's sister, Prabh Kaur on a bed, her gray sweatpants and bed sheet stained by (fake) period blood. Instagram claimed the post violated their community guidelines. Kaur reposted the photo, which was part of a photoseries project for a visual rhetoric course with a caption challenging the decision. "i will not apologize for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society," she wrote on August, 25, 2015, "that will have my body in an underwear but not be ok with a small leak. i bleed each month to help make humankind a possibility." Instagram recoiled, apologized; the community clapped loudly. And they kept clapping. Her approach to language and honesty has captured the attention of nearly 600k Instagram followers. 

****

When she first started sharing her work online there was no intention of a book. “It’s still such a personal experience for me. I’m not writing for anyone else," she says. "At times I don’t understand the interest. But all of the sudden I was building this online community and they were the ones that would comment, ‘Where can I buy your book?’”

Consider that Kaur's first reaction to the idea of a book was, “I’m me, I can’t." She was 20 at the time, thought of writing as her “hobby,” and had just started university. Her thoughts were, “I need to finish my degree, I’m paying thousands of dollars to be here.” We’ve all experienced this tug of war-- the one between our head and our heart, our reason and our dreams. But Kaur slowly warmed to the idea. Between the encouragement of friends and the enthusiasm of the online community she began piecing together what would become ‘milk and honey.’

“It was a very difficult moment in my life,” she says, “and I just strapped down. It was the summer of 2014 and I didn’t think I was going to get through it. I couldn’t see myself and I couldn’t imagine my life after this moment. I needed it.”

She wrote the pieces and crafted the book by listening, she says, “to what my body said.” She designed everything from front to back, the font, the pictures, and then put it into the world. “I don’t think anything I ever do will feel as holistic as that,” she says. “It was deeply grassroots, on the budget of zero dollars. When you give birth to something like that and see it blossom, it’s so incredible."

Now consider that her debut paperback, self-published book of poetry and prose sold over 18,000 copies in the first 8 months. "milk and honey" flowed into the world November, 2014 and kept moving.

Around the 8 month mark publishers started calling. Andrews McMeel (AMP) became her publisher. “They’re very agile,” she says. “My biggest worry was someone coming in and saying, ‘Oh, we want to remove these pieces about body hair, or 'We want to change the cover.'”

“It’s not a product to me, it’s my heart.”

Currently, she is working on the release of a hardcover. “It’s very important to me that people have something to hold,” she explains. “That’s what gets passed down from hand to hand and moves across the world. A hardcover is the version that refuses to be ruined. The paperback version is going to fold, its matte black is going to stain, but the hardcover is beautiful and elegant. You keep the hardcover on your bookshelf and you keep the paperback under your pillow or in your purse.”

Throughout this journey, she has remained the creative leader of her work, though there has been pressure to create more, both from herself and industry pros.  Earlier this year she tried writing for the audience. An experience she describes simply as “bad.”

“I was holding a knife to the neck of my writing,” she says, and it wasn’t working. There were people who told her she needed to release a second book. That by next year the industry would try and replace her.  It didn't deter her. It only annoyed her. “I have to be honest with myself, " she explains. "It’s a very Adele approach. You have to remember why you started and stay true to that.” 

She'll tell herself, "You brought yourself here, not the industry. I think that’s a huge source of my power. My inability to see how people perceive my work also allows me to see how powerful I am. I have my insecurities, but I feel powerful. I’m here and I’m doing what I love.”

“It’s not a product to me, it’s my heart.”

Tweet this. 

She knows social media has a lot to do with her success, but Kaur currently follows zero people. However, she’s not pulling a Beyoncé. “Like most people I have my own personal, multi-dimensional battles with social media.” But without it she says, “the publishing world wouldn’t have cared about this young, brown woman. Social media was a free tool that I used to create my own community. It can also swallow you up.”

At the moment she has deleted all social media from her phone. She tweets from her laptop. She’ll download Instagram, log into her account, post, and log back out. She doesn’t read any of the comments. “It’s helped me feel more rooted again. I’m a very sensitive person and I don’t want the thousands of eyes pouring over my work to change the way I’m going to write in the future.”

The way she writes, is magnetic, sticking to all lower case as her words stick to her audience. It’s almost a way of ensuring that no one letter is left in the shadow of another. And it's human. 

