I’ve mentioned before that I’m trying to figure out this social media thing, in particular Instagram. Facebook I get, but Instagram still kind of baffles me.
Anyway, the way I hear it, one of the ways to get Instagram posts noticed is to hashtag them with lots of interesting and popular terms. (There’s even a trick to not appear to spammy – use just one or two hashtags in your original post, then add a comment full of a line of periods plus enter signs, then way down below, add a whole slew of hashtags. It serves the same effect but doesn’t clutter up the initial post).
So the other night I decided to post something I thought was not all that interesting – a picture of my drink. (Hey, I was watching the Republican convention, so alcohol was in order). Ever since I went to a phenomenal “Spicy and Sweet” party, I have been in search of the perfect spicy cocktail recipe. (There’s something about a drink with a little bit of kick that just fascinates me). Anyway, I Googled one, tried to recreate it, and failed. It tasted horrible. (My miserable recipe-following skills apparently also extend to cocktail recipes).
Frustrated, I just poured some rum in a glass, added orange juice, and stirred in a generous amount of cayenne pepper powder. I thought it was a pleasing color (and I was conscious of how boring my life seems on Instagram, full of nothing but pictures of deer and cats), so I snapped a picture.
I had just gotten home from a dinner out with a friend, and I was in a hurry. Late for the Ted Cruz speech and pretty sure it would be explosive (boy, did he not disappoint), I posted to Instagram in haste. I didn’t carefully research hashtags the way I usually do. I just tagged the post #cocktail and #recipe. It was a bit of false advertising, because I did not actually post the recipe. (Mostly because I was embarrassed by its abject simplicity).
And, yet, despite my lack of prep, my simple little picture of a glass with a drink in it on my kitchen counter is so far my most “Liked” Instagram post so far.
I’m not sure I’ll ever figure out this Instagram formula. More drinks, maybe?
Click here to see my feeble attempts at coolness.
