Have we been doing Instagram wrong? I know a lot of people struggle with Instagram as a promotional tool, but might I suggest switching your mindset and seeing it as an absolutely fabulous LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT tool?

I think as entrepreneurs and also as individuals, we look at social media wrong or at least in a way that isn't usually productive. We're so worried about building followings, trying to convert that following into sales, etc. Sure, those are things you CAN do and if it works for you, keep doing it.

But for me, as I've mentioned before, I pretty much let go of social media when it doesn't serve a PURPOSE. Simply broadcasting for the sake of broadcasting is a waste of time, resources and can be quite stressful.

 
So what I'm starting to embrace is Instagram for learning, motivation and inspiration. It's a great way to connect with like-minded people and it's a perfect way to create a nicely curated visual representation of your work.

 
I have set up a few accounts, for specific learning purposes. As you may know, I have a yoga account that I shared freely and I've also set up a couple more for developing my culinary and painting skills.

I kind of started the yoga one out in the wrong way, but I'm correcting that.

Here's How I See These Accounts Now...

* It's for my learning and development only. It's not about following or likes, but I will use hashtags to help connect with other like minded individuals and to get feedback on my own work.

 * As I mentioned above, it's a great way to create a visual curation of your work and progress. I feel that's very inspiring.

* I post when I feel like it and log in and see what others are doing when I want to. There is no pressure or requirement to post.

* I am not trying to achieve anything by posting. It is basically for my records, to see my progress and to remember something I like or am proud of.

* Stories are great for your own motivation as you work through a project and to ask questions from other people, so you can get feedback as you go. And using a topic specific account means I'm not boring my personal followers about all my cooking adventures, even though some of them really do love food.

 * Having a specific topic account also means that your feed is very focused and you have a perfect place to connect with like-minded people and get inspiration.

Also if you want to keep your account public so you can interact, but still private from people who may know you (as you may not want to share about what your learning with everyone and it relieves any of that pressure to keep up appearances, you can just be you), use contact information that others don't have. Otherwise, Instagram may list you as a suggestion to follow to people who have your contact info, I added my son's phone number to my new accounts.