Here is an table of contents for those of you who like to cut to the chase-
Table of Contents
- "I'm just starting out, what do I do?" ~ tips #1 - #10
- Core/Spiritual/Moral ~ tips #11 - #22
- Posting ~ tips #23 - #29
- Captions/Devotionals/Content ~ tips #30 - #40
- Growth/Making Friends & Connections ~ #41 - #50
One way you can do this is by taking a reference from your favorite Bible verse. For instance, if you were to choose John 3:16 as a verse, your username(/domain name) could be (@)ForGodSoLovedTheWorld(.com). You can also combine something Biblical with something else that you love, such as (@)FaithAndPhotography(.com). Another option is using lyrics from a Christian song!
I was inspired to choose my Instagram username (@My_Savior_Moves_Mountains) by the song, Mighty to Save,
sung by Laura Story. BUT, that wasn’t actually my original username.
When I first created my account, all the way back in February of 2013,
my username was @Songs_Quotes_Gods_Spirit . I know, it wasn’t
an optimal username, but what matters is that, even though my username
wasn't great, I was choosing to answer the call which God has given me
(see tip #50). My original intent was to post quotes, song lyrics, & Bible verses.
In the beginning, I had no idea it would expand into this ministry, but I am extremely humbled & blessed by the fact that it has.
Again, you can use a Bible verse, song lyrics, or write a short paragraph describing the purpose of your account. You can use your bio as a place for your mission statement (see tip 4)! Depending on the focus of your account, you can also use this space to tell a little about yourself. Remember not to share personal information (ex. the city in which you live, the locations of specific places you frequently visit, etc)! Always be Internet-safe. For my bio, I created a short paragraph (going by technicality, it’s a sentence, I suppose, but paragraph sounds more professional) expanding a little bit into the theme of my account, & is based on Mark 11:22-23.
Chances are, you want to create a Christian-based Instagram account/blog (or already have created one) because you saw someone else doing the same thing, & it inspired you. It moved you to want to make a difference in someone’s just like someone else did in yours. Whatever motivated you to create an account, follow accounts & keep track of blogs that already post related content. It’s likely that you’re already following my Instagram account, so check my “following” list & you’ll find some neat Instagrammers! When I first created my account, there weren’t a lot of Christ-centered, devotion-writing Instagram account owners out there. Not very many people were doing this kind of thing. But now, the power of social media has been discovered, & it brings me joy to say that the number of Christian Instagram accounts out there has grown significantly & continues to grow at a steady pace! More & more people are reaching out to others through social media, & what's really neat is that God’s love is practically able to be spread to the ends of the earth with the touch of a button.
This is a great thing to do. It helps you get to the core of what you want your account’s purpose to be, & at points when you feel discouraged as to what you should do with your account, you can refer back to your mission statement to remind you what you’re doing & for Whom you’re doing it. For instructions on writing a solid mission statement, read this article.
This goes along with developing a mission statement, & really should be done BEFORE you create a mission statement. As for defining goals, ask yourself: What am I going to post? Is it going to be a personal account/blog where I openly share my identity, or is it going to be an account where I maintain more of an anonymous position? Do I want to share my personal day-to-day journey, or do I want to be more of an authority figure, teaching Biblical principles & writing devotionals? Remember that you can choose to gear your account toward any audience you choose, & there is no right or wrong way to create your account (see tip #9). What matters is that you use it to glorify God & that you seek His approval & blessing over the approval of others.
Like I said earlier, there weren’t many Christian accounts out there when I started mine. I learned by experience, by trial & error, & from the resources I found out about as I slowly began to find others with accounts like mine. But, that simply isn’t the case now! Right now there are more Christian account owners out there than you can count, not to mention all the Christian bloggers out there, & some of us have been doing this for years! If you have a question about anything at all, know that you can reach out to others (as well as myself, of course!) in the Instagram community.
It might seem a little scary when you first create your account/blog. It can be daunting, & even a little discouraging if you don’t have a large amount of followers at first. But, there are plenty of people out there just like you who are at the beginning of their journey to Christian account-dom, & all you have to do is look for them! There are a bunch of people out there who would love to meet a new friend with the same spiritual calling & social media goals that they have, & making friends is just another positive result of creating your account!
- It must glorify God
- It must be Biblically sound & accurate
- It must be grammatically correct