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Thanks for sharing this Eric, I am still learning the social media thing, and the hashtag thing is just confusing.  Companies like to take ownership of tags, but truly who owns anything on the net?  I appreciate your points, anything which streamlines my social media helps me with more time to ride, which to me IS the thing that brings us all together.  

 

I am still making my way through the threads and posts here, lots of good info and people!  

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Sweet post Eric! I have a ton of fun on Instagram and, at the end of the day, I'm not sure anything really matters on there since it's just for fun, but here are some of my reactions anyway. :)

This is a community. I absolutely detest some of these celebrity riders who have tens of thousands of followers yet follow less than 50 themselves!
 
While I do follow more than 50 folks myself, the number of people I follow looks relatively low (104 as I write this). For me, this is a way to actually increase the value and relationships I get out of Instagram. All the people I follow are folks I've met or have a strong connection with and I enjoy every single one of their photos and captions. I'll often comment on the photos and have jokes with them because I feel like I know them and their story pretty well. Even with just 100 people in my feed, I sometimes feel challenged to enjoy all the posts if I miss a day on Instagram. I honestly have no idea how folks are able to follow 500+ people and keep track of everything!
 
To feel part of the larger community, I'll browse popular hashtags (#advrider, #dualsport) to checkout all the other cool stuff that's happening out there in adventure land.
 
A lot of reposters are just that and don't add a lot of value.
 
It can be exciting, at first, to see your photo re-posted on a larger account, but most of those accounts are re-posting images to grow and entertain their own audience, not yours. They are not doing you a favor. You are actually doing them a favor by providing them with great images for their Instagram feed at zero charge. :)
 
The only re-posts that add value, in my opinion, are those that are done sparingly and with a clear call-to-action. Why are you re-posting this image? What makes it so special that you feel the need to share it with your audience?  Explain those things in the caption and invite folks to go check out the original author. My favorite recent example of this is here:
 

Be judicious with your tags as well. It's annoying to see one line of text and then ten lines of tags. Some are putting tags in the first comment
 
I use a ton of hashtags in my posts (usually around 20-25). I see them as a great way to share my stuff with people (and companies) who are not following me. Since I often browse hashtags myself, I assume that others are doing the same. If a person is looking for shots of #wolfmanluggage, I want my bike to show up in their feed because I have a ton of photos of Wolfman Luggage. My pics are exactly what they are looking for. It seems like a good thing to me as long as the hashtags are relevant to the post. If you can find 30 relevant tags, then go to town!
 
I think if hashtags were invisible, people would be using a lot more of them. The only objections I've heard to hashtags is that "they are ugly and look spammy". The ugliness of them, to me, doesn't outweigh the benefits I've shared above. One method of making the tags less visible is to put them in the first comment. This works well because as soon as a couple more folks comment on the image, the hashtags disappear from view. There are a couple other popular methods out there for hiding hashtags if this feels weird.
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Hashtags are kind of a necessary evil nowadays it seems.  I couldn't agree more that there are people that are solely reposting others' items to build themselves without contributing any original content.  However, there are quite a few that do it to help some get their names out there.  Essentially are trying to help them be known.  

 

I rarely likely reposted pictures but I will almost always go to the original poster and give them a like/comment.  (Sorry Eric, I don't ignore your posts, I just go to the original poster. ;-)  Eric I feel is one that is helping a lot of others to get their items seen.  That's why I've come across a couple of really cool pictures from travelers with small followings and have commented there to Eric.  Sure enough, it gets reposted and I see that rider get a bunch of new followers. 

 

To travel the world, no matter your choice of transport, is not small thing and if you're taking pics to share with others than hopefully its shared with as many as possible.  A lot of eyes need to be opened in the world.  

 

To travel is to learn that everybody is wrong about other countries.  ;-)

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HAHAHAHA!!  I must've read through your post on the first page too quickly when I first checked out this thread Eric.  I just noticed the comment about making fun of myself.  I'm definitely quick to do that.  I have to censor a lot of what I'd really like to post due to my job though.  Thank you for the plug though.  I'll try to keep posting some goofy stuff for you.  I'm starting a two week rotation work schedule soon so I should be able to start riding year 'round this winter.  Just have to fly to my bike in AZ.  

