Natasha Robinson is a columnist for Rye News with an eye for a story. She is often found in Rye engaging with businesses, hospitality hotspots and putting Rye News on the map.
We are all volunteers at the paper bound together with the one goal: to showcase in the paper’s articles Rye in all its glory and history, and to highlight all the fun things there are to do. We love our town, its events and vibrant people, and Rye News is a paper for everyone to get involved with.
Natasha is our ‘queen’ of Instagram. It takes hours of work but she is passionate about everything she does, putting in 110%. Our lives are changing all the time and people want information quickly and in a fun way.
Natasha explains how her involvement came about and how it works to promote Rye and its people: “I’m very new to Instagram. It all started because I’m redesigning my own professional website. It’s taking so long and I’m not very patient, so I took matters into my own hands and opened an Instagram account @serenatahospitality
“It immediately appealed to my creative side. It’s the 21st century version of ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, plus adding music also helps to tell a story in 15 seconds.
“Our editor, Nick Forman, asked me if I’d like to do the Instagram for Rye News. I was hesitant at first because it’s a big responsibility.
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“I’m dyslexic, so reading and particularly spelling have always been a problem but hurrah for spellcheck. Ironically, it’s also been a blessing. I do a lot of proof reading at work: menus, press releases, and write articles. Having to be so detailed and meticulous, because of my dyslexia, makes me extremely accurate. It also means that everything is very time consuming. Rather like ‘stainless steel’, ‘Insta’-gram is a misnomer: a good post isn’t very instant to create!
“Everything technical I’ve learned, has been from Google and, when that fails, I ask Vicky @simply.rye
“Because Rye News is weekly, we can use @newsrye to highlight any breaking stories. We can also feature events on a daily basis. We’ve developed certain hashtags with a recurring theme, in order to give a sense of continuity and regularity, similar to a newspaper column the reader might look for. For instance, #shopshuffle highlights the new businesses that open in Rye, #ryenewsfriday I use on publication day and #ryenewsmynews is our unofficial strapline.
“Instagram is a generous, friendly place. People are happy to share and re-post each other, so a lot of content almost generates itself. I just edit that content. As Martin Peacock @landgatebistro said to me once, ‘Twitter just frustrates me and Instagram cheers me up’.
“The only downside is that we can’t cover everything. There is so much happening in Rye and the surrounding areas and I feel bad that we can’t highlight it all. I try to be fair and varied when I post, mixing the pretty with the important. I have to remember that @newsrye is a showcase for Rye and Rye News, not the main event. I like being ‘liked’ though, who doesn’t; thank you Martin @sailorsofrye
“And don’t forget the wonderful world of #hashtags, to make your posts and stories reach a wider audience. #ryerocks is my favourite. All you Instagramers out there, and there are over 30m of us in the UK, are welcome to use it every time you post, to help highlight our beautiful, creative and welcoming town. After all, to use another of my favourites, we’re #strongertogether.”
So don’t forget, every Friday is #ryenewsfriday, because #ryerocks and #ryenewsmynews @newsrye
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Article and photos by Kt Bruce @saltings77
Image Credits: Kt bruce .