Equine Social Media ~ Results of the polls
Okay... because I said I'd only do 4 parts I'm sticking to that. This is just a bonus part. So it's more than 4 and I lied, but lets ignore that.
I'm just going to list, really boringly, what questions I asked, what the results were and what we can deduce from that information. Just like I did in part 1, but the questions I've asked since then. Suuuuper boring. Let's go.
Do you prefer high quality pics and videos? - yes 78% - this is predictable, Instagram is a photo sharing platform and people generally prefer to see visually appealing content. The algorithm does not favour it as a rule, but people generally do prefer it (as per this poll) and so it gets favoured based on their behaviour
Does it bother you if someone has lower image quality but the actual image/caption content was good? - no 83% - so yeah, as per the question above, the actual quality of your image is preferable as pretty things are nice to look at but the content/context of it is much more important
Do you plan/schedule your content? - no 84% - most people who are just using Instagram as a sharing platform aren't planning/scheduling content as its more of a "stream of consciousness" sharing scenario (aka, post what you're thinking)
Do you feel like you can tell when others content is planned? - yes 71% - again this comes down to genuine connections... often scheduled content doesn't come across as genuine/organic as organic/stream of consciousness - a good social media skill is being able to make your planned content seem organic!
Does it bother you if peoples content is planned? - 50/50 - literally is just personal preference! I don't mind if people schedule stuff but I personally enjoy more stream of consciousness content, so the organic feel is what I'm after, I personally don't care how someone achieves it!
Do you feel pressure to keep up your social? - yes 70% - again predictable, based on this whole project its no wonder. A lot of people messaged me and said they don't even know why they feel the pressure... but often its based around comparing yourself to others!
Have you ever felt pressure to buy certain brands? - 50/50 - again, often based on your personal aims on Instagram but a lot of people who had influencer aims (later questions) had pressed yes on this!
Have you felt pressure to buy brands due to BA/Sponsorship opportunity? - 66% no - this was interesting to me! I thought it would be yes, as I often find when a company launches a BA/Spon search, my feed is filled with people buying from that brand! Maybe people just want to and don't feel pressure to? I personally don't have spare pennies and therefore don't buy based on these activities, therefore don't tend to actively go for BA/Spon roles, so I don't feel pressure to buy it because I can't, I just don't apply!
If its not your primary aim, do you want to use social in a business sense? - yes 88% - a lot of people want to utilise their socials in an "influencer" capacity, or to further their existing business! Predictable, we all want to make money! :-)
If its not your primary aim, do you want to use social to spread a message? - yes 88% - again a lot of you want to build a platform to spread awareness to issues etc that you feel passionate about... another form of influencing!
Do you follow your faves across multiple platforms? - yes 66% - crossing your personal "brand" from one platform to another can be hard but one of the most valuable things you can do as an influencer
Do you feel like you see a different side on each platform? - yes 54% - this is interesting for people looking to get further on socials... generally, each platforms audiences prefer different things and so moulding your content for each platform to fit the platform and give your audience a different view of you if a good strategy
Do you feel like you'd get on IRL with your fave's from socials? - 96% yes - this is the core of all social media strategy, connecting with people. Being genuine, honest, yourself etc... all of this makes people feel connected to you as a friend and that's where the power of huge social stars comes from.
Have you ever met one of your fave's IRL and got on with them? - no 51% - to be fair, this was a badly worded question from me because most people said "I've said no because I've never met with any big people from socials"... which is fair, I definitely should have worded that better!
Do you follow people you don't actually like - 67% yes - this is SO common and one of the big reasons social can effect your mental health. "Hate Following" people (aka following them just so you can be annoyed at what they are doing) is really bad for your mental health and can also be really addictive. Just cut it off. Just unfollow. Don't do it. It's only effecting you, not them.
Okay sorry now I'm probably going to get a little controversial with my comments on the answers so apologies in advance but also... It's true.