"When I first started writing it was about getting my voice back and finding my voice,” she says. Now, she has a “loose idea of three to five books that I will write in the next ten years. So I’m going to keep writing and listening to what my body tells me.”

“The recipe for my success, if any,” she notes, “is that I’ve always been honest with myself. I’ve always written what I’ve needed.”

This Friday, August 19th, Rupi Kaur will be delivering a Ted Talk at the Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. She will be performing a new spoken word piece followed by a talk called “My First Home.” Via Instagram this past week she told her followers, “I think the piece I’ve written is some of my best work.” Tickets have sold out, but you can tune in and watch it live at 6 pm central time at tedxkc.org

Arianna Schioldager is editorial director at Create & Cultivate. 

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Roundtable Talk: How We Really Feel About Additional Social Platforms

Is it over yet? Just beginning? Are we machines yet?

Source: @felixcartal

The addition of Instagram Stories raised a few eyebrows last week, not only because the newest arm of the photo-sharing app looked like a carbon copy (minus the dog filters) of Snapchat, but because it was yet another piece of the social layer cake that has many already feeling stuffed. Thanksgiving style. 

There are now a total of five major social players: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Pinterest. Add in the characters that are brand specific-- YouTube if you're in the beauty space, Vine if you're in comedy, and LinkedIn if you're a business, and your social Rolodex is on constant spin. Update one. Then the next. Tweet this. Pin that. Share. Share. 

SHARE.  

It's OK to be tired and over it and at the same time want to keep up. Making the decision to stay off a social media platform can come back to bite you, especially if you're a brand. And for those whose JOB it is to keep up, the job description is as shaky as a fault line. 

For social directors and bloggers the ever-shifting landscape is not only difficult to navigate, but the addition of new platforms can feel completely overwhelming. For some, the challenge is exciting, keeping them on their toes and at constant warp speed. "If you want to work in social," says Priscilla Castro, Social Director here at Create & Cultivate, "you know what kind of a beast you're going to battle. It's not a secret that new platforms are added or that one day, a platform you worked really hard to build up, could all of the sudden become obsolete. But that's the great thing about this space-- regardless of your background, you learn as you go because it's constantly evolving. It's safe to say that it's quite different from when I started working in it 3 years ago." 

That's not to say it's not disheartening. "There's definitely an 'all that work for what?' feeling to it sometimes, but that's also the challenge and where the exciting part of the job is. How to stay relevant. How to be an early adaptor. How to be social, but for business. It's the new communications major." 

Artist Tania Debono who runs the popular Instagram @thewriting also makes a living as a social media strategist. Tania says that "the influx of content is drowning us all."

"The influx of content is drowning us all."

Tweet this. 

Regarding Instagram Stories she believes, "brands with a strong community on Instagram have been trying to find their ‘voice’ on Snapchat for some time, but with the new update many brands and personal brands that haven’t properly broken into Snapchat will abandon the platform to invest time into Instagram as a whole."

For her, "Snapchat has become an after-thought, I want to share more meaningful content on the fly with my Instagram community only. I’ve noticed a decline in updates from people and brands too, and those in my real life community that didn’t invest time in Snapchat are creating brilliant content through Instagram stories."

So how do you decide what your social strategy should be if it's always changing? Or when and if you can KO a platform? 

Adrianna Adarme who founded the food blog A Cozy Kitchen says, "I haven't explored Instagram Stories a ton but I do think think it can be really beneficial for people who already have a strong following on the platform; it's sort of nice that it's all in one place."

And that's the general current sentiment. It is "nice" that it's all in one place because shifting gears through the apps is exhausting, for both content creators and consumers. Adds Adrianna, "I don't think it's the end of Snapchat though, I think its core audience was and always will be a teen, early twenty-something audience and I believe they'll continue to use it. I'm testing out both to see what works for me but I already miss the dog filter and stuff." Therein lies the rub. We all fall prey to "testing out both," and before we know it, we've added them all.  

It's something that colleges have taken note of as well. Social Media degrees are becoming more popular than ever, teaching students how to engage audiences through creative content and impactful messaging. 

University of Southern California offers a master's program in digital social media from its journalism school. The degree, according to the program's website, "teaches you leadership and management of social media, digital media, and online communities," so that student, "develop expertise in the practice, theory, and strategies that are essential for success in today's business and social landscape."

