On 8 April 2019 my first Instagram Challenge called #MelsChallenge started – it was the first time that I’d hosted a challenge on any social media platform. An Instagram Challenge is where you have a theme (or not) for a certain amount of days and you create content based on the daily prompts given.
I also found out about the app Later.com (a social media management scheduling tool) and tried it while being on the challenge – I would create prompts ahead of time, then schedule images with a caption a few days ahead of time. Scheduling daily posts on the app ahead of time helped a lot because my office life keeps me busy, so social media comes second.
Before the challenge started I asked a few blogger friends to join me on the challenge. I also created a graphic/ poster on Canva.com which listed the different prompts and I shared it on social media and I shared it with the friends I invited to the challenge (some of them shared this graphic/ poster on their social media accounts too).
After the first Instagram Challenge in April was done (and I thought it was a success), I made another challenge for May.
Here’s what I learned from doing my own Instagram Challenge:
– Don’t overthink it
A few days prior to the challenge I thought of taking part in a Instagram challenge and my colleague asked me if I would ever do one myself. I then decided “why not just do it?” and I asked my colleague to assist me to come up with prompts. I just did it for fun, trying not to overthink it. My main aim was to create daily content for my Instagram platform and the daily prompts of the challenge was to help me do just that.
– Focus on what you want to be known for
Since last year I’ve been talking about my journey to become debt-free – talking about it on my blog and on social media. So I decided that my Instagram Challenge’s theme should be about “money”.
– Your focus should also help you
Whether it’s to get more brand awareness or to get ideas for content, your focus or theme should have an end goal. For me, having a “money” theme was also strategic. I wanted to know how others are saving money, what others are learning about saving or investing, that way I can learn too. And you know what? I learned about others’: budget meals, weaknesses, motivations, how we all can relate to the feelings (or activities we do) relating to Pay Day, and so on.
– The challenge was a way to get to know my followers
I made new online friends through this challenge and I got to know more about some of my followers (the ones who took part in the challenge) and the interests they have.
– Even if people aren’t taking part, it doesn’t mean they’re not watching
I’ve had only one person tell me that she saw my challenge and she enjoyed it – even though she didn’t comment or like my posts. In the end my hope is that more people can be conscious about how they spend their money, because I’d like more people to get out of debt. Having less debt means you’ll have more money to spend on other things like experiences with your family or more money on your child’s education, and so on.
Have you ever taken part in an Instagram Challenge? What did you enjoy or dislike about it? Have you ever hosted an Instagram Challenge or any challenge on social media? Let me know in the comments below.