A lot of creatives recently have expressed that they have felt deflated and have experienced burnout from life on Instagram.

The platform is fast becoming a numbers game of followers and post engagement. This is not only deflating the creativity of the big players but many of you who are starting out, and still finding your tribe on the platform. 

Photography and any form of creative expression are part of personal growth so it is important to choose inspiration over imitation. So what’s the key to feeling consistently more inspired than deflated by Instagram? If you want to say goodbye to deflation, say hello to hashtags!

Finding the right hashtags that feed your inspiration and growth of your creative expression, is the answer.

We’ll get on to that in a bit but first, let’s talk about the importance of hashtags.

Why Hashtags over Accounts?

1. INSPIRATION OVER IMITATION

The most important thing about creating your Instagram account is, as I’ve mentioned, that you are inspired by the imagery you see and that you don’t feel pressured to imitate and conform to the styles of the doyennes of big accounts.

When you focus purely on following the big wigs, you are constantly pitting your own developing imagery against their honed and polished finished products.

When you choose to follow hashtags you open yourself up to a myriad of different techniques and interpretations of a theme (the hashtag). Hashtags are also where posts by accounts just like yours are posted alongside those who are professional image makers.

We so often forget that our creativity is not a static thing. It’s a muscle that we need to use regularly and strengthen. Comparision and imitation will only stifle your creative growth and prevent you from finding your true creative voice.

2. YOU WILL FIND YOUR COMMUNITY

After following a few hashtags for a while, you will find people interested in the same things as you. These people are also willing to share ideas and support you as you go along. All you have to do is ask!

This is where Instagram excels and helps you build your confidence as a budding creative. As creatives, it is really hard for us to express our narrative sometimes. But within these hashtag communities, people are willing to chat and share, because they are building and growing their own narratives as well.

This is the place on the platform where support and inspiration make for a harmonious and rewarding social media experience.

3. PEER TO PEER GROWTH

I know it sounds like a real business-y term, but it has a place here in the world of Instagram. When you start to get support from your fellow creatives, their followers sit up and take notice.

As a natural by-product, your creativity reaches another audience that most likely had not been aware of your creative endeavours. These followers form what everyone talks about as ‘your tribe’.

HOW TO FIND YOUR HASHTAGS WORKSHEET

“How do I find my hashtags?” I hear you ask. Well, I’ve attached a free worksheet of questions to ask yourself in order to find your community on Instagram. Print it off for yourself below!