Let's Get Social: Part One
Social media is something that I fell in love with immediately when it came on the scene. The reasons why have changed over the years... First it was all about customizing my music, adjusting my top eight and stalking people on MySpace. Now I use it as a type of online diary, mixed with a virtual cookbook and a place to connect with likeminded, awesome individuals.
People often ask me, "how do you have such a pretty Instagram, how do you take such great photos, what apps should I be using." Recently the girl who does my Botox (yes, I get Botox. I want to be frozen in time) asked me one of these questions and I promised to email her some information. A few weeks later I took about an hour or so to pull from my mental library and send her a thorough list of "must haves". Then I shared it with two girl friends running their own businesses and few weeks later with a fellow blogger. A light bulb finally went off and I thought, I should share my insights with all of you - on the blog!
For part one I'm showing a quick look at the tools I use, but there is something for everyone on this list. If you read this and think there is something I am missing please make sure to give me the heads up in the comments below.
HILARY RUSHFORD This girl does Instagram classes periodically and I find her very easy to watch. I also find her methods practical and relatable. I definitely think it's money well spent. You have lifetime access to her videos, including access after she updates content. She also talks a lot about social media as a business with her own personal perspective and success stories.
LATER This is an app, but I actually use the platform for the newsletters. It's one of the few I actually read! The information provided about Instagram, and it's ever changing ways, is always up-to-date. Plus they interview businesses and bloggers who are using their app successfully. You can use the app to set up posts for later (hence the name). Instagram doesn't allow you to push content from an outside app, but you can set it up with your caption and set a reminder. When the reminder goes off it copies the text, opens Instagram and allows you to paste and post. Makes posting on the go easier. There are other paid apps for this, but this one is free.
PLANOLY Speaking of paid apps. This one is worth the money because you can also access your Insta feed on your computer, which can be nice if you don't work exclusively from your mobile phone. They also just did an upgrade that allows you to set-up stories to post for a later time. Watch their video.
A COLOR STORY I've got a million photo editing apps on my phone, but I've stopped using ALL, but this one. I even paid for the additional bonus packs. That's how much I believe in this app.
SKILLSHARE I'm obsessed with this site. So much creativity waiting to be shared in all different avenues. They literally have classes about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, even Instagram! Take a look and sign up. the classes are usually pretty inexpensive and you can go at your own pace. Plus, new classes are being added all the time.
iPOD TRIPOD Totally worth the $12.99 and will really help your videos. I clip mine onto my kitchen cabinet and take long overhead videos of my baking process.