The process
Before uploading any picture to Couplelablokes on Instagram it goes through a prototyping phase to ensure the image align’s with my digital artefacts purpose and objective. The stage’s an image goes through before being uploaded to Couplelablokes include:
- The image must of been taken by myself
- The image was taken on film
- The image suits the pages theme of beach/surf culture, events & people
I go through this prototyping process every time before uploading an image to Couplelablokes to ensure my digital artefacts purpose and objective is not lost ensuring the theme is easy to identify for my audience and potential followers.
Inspiration
For Couplelablokes I have had two main sources of inspiration which include:
- Film Surf Photography page: Kooks.anonymous https://www.instagram.com/kooks.anonymous/
- Photographer: lukegouvignon https://www.instagram.com/lukegouvignon
I was drawn to both their styles of photography and how they structured their page. With both pages being clear in the theme of centring film photography around beach/surf culture. Which allows target audience’s to appreciate the detail and essence of the page.
It is through the influence of both pages that has helped shaped the creation of Couplelablokes. Enforcing that I prototype each image before uploading to establish a clear theme for my digital artefacts whilst also using inspiration from some of my favourite photographers for ideas.
Problem’s
During the prototyping stage Couplelablokes has come across various issues and obstacles with the main issues being:
- Limited audience engagement
Since the page only has a small audience it should make it easier to identify what about Couplelablokes they are enjoying. But I have struggled to target exactly what my audience is liking about my page due to the limited feedback and engagement from the audience.
Although my page has received one comment has seen below.
This comment alone wasn’t enough of an true indication to what my audience was enjoying about my page. So I went looking through the insights of my digital artefact and discovered:
- Surprisingly that a more recent post of person has received the most audience interaction.
- But the landscape, colour and beach/surf culture images tent to be the most consistent in regards to my audience’s interaction.
Improvements
To see how I could my audience engagement on Couplelablokes I looked for inspiration in the pages listed above to see if there was anything they were doing to enhance their audience engagement. I notice both pages had a common theme of using hashtags which was something I wasn’t previously doing on my page. Since then I have now used hashtags on my latest three posts.
This has result in minimal improvement but I am hoping over-time it will progress and encourage audience’s to engage on the page and whilst also adding to its presence.
Also, through the insights explained above I will have started to prototype Couplelablokes to centre more of the pages content around landscape, colour and beach/surf images while also including more content of people in images. Whilst also trying not to lose the pages original feel.
In turn of the problems my digital artefact have faced it is through the prototyping phase that has enabled me to further progress and innovate my digital artefact.
For the future
Through the prototyping stage I have learned new tools and have been further able to examine my digital artefacts weakness’s enabling me to better Couplelablokes. In the future with further audience engagement I’ll be continuing to centre more content around what they are enjoying without comprising the identity and theme of the page. I am also toying with the idea of creating a personal twitter account for Couplelablokes to reach a wider range of audiences and use it has engagement tool for the page. But overall want to keep enjoying what I’m creating and present something I can be proud of.
Platform
The page can be found through the link below on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/couplelablokes/?hl=en
highfieldonline.photo.blog 
I really like the aesthetics of your photos. Regarding audience reach and engagement, I understand the problems your project encounters as this has also happened to my DA. I would strongly recommend increasing the number of hashtags you’re currently using. You could consider using both hashtags specifically related to your photos and aesthetics as well as generally popular hashtags to reach a wider group of audiences. Here’s a website I use for my DA which includes currently popular hashtags (https://au.oberlo.com/blog/best-instagram-hashtags-for-likes). I would also suggest adding context to your photos and trying to include a bit of your personality in your posts which will make them more engaging.
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Thank you your feedback was really useful and will defiantly being using some of your tips.
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While your project is a lot different to mine I can relate to a lot of the stuff you talk about in this post. Mainly the part about learning new tools and being able to examine my Digital Artefacts weaknesses. Feedback from old mate Angus definitely helped with this. Will be interested to see how ur DA pans out,
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Appreciate the feedback
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Hey Ben,
I am similarly doing a film photography focused DA and have been experiencing the same issues with audience engagement, it really is a struggle! I did however find that posting polls and questions on Instagram stories has helped a lot in gaining feedback on what the target audience actually want to see in order to tailor their user experience. I also found that as mentioned in some other comments, increasing the number of hashtags on a post and even using them on stories really helps to reach a wider audience outside of the people following you. If you are looking to push your DA a little further and experiment with some other film cameras, feel free to message me, I would be happy to lend you one if you are looking to change it up. I also think it would be cool to try out some different film types, expired film can bring out some really awesome results if you are keen to have a play around and offer something a little different, all the best!
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I love your DA! Beach/surfer aesthetic is what we all aim for in life isn’t it? And yet you effortlessly nail it. I like your commitment to posting content you feel connected to and feel proud of. It’s similar to how I feel about my DA. I recommend you download the app HUJI cam, it adds effects to photos taken on the spot. Although a little frustrating as it isn’t 100% accurate in providing what you want but it matches your aesthetic really well I think. The whole vibe of a disposable camera picture is trendy and would gain a lot of attention on your feed I feel.
Attaching hashtags to my posts has helped me grow my audience a whole lot, it’s crazy how wide the internet really is and how many people are seeking the content we want to provide. Keep up the great creative work!
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