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Instagram + Facebook Q&A

On Monday I shared some of my Reader Survey results, but it was too much for one post so I decided to save the Facebook and Instagram questions and comments for another day… and that day has arrived!

Your Instagram Questions & Comments Answered

If you’re not already, you can follow me on Instagram HERE.

Q: Your Instagram posts never show up on my feed for some reason. Any idea why???

A: Ugh, I hate hearing this. So yeah… Instagram uses an algorithm that judges from your user behavior what they think you want to see. So, if you search for me and like and comment on my posts frequently, they will start showing up in your feed. Of course, it sounds really self serving to tell people to like and comment on my posts… but that really is the only way to get my posts to show in your feed if they’re not already.

Q: Is it possible to save pictures from Instagram to Pinterest? 

A: Apparently I should have researched this a bit because there are a few of ways to do this — thanks to those of you who commented or emailed to share these tips!

  1. When you’re on a specific picture, tap on the three dots and you will see SHARE. Tap Share and it will give the option to copy the link. If you then open your Pinterest app on your phone, it will prompt you to save the IG link you copied to your clipboard. You can then choose the image to save and choose the board you want it to go to.
  2. You can also screenshot the outfit picture and upload it to your pinterest, but if you do this, make sure to copy the link via the method above and paste it in as the source on Pinterest so the picture is properly credited to the owner.
  3. Gina also shared in the comments a way to pin from a blogger’s LIKEtoKNOW.it page, which is awesome for the blogger, but it may not be the easiest way for you. All that to say, there are a few ways to do it!

Q: I’m just getting into Instagram……I just look at photos. Is there more?! LOL

A: YES! Insta Stories are fairly new, but they’re really fun. If you look at the top of your home feed on Instagram, you will see different profile pictures of people you follow lined up along the top. (See the screenshot below.)

If there is a red circle around their profile picture, they have an Insta Story you can watch. They’re just supposed to be a fun way to show snippets of your life without posting to your IG profile. FYI, these disappear after 24 hours unless you save them as a featured story on your profile. (It’s basically Snapchat — Instagram totally copied them.)

That’s how it works if you want to browse your Insta Stories. Unfortunately their trusty algorithm also applies to Insta Stories, so if mine aren’t showing up for you and you’re curious if you’re missing something, to go my Instagram profile (use the search tool) and see if my profile picture has a red ring around it. If not, I haven’t posted a new Insta Story since you tuned in last (or in the last 24 hours) but if there is the red circle, just tap my picture, and my Insta Story will play from where ever you left off last.

INSTA STORY VIEWING TIPS:

  • If I go too fast for you, and you want to replay my Story, tap on the left of your screen, and it will go back one frame. Keep tapping to get back to the beginning.
  • Conversely, if I’m boring you, but you don’t want to “miss” something, tap on the right, and it will advance my Story one frame. Keep tapping until it looks like I’m done jabbering about whatever it was that was boring you.
  • If I have too much text to read on one image in the short amount of time the frame is showing, touch the screen and hold your finger on it — this pauses the story so you can read everything. Release when you’re done reading and want it to continue to play.

C: I really like your unboxing videos and try on sessions at the mall. Those are probably a lot more work than they appear to put together, but are so helpful to me as I’ve turned into an almost 100% online shopper.

A: Thanks for that feedback. I will try to do more of those. They are a bit of work, but if I’m there trying on clothes, I may as well snap a few pictures, right? I also worry that they’re annoying, which is one reason I don’t do them more often. Glad to hear some of y’all like them! (My kids are mortified. Haha!)

For anyone wondering where to see those, I do them on my Insta Story.

Okay, that’s about it for Instagram!

Your Facebook Questions & Comments Answered

If you’re not already, you can follow my Facebook Page HERE.

I also want to make sure everyone understands that my Facebook Page is different from my personal profile. If we are “friends” on Facebook, that does not necessarily mean that you’re following my Page. The Page is where I post everything blog related. I rarely post anything from the blog in my personal profile because it feels too pushy/salesy to me. Also, Facebook has Groups. Those are different than Pages. You have to join a Group, but you follow a Page. So now that we have that all cleared up! Let’s move on to the comments and questions from my reader survey!

C: Your Facebook posts does not show up on my feed???? I have to deliberately go to your FB page.