Have you ever done something "for the gram"? - 71% no - I disagree. I have watched and spoken to a lot of people, or even see people write in their captions that they are doing things "for the gram" that voted no to this. Even people I know in real life who I *know* don't normally do those things but I see them do it on IG. It is a shame. I am not saying that doing things "for the gram" is the bad thing here at all, as long as its safe and not hurting anyone then you do you boo. However, lying to yourself about it is unhealthy... just, have a moment of self-reflection. Look at why you do what you do. It doesn't even matter what your motivations are, and I'm not judging, just be honest with yourself and be okay with that :-)
Do you think other people you follow do things "for the gram"? - 92% yes - this is my reason for the answer above. So you think, all holier than thou, that you personally only ever do anything from your purest intentions (not that doing things for IG is impure, I'm being dramatic for effect)... but you think everyone else isn't quite as pure? Either you're projecting (a.k.a. you know you're doing it but you don't want to admit that so you're saying everyone else is) or... maybe you're not and you can 100%, deep down, say you only do things because you want to and have NEVER done anything because you think it would look good on your IG. I think people see "doing it for the gram" as a negative phrase. Its not. We all do it.
Does it bother you if other people are "doing it for the gram" - 70% said 'depends what it is' - I do agree with this, which is why I don't have a problem with people doing it for the gram. As long as you, your horse, everyone around you etc is safe... then you do you! However, make sure its coming from a place of fun, not to "keep up" or because you feel you have to. And make sure that you know why you are doing what you are doing. Don't pretend its cos you want to when its actually for validation from internet strangers... just sayin'
Okay back to normal-ish!
Do you feel like there's something holding you back from utilising your social media for more than pic sharing? - 60% yes - I then asked you to tell me what it was and messages in response to generally were around self-confidence, time and lack of understanding. All of which are totally valid! Putting yourself out on the internet is scary, it takes a lot more time and effort to maintain than people think, and its an industry worth BILLIONS that can take some time to learn and understand. However, if you really want to then I would suggest learning about the industry as the first thing you can do to help yourself... It will make you more confident and help direct how to utilise your time for best effect... so learn first and the rest will come :-)
I lied... back to controversial...
Do you think you are your true self through how you present yourself on socials? - 87% yes - same point as above with the motivations thing... I don't believe this and I don't think you believe it of yourself either. I also, personally, don't believe you should be. Be genuine in who you are and what you say... yes. Does that mean share 100% of yourself? No. It just means being true and honest in the areas you do share. By answering yes to this, I don't believe you were being true and honest to yourself, I think you were pressing the "I'm holier than thou" answer...
Do you think you present your true horsey journey through your socials? - 80% yes - ... not gunna repeat myself but same as the point above... why do I feel that way about both these questions?
Do you feel like the people you follow are presenting their true selves? (and do you think they are presenting their true journey) - they were two separate questions but both were over 70% for no - just like the "doing it for the gram" questions... if we were all being 100% honest and genuine, why do we also think everyone else is lying?! Again, either we are lying to ourselves and therefore not answering the above two questions honestly... or what? We are the only honest ones and everyone else is being dishonest? Doesn't make sense... right?!
Quick point on this... I am honestly NOT judging. I don't care if you do things for the gram or if you don't present your whole true self... In fact, I think if we were all honest with ourselves, those question results would be the other way round. Again though, my context for this is mental health... rather than doing/being/saying what you think people want, do/be/say/don't say what you want. Being genuine in what you do say and share is not the same as saying and sharing everything. Keep some things to yourself, and be 100% behind the bits you want to put out there. And answer the damn questions honestly... come on, have a bloody word with yourself if you think you're that bloody holy and everyone else is lying then, tbh, you're an asshole.
Sorry, wee rant... carrying on...
Do you care whether the people you follow, follow you back? - 63% no - good! Follow people because you want to and no other reason :-)
Do you ever follow people just because they have followed you and so you feel like you should follow back? - 57% yes - this can help you grow so there's nothing wrong with it, but equally, you don't have to, it's not an IG rule that you need to follow back, so don't feel like a dick if someone follows you and you don't like their content... that's just the way of the world.
What is the ONE thing that dictates whether or not you follow someone (in the broad sense, not a specific example)? Answers here ranged on a few things such as; account is relatable due to the horse type/breed/discipline, account feels genuine due to realistic follower numbers (e.g. they haven't bought followers), similar age, their content looks interesting, the look/feel of their feed is nice, a nice range of pretty/quality pictures, captions/account as a whole is relatable/feel like you're on the same wavelength/feel like you would get on with them, regular posts, if their content is inspiring/interesting (education came up a lot here... if you can learn something from that person), relatable/inspirational as riding at similar ability/slightly above... basically...
This is probably the most important question of all! Take algorithms and expectations out of it... what makes people want to follow someone else? Relatable, genuine, regular content that looks and feels nice :-)
That's it! All done! Wow that was long. Sorry. All done. Will upload the final part.