How to “Beat the Market” as a Fashion Blogger

If you’re in the blogging business, you know it’s hard. Like really, really hard. Blogging is essentially branding and branding is essentially marketing and marketing is HARD. For one thing, technology/marketing is changing so rapidly it’s almost impossible for one person to keep up and nowadays you need an entire team of people to help you learn how to beat the market as a fashion blogger.

You need someone to manage your 600 social media accounts, your email list, collaborations, and you need someone to edit your photos/videos. A LOT of stuff happens behind the scenes that not many people see. They see a neatly packaged end result and think, ‘Aw that’s so cute, I wish I could play online all day’. Well newsflash: if you’re making a living from blogging or if it’s your side hustle, there is no “play” involved. It’s a mix of luck and strategy… like gambling.

content distribution is the key to success

Let’s pretend social media platforms are stocks. If you put all your money in Snapchat and suddenly there’s a new hot app out, then what? You lose because you put all your eggs in one basket. People can no longer easily follow your adventures and soon you’ll be forgotten, I mean, does anyone remember any Vine stars? I don’t. And the ones I do remember were smart and spread their talent to Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, and Music.ly.

Distributing your talent, message, or gift across multiple social media channels and websites will open you up to audiences you never knew could be reached. For example, I don’t have a Twitter, I just don’t have an interest in it and don’t think I’d benefit from it. That’s not to say it wouldn’t add a ton of value to you or your blog.

do research before going all in