
Fertility IQ Basecamp – Community through Instagram
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I went to San FranciscoΒ for Fertility IQ basecamp. However, at the time I didn’t share about all the logistics of the Fertility IQ trip, but promised it was coming. Well today is the day. I have teamed up with the other bloggers who also attended the basecamp to recap and share all the important information we learned. Each of us is taking a topic and covering it and my topic is the power of community, specific to instagram.
Our time at instagram with fertility iq was wonderful. I was sick the night before so had to rally, but it was worth it. I hated having to forego the temptingΒ (free) food court. Although we didn’t do too much walking around, what we saw was impressive. In addition to the amazing food court, instagram had their own bike shop, tennis courts, coffee shop, rock climbing wall, just to name a few perks. I have no doubt that their whole campus is glorious.
We met with the VP of community. Why did our group, that was there to learn about all things fertility-related, spend time atΒ Instagram? Well, most of us actually met via social media whether it was instagram, our blogs, etc. If you don’t already know this, there is a powerful community across all social media outlets, instagram being one of them. So we wanted to meet with the VP to discuss what we could do for our fertility community. Here were some ideas she gave:
Use your profile to announce special days or things going on
Encourage dialogue on your feed by prompting with questions
Engage with your followers. Respond to all their comments
Figure out what time is best to post, based on when your followers respond
Create a special day or a hashtag correlated for your community {Fertility community, we have already come up with something, so be on stand by}
A few other things: Despite that most bloggers will disagree, the VP said the algorithm feed changes that have been made have been received very well. She also said that 7 was the magic number of hashtags to use. However, I will put a disclaimer that I have had several friends who have tried this and said that this was not the case for them, so I will let you decide. Instagram does support breastfeeding, but does not allow nudity. They are well aware that a lot of their audience is younger and they make sure they cater to them by protecting what is shared.
So how can you use instagram for your community? If you are also on a fertility journey, check out hashtags like #ttccommunity #infertility #ttcsisters. If you are in another community, I bet there is something for you. Soccer. Knitting. Faith. Running. Movies. Reading. Travel. If you can’t find anything related to your interests, thenΒ why not start building a community?
My story, along with the ladies below, are a testimony of a friendship that can come from the instagram community. And, it’s not just instagram, but twitter, facebook, pinterest and most obviously, the blog world. There are so many places to find community, which is a powerful thing about technology.
So what else did we learn? Well, these girls are recapping, so make sure to head to their blogs next.Β
Chelsea – Trials Bring Joy – Recapping the weekend
Nikol – Not Just a Beauty BloggerΒ – Stanford Fertility and Reproductive Health
Elisha – Waiting for Baby BirdΒ –Β Resolve Therapist
Lisa – Amateur NesterΒ – Infertility Support Group
Katie – Fourtified Fam – FinancialΒ + Billing Tips
Jake and Deborah –Β FertilityIQ – 3rd Party Reproduction
I wanted to share more Fertility IQ resources here:
- Conception: How Pregnancy Happens (this lesson covers the basics of human reproduction, and all the components we need for a pregnancy to happen) – https://www.fertilityiq.com/fertility-101/what-you-need-to-conceive-get-pregnant
- Issues that prevent pregnancy – https://www.fertilityiq.com/fertility-101/issues-that-prevent-pregnancy
- Getting pregnant naturally (covering things like how long natural conception should take, what the chances are per month, by age; how many couples conceive after 3, 6, 12 months, when to seek help)Β – https://www.fertilityiq.com/fertility-101/getting-pregnant-naturally
- Diagnosing Fertility Issues & Getting help – covering the diagnostics for each problem – what the diagnostics tell us & dont (strengths & weaknesses), when to get help, tradeoffs of OBGYN vs RE) – https://www.fertilityiq.com/fertility-101/diagnosing-fertility-issues-and-getting-help
- How Fertility Treatments Address Our Problems (a brief overview of each fertility treatment and the things that it helps us overcome to have a baby) – https://www.fertilityiq.com/fertility-101/how-fertility-treatments-address-our-problems
- Smoking, caffeine, & alcohol, and their impacts on fertility: https://www.fertilityiq.com/lifestyle/smoking-caffeine-alcohol-impacts-on-fertility
- Different diets, and how they affect fertility: https://www.fertilityiq.com/lifestyle/diet-and-fertility
- Impacts of carbohydrates, dairy, meat, fish, soy, seafood & more specific food groups: https://www.fertilityiq.com/lifestyle/fertility-impacts-of-carbohydrates-dairy-meat-fish-soy-and-more
- Vitamins & supplements: https://www.fertilityiq.com/lifestyle/vitamins-supplements-and-fertility
- BPA & phthalate exposure, and the steps you can take to possibly mitigate the negative impacts of those exposures:Β https://www.fertilityiq.com/lifestyle/bpa-and-phthalate-exposure
PS. Are you looking for support on your fertility journey? Join Moms in the Making
PPS. You can Pre-Order my new book today!
PPPS. I am giving away two signed copies over on instagram!
{Let’s Connect} Facebook β’ Instagram β’ Bloglovin β’ Pinterest β’ Google + β’ Twitter β’ Snapchat
Elisha
Posted at 12:50h, 12 OctoberSuch a great recap on building community, Caroline! xo
Charlotte
Posted at 14:02h, 12 OctoberSo much love for this post–not only as someone TTC, but also as someone always trying to learn about new, better, and most effective ways to utilize communities like Instagram to connect with other bloggers. It sounds like Instagram has some amazing perks for their employees (not that I’m surprised–sounds like an awesome place to work!).
Thanks for sharing this!
Neely Moldovan
Posted at 14:38h, 12 OctoberI love this. I will admit that Instagram is not my favorite social media. How cool that you got to go!
Brittany Putman
Posted at 14:41h, 12 OctoberLove these tips and that this conference took place at Instagram!
Chelsea Ritchie
Posted at 15:02h, 12 OctoberYay! Such a great recap! Loved getting to experience it with YOU!
Becky @ Disney in your Day
Posted at 15:39h, 12 OctoberVery cool experience! I actually like the new instagram feed myself.
Elizabeth Ann
Posted at 15:43h, 12 OctoberThis is really great info! I will have to try the 7 hashtags and see how it works!
Amber
Posted at 16:24h, 12 OctoberHow very cool that all of you were able to get together! Thank you for sharing your recap and linking to the others.
Jenny
Posted at 16:38h, 12 OctoberInstagram is such a great way to build community. It’s one of my favorite social media sites.
Chelsie
Posted at 00:30h, 13 OctoberThat is SO cool that you got to hang out at Insta HQ! I tried the 7 hashtag thing too and it was a no go for me. I do agree that coming up with your own hashtag is a great way to build a community!
Erica @ Coming Up Roses
Posted at 07:08h, 13 OctoberHmmm wow I didn’t know 7 hashtags was preferred…over 30? So do they penalize you if you use more? SO interesting.
Coming Up Roses
Christy
Posted at 10:31h, 13 OctoberReally informative! Thanks for this post!
Rosemond
Posted at 15:38h, 13 OctoberI’ve always been at a loss on how to use Instagram. Thanks for sharing this info on how to build a community. And who knew that 7 was the magic number of hashtags!
ellesees.net
Posted at 06:14h, 14 OctoberWhat a valuable experience! But I wish they would move IG back to the way it was!
courtney
Posted at 20:41h, 15 OctoberSeems like you learned a lot!
La Belle SireneΒ
Lisa @ Amateur Nester
Posted at 22:20h, 16 OctoberGreat recap, Caroline! It was so fun to see behind the scenes at Instagram and to hang out with you!
Nikol
Posted at 21:24h, 18 OctoberLove the recap! It was amazing you meeting you in San Fran! Until next time friend xoxo