Last week Instagram crashed & there was a tweet that said
“imagine if they shut down Instagram & boom, you’re not a model anymore”. I retweeted, laughed, & then thought… but what if this does happen to all of us. WE’D BE SCREWED.
If for some reason Instagram does disappear or become irrelevant, which I think is 1000% possible/likely, & you will NEED other avenues to reach your audience when/if shit hits the fan. Which is the exact reason why you should NEVER put your eggs in one social media basket.
I have been active on multiple social media platforms since day 1 & the persistence has paid off. FOR EXAMPLE: I have been using WeHeartIt for about 6 years & it is one of my personal favorites. I best explain it as a Tumblr meets Pinterest because the content is COOL like Tumblr (Pinterest can tend to be a tad basic), & it’s quality content like you’d find on Pinterest (Tumblr can get weird sometimes with what pops up on my feed).
SO- a few years ago I got an email from WeHeartIt offering me something called a “postcard” to send out to my WeHeartIt followers because I am one of their top influencers.
HUH? Top influencer?! ME??? TBH- I didn’t look much at who was following me on this account cause I did think it was a smaller platform. I went straight to my account & my jaw DROPPED to the floor when I saw I had 1.2 million followers!! WTF. I used their postcard feature to direct my WHI audience to my Instagram & got thousands of new followers (update: I now have 1.9 million WeHeartIt followers!!).
CHA-MF-CHING!!!
AS FOR MY PROCESS…. after I publish a new blog post I either use the images in the post without any additional text or graphics (this is more ideal for Tumblr/WeHeartIt) OR I create a fun graphic for my social accounts (this is better for Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest- you can see my graphic I made for this post here!!!) & then I share that content to all my social networks!! I keep the caption pretty consistent, only making minor edits to the copy to fit the platform & the whole thing takes me 10 minutes of my time & makes all the difference.
Alright, so here are ALL of the social media platforms I utilize…
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR BLOGGERS
THE TRIED & TRUE. We all know Facebook- it was a pioneer of the industry & even though it’s not my personal fave (I feel like it could use an update aesthetically), I stick with it because so many people loveee Facebook. I share all my posts on my business Facebook page. If you are a blogger & don’t have a Facebook business page, start one now!! I also share all of my Instagram posts to my Facebook page automatically (you can set this up within Instagram).
OH- & I have a secret Facebook group which is all the rage these days. It’s another way to communicate with your audience PRIVATELY & bring your audience together to network/mingle/chat/etc. Feel free to join mine for a good time ;).
FACEBOOK TIP: when sharing a link from your blog on Facebook don’t use the preview image, close that out & upload your own. It just looks more inviting IMO. Also- use hashtags & always tag brands!!
I have had Twitter forever & used it mainly to share my content… but as of the past few months I have become slightly obsessed with Twitter. People on that network are SO damn witty & funny. I love it. I do still use it to share my content but I do try to tailor sharing content specific to Twitter- short, funny, fun, to the point. I also do a lot of retweeting. It’s just a good network to stay active on, so follow me on Twitter & let’s tweet together.
TWITTER TIP: get the BIT.LY extension for Chrome or Firefox (or just use their website to make short links)!! Twitter has a word limit & you don’t want to waste that on a lengthy URL.
I have always loved Pinterest. It is a go-to for brainstorming & getting inspired… I did say, it can get basic with all those damn mason jars, but there also a TON of gems & I get sucked down the Pinterest rabbit hole WAY TOO OFTEN (especially w/ a wedding in my future!). Anyways, with Pinterest I typically share 1-3 images from a blog post, depending on the content. If it is an outfit I will do more, but if it is a beauty/blog/lifestyle tip I will usually create a graphic. Pinterest loves a graphic!!!
PINTEREST TIP: KEEP YOUR BOARDS ORGANIZED! Streamline your boards & utilize the sections feature! This is a fairly new feature so I am going through slowly & streamlining my boards, but basically it creates sections within a board (i.e. if the board is a wedding board you could add a section for decor, dresses, food, etc).
Tumblr
Tumblr just reminds me of the 2000’s & I love it. I honestly don’t have a ginormous following on Tumblr, but there is A FOLLOWING, so I keep it up. The more ponds you dip your toe in, the better. Tumblr is basically a condensed version of my blog. All my content goes on my Tumblr, including Instagram posts, & not to brag… MY TUMBLR is so cute.
TUMBLR TIP: first tip- Tumblr is a great microblogging platform so if you aren’t fully ready to get into blogging & want to start small, a Tumblr blog is kinda chic. Also, the themes are rad & super easy to install (just google Tumblr themes & go to town!).
WeHeartIt
My beloved WeHeartIt! I kinda summed this one up already above, but as a reminder: if Tumblr & Pinterest had a baby- it’d be WeHeartIt. WHI is COOL & aesthetic af, it’s my own stop shop for all the inspo I need & my favorite search term is “2000’s aesthetic”. I could spend hours on WeHeartIt!!!
WEHEARTIT TIP: get the WeHeartIt extension so you can directly HEART images from your site & always make sure to link it back to your content (or Instagram account!). Also, you only get 8 tags, so choose wisely!
Can’t NOT mention Instagram. Instagram is great, we all know this, & although I say it shouldn’t be your SOLE focus, it should be a big one. The first thing anyone will do when you say you are an influencer is check your Instagram, so you should make sure this is looking on fleek. As far as promoting content, I will sometimes share a static image on the feed promoting the post- but mostly I will post the images as their own content (not relating it to the blog post) & use STORIES to promote the post. The swipe up feature is key for promoting blog posts.
INSTAGRAM TIP: always tag brands & use hashtags!! This is key for Instagram, but also I def. recommend creating special graphics for your insta-story. When I create a graphic my conversion is 10000x higher than when I just post a screenshot of the new blog post. You can see the graphic I made for this post here.
Bloglovin’
So this technically is more of a platform than a network, but if you have a blog, you should be on Bloglovin’. How people use Bloglovin’ is they follow their favorite blogs through this platform, then when they get in Bloglovin’ they see all of their favorites latest posts in one place! You can also use the platform to discover new bloggers, so yes- it’s a good place to be. Best part is, it is all syndicated so once you get yourself set up on this platform it does all the work for you!
BLOGLOVIN TIP: no tip, this one is easy peasy!!!
Mailchimp
LAST, but most definitely not least- MAILCHIMP! This is a CRUCIAL part of blogging & you NEED to be building up a newsletter. First of all, if Instagram is game over, you need to be able to access these people & the best way to access anyone is by email. Second of all, if you ever expand your business you already have an audience to reach out to!! Grow your email list the same way you grow your Instagram!!
MAILCHIMP TIP: make sure it is well designed & you have incentives to join. You can sign up for my newsletter to peep how mine is designed & as far as incentives go- if you join the Fashionlush Newsletter you get free REALLY RAD Fashionlush wallpapers for your phone + first look at big announcements, giveaways, or launches!!
OKAY- that’s all she wrote! Shop my look below (this blazer has a storyyyy) & if you have a social network I am missing, SHARE! xoxo
WHAT I’M WEARING:
literally wearing my dad’s blazer from the early 90’s!! On my last visit to see my dad we helped clean out his closet & I definitely snagged a few of his outdated *for him* blazers cause the oversized/shoulder pad look is so in right now.
[ similar style blazer dress here | Public Desire chunky white sneakers | Le Specs last lolita sunnies ]
[ PHOTOS BY ARIELLE LEVY ]