A: Just like Instagram, Facebook uses an algorithm to determine what they think you want to see based on your user activity, so the more you interact with my page, the more likely it will show up in your feed. However, with Facebook does give you a few more ways to show them what you want to see.

  1. Make sure you have clicked “LIKE” on my Facebook Page. My page will never show for you if you haven’t added it to your Likes.
  2. Then the other thing you can do is click the “Follow” button that is right beside the Like button, and select “See First.” This tells Facebook to show you my posts first in your newsfeed. I do this with all of my best friends and the blogger pages I want to be sure to see.
  3. Also be sure to turn Notifications to On so my FB Live videos to show up in your feed.

Beyond that, the only way to get Facebook to show more of my posts in your feed is to interact with my Page, “like” and comment on my posts, and share them if applicable. I understand that not everyone likes to do that for privacy issues, but that’s the best way.

Of course, you can always click over and see what’s new when you think of it. There’s a link to my FB Page on my blog in the menu bar at the top.

Q: I already get your instagram and emails so I don’t follow your Facebook Page. I assume Facebook is similar/same content.

A: I actually do put different content on my Facebook Page than I do on my blog or Instagram. I try to keep them different because I find it annoying when I see the same exact posts from friends on both networks.

Basically, I use Instagram to post my daily outfits and sometimes pictures of what I’m up to if I think of it. Then I use Facebook to post product roundups, sale alerts, and fashion-related articles that I think you’ll find interesting. Sometimes I post reader questions so we can crowd source, and I ask questions or post casual banter. I do, however, link to my blog posts on both.

C: I see a lot of “sponsored” content from you pop up in my Facebook feed. I wonder why this is since I already follow your page. Sometimes the pop ups are things I have already seen. I don’t want to say it is annoying because it really isn’t but I guess it is disappointing maybe when I have already seen the content and think I am getting something new.

A: Hm, I know what you mean. I notice this with other bloggers I follow.

First of all, so everyone understands, when you see a Facebook post that says it’s “sponsored,” that means I have paid for a Facebook Ad so that post will be seen by more people. On average, one of my non-sponsored Facebook posts will get seen by about 3,000 people. (But I have 16,000 followers.) Unfortunately this is typical for a Facebook Page. It’s Facebook’s way of getting business owners to pay for ads, and it works! I pay for ads on certain posts to try to get them out to more people.

Back to your point, I don’t know why FB keeps showing those to people after they’ve seen them. That is annoying, and I can’t really fix it or give a good answer as to why it happens.

C: Sometimes I have trouble finding your Facebook Lives.

A: Oh, no! I do hear that from a few of you. There is no way for me to set it up ahead of time and link to it from the blog, so you do have to go to my Facebook Page and find it. It is only visible once I start it and make it live, so you may have to refresh my page a few times until I get started. I try to be on time, but punctuality is not my strong suit, and sometimes it’s a few minutes after 1PM when I get going. Again, be sure you are on my Page, not my personal profile.

I do save them so you can always watch later, but of course it’s more fun if you tune in live so you an interact with me. I try to remember to link to them on my blog the next day for anyone who may have missed it, so you can easily find it.

Q: Since we are FB friends because of the Facebook Group, I sometimes see your personal posts on my wall, but I don’t know if it is appropriate to comment (like hb to your daughter, congrats to your son on college, etc.)

A: Oh, please, feel free to comment! I actually make a lot of those posts public anyway. 🙂

I think that about covers the questions from the reader survey, but if you have any others, feel free to ask them here… or email me anytime.

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

Join The Conversation

23 Responses

  1. I think I’ve already mentioned this, but I truly do enjoy your fb posts and often find them super helpful -even if I’m quiet and don’t comment. I really wish fb was set up differently *sigh*.
    I’m also loving how you’re doing more interactive IG stories. I’m normally quiet there too unless it’s important. I can only imagine how many dm’s and questions you must get, so I never want to inundate your inbox. I personally don’t ever post anything on IG, can you see who is watching your stories? And would more interaction from readers be helpful or encouraging?

