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Hashtag Authentic

Sara Tasker

White Lion Publishing

Quarto Publishing Group

February 19, 2019

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Blurb: Instagram is the fastest growing of all social media platforms, with 400 million monthly active users worldwide – half of whom are under the age of twenty-five. While some use the app as a personal networking tool, many also use it to build their creative business endeavours; whether in food and drink or fashion and lifestyle.

Sara Tasker has done just that, and since setting up her account whilst on maternity leave in 2013, has become an Instagram coach, iPhoneographer and social media influencer. Her chronicle of authentic everyday life and her mindful Me and Orla blog has developed into a business in which she provides access to free social media tips and creative business advice, alongside some hugely popular paid for e-courses for independent creatives.
Hashtag Authentic draws on the lessons Sara has learned over the past 5 years online to provide you with the essential tips, strategy and guidance on growing an online audience with heart. From the secrets of visual storytelling and crafting thumb-stopping Instagram photographs, to archiving your day-to-day life and remaining authentic to your true self, this book is both an inspiring manual and an interactive tool for finding your online voice, growing a tribe and using those skills to change your life, and – just possibly – the world.

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SASCHA DARLINGTON’S REVIEW

Confession time. I don’t spend a lot of time on other forms of Social Media besides my microcosm. I have accounts on Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc., and I contribute (sometimes), but I remain blithely ignorant of many of the trending influencers of Social Media. This is why I came to Hashtag Authentic expecting one thing and receiving another all together.

Hashtag Authentic by Sara Tasker blew me away because of the expectations I approached it with. Sara Tasker is not just a success on Instagram because she takes a lot of photos, but because she knows her stuff and she shares a lot of her experiences, insights, and knowledge in this book.

A lot of people pick up their phone and take pictures, uploading them to Instagram without any thought to story, framing, light, or any of the technical processes that come along with it. Hashtag Authentic has sections that discuss these things and exercises for the reader to actually work through some of these elements, taking a mediocre picture to a great picture.

In addition, there’s discussion regarding the types of photography-related and/or photo editing apps that you can can download to make your photos even better. Most of them are free but the differences come in user friendliness.

All of this extremely useful information is accompanied by Tasker’s lovely, thoughtful photographs and experiences.

If you’re an Instagrammer who wants to take things to the next level, I highly recommend Hashtag Authentic. It goes well-beyond the typical “I became famous by doing this” kind of memoir to a fusion of experience and handbook with lots of guidance as to how you can take pictures like these yourself…except in your own authentic way.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hashtag Authentic goes on sale February 19. You can pre-order from Amazon here.

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