 

What a lot of people are doing on IG with the constant following and unfollow tactics to get you to follow them is really, really annoying and crazy.  I'm all about getting out and meeting more people that ride and expanding my moto friends circle.  However, I have a similar view on the whole follower/follow ratio at @huntca mentioned.  I want to know more about each person, their travels, their interests, their feeds.  I've always been a guy that was more into having 5 really close friends than 500 acquaintances.  As impersonal as the social media world can be, that's my balance to it.  There's just no way in hell that someone with a million followers is keeping up on any of that.  

 

Another gripe to add to BMW's  issues that XLADV mentioned.  They don't tag you in your own post very well.  They've reposted two of my pictures and because I periodically search their hashtag, I came across one of my pictures and the other was sent to me by a friend saying "wasn't this you?"  I think it's just messed up to repost without tagging the original poster.  That's like going to a group bbq get together and just bringing bottled water and veggie dogs.  Just go home.  hahaha!

 

Some random observations on Instagram...

 

Reposters

 

Some chatter recently on a reposter, @bmwgsfans, not only posting photos without attribution, but deleting comments and banning people for pointing it out.  This should earn them a one way ticket off Instagram, in my humble opinion.

 

XLADV reposts a lot of photos too but about 18% of our recent content (I counted back about 150 posts) is original and we often seek to inform and will point back here to our forum as well as showcase a story and not just the photo.  We've been successful at building relationships with riders around the world, helping out where we can, etc...  It's about a dialogue.

 

A lot of these reposters are just that and don't add a lot of value.  I can't tell you how many times I'll see another account re-post photo after photo of things I just got done posting.  Take a look at an account's ratio of followers/post.  We are at 12.9.

 

Hashtags

 

We really appreciate it when you use our two favorite hashtags: xladv and sizematters.  I've also seen xladvrider, which is awesome.  Our only attempt is to call attention to how big adventure bikes differ and how they are special (more range, more capacity).  It would be nice to be able to make a dime off this at some point but for just over a year and a half this has been simply our hobby (an expensive one).  We are about people riding big adventure bikes and sharing those experiences.  That's it!  There's a sticker but no associated lifestyle apparel line  :lol:

 

While I harbor no ill will or enmity to BMW (on the contrary, I love their bikes and had a GSA for 5 years), I've been quite annoyed by some of their social marketing.  Some of their well known and branded hashtags have been: unstoppable, madeforadventure, etc...  Another new one that I'm perfectly fine with is spiritofGS.   Great marketing.  But here's what annoys me is their attempt to own "makelifearide" and "rideandshare."  For one, people just aren't getting it.  I find all kinds of people are using those hashtags who don't even ride a BMW.  Rideandshare is a BMW thing how exactly?  Cut it out!  Any posts I share immediately have those two removed.  Oh and now I see "joyintensified."  Geez man!

 

I also am annoyed by "rideandwander."  It's a great tag but it happens to be someone's account!  Maybe they're happy to have it co-opted but my advice is fine, have a generic category tag like advrider, xladv, dualsport, adventurerider, advofinstagram or whatever but for something more specific, be original.  I'd use rideandwander if I were friends with them and wanted to give a shout out to what they (not I) are doing.

 

Be judicious with your tags as well.  It's annoying to see one line of text and then ten lines of tags.  Some are putting tags in the first comment, but that may make it harder to find certain posts.  When I search for something to repost I'm looking for #xladv.  If it's in the first comment then it's not showing up in search.

 

Simply using our hashtag is enough.  Please don't tag us in the photo.  It takes too long to go through all those and tells me you want me to repost your photo but we're not important enough to use our hashtag for others to see.  We also don't feel special when we see 67 others tagged in the same photo.  And no need to message me a photo, just use the hashtag.  I swear at least 80% of these people sending me photos have private accounts that can't be shared (duh)!

