Hello Rockstar!

This post is about YOU and Instagram. Let’s talk about all the ways you can produce great content to keep your audience engaged. There is already a lot of potential for great content for your Instagram feed: you have the right energy, a vibrant personality, the fitness mindset, the motivation, and the eager BollyX class participants. Now, let’s put everything together so you can crush it on Instagram!  

High Quality Photos and Videos

As an instructor, look for opportunities to take photos before and after your class. While we don’t recommend taking photos at each class, nor stopping to teach in order to take a photo, but on occasions, you can ask a regular participant or friend you know well to take one for you. Here are some photo and video-taking tips:

1. Under-expose your shot: if you have an iPhone, tap and hold the brightest area of your phone, which locks in the focus and exposure, before you start filming or taking video. This is great trick to use when you are outside on a sunny day, and when indoors with only one source of natural light.
2. Recognize golden opportunities: use your eyes before you use your phone’s lens and find details that will make your content stand out. Maybe your class is pumped and they are all willing to pose for pictures and film an extra video! Your class is reppin’ BollyX swag? Your gym has a nice or unique wall backdrop? Use it to your advantage!
3. Get physically close to your subjects. Capture your BX crew’s big smiles. Don’t be afraid to get close and walk among them while they are dancing (if another instructor is co-teaching with you). Move slowly to avoid blurry content and make eye contact. Encourage them to smile and look at the camera! This will create emotion in your content. Know your angles. Don’t hesitate to climb on a chair. #safetyfirst 
4. Find good lighting: when you have a badly LIT (no pun intended) photo, there is no app on earth that can save it (I can tell when you’ve brightened it to the max).
   • Stick to natural light. When filming or snapping a pic indoors, stay close to a window and away from any artificial source of light that could tint your content. 
   • Cloudy days are also perfect for shooting because the light spreads out everywhere, making it easier to obtain beautiful content and to edit afterwards, if you want.  
   • Embrace “bad” weather. Make the most out of it – here is instructor Fen dancing with her BollyX class at Faneuil Hall. IN.THE.RAIN. What is more bollywood than that?! #micdrop 
5. Use burst mode: as an instructor, you are always on the move. By using burst mode, you’ll ensure you  capture that awesome shot while rocking out to your favorite BollyX tune.

Posting on Instagram

1. Find your focal point. Turn on the grid section of your camera when taking a picture. It will help you see if each square section flows to the next one naturally. And when posting, you can have the subject of the photo right where you want it! White space also gives your feed breathing room. #compositiongoals 
2. Express your style.  Some people like adding overlays, blurry effects, white backgrounds, or a color-scheme to all their Instagram posts.! Others plan what their next post will look like to make sure it matches their Instagram theme. Check out the feed of Instructor @naturallyzuzu! #vibe                   
3. Restrain your editing. Exposure, contrast, and fade are all great, but maybe not when they are all used together. The overuse of different types of filters and editing can make a feed look less appealing.
4. Stick to a color palette. Less is more: images with a lot of colors can be distracting and look messy.
5. Aim for quality over quantity. Curate your feed and upload high quality photos and videos only. #savetherestforstory
6. Tag your gym, class participants, and @bollyxfitness! Your audience will get the chance to engage with your content as you do this. The best captions encourage your audience to comment as well; this is your chance to get creative! Some of our hashtags: #bollyx #bollyxfitness #thebollywoodworkout #bollyxrockstar #BXFitFam 
7. Use fun apps for editing: VSCO, Snapseed, Litely, PS Express, Whitagram, TouchRetouch, and A Color Story.

Instagram Stories

This will take you a matter of seconds! Some key opportunities for stories:

1. Beginning of the week: let your followers know on Monday when and where your next BollyX class will be. Engage them by letting them know what new song you will be teaching!
2. On your way to class: let them know you are heading to class, and how you are preparing for it. Whether you’re having a smoothie or a quick snack, share what you are up to.
3. During class: a friend can help take a quick video while you are teaching (if it’s not distracting to your class).
4. After class: show your audience how much fun you had and how sweaty you look! 

Instagram Highlights

Instagram added Stories to its Archive feature, allowing us to save our Stories in the app after they’ve expired from public view. So now you can share these posts in Highlights on your profile. You can name them and select a cover photo for them, or delete them later. Some highlight opportunities:

1. Your Monday Story about your BollyX classes for the week will expire. But now you can add it to your Highlights so every time people go to your profile, they will stay informed.
2. You can also create a new highlight from an active story on your Instagram profile. Make sure to add your BX classes content to it! Check out BollyX Instructor @dias_dancefit pro skills at Highlights! 

BollyX Marketing Assets

Go to your BollyX Instructor Portal → Class Promotion → Marketing Materials. You can grab them from the site and share them on social media. We are constantly creating new content so check back often! 

Practice, Practice, Practice. We are all here to learn, grow, practice and repeat! Creating an eye-catching, thematic Instagram takes time and practice. If you have any questions or want more tips, send us a note to [email protected].

Last but not least, if you would like to get featured on BollyX’s Instagram, send your high quality original videos and photos (following above tips) to [email protected] for a chance to get a shout-out!

Rock on!