My Insta, My Rules

The podcast I choose to listen to is from Hashtag Authentic and the episode I choose was Episode 79, “Making your own rules on Instagram”. I originally choose this episode because the title caught my eye and I thought it sounded interesting. After listening to the podcast it ended up being a lot different than what I was expected.

This episode revolved around Sara, who is the owner of the podcast, speaking to EJ Osborn about how he uses Instagram in his life. EJ is many things. One of them being a woodworker. His work took off on Instagram originally and helped him become a BBC presenter. EJ is much more than that though and he uses his Instagram to show that. He builds his brand by doing more than just showing off his amazing woodwork skills. He lifecasts on his Instagram to show off every part of who he is. Sara asks him to describe his brand and he says he would describe his brand as himself and just being authentic. To him it’s about what hes passionate about and showing who he is in life and Instagram followers get to follow him on his journey. He explained that he has had many bigger brands reach out to him for marketing and branding purposes but he said “I have never gone near it because it has just never felt right”.

EJ talks about how he never wants to get too involved with numbers because then it would take away from his personal vibe that he shares with the social media world. He doesn’t want to change himself to portray what he thinks will sell best but he wants to stay true to who he is and be his authentic self. EJ went on to say the recipe to his Instagram posts are that he will not post something if it doesn’t feel right to him. Instagram is a way of communication for EJ and he uses it to feel connected to his followers.

I really enjoyed this podcast because it showed me another side to Instagram. Nowadays I feel like all I hear is people talking about the best way to get likes and what look will get those most likes and want time is the best time to post. It is always about how can I get the most likes and not about sharing who you really are. EJ talks about how he uses Instagram to share his story and his work and his life. It was refreshing to hear another side of social media and people use Instagram and yet they are still very successful plus are a hundred percent their true authentic self. I would recommend this podcast to anyone who feels like they need inspiration for themselves and how they use their social media.