  2. If it helps, people actually *can* pin outfits from your Instagram feed on to Pinterest. I made a point to figure this out when I saw a lot of other bloggers’ Instagram pics ALL over Pinterest so I knew it had to be possible! There are a few ways to do it, but if you want to be helpful to your favorite bloggers the best way to do this is
    1. Go to the liketoknow.it page of the blogger (e.g. in JoLynne’s case https://www.liketoknow.it/jolynneshane)
    2. Use the Pinterest extension installed on your browser to save Pins from there. (If you don’t have this just google the steps.)

    There are other services that allow you to Pin as well, but then those Pins are not as helpful on Pinterest because they don’t direct Pinners to a valid source. e.g. if I find an outfit I like on Pinterest and want to see more by that blogger, if it didn’t come from her blog or Liketoknow.it page, it’s impossible for me to find the original blogger and shop her look or have her get any sort of credit for her work.

    Hope that makes sense!
    Gina || On the Daily Express

    1. Goodness, you all are full of helpful info. I’ll be updating my post later. Thanks, Gina! I just want to reiterate the importance of making sure the source is correct. 🙂

  3. Hi. Quick comment on question about posting IG to Pinterest. Here is what I do – take a screenshot of the IG post/ pic. Then save to your photos. Then you can save from there to Pinterest. ( can delete from photos of course so more space ).  It is a couple of steps but there are things I want for future reference so I save to Pinterest. I am NOT high tech. Someone else may know better shortcuts. Julie L 

  4. This really cleared up some questions I had about how much to comment, like, and share stuff. I have been sincerely concerned that I appear to be stalking you… so I am breathing a sigh of relief right now and planning to continue my overkill on the comments, likes, and shares. ????
    See you at 1 for the Facebook Live

  5. The links to the Fashion over 40 group won’t work for me – says its temporarily unavailable?

    I love the FB posts where you find sales on items too! I don’t always comment on FB posts also because I think that all my friends can see my comments even if they haven’t “liked” your page and sometimes I don’t want them to see my comments. I’m not sure if that’s true or not but I see other people’s comments on pages I don’t read. But I do read all your posts whether I’m commenting or not….

      1. It isn’t working for me either. Even though you have to request to join, you should still see the page with a link to “request to join”. Maybe it’s unavailable at the moment??

        1. It’s because it’s a private group. It’s not just closed, but it’s private so no one can see it unless they’re in it. 🙂 We set it up that way so we don’t get random requests from people we don’t “know”… although I probably wouldn’t do it that way if I did it again, it can’t be changed to closed now. So… if you send me a friend request, I will approve it and then add you. 🙂

  6. You can pin to Pinterest from Instagram if you are using a browser vs the mobile app. I have Pinterest shortcuts on my Safari browser on my iPad and on  laptop using the Chrome browser. 

  7. Also you can get notified by the Instagram app when your favorite people post 🙂 Click on the three dots on the person’s profile and click turn on post notifications. I use it for several people I follow. 

    1. Yes, I do this for Jolynne’s posts on IG! I get notified whenever there’s a new post. I only do it for a few people because I like them and otherwise would miss their posts. Super-useful!! 😀

  8. Here is a tutorial for how to post pics from Instagram to Pinterest:
    https://www.meighanotoole.com/blog/pin-instagram-images-on-pinterest-mobile

    I’ve used it a couple of times and it worked very well. Unfortunately, I forget all the steps and don’t do it often! LOL

    One other Instagram item…when I look at your profile there aren’t any little circles for links to your shopping page, etc. I checked several other people I follow and none of them have those little circles either. Is there any chance that you have to have a certain type of account (business?) for those to show up?

  9. I follow you on both IG and FB … Love all the posts and links!
    I’m still confused on Like to know but I just wait for the email to come through and shop that way 🙂

  10. You appear in my Instagram feed.  I haven’t been commenting but I do Like. I’m trying hard, but not always successfully, to cut back on my iPad time. Between emails, blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz, etc. I am spending too much time (IMHO) on my devices. It is very addictive! 
    I watched your Facebook feed on the blog today. It was nice to hear your voice. 

  11. Thank you for this post!  I discovered that I had not liked the correct FB page for you, which I have remedied.

  12. Love live chat was able to access thru post today…
    So fun to see your sweet and kind personality.
    Helped me get thru my organizing and cleaning this morn????

  13. My daughter says I am technically challenged and I agree. I find what I can and let the rest go. Love your FB chat. So informative. Will you continue with that each week.

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