But what is impactful one semester, might not be the next. The same goes for your social strategy. 

"While a degree in social media is amazing and useful," says Priscilla, "the curriculum you learned in a semester in college will be obsolete by the time you enter your work field. There is no way to 'do' social media 'by-the-book,' because it's always evolving." 

"There is no way to do social media 'by-the-book,' because it's always evolving."

Tweet this. 

"To do it right," she adds, "you have to move with the ebbs and flows of the space and not dismiss new platforms that will change your day one strategy. Just get with it, get your hands dirty, and create amazing content that you know your audience will love."

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Instagram Just Released Snapchat-Like Feature, But Here’s Why You’ll Use It

Carbon copy cat? Maybe. But it's in the prime position to work. 

Gather 'round, it's story time kids. 

This morning Instagram introduced Instagram Stories, a new feature that lets you share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: your story.

In a blog post the app announced, "With Instagram Stories, you don’t have to worry about over-posting. Instead, you can share as much as you want throughout the day — with as much creativity as you want. You can bring your story to life in new ways with text and drawing tools. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on your profile grid or in feed."

Instagram has long been the "curated" social media. It's where users, brands, and influencers give the public a highlight reel of their life. No more. TechCrunch scored an interview with IG CEO Kevin Systrom who admitted to publication, “They deserve all the credit,” while insisting, “This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it.”

Stories is the spot where you can upload all of the stuff that isn't great for your grid-- because from a brand and gaining follower perspective we've heard over and over again how important it is to "get your grid right." 

With Stories you can doodle, draw, and like Snapchat, they'll disappear after 24-hours. 

At the top of your feed there will be a bar featuring stories from your best friends and favorite accounts. When the user adds something new to their story the profile will have a colorful ring around it. To see said story you tap the profile photo. 

The feature follows the privacy settings on your account. You can also hide Stories from followers you don't want checking in. 

 

According to the post, "Instagram has always been a place to share the moments you want to remember. Now you can share your highlights and everything in between, too."

It also solves the "too many apps, NO MORE!" crisis that many people have expressed anxiety over. Instagram Stories is the first useful attempt to consolidate the overwhelm of social. Clone or not, people will use it simply out of convenience. Snapchat showed that people wanted more than a highlight reel-- IG followed the crowd. 

"Instagram Stories is the first useful attempt to consolidate the overwhelm of social." 

Tweet this. 

It will also prove useful for brands hiring influencers for campaigns to engage followers in BTS footage or event photos. Bloggers and influencers wont have to switch back-and-forth between apps and they'll be able to share moments on their IG without overcrowding the feed. 

However, unlike regular posts there are no likes or public comments, so for the time being it might be difficult to measure engagement. But that's not going to stop the social platform's 500 million users from jumping on board. 

Instagram Stories will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks on iOS and Android. Your move Evan Spiegel.

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Exposing Engagement: Why You Need This Instagram Tool

Dig deep and analyze what matters. 

Around 2.5 billion photos and videos are liked on Instagram every day. It is the ruling King, Queen, and Court Jester of social media. And if you have a public Instagram, you have a brand-- whether you are conscious of this or not. Your brand is who you are to the world. Now whether you choose to market this-- AKA tell people what you do, is a personal choice. However if you want to be successful on Instagram you have to understand your engagement. 

It is the best way to build awareness, drive traffic to your blog, brand, or brick-and-mortar, and ultimately, grow your business. Figuring out your engagement is what separates successful grammers from the mediocre, and there's a new tool simplifying the process.  

Peoplemap is an Instagram marketing tool that features: profile analysis, list building, campaign tracking, and statistics. If you are an individual with multiple accounts you can manage all accounts on a single platform; if you are a brand or a company, your entire team can access the account and information.  

You can search groups, communities within a specific geographical region, and it exposes engagement numbers that are important to brands and individuals. 

WHY IS THIS USEFUL TO BRANDS?

One: list building. Peoplemap has created a way to analyze Instagram marketing efforts and strategically build a targeted community. They make it easier to sort, filter, and analyze any user so you can create "the most comprehensive and strategic Instagram rolodex for your company"

Now let's chat about exposing engagement. Say you're building a list of beauty influencers, but you want to filter those with the highest engagement, you can do that. If you want to only hire influencers who have 2% engagement and up, you can do that. There is also an option to "analyze" a profile. If you click "analyze," in about an hour Peoplemap will send you a report that highlights who recently, liked, commented, or who was tagged. It's a way for brands (as well as individuals) to really understand the audience. 

