Instagram in 17 Hours
On Monday Morning, I texted my daughter and asked her to pick a number from 10–20. Her reply was “17.” I thanked her and informed her that 17 would be the number of posts, I would add to my Instagram page before the end of the day.
What’s important to note is that prior to Monday my largest daily number for Instagram was 4 postings. A further note is that, I only post original content. Meaning the information for the posts had to be created or to come from one of my companies’ social media accounts. At the time of texting my daughter, I had made 3 posts to my Instagram page with the first being at 4:25am.
The Strategy
Once I fully accepted the challenge at 9:15am, I had to develop a Strategy. First, I needed content, 14 more posts to be exact. Then I needed a timeline which equated to about one post every 45-minutes. Next, I went to my Instagram page and reviewed that the existing posts:
1. The #4amclub.
2. The Fifty-Too Week 12 book cover.
3. Monday Morning Video from Snapchat.
The Next 12-hours
First, I looked in my Gallery on my cellphone to see what photos I had available. (I always keep sets of photos in my gallery). On to my text messages. (I text post ideas to myself throughout my day to ensure that I have them with me no matter where I am located). After reviewing the gallery and text messages, I went to my 5 twitter accounts and located tweets that would be, value added on a Monday. I made screen shots of the 3 tweets that I selected. Next, I went to Slack to my Video Channel to review video’s that would meet the 60 Second timeline for Instagram. Finally, I decided that the remaining post would come from Snapchat.
First Things First!
With my strategy ready, I started posting. I must be brutally honest with you, I did not WANT to do this. But, I am always looking for daily challenges and this one was hunormic. You see, I use between 25 and 30 hashtags for each Instagram post (Again, I love a challenge).
Some of you will argue that is an extreme number of hashtags and is a total waste of time. I’m a Strategic Advisor and I need to continually stimulate my brain throughout the day. Think of an athlete that must: maintain a healthy diet, weight training, conditioning, flexibility, and endurance sessions, practicing multiple times a day, then adhering to a strict sleeping regiment. As a Strategic Advisor, I need to provide advice on quick notice, in short time frames, sometimes under stressful situations while maintaining a clear, and level head. So, nothing is wasted when it keeps my mind fully engaged.
As I was saying, I did not WANT to make 14 post with 25–30 Hashtags each. But, I was committed to accomplishing my goal.
How’d it Go?
Well, posts 4–11 were extremely difficult because, it was all up hill. By the time I reached the 9th post I wanted to throw my phone into a large body of water “on accident…” Part of the challenge was as you know from my article, “37,233 and Counting,” I post the majority of my social media posting myself, from my cellphone. So, while the 17 Posts Instagram challenge was going on, my other 12 social media accounts still required my attention. Hence wanting to drown my phone…
By dinner I was on the downhill slope, with only 4 posts left for the night.
While we were having dinner, my daughter felt terrible because she had picked the number 17. I explained to her not to be upset, because I was the one that set the parameters and I knew that, I needed an objective way to select the number.
We finished dinner, washed the dishes (yes hand washed the dishes, I’m old school). Then settled in to watch the, Men’s Louis Vuitton 18–19 Fashion Show on M2M (Apple TV).
I posted my 17th post at 9:15pm and then went to sleep.
My Final Thoughts…
You’d think that I felt this huge since of accomplishment by completing the challenge, in addition to my daily social media responsibilities. But I did not. What I realized is that I had raised the standard on what was possible. I discuss this setting and keeping standards in my book REAL Leaders Wear Pink. I also featured the content in the article, Set High Standards. You see, I could have kept going with the status quo. There are not a lot of entrepreneurs with 13 social media accounts that personally manage them from their cellphones. But, what I know for certain is that, when people stop challenging themselves because of current success, at some point they will enter the, “C-Zone,” and from there, they start to decline. I know that if I am challenging myself, I will continue to grow. Which is the purpose of, The Turn Around Effect. The 17 Posts Instagram Challenge contributed to my objective of daily Continuous Improvement.
It was 17 hours well spent!
Dr. Donna
P.S. The new Instagram posting standard is now 8–10 per day!
P.P.S. To Check out a video on the event CLICK HERE.
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