Today, we talk to Nadia Singleton, of @artynads
I set up my account simply to follow celebs, I couldn’t believe I could actually send a message to one of my favourite housewives of New York! Then one evening I was sitting in my front room with a glass of wine and the fire roaring. I thought to myself that it looked so cosy and without a thought snapped a picture and added it to Insta.
To my complete surprise I got a couple of likes and these two people expressed how much they liked my dark walled room. I clicked onto their feeds to find they had lots of pictures of their beautiful homes and decided to follow them. I soon understood the power of hashtags and how this was the way to be found. Since accumulating followers the opportunities have been enormous. I have been asked to run competitions for my followers with prizes, started up my own hashtag with two fellow Instagramers and appeared in several publications and blogs, too.
I have also been asked to do a pilot for a TV production company, and with my art and design background have some exciting projects in the pipeline. But above all, Instagram has led me to find some fantastic friends. Like-minded interior nutcases like myself! We’ve even set up Insta meet ups for shopping, lunches and evenings out. The opportunities that have risen from posting that one photo nearly a year and half ago is phenomenal.
My top tips…
1
Quality control
Take good quality photos, these don’t have to be taken on a camera; most camera phones take excellent quality photos now. I personally don’t use filters but definitely experiment with the editing tools that Insta provides – cropping and straightening are my faves.
2
Variety show
Vary your shots. Sometimes take whole room shots, sometimes vignettes, which can be a collection of your home objects on a mantelpiece or coffee table. Try not to repeat the same photos too much. This can be hard, as none of us live in 10 bed mansions after all, but we are forgiving on Insta.
3
Consider your theme
If the theme is your home and garden, stick to that. People know what they’re getting and if they are interested in your subject matter they will hang around and more importantly, engage.
4
Tell a good story
So you have a theme but want to show other aspects of your life. The recent introduction of stories is perfect for that, it’s the place to put a funny photo of what happened that day, that evening’s homemade curry, or a chance to chat while decorating the spare bedroom.
5
Curate your feed
Look at your feed as a whole. Think of it as a curated gallery. If you feel this isn’t happening straight away, it will, you will be surprised at how quickly you will naturally develop your own unique style.