These are tools to really help brands understand the who, what, and why of the influencers they're hiring. 

WHY IS THIS USEFUL TO INDIVIDUALS?

As with brands, understanding what performs well and what doesn't is key to growing and engaging your followers. When you analyze the posts that are not performing well vs. those that are, it will help you create a more robust, comprehensive strategy. The higher your engagement, the more money you'll make from brands who are looking for influencers. 

"Understanding what performs well and what doesn't is key to growing and engaging your followers."

Tweet this. 

It also helps you easily compare your engagement to others. While they say comparison is the thief of joy, in this instance it could also be a thief... of dollars. When you understand your engagement in comparison to others who are working in similar categories, you might be able to charge more. Let's say you have 200k followers less than an Insta-famous fashion blogger, but they have a .89% engagement and you're clocking in at 5%. You may have fewer followers, but you can make the case to a brand that the ROI is better with you. 

You can also build a "competition" list in Peoplemap and compare your engagement to others.  If your engagement is lower, use this as a means to analyze your content vs. someone who has high engagement and change your strategy.

When it comes to IG, knowledge and understanding is power. Peoplemap is putting the knowledge in your hands. It's up to you to understand your engagement, the numbers, and ultimately, your business.  

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Everything You Need to Know About Instagram Business Tools

Launching this week. 

Instagram is arguably the best social platform to raise awareness for your business. With over 400 million users it remains a unique way to visually tell your brand's story and to capitalize on mobile domination.

It makes sense that the social sharing platform would develop Instagram Business Tools. 

Armed with insights and hundreds of interviews with business owners, Instagram developed new features.  “With so many companies using Instagram, and many people on the platform interacting with them, there was a desire from our business community to do more. So we listened,” they said via their blog. The company said that three needs became clear: businesses want the ability to stand out, get insights, and find new customers. 

Here’s how they are addressing those concerns, as well as the pros and the cons. 

STAND OUT

For companies that want to be recognized as businesses on Instagram, the platform is now offering a free “Business Profile” feature. “With a business profile, businesses can choose how they want their customers to get in touch with them: call, text or email with a tap of the contact button as well as get directions. Business profiles also unlock access to insights and the ability to promote.”

PRO: It’s free to change your profile from personal to business and changing your profile will give you access to other bonuses listed below. 

CON: Unlock is a key word above. Instagram is essentially forcing your hand in labeling yourself as a business in order to get those analytics. Who isn’t going to want those analytics? Sure you could go to apps like Iconosquare or Plano.ly, but those aren’t free. The question is: is $X/month worth not being labeled as a business? If you have more of a brand than a business, you might be better off not labeling yourself as such. (I.e. if you're a blogger with a larger following.) Followers don’t want to be sold to.  

GAIN INSIGHTS

“Insights on Instagram give businesses actionable information about who their followers are and which posts resonate better than others—all from within the mobile app. By learning more about the behavior and demographics of your audience, you can create more relevant and timely content.”

PRO: Pretty much everything listed above. Creating relevant and timely content will help you organically grow your following and create deeper engagement with your followers. Businesses want simple ways to get insight and refine their marketing strategies. Instagram is offering a solution that doesn’t require a third out-of-app step. 

CON: As stated above, you only get insights if you’re listing your profile as a business. There are no cons however about understanding your analytics. You don't want to turn a blind eye to what's performing well and what's not. 

PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT

Much in the same way Facebook does, Instagram is offering a way to promote content. You pick a post you’ve already shared, add a button “encouraging people to take action,” and then select a target audience. You can also opt to have Instagram select a target audience for you. That post is promoted for the length of time desired. 

PROS: Whether we like it or not, the IG algorithm is changing. Businesses need Instagram to attract new clients and in order to attract new clients you have to get that content seen. 

CON: It’s an ad and will be labeled as such. You will be getting more eyeballs on your content, but nothing beats organic marketing.

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3 Things You Need to Do to Drive Sales on Instagram

Leverage your followers to drive sales.

Photo by: Irida Mete. 