 

Have a story

 

Please!  I see so many posts that are just a photo.  No story?  No location?  Boring.  A few I've noticed are great with the stories are pikipiki_overland_blog, mytickettoride, feralcat2wheels and chickamotorunner.  I can't wait to see what kind of story they have to tell each day!  I'm guilty of not giving a good story too sometimes.

 

What types of photos work

 

Landscapes are great but unless you and your bike is in it, it's just a pretty landscape (and not moto-related).  If you're in the photo, smile!  Have your helmet off.  Lighting is really important!  The best light is in the morning and in the evening.  I see tons of photos at mid-day that are just completely washed out; maybe 2% of them are any good.  That means setting aside time in the morning and evening to work on your shots.  And don't forget this is a motorcycle themed thing; any shot of your bike is usually a good shot.  Look at huntca or rodeo.cowboy.  They are the kings of the "butt shot" (back of the bike).

 

Video

 

Instagram upped their video lengths from :15 to 1:00.  Give some thought to the "cover" image (in setup) for what you want seen because many are just a black screen (doesn't make me want to click on it).  Keep in mind Instagram is policing copyrighted music now so leave that out.   Chickamotorunner mentioned an app she uses but can't recall the name.

 

Sponsored Gear

 

No need to explicitly mention you are sponsored, just show the gear and mention their hashtag and that's usually great.  Do justice to the photo so the reader can actually see it on your bike or being used.

 

Be yourself & try showing your personality

 

I really love to see someone make fun at their own expense, relate a troubling story of loss or loneliness, talk about a hardship overcome, or the joys of meeting new people and seeing new places.  Some of these people are damn funny (GSA.007).  Just be yourself and you'd be surprised how much people like seeing that.  The quotes are okay sometimes but they can also seem cliche, pat advice, overdone.  Some people seem to have a random quote generator and just add that to each post.  Be real.  Don't google it.  If something inspires you then please share but there's no need to scrape for a quote.

 

This is a community

 

Try following someone!  I absolutely detest some of these celebrity riders who have tens of thousands of followers yet follow less than 50 themselves!  &%$#@! do you think you are?  You are really missing the boat if you're not exploring and finding other riders doing  AMAZING things.  My newest rider I'm in love with (her journey; not her) is adventurism.life.  Go find the person riding the Pamir highway or the Andes passes or camping on the Uyuuni flats or meeting tribes people of Botswana.  They don't have to have written a book (yet) either.

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What a lot of people are doing on IG with the constant following and unfollow tactics to get you to follow them is really, really annoying and crazy.  I'm all about getting out and meeting more people that ride and expanding my moto friends circle.  However, I have a similar view on the whole follower/follow ratio at @huntca mentioned.  I want to know more about each person, their travels, their interests, their feeds.  I've always been a guy that was more into having 5 really close friends than 500 acquaintances.  As impersonal as the social media world can be, that's my balance to it.  There's just no way in hell that someone with a million followers is keeping up on any of that.  

 

 

Maaaan, I hate the follow/unfollow game.

 

And I also agree with both you and @Huntca about the rest. It's not about being a d-bag or a snob, but I can't phisically keep track of like 1000 people in my feed. I think I've also read an article, back then, about this subject, and basically it all went down in the fact that the human brain isn't CAPABLE of remembering that amount of information. It's overload. In fact, the article stated that the brain is capable of  only keeping track of like 45/50 people maximum.

 

So yeah, I'd rather follow less people and KNOW them, rather than a shizton of accounts, and ciclycally go through the "wait, who was this guy again" phase.

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Are people really that brain dead on Instagram?

 

I'll post a screen shot of my trip overview from the Rever app and even say "from the Rever app" and have their hashtags #rever, etc... people will ask "what app is that?"

 

I reposted a photo of Lat at his campsite with his Redverz tent in the background and it had tags saying #redverz and #redverztents and sure enough someone asked "what tent is that?"

 

Then today a guy asked "what brand of pegs are those" and short video he clearly says "these are pegs made by BMW."

 

sheesh

 

 

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Are people really that brain dead on Instagram?

 

I'll post a screen shot of my trip overview from the Rever app and even say "from the Rever app" and have their hashtags #rever, etc... people will ask "what app is that?"

