I created my Instagram account on August 2, 2012 to commemorate my first trip to London and my journey with IG began. Years passed and as my replikate closet grew slowly my number of followers also increased. I happily catalogued the visual diary of my life, fashion and experiences with Instagram playing the role of a silent business partner.
Fast forward to September 2017, my followers numbered 13.9K my replikate closet was full and life seemed good. Little did I know that Instagram, who had played a quiet role in my life up till now, would suddenly become an extremely active needy and demanding focus of my exhistence.
September 26, 2017 Instagram disabled my @royalreplikate account. Shock, disbelief and sadness overwhelmed me as I had never had any issue with Instagram before. Never once had I ever been reported or received any warning from IG and now after all these years and all my hard work growing my account it was all gone in the blink of an eye. I reported my account disabling to Instagram immediately but no reply was received. Numeother replikater accounts had also disappeared and there was much fear amongst the replikate community. I immediately created a new IG account stating what had happened to me and tried to focus on what my future would be now.
On October 2, the @dailymail published their 2nd article on me. This article chronicled my disabling and hinted at the worries and suspicions that were rampant within the replikate community. My 2nd account @theladynash had also been disabled. As soon as this article was published my Instagram accounts @royalreplikatelifestyle and @theladynash were swamped with DMs, messages and the like all asking me about my @royalreplikate account.
Within hours of the Daily Mail article being posted, my @royalreplikate account was restored and I received this email from Instagram which is quite rare. I feel a bit like a unicorn considering that very few people receive an apology from Instagram. 🦄
There was a huge outpouring of interest from within the replikate community and lots of media sources all seeking answers and wanting to talk with me. Subsequent articles were then written about me being disabled and then restored by Instagram.
http://trendingallday.com/kate-middleton-instagramming/
This time period was intensely stressful for me due to all the questions from the replikate community and media interest all wanting answers and insight into my Instagram saga. While I was beyond elated to have my @royalreplikate account restored there was a cloud hanging over me regarding the other replikater accounts that hadn’t been restored. My goal in talking with the media had always been to get my accounts @royalreplikate @theladynash restored and the other replikater accounts back. There were no clear answers to any of these questions and concerns from Instagram. Several weeks later my @theladynash account was restored along with almost all of the replikater accounts.
What is my take-away from this collective experience with Instagram? My advice is to always have a back up IG account, screen capture your posts, store these photos remotely from your IG account and understand that Instagram should never rule your life. Media contacts and their subsequent articles certainly assisted in the restoration of my accounts and I’ve learned so much more about using Instagram. I feel it is always important to give photo credit if at all possible to the photo source and using a re-post app can add a fun dimension to your account. Currently I have 16.4K followers, but I have certainly learned that more followers doesn’t always equate to more fun on Instagram. For now, I’m focusing on my close friendships that I have made through this social media that is Instagram!
xx Lady Janelle
Royal Replikate 