Instagram is the number one platform to generate higher sales for your fashion brand. The confluence of aesthetics meets product placement creates a brand identity platform that heavily engages customers, wholesale buyers, editors and influencers. With an average order value of $65, Instagram surpasses Pinterest ($58 AOV) and Facebook ($55 AOV). If you are one of the 95% of fashion brands who use Instagram then leveraging it to make sales is a priority. Note to reader: this post is not about how to get Instagram followers; this is about how to leverage your followers to convert into sales. 

Here is what you might be missing:

1. Creating a 360* Instagram conversation that relates to your website. Any marketing expert will tell you: your messaging needs to be consistent and reverberate throughout all aspects of the customer experience. 

You should either have Instagram images of your product in the alternate product images on your site, or have a dedicated page for showing Instagram images and the products being sold on them (i.e. “Shop IG”). Side tip: Make sure your popup email acquisition form on your site is sexy so you can capture the leads.

"Make your popup email acquisition form sexy."

Tweet this

If creating a shop Instagram section on your site isn’t your style, there are a number of platforms that make it easy to sell on Instagram: Soldsie & Curalate are great places to start.

Creating an editorial calendar for product releases, website homepage and Instagram content. Since 78% of consumers make purchases based on a brand’s social media account its important to be consistent in your content production.

2. Get technical. Leveraging data can help you optimize your content to generate more sales. Google custom URLs allow you to track link performance on your Google Analytics. Its super easy to create and will allow you to see if people are coming to your site from specific links. This is different then the URL shortening link where you condense a longer link into something short. Once you create your custom URL run it through the shortener to make it neat and ready for Instagram.

3. Use paid marketing. Neilsen reported that Instagram ads convert 2.8x higher than the norm for online advertising, so if you were thinking about starting a campaign now is the time. Short campaigns that are targeted do the best. Instead of traditional product posts try offering behind the scenes video footage and exclusive content to garner interest. If doing product posts ensure the link goes to the product landing page- not your homepage. Reverberate your ad with strong content on your feed. 

Instagram is a long tail marketing strategy. Kicking up your normal posting and engagement schedule (liking, commenting, influencer posting, running contests etc.) takes time and commitment to see results. The best advice is to make Instagram a priority and create a 6-12 month strategy to test, pivot and improve on your sales. With 300M active users monthly and a growing international audience this is the place to market and sell to. 

Syama Meagher is the CEO of Scaling Retail, a consulting firm for fashion and retail brands. Her Launch My Brand course, 6-weeks to building your business foundation starts 3/31/16. Watch Syama in action on Scaling Retail TV, The Channel to Grow Your Fashion & Retail Business. 

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5 Photo Editing Apps To Add To Your Phone Now

Shoot it and shake it for the 'gram. 

Photo by Arnelle Lozada

Gone are the days where your resume is the only thing that will make an impression when trying to showcase your work as a creative. Social media is the resume you have built over time, and Instagram is a portfolio you have under your belt. It is how potential clients, partners, and employers can truly see how you creatively express yourself, and how you can build ideas for them and their brands. It’s how you visually define yourself, your brand, and your life. 

However, the most presentable and amazing Instagram feed doesn’t come without a hint of photographic skill and creativity. Wondering how some of the most seasoned Instagram photographers get to make their feeds look the way they do? You’re going to want to use some of our favorite apps. 

VSCO

VSCO is one of the main contenders when it comes to the best apps for photo editing. VSCO allows you to edit all the details of your photos, and offers an amazing variety of filters brought to you by amazing brands like Levis, Street Etiquette, and Artifact Uprising. If you want some of the cleanest looking filters to keep your feed looking buttoned up and consistent, VSCO is the way to go. 

Snapseed

Ever since we discovered Snapseed, our feeds have never looked the same. If you’re looking to take out the yellow out of your photos and make it more white and vibrant, or make it less shadowy, Snapseed has editing tools that can edit certain parts of your photo while keeping the rest of the photo in tact. You can also heal certain marks that you want erased from your photo, change the levels, change the perspective angle, and so much more. Think of it as the next best thing to Photoshop. 

A Color Story

Some people prefer a solid black and white clean looking Instagram feed. Others prefer a pop of color. If you prefer the latter, A Color Story can help you make your feed a candy-colored dream, a-la Matt Crump. 