 

I reposted a photo of Lat at his campsite with his Redverz tent in the background and it had tags saying #redverz and #redverztents and sure enough someone asked "what tent is that?"

 

Then today a guy asked "what brand of pegs are those" and short video he clearly says "these are pegs made by BMW."

 

sheesh

 

 

I think brain dead is an understatement. And the short answer is yes!

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Are people really that brain dead on Instagram?

I'm sure you actually meant "on social media as a whole".

 

I feel the whole social / casual chatting nature of social media encourages a total lack of attention.

How many times it happens on forums that people ask same stuff in the same thread that's been answered 2 posts before?

Or you go on Facebook and you see, for example, a post about the new Husky 701 2017 with a new, more powerful engine and the 3rd comment is saying: "So, is there anything changed from the 2016 model?"

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I agree with Rainier and digitallysane.

 

The internet apparently has made the people dumb. No, wait, dumb is an understatement. They've become just plain STUPID. Oh, and Lazy.

 

I see it on Insta, Twitter, Youtube (god forbid me for the times I had to answer politely to a stupid comment on my videos...), every social platform is plagued by dumbness.

 

Yo, listen, I know I sound rough and unpolite but c'mon. Seriously. How much time would it take for them, or anyone, to actually READ one or two lines of text? For example, my video descriptions take literally 10 seconds to read. Is it that unconceivable to "waste" those 10 seconds?

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I was talking to Chris White last weekend at Long Beach BMW at the moto camping thing Klim put on and he asked me something about how many of our followers we bought on Instagram.  I said "they're all organic!"  Proud to say that too!  I mean, where exactly would I get the money anyways?  :lol:

But it got me thinking what is it exactly that I'm doing with the Instagram feed?  It started honestly as simply a way to create some awareness of XLADV not even with riders but with the industry.  I did the same thing on Twitter but that medium is dead for ADV.  Lately though I wonder if it's not just some kind of cotton candy spewing "like" factory.  Cotton candy as in it's very sweet and satisfying but quickly disappears.

So we have 65k followers?  Big deal.

What really matters to me is creating a community.  What I mean by that is a real dialogue between riders about real moto issues.  I've met a LOT of people through this.  Face to face.  I know many of you by your real first names, not your screen name.  I know people from around the world who have offered to host me should I come through their area.  That's community!

And I want to do it in a way that benefits us, not Instagram or Facebook.  Those are just tools.

Speaking of "tools,"  I've also had more than a few instances of people asking me for favors WHO HAVE NEVER EVEN SIGNED UP HERE.  Some guy wanted a hook up with a vendor and I didn't say anything to him but what I was thinking was "are you kidding me?  You haven't bothered to try to become a part of this community but you want my help getting you free stuff?"  And then recently a guy I know wanted me to like his new moto page on Facebook but he's another one who I've known for quite a while who hasn't bothered to invest any of his time here.

So what I was thinking is to start narrowing the photos I re-post to just those who are actually members here.  Maybe I'll start with a "member Monday" where I only post members' photos on Mondays.  I will also hit this message more at Instagram that if you want your photos reposted then come be a part of the community.

This is something I think we'll all be better off for.  If you know me or have listened to anything I've said about the topic, I really believe a forum like this is the BEST medium for a big bike community and not Facebook.  I'll post stuff there but only to get people back here.  I'm not going to invest time and effort to post a ride report with photos and video on Facebook only to have it essentially disappear after a day or two like it does on Facebook.  Things are easier to find here which is why we take the time to document this type of institutional knowledge.  XLADV has a great look and feel, user experience and I'm proud to say we haven't banned nor even sanctioned a single member in our two year history!  That's because we all get it and want the same thing (I think).

What do you think?

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Just registered here and have had the pleasure to ride with Eric. Of course just as everyone here I am on IG as well.

https://www.instagram.com/no_limit_dual_sport/

All pics here will be adventure/or moto travel related.

Good points being made throughout this thread. It seems some are just throwing up content on IG for the sake of it being there. Eric and the other comments above are dead on some thought should be put into what you are posting for either the audience the product you are featuring....something

Thanks for the great post Eric

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