Monday, June 2, 2014

Instagram Etiquette 101: s4s

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Lets At Least Attempt to Keep It Classy on IG......



Instagram has over 200 million monthly users, so with so many users its easy to get lost in the shuffle. No matter how good your content is, sometimes you need a little help spreading the word about your awesome pics.

And so enters the s4s. Share for share is something that is fairly common on Instagram. It is where you share a persons photo on your page, then they share one of your photos on their page. It not only exposes your photos to their followers but, your followers will get the chance to see someones photos that they might not have found yet.

BUT there are a few non-written rules that you need to be aware of before you participate in a s4s.


DO have fun...its just an app.
DO share pages you actually like and follow
DO take the time to find the best pic on that persons page
DO be sincere when writing something about that person, dont just @ them.
DO Leave that person's pic on your page for a minimum of 24 hours
DO BE honest, if your only going to choose 5 to 10...say so!!
DO  Pick accounts that is similar to your own, your followers are more likely to them.
DO remember that be a part of and building a "community" will be the best way to gain more followers, not with a s4s. So comment on photos, respond to questions, and make friends.


DONT DM somebody begging for a share, just wait till the host a s4s
DONT do a s4s just to sell your products this is really shady and desperate.
DONT exclude someone just because you dont like their look, WE ARE ALL HUMANS!!
DONT Get upset if you didnt get picked! theres always next time.
DONT Burn any bridges, its just an app!
DONT pressure someone into following you, please dont comment on peoples pics, asking them for a follow.
DONT host a s4s daily, or often!! your followers wont like it, remember they follow YOU, for your style, or personality, etc. They dont follow a commercial, and they wont like feeling that they are only getting sold something.


Three Instagram'ers Three Opinions on s4s.


deedeetn on Instagram (Me!!) 12.5K followers





"I only host s4s about once a month, but if I see one of the accounts im following post a s4s I will usually try to share their photos. I do have a (somewhat) negative view of s4s.... let me explain. Hosting a s4s can be nerve wracking!!! Hopefully a few people want to join in, which is great at building a community, but i'm always afraid that I will hurt someones feelings if i dont pick them. Some people will post like 10 accounts in one frame, i dont do that! i post one picture, one account per post. And I know from personal experiences I dont like seeing my feed full of s4s, I follow you for you. Another thing I do differently is I write a little bio of why this person needs a follow, and I generally follow the people I share, because if I wouldnt follow them, why would i ask my followers to follow them. I have also recently started doing a s4s weekend where I will share 4 to 5 accounts a day over the course of a weekend, one weekend a month. The truth is I really like doing the s4s..... but I have been burned a few times. There was the time that an account with 35k followers left my pic up for 4 mins Awesome! Or how a former IG friend holds a s4s errDAY and is literally so worried about getting new followers it not only lets her content suffer, but alienates her long term followers. There are also those IG horror stories of a person who id so desperate for some little bit of the Kardashian style fame that they befriend other IG'ers in hopes of gaining more followers. The kind of people that would sell their soul for fame, but yet never seem to step up their game when it comes to publishing content, yep them people. BUT then theres the good side, an Im a product of that good side! my photos have been shared over a dozen times, during s4s or just by another IG'er sharing my photos. You see my photos are different, I dont share looks or outfits, I post highly stylized photographic product photos similar to what you would see in the beauty section of a magazine, so not very searchable!! With the help of other IG'ers sharing my pics I have grown my follower base, and thats why I can appreciate the s4s. It has also been my pleasure to make true and genuine friends on Instagram. SO MY BOTTOM LINE: use it dont abuse it!! And remember, Instagram is just an app.......it cant feed your kids or pay your rent."- deedeetn


nancys0fresh on Instagram 20.9k followers





"I know there are many people that are against s4s, but I am one of the few, that are totally for it. Ofcourse with everything there are some pros and cons. Pros are not only do I gain followers from the shout outs that people give me, but honestly what I love more is the people I find and discover. I get the opportunity to find these amazing beauty addicts like me, and it brings me so much joy. The first time I did a s4s, I admit, it was for the followers, I thought it'd help me gain a few, but now, I do the s4s just to find these beauties. And unlike some people I do individual shout outs, and I keep it up for more than an hour, I actually keep it for a few days to a week long, Okay, now onto the cons. I dont think many people realize how stressful it is for me when I do s4s, of course it is my fault because I wanted to do the s4s. But, it is stressful, let's say 50 people give me a shout out, its hard for me to choose who to shout out, I wanna do all 50 but thats just too much and I know my followers will hate me for that. So I end up doing half, which is 25, but its hard to choose which 25. I know so many people hate when we do s4s, because they have this opinion about us that we only do it for the followers and/or they believe that its unfair to the people giving us the shout out, and maybe some people do do that, but some of us actually do it to discover people. I also do a s4s because I have no pictures to post and am too lazy to take new ones, or dont have time too. So its easier to just repost other people's pictures and help them get discovered. Anyway MY BOTTOM LINE: All in all, i'm one that is for s4s."- nancys0fresh

ashtagmakeuplovee on Instagram 17.7k followers




"Within the beauty community there are so many accounts that dedicate their content to cosmetology and go unnoticed. I think shout out for shout out is one of the best ways in this current time frame to share and spread the makeup love amongst people with the same interest. It has made me discover some of my favorite accounts that I would have never known existed if it wasn't for s4s. MY BOTTOM LINE: I personally chose to s4s and I feel it has helped my grow as well and make new connections in the beauty industry." ashtagmakeuplove


Tell US in the comments what are YOUR Do's and Dont's of s4s on Instagram?? 

XoXo
Dee Dee


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