Boomerang

A picture says a thousand words, yet a Boomerang tells an even bigger story. With Instagram’s very own Boomerang, you can an even more visual and dynamic element to your feed and capture movement into one looping image, similar to a GIF. However, Boomerang captures even more high-res photos in one burst and stitches them seamlessly in a high-quality loop so it looks like a video. Boomerang will give you a reason to shake it like a Polaroid picture on the ‘gram. 

Fyuse App 

Similar to Boomerang, Fyuse combines the elements of a gif and a panoramic picture in one to spatial photo. With Boomerang, you can capture motion. However, with Fyuse you can capture space in 3D with moving your phone and having your followers move their phone as well similar to how Facebook’s 3D videos. Now you can get all your best angles in one Fyuse.

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The 10 Best Instagrammable Spots at The LINE Hotel

Not a bad angle to be found. 

The LINE Hotel in Koreatown, Los Angeles is known for it's brutalist architecture, amazing food, and even better atmosphere. Just about every knook, cranny, and corner has a shot worth taking. Click through to peep our pick of the 10 Most Instagrammable spots at this hip hotel. 

For more Instagrammable moments, check out our #CreateCultivateDTLA speaker dinner with our friends at Dove here.

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How to Navigate the New Instagram

Just say no-tifications. 

When Facebook behemoth acquired Instagram for a cool $300 mil, it was inevitable that sometime in the near future, the social media giants would swap the chronological feed for a business-savvy algorithm. That day has come.

It's tomorrow.* 

It was first announced via blog post from IG founder Kevin Systrom. The majority of the web reacted just as expected. It was a lot of, Who Does IG Think They Are? Who Is Instagram To Say What's Important To Me? Give Me Chronological Or Give Me Death! What Do We Want? Chronology! When Do We Want It? Right Now! (get it?)

"What Do We Want? Chronology! When Do We Want It? Right Now! (get it?)"

Tweet this. 

It's kind of funny, no? That given the rate at which technology changes and advances, we take serious offense to any change within the tech. However, now that we've had a week to calm down, un-bunch our initial hunch, we've assessed the Instagram fiasco of 2016 and have some pointers. 

1. DON'T ENCOURAGE FOLLOWERS TO TURN ON PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

It's tempting, but disastrous. Imagine if you turned on Push Notifications for everyone you follow-- that would mean that anytime someone posted anything, you'd get a text. That's crazy. Before long those followers are going to unfollow you out of sheer annoyance. Instead a better approach...

"Everyone wants you to turn on push notifications. Don't panic. And don't do that."

Tweet this. 

2. START COMMENTING AND LIKING

Instagram is supposed to be a community. One of the biggest voiced complaints about the new model is that IG is making a top-down decision about what your community will look like. What the switch requires is real engagement from brands and users to stay "Top 30." (You had to earn your top 5 spot on MySpace, didn't you?) Comment, like, engage, heart it out-- you have followers because they are interested in your unique perspective. So bring it to the rest of the IG community. If you're simply posting for likes but not sharing the love, think about it: Do you deserve to be in someone's top 30 percent?

THINK ABOUT IT: DO YOU DESERVE TO BE IN SOMEONE'S TOP 30 PERCENT?

3. UP YOUR CONTENT GAME

If what you want is to grow your followers, you need to be continuously evolving and getting better as a brand. You're supposed to grow within your work-- the same is now true to grow and retrain your followers. 

Before you post, ask yourself: Do I love this? Would I heart this? Does this ADD to someone's day? Will it bring about new ideas? Spark imaginations? Are you making useful contributions? Sharing important information? Inspire? It's not just the photo either. Your caption is not an afterthought. Refine your words. Do better.

Or prepare to be IG vanquished forever. 

*Instagram released a statement today via Twitter, "We're listening and we assure you, nothing is changing with your feed right now. We promise to let you know when the changes roll out broadly."

Photo credit: Tory Williams. 

Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's editorial director. You can find her on IG @ariannawrotethis and more about her at www.ariannawrotethis.com

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Instagram Just Pissed Off the Entire Internet

FILTER THIS KEVIN SYSTROM. 

Update 6/3/16: After months of delaying the update that has caused a social media uproar and has been petitioned against to keep the popular social media platform chronological, Instagram's new algorithm is now live to all users starting today. 

FILTER THIS. 

