Have you ever thought about running your own Instagram challenge?

Maybe you want to grow your followers and your community.

Maybe there’s a cause you want to promote, or something you want to celebrate.

Whatever the reason, Instagram challenges can be a lot of fun, and a great way to engage your followers… but they are also a LOT of work.

In this episode I chat to my friend (and right-hand-gal here in the Circle) Amanda Adams about her experience running her successful IG challenge #bpsewvember over 5 consecutive years.

Highlights:

• Amanda has been running a monthly sewing photo a day challenge on instagram—#bpSewvember—since 2014.
• She was inspired by Jess’s Month of the Maker challenge—#CTMonthInTheLife.
• “#bpSewvember was a way to help build more of a community and connect with people” {Amanda} 
• At the start of a photo challenge, the organiser provides a series of photo prompts and a unique hashtag for participants to share their images.
• “People love the prompt thing” {Jess}
• Don’t be discouraged if you see engagement drop over time. It’s common that participants start strong but taper as the month progresses.
• Be strategic with your prompt selection to combat posting fatigue. Participants generally have more time to respond on the weekend schedule prompts on these days that promote discussion and community building.
• Last year Amanda added daily Instagram stories templates to the challenge. This provided alternate ways for participants to engage.
• “People can be very pedantic about what they put on their feed because they want it to look a certain way” {Jess}
• Stories provides participants with a way to engage with a challenge without the pressure of having super polished images.
• “By offering the option for people to participate in stories you are freeing them up to be a lot more free” {Jess} 
• Be prepared to spend some extra time on engagement.
• Create a clear graphic for your challenge that speaks to your brand.
• If you would like to start a challenge, start smaller. Begin with a 7-day series of prompts to get a feel for running an event.