The 9 Rules of Halloween Instagram Etiquette

The basics of Instagram etiquette have been thoroughly documented: Don’t steal other people’s photos and pretend they’re your own; keep the cliches and theme shots to a minimum (oh, more photos of pets and food, you say? yawn); don’t beg for followers as if your social life depends on it; and so on and so on.

With the approach of Halloween — a holiday that, for adults, is pretty much about dressing up and acting as silly as possible in public places — it’s prime season for taking to social media to document the frivolity. But please, when it comes to posting photos, remember to keep at least some filter in place (and we're not talking about the Instagram variety). While it's easy enough to veer off the rails with public sharing, there are plenty of ways to make the most of your Halloween Instagramming this year, and still endear yourself to your followers in the process.

And once you have your Halloween photo sharing plan firmly in place, you will be freed up to turn your attention to trick-or-treating. Or just treating. Who's up for some newfangled candy corn?

Here are nine simple rules of Halloween Instagram etiquette to keep in mind this year.

1. LIMIT YOURSELF TO ONE PHOTO OF YOURSELF IN YOUR COSTUME

Be selfie-selective: Pick one solo shot that best captures your costume and your personality in all its glory, and after that, keep firmly in mind that your friends and family already know what you look like.

2. THEN CONSIDER THE UN-SELFIE

We've all seen enough of everyone from our own friends to Kylie and Kendall Jenner making that (please make it stop) pouty-sexy face. In honor of Halloween (and every other day), show us you can come up with something less obvious.

3. GET CREATIVE

It’s a holiday about special effects, after all.

4. IF YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING NEW TO SHARE...

Maybe just don’t. Instead of doing a running photo-commentary on your day, evening, and morning after, wait till the next day, sift through the lot, and post one or two photos that best represent all the fun.

5. KEEP THE INSIDER STUFF TO A MINIMUM

Those inside jokes may be hilarious to you and your two friends, but you’re posting them in public, and most of your followers aren’t in on the joke. Have fun, but be inclusive.

6. DON'T POST ANYTHING YOU WOULDN'T WANT YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER'S PARENTS TO SEE

“Hello, nice to see you again, and yes, that was me with hardly any clothes on.”

7. REMEMBER THE GOLDEN RULE...

And don't post pictures of other people you wouldn't want them to post of you. Like, anything that will mess with someone else’s reputation. Or that photo where you're caught at your perfect angle, but your friend is caught mid-mouth-full-of-food-and-snort-laughing.

8. IT'S CALLED SOCIAL MEDIA FOR A REASON

So don’t make it all about you. Instead, take a tip from Taylor and reciprocate, engage, and comment (nicely) on what others have posted. And when someone comments on your stuff, respond, at least some of the time.

9. CHECK YOUR GRAMMAR

OK, this isn’t particularly to do with Halloween, but as long as we’re all here: “I” is a subject; “me” is an object. Reality TV and social media are rife with painful variations on “Cody gave the date card to Marcus and I" — but it's just wrong. We’re dumbing ourselves down, people, and we need to stop it already. Ahem.

Images: Nathan Rupert (2), Carlton Abas (2), Tom Lee/Flickr; Getty Images, Giphy (3)