The eighth most popular app in America is piloting a non-chronological feed. In a move that already has a Change.org petition to stop its rollout, Instagram announced the biggest change in its history since adding the video feature in 2013. 

 

Of the change IG's CEO, Kevin Systrom wrote, “You may be surprised to learn that people miss on average 70 percent of their feeds. This means you often don’t see the posts you might care about the most.”

And then, the Internet exploded. (Sorry, Yeezy, we'll get back to talking about Kim K. mañana.) 

“To improve your experience,” he continued, “your feed will soon be ordered to show the moments we believe you will care about the most.”

Therein lies the problem: “We believe.”  (Also, newsflash: live band videos are actually the worst, please don't put that at the top of my feed.) 

Facebook implemented this strategy first with News Feed, a feature that was introduced seven years ago. The backlash was palpable then as well, until everyone simmered down-- and started spending more time on Instagram, where their feed was still an of-the-moment, choose-your-own-adventure tale. In an over-saturated tech world, where consumers know they are constantly being marketing to, IG still felt authentic. (Plus or minus a Valencia filter or two.) It was curated, not by a team with a computer program crunching out an algorithm, but by you. It was yours.

In an over-saturated tech world, where consumers know they are constantly being marketing to, IG still felt authentic.

Tweet this. 

At our recent pop-up at SXSW there was a lot of talk about putting the “humanity” back into the machine. It’s a reason why Facebook Live is a platform that people are betting on.

What IG is doing, is the opposite. Chronological works because it feels real, even if it is filtered. There is a sense of ownership in what you’re seeing. We don’t need another app optimizing the order in which we see things. Real life isn’t like that. Let us explore for ourselves.

Putting personal aside however, you might be wondering what this means for your business? Just like Facebook, the likelihood of a pay to play option for brands to spend the dollars to land at the top of your feed, is high. Valuation based on engagement is still hard to quantify, and money needs to be made. (Figure that out yet Snapchat?)  

How the algorithm will effect how brands interact with followers is clearly yet to be seen, but we can be certain that companies will have to evolve their social strategy to keep up with changing platforms.  Brands will need to engage their followers more in order to stay at the top of their feeds, and possibly, work harder for their attention. In a way, this could do for brands what people feel so strongly against: a matching brand-to-consumer algorithm means that company will have to engage on a human level. If nothing else, it certainly keeps social strategy directors on their toes. 

In a New York Times interview announcing the change Systrom stated: “What this is about is making sure that the 30 percent you see is the best 30 percent possible.”

Which sounds pretty, but some days you don’t want to see the best. Some days you want the worst 10 percent. You want to see the sh*t photo of your friend’s breakfast and feel better about your life.

Some days you want to see the sh*t photo of your friend's breakfast and feel better about your life.

 

Tweet this. 

Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's editorial director. You can find her on IG @ariannawrotethis and more about her at www.ariannawrotethis.com

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Off The Grid: 5 Innovative Instagrammers Thinking Outside The Box

By nature, Instagram is meant to be a visual gateway to people's lives, creative minds, and storytelling. Quite often, we find ourselves following people that use Instagram in the same way that they use Twitter to update their followers with status updates, but there are accounts that know how to use Instagram to full its full potential and go way outside of the box. 

With a set vision and story to tell on your Instagram, followers will always be more inclined to look at your Instagram and look at the thought behind it, rather than stop and look at your photo while they're scrolling through their Instagram feed. That's why we've compiled a list of some of the most impressive Instagram accounts that have inspired us to go beyond a single post and make a feed that can live together as a whole. 

By nature, Instagram is meant to be a visual gateway to people's lives, creative minds, and storytelling. Quite often, we find ourselves following people that use Instagram in the same way that they use Twitter to update their followers with status updates, but there are accounts that know how to use Instagram to full its full potential and go way outside of the box. 

With a set vision and story to tell on your Instagram, followers will always be more inclined to look at your Instagram and look at the thought behind it, rather than stop and look at your photo while they're scrolling through their Instagram feed. That's why we've compiled a list of some of the most impressive Instagram accounts that have inspired us to go beyond a single post and make a feed that can live together as a whole. 

