Top Takeaways From IABC’s Instagram Workshop

This year IABC Waterloo decided to close out the year by bringing members together to learn Instagram tips, dine on delicious charcuterie platters, and decorate sugar cookies. If you missed our holiday social, here’s a little recap.

We invited local photographer Sylvia Pond to give us her top tips for Instagram success. A few of her tricks include:

• Follow and be followed

• Like and comment – engage with your followers and those you follow

• Post as often as possible and plan ahead when you can

• Use hashtags, but use them properly and don’t just make things up - know what’s popular in your market(s) and if you’re having an event don’t forget to promote the hashtag!

• And most importantly have awesome photos!

Sylvia had some great photography tips to help us choose the right photos to get the most attention:

• Make sure you have good lighting

• Play with focus

• Incorporate colour

• Use angles

• Be creative!

We also talked about Instagram stories and how that’s a space to be a little more fun and think outside the box because they disappear in 24 hours.

After Sylvia’s mini-masterclass, she challenged us to post some fabulous photos of our Christmas cookies to our Instagram stories for her to judge.

This event also included a tour of the new Conestoga College campus in Waterloo which gave us a behind the scenes look at the campus and where all the students in culinary programs are learning their craft. The building is beautiful and if you haven’t seen it you should!

If you couldn’t join us, we’re sad you missed it, but have no fear, we have some great events coming up in the new year including the Break Through Communications conference. Check your inboxes for more info on that in early 2019. If you’re not on our mailing list, sign up in the footer below.

From our families to yours, have a wonderful holiday season!

Katie McQuaid