Curious how to get seen on our Instagram page? Since 2017, we have shared a lot of ad-free content that we love… for FREE! We often get asked how we choose content. Here are FIVE ways bellydancers can improve their chances of getting featured on our Instagram page, @BellyDanceNetwork:
1. Engage With Us: We can’t share content we don’t know exists! Dancers who regularly tag @BellyDanceNetwork, DM us, and comment on our posts are more likely to catch our attention. We follow thousands of bellydancers on Instagram and it is literally impossible to keep track of all the new content coming out everyday by ourselves! Even if we see your content today, we may not see new content coming out tomorrow. Help us help you by regularly checking in with us.
2. High-Quality Audio: Have professional audio for your video? Fantastic! But what if you don’t? These days, you actually don’t need your own equipment to create content with high-quality audio. Instagram has an extensive music directory you can use after you upload your video, in order to feature your content in the best light possible. Think about how you feel when you see a video that has loud background noise, or low song volume, or otherwise distracting sounds. Pro-Tip: Before you film anything, check to see if your song is in Instagram’s directory. It’s free.
3. High-Quality Video: This one is huge. We love belly dance and we want to make sure other people can understand exactly why we love it. And that means we need high-quality video. We live so much of our life online these days and your content should target an audience that is viewing you with their phones or other small devices. Here’s a quick list of questions to ask yourself: “Can I clearly see my movements or do I have to squint?” “Is the lighting directly on me or am I in the shadows?” “Is the camera shaking or is it still?” Last note on this – You can totally use your phone, if it’s a good one! But as a society we have normalized hiring videographers and photographers for engagements, weddings, baby showers, etc. Why not normalize this for your dance life? Pro-Tip: Find your local college and see if you can get a film student to record a short dance video for a nominal price. One high-quality video per year can make a difference. We can’t wait to see what you do!
4. Group Videos: While we absolutely do spotlight individual dancers and performances on our page, we are ultimately a… network! Our founder almost NEVER performs solo. She loves troupes and videos of students in classes putting in the hard work! It makes sense that she would have started a belly dance “network” and not launched an individual page just of herself. So keep that in mind, grab some dance friends, and see what amazing content you all can come up with… together.
5. Je Ne Sais Quoi: We share ad-free content for free… if we love it! How do we know we love it? That’s a philosophical question. There is actually a phrase that captures this: je ne sais quoi. This means… we may not always be able to explain exactly why we like something, but we do know that we like it. The four tips above greatly increase the odds that we will share your content. But ultimately, we do need to love it in order to do free promotions of content, whether that’s of a dance video, a podcast, or any other content directly related to belly dance. Browse our Instagram page to get a sense of what we love!
There you have it, five tips to get your ad-free content seen! Ready to share your content with us? Head to our Instagram page, @BellyDanceNetwork, and tag us today! Have questions? DM us!
Have an event or other belly dance product you are trying to sell? We treat these a bit differently. Head to our promote page to find out more!