1. Tayst - @tayst

Taylor St. Claire, better known as Tayst on Instagram, has built one of the most visually captivating Instagram feeds with her floral and free-spirited doodles. Her feed makes us think back on all the doodles that we made on our notebooks in high school and wish that we never threw them away. By combining illustrations on amazing photos, Taylor shows that you don't have to be bound by just the picture you take and that you can go crazy with editing them to stand out. 

2. Tea For Bear - @teaforbear

After you look at Tea For Bear's Instagram feed, you're going to want to look for all the geometry hiding in our every day lives, and apply it to all of your angles on your Instagram feed. By keeping all her photos to a 45 degree angle having a line cut right through two corners, Tea For Bear's entire feed diverts from the photos we're used to taking to making a cohesive slanted array of images that can live alone yet together in one feed. 

3. A.L.C. Ltd. - @alc_ltd

New York-based designer Andrea Lieberman has been able to define A.L.C's image not only though the pieces in her collection, but also by curating a vibe and mantra to go hand in hand with her designs on her Instagram. By pairing selected quotes, looks, and images from some of the the prominent figures of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Andrea has been able to present the inspiration for the brand with individual Instagram posts that still live cohesively in one feed. 

4. Taku - @takubeats

Musician and photographer Taku has been one of the visionaries able lead the "grid movement" on Instagram, by using each of the rows on his Instagram grid to capture a seperate story in it's own from different angles and perspectives. The trick to his feed is always to always capture the same subject, but use different angles, different people, and different points of focus to make each photo significantly different yet able to live with the rest of the photos in one row. 

5. A$AP Rocky - @asaprocky

Okay, so everyone knows A$AP Rocky for his rhymes, but his Instagram is one of the feeds that you have to follow if you aren't already. Think of it as an actual scroll that you have to physically roll out. With the use of texture and space, he is able to make all his images live in one grid all together. Just by looking at his feed, we want to get some Polaroid photos, add some actual paint or cardboard cutouts to add texture and see how it will all look in our Instagram feed. Rocky's feed is definitely thinking outside the box, and can help inspire you to use every element of visual imagery to its fullest. 

What are some of your favorite Instagrammers that have crafted beautifully curated feeds, and have inspired you to practice your art direction skills for your own Instagram? Let us know below! 

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5 Must-Follow Hilarious/Real Talk Instagrammers

We love Instagram (duh) and while we love love love the macaroon, peony, jet set explosion that often fills our feed, we also love the people who lay it out there real talk style. The people who aren't afraid to talk about their dog barfing in their car (Jayne Min) or admit that they have a mustache hair (Jen Gotch)--- we need them, the world needs them. We thought it was time to share what basically gets us through our day, which is often not filled with cute cups of coffee and European vacations, but is sometimes filled with, er, mustache hairs.

 

Kelly Oxford / @kellyoxford

The author, writer, show-seller, and cool mom is one of our favorite follows.  She posts the ins-and-outs of motherhood,  the hilarity surrounding her kids, her dogs, and general commentary on the craziness that is life. Our favorite is the picture of her mom where she says "Hi Mom. Sorry I don't call, I hate the phone. If it makes you feel any better, I call no one. You're cute for an old Baba." #truth

Jayne Min / @stopitrightnow

Don't be fooled by her couture looking imagery - Jayne Min isn't as serious as her posts may look. She is constantly killing it with self deprecating humor. For instance, her caption "Cowlick profile shot featuring ear cameo" (see image below at the upper left), plus her posts about her pups hit way too close to home -- we like it Jayne! 

OrlandoSoria/

@mrorlandosoria

OMG, WE LOVE ORLANDO! His effortless use of CAPS when instilling hilarious puns and wit into his often beautiful interior photos literally gets us through the day. For National Donut Day, his post declared "I hate donuts but LOVE RUGS." As do we, Orlando. 

Jen Gotch / @jengotch

Jen is everything. No really. She is a boss lady extraordinaire, she pulls off pink hair and mumus with ZERO effort and she is not just funny-- she is freaking hilarious.  She literally doesn't care what you think (in the best way possible) and her Instagram is a direct reflection of that. Do yourself a favor and watch the mustache video

Samantha Duenas / @sosupersam

Don't let her freakish good looks fool you, Sam is WAY more than a pretty face. When she isn't spinning the best parties, she is posting hilarious commentary on Instagram.  Her post featuring the guy juggling at the airport, simply captioned "go ahead daddy", literally made us pee (just a little bit.) 

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