Thanks, Michael! I appreciate your kind message and your ever positive support.
Thanks again,
Kate

Thanks so much! I hope everything is going great - nice to see you!
Kate

Thanks for your message, Derek. It's something I had been putting off but truly Instagram & Youtube are treasure troves of possibility and potential - and they are free tools - pretty amazing stuff. Thanks again!
Kate

Hello Russell,
Go for it! The sooner you grab your brand name the better, and if you need to get creative with a work-around, maybe google it to look for what to do if someone has already registered your brand name on Instagram. I was under the wire with recipe contest deadline so my solution wasn't ideal, and I haven't even Googled yet to find out ideas for alternate solutions if your name has already been registered on Instagram.

That being said, also be sure to use hashtags in your post so more people will see your posts on Instagram; and use the written part of the post as a kind of mini blog post: content & SEO matter in Instagram too -- but it's so much faster and easier than planning out a whole blog post! Plus, you can re-purpose blogs you have already written on your website by summarizing previous blogs, including with your matching Instagram image, and include the website address for the blog post that has more information. (It won't be a direct link -- but people can copy the link into their browser to go to your website and read more on the topic.)

For the hashtags, check out what established Instagram accounts are using for hashtags for similar niche/content/topics, and then you can copy the whole hashtag list and tailor to fit your post (deleting hashtags that aren't relevant; adding additional hashtags if appropriate, etc.) I found that was a quick and easy way to just jump in the game without any training/research etc.

The results I have gotten from just a few posts on Instagram were almost instant; now I am going to keep going; keep posting; keep building. Compared with planning and writing long blog posts, Instagram can be (comparatively) such a fun, creative breather that also can get you powerful results, quickly!
Have fun with it!
Kate

I guess then that your experience so far has been more through trial and error than training.

Thank you for taking the time to share all that detail. I will have to read again cause I know that I didn't get it all in one read.

All the best to you.
Russell

Great tip. Thanks!

That's great! I'm so glad to hear that. I'm following you and I look forward to hearing about all of your success(es). The level of potential practically instant results with a platform like Instagram (& Youtube) tells me this is where focus and energy should be spent. Quick pointer: Before posting your first Instagram post, take a look at similar theme/niche Instagram accounts, and take a look at the hashtags# they are using. Then you can copy and tailor a good list of hashtags to include (often I see these at the end of the Instagram post). The hashtags are important because they help your posts to be seen more widely, and by people/readers who are interested in your topic. Also: USE the comment area when you post your image on Instagram to include lots of written content. The written area is like a mini blog post. (Important for Instagram version of SEO). It's also a way to repurpose content you have previously published on your website; you can include a summary with your image, and then direct people to the website/page where they can read the more detailed (previously posted) blog post. Just a few additional ideas to help you get started!
Kate

so I just went there (instagram, not the kitchen) and discovered that I had an account as Rosana.Hart which I had done ages ago. Lots of my FB friends were already following me, and some of you from here. Now to use it and create one for my memoir-writing me, Zana Hart.

Hello Rosana! Vegan chocolate "milkshakes" in the Vitamix (high-speed blender) are so easy and delish (no ice cream maker required!)

How do you make yours?

I cut up ripe bananas and keep them in the freezer (in a glass container w/plastic pop-off lid).
When anyone has a hankering for a chocolate (vegan) shake, we just pop the frozen banana chunks into the Vitamix with some cacao powder or cocoa powder (and a little plant-based milk), blend, and voila! Soft-serve vegan ice cream (or a milkshake - depending how much plant milk you want to add). So delicious.

Sometimes we add a few medjool dates (after removing the pits) for extra sweetness + potassium + fiber + micronutrients; maybe add a tbsp of ground flaxseed (powerful health benefits); blend!

That is great, Rosana! Create your memoir-writing Instagram account, and also you can re-purpose previous blog posts from your website by posting mini-versions in your Instagram account (along with your website address for the full article/blog post that you wrote previously for people who want to learn more.)
Re-purposing some of your previous blog posts/website content is a relatively easy and fast way to get going on posting frequently to Instagram without a lot of additional work!
It's fun (for me, more fun than writing long blog posts -- Return on Investment is fantastic with Instagram!)
Kate

Perfect! Will start that today!

Just plant-based milk, cocoa,and a little coconut sweetener usually, but whatever is on hand!

Hi Bimby,
That's great! Just get started, one post at a time. You can re-purpose blog posts that you have previously written; choose a great photo to go with your content, include the website address for the full blog post for people who want to read more.

Be sure to include a good list of specific, targeted hashtags # for your niche/content/post topic. I looked at some of the professional looking Instagram posts for my topic and copied the hashtag list from one of them, and tailored it (deleting and adding to the hashtag list) for my post. Seemed like a quick and easy way to jump in without taking endless time to do more research, more training, etc. What we need to do is TAKE ACTION and start POSTING on Instagram (as well as Youtube -- but Youtube takes so much more effort; it's easy to get started on Instagram and to continue posting regularly on Instagram WHILE getting up to speed with Youtube.)

Please let us know how it goes!
Kate

Thanks for your response and thanks for the tips. They'll definitely come in handy.

Thanks so much for your message! I'm so glad my call to action is helping you to get started with Instagram -- honestly, it can be so much fun!

Thanks again for your kind message --
Go for it! I can't wait to hear about your IG results.
Kate

Hello Culian,
Thanks for your message! This website is LOVELY! (GatherVictoria link) in your comment. This is great. Thanks so much for sharing this. Wonderful photos AND recipes!
Kate

Aye that it is, I stumbled across it when i was looking at foraging sites which is something i have done, foraging that is since i was a kid. Again thanks for the post and here`s wishing you success :)

My earliest memory of "foraging" came from my father's fondness for honeysuckle, and this is reminding me that ... sadly, I have not come across any honeysuckle in a long time!

Those beautiful honeysuckle flowers where you pull the yellow stem/stamen from the white flower and at the end is a delicious honey-like (although not so thick or sticky) nectar ... divine :)

Makes me think of childhood, and my dad, AND makes me now want to purchase a honeysuckle plant for my garden.

(Except that we have too much shade -- so many lovely trees but then nothing grows. I gave up on tomatoes - my tomato experiment cost me around $100 for around 15 tomato yield between the lovely deer, the birds and the squirrels. sigh. :) HONEYSUCKLE!

I thought about "theofficialjoyofveg" or "officialjoyofveg" or "realjoyofveg" but didn't even google yet what the best thing to do is if your brand name/website name has already been registered on Instagram. At the same time I was under the wire for recipe contest deadline - so I went with adding "com" to my brand name, as a placeholder. Definitely something I need to research, but I wanted to remind as many people as possible to go ahead and register your website name/brand name on Instagram (its' free!) and other social media so no one else will take your name. Or, if you need to get creative -- go ahead and get started -- but most importantly, start posting on Instagram, now!
Thanks for you message!
Kate

I hears ya loud and clear. And very appreciative of you post! I am 1 brand on :) I have known insta to be the place for an embarassing amount of time lol. You are absolutely right and we literally can kill it with traffic way sooner than SEO lol.

Thank you again.