There have been complaints against Instagram lately and many professionals are choosing to abandon the platform to go to Vero.
Vero vs Instagram
There are advantages and disadvantages on both platforms, just like any other social media I guess.
Here are my thoughts on the platforms
- More distractions on Instagram such as adverts and recommended accounts/videos that one is bombarded with
- Photographers don’t necessarily produce videos and that is now, according to the CEO, the general push on Instagram
- Instagram is better for portrait rather than landscape format whereas Vero accepts both. I personally find it difficult to take photos that are in portrait format.
- Users will go to Instagram for video content, like TikTok, but start to become dis-insterested in still photography, unless of course, you have celebrity status.
- Little chance of being spammed or receiving vulgar comments on Vero
- The algorithm in Instagram will distract from your content, for example, I might subscribe to your account but there will be little chance of me seeing your posts.
- There are more features on Vero such as recommending another user, a book, share music and so on.
- The disadvantage of Vero is that one might find it difficult to gain followers if the quality of your content isn’t on par to photography enthusiasts or professionals, which has been my experience. I will just never be able to produce the same quality photographs.
Tips on using Instagram
There are ways of attempting to make Instagram more palatable, such as:
- Use on a desktop computer
- Ensure you have as many AdBlockers on your browser as possible
- Either use a private browser or something like the “Facebook Container” extension in Firefox.
The above will ensure you don’t see the many adverts and receive the barrage of recommended content from accounts you don’t want to see.
My Strategy for Photography/Video Media
Firstly, I try to create the highest quality content that I think users on Vero might be interested in. Of course, other users’ work is inspirational to me in that process.
Now that the material is in the best shape that I can get it in, within my meagre skillset, I then post it on other social media accounts.
The highest engagement I receive on any social media platform is Twitter, so that is always a priority. Then, Facebook and Instagram, for which I receive very little engagement if anything at all.
All of my content is uploaded on my website, I get more visitors there than all my social media accounts combined.
So, my strategy is to upload it on all possible platforms for maximum exposure as you never know who might find it, someday.
Summary
I’m so chuffed that anybody likes and/or sends me positive comments on my work.
Please visit my Vero account.