Fandom posts
A fandom account is created for the purpose of sharing content about what one is a fan of. Therefore, it is not likely one would show their face on these kind of accounts due to finding comfort in anonymity. The concept regarding the freedom of anonymity would normally create a certain level of frustration for users being that much of the rudeness tied with social media, and the Internet in general, breeds from anonymous users saying hurtful or hateful things. Fortunately, the spread of negativity is the complete opposite intention for fandom users (for the most part). This comfort fandom accounts find in not revealing their identity extends to providing users with the opportunity to un-shamefully create and interact with content that they love with people who have mutual adoration for the content being produced, also giving leeway in how the users want to represent themselves to their followers. Just like with there being different ways in a more general sense of the sort of promotional approaches big corporations and celebrities have when interacting with their fanbase, there are different approaches to encouraging follower interaction on fandom accounts. Within the post to the right is an edit of a specific scene of the show Grey's Anatomy. This user provides little context to the overall show other than the episode the scene is found in. This approach is most likely used due to the user attempting to draw people who know of the show to their content. This sets the tone for the overall sense of what the user expects from its followers, which is a similar devotion to the show as discussed above.
Another way for this approach to be applied is to do the opposite by attracting those who are unfamiliar with the show. There is just enough information about the the sort of dialogue that can be found in the show from this one scene that which could turn into one's potential interest in the content of both the user and the show. Additionally, the caption reinforces the idea that this specifc user's post is for those who are devoted to the show being that its "qotp," the abbreviation of 'question on the post', asks for its followers to provide an answer based on their knowledge of the show. Essentially, the full post requires knowing enough about the show to be able to interact with the user. The user providing their answer to their own question also encourages further engagement than the question, inviting users to give their own opinions regarding agreeing or disagreeing with the original post.
Interacting with ones users can vary, though. Humor can often be the way one attempts to obtain engagement with their content, such as with the post to the right. Broadly looking through the page of this user, one notices the overall theme surrounding their posts, which is that there is always a comedic element applied. This humor is seen in either the captions, the posts, or both. It may be arguable to say that having humor is a show of personality that attracts people to an individual. With this being applied in posts, there is no surprise to see that there are many people interacting with the post, focusing on the likes alone. Compared to the previous post with 833 likes, one wonders why jokes are not the main focus of most of the fan accounts. That is, if a big following is the intention. From the example above, the account seemed to have a more personalized approach in creating questions specifically for their followers to respond to. There was more effort into even making the caption section look creative and customized. The post to the right, although similar since it asks a question, seems more general and less personal with its simplicity.
It is simple in that it doesn't provide a lot of context to accompany the comedic edit but, due to its humor, provides a much more light-hearted touch to fandom posts. Among the other fandom posts on display on this page, this is the profile that has the most followers, with over 100,000 followers. Based on this information, it seems as though followers are drawn to humor and personality more than neatly made edits. Even with a simple caption, the humor is what provides enough of the humanization to satisfy the followers and encourages more interaction. Additionally, there seems to be a cultural agreement to step back from the sort of things that seem to be putting in too much effort, even that something is as simple and as customizable as fandom account on Instagram.
With even less effort than the post above is the one to the left. This user fills its account with photographs not taken by them, essentially reposting what is already out in the open. In other words, there is no personalization or even specialization in creating content. In the comment section of this artifact, the caption section is less involved with its followers and more interested in gaining followers, highlighting another approach. The element this user applies within its account is promoting itself in every caption. One would begin to wonder why an account needs to request people to follow themselves considering those who are seeing it are already following them. This sort of approach is usually taken when a user is attempting to get a bigger following by landing itself on the explore page. For clarification, the explore page is different for every user considering that what appears there is based on what each user interacts with on their individual account. For example, if one were to view or like anything relating to Janet Jackson whether on their timeline or on the explore page, more Janet Jackson related posts would appear on the explore page. Therefore, appearing on one's explore page exposes an account to more users, which is the intention of the post on the right.
Not surprisingly, this is the account with the second-most followers. Because this account makes its way to other user's explore pages due to an interest in similar content, they gain more traction and exposure, inevitably resulting in more followers. Although, this approach to posting is not necessarily to create a good relationship with one's audience. Unlike the effectiveness of Beyoncé’s distant captions, this approach is simply made with the intent to grow its audience. As a user viewing this post, there is little to respond to or to create discussion about. At least, this is true in the sense that engagement is limited regarding creating relationships or meaningful conversations with other users, or even inspiring such interaction among users.