My quest to conquer Instagram: A wobby start.

I’ve decided to take on Instagram.

This is a big deal for me. I have scar tissue. In the past I left Instagram to my young guns, and that didn’t work as I’d hoped. I need to own my own voice, which means doing it myself. It also left quite a mess of my accounts. I tried to tidy up but bumped into all kinds of wonky problems. Frustrated and intimidated, I lost my confidence, and abandoned it. 

But now I have something important to share, something I know can change people’s lives. So it’s time to be courageous, and quest to conquer my fear. 

Because of my earlier issues, I decided to get advice in the form of a 1:1 mentor call with a completely unknown to me, but very popular, Instagram influencer Abi @holler.academy. My husband discovered her a few months ago, and she’s really impressive. I pull out my credit card and book my spot.

Right there things went a little off…

The link to book my time on the “Thanks for buying”, email was broken. Fortunately there was an automated follow up email with a working link. The contact emails were all different…which was weird.

I booked my spot for 10am the next day. I got a ‘Here are the details’ email, assuring me that my appointment is all set… only there were no meeting details, a zoom link for instance. It also said that if I had any questions, I was free to get in touch! So I sent a note asking about the the missing meeting details… 

9:00 am, day of my appointment. No emails, no meeting details. Nothing. Hmm. Weird. She looks so legit.

9:08. I send an email to the various email addresses I’ve found, offering to use my Zoom.

9:52.  I send an “Are we a go?” message…but I’ve lost hope. I’m also starting to wonder if I just bought time with a bot, she looks so real online!?! Whaaaaa? 

10:00. Time of my appointment. Nothing.

10:10.  I send a message via Instagram. Wonder if that will work. I’m disappointed, but I know stuff happens. I ask about rescheduling/refunds. I feel stupid and also start thinking about what I can learn from this experience (and what I can share with you:). I start thinking about trust in the digital age. Also, I remind myself of Hanlon’s Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity or incompetence…or messed up automations (this last is my contribution to the adage).

10:18.  I get an “Undeliverable mail” message for something I sent yesterday. Super. 

10:31. I get an email! Abi apologizes that she just got the notification for the session, asking when I booked it and offering to get on a call at the top of the hour. (Thank goodness I was embracing Hanlon’s Razor).

11:00. 1:1 starts.

12:35. We finish and I have a list of next steps, tips to help me optimize my account for the algorithm and a map for the first 6 posts. Yay! So valuable. I’m grateful she spent a little extra time with me, and I share some of my booking experience with her…because digital is about collaboration, and broken links happen.

Just getting started with Instagram…4 posts! I have so far to go:)

11:00, the next day. The orangegatelabs Instagram account is set up! Not going to lie. It was super stressful. Some things are easier to do on a computer and some on the phone, so there was quite a bit of back and forth. Some elements are VERY DIFFICULT to change, and I got a little stuck. For instance, at some point (months ago) I must have changed the username of the old orangegate.ca account to orangegatelabs.com —remember my tidying effort? But it didn’t seem to take because it doesn’t show on the profile but I also couldn’t find it…and I also couldn’t use it. OMG. After several deep breaths—not kidding about the scar tissue— I create a new one: orangegatelabs. I use the bio name Ali and I discussed (be careful, this can only be changed once every 14 days), and I added bio details (which you can change anytime). My profile pic is uploaded. Next step: intro video. 

I’ll also be auditing my links and automations. This experience highlighted the fragility of trust online, and the complexity of maintaining a great customer experience when you rely on (as digital entrepreneurs do) an ecosystem of links and automations to deliver your product or service.

Abi is no newbie digital entrepreneur. This morning as I was creating orangegatelabs on Instagram, I went to her website to look something up. It had a new look, and I’m sure those links are fixed. 

I’m relieved and excited to have taken the first steps on my Instagram quest, and grateful to Abi for being a part of it. If you need advice on getting started or levelling up your Instagram account, book a 1:1 with Abi https://www.holler.academy/ and be sure to follow her on Instagram . So worth it. Also check your links.

Follow me for all the messy realities, my learnings and insights of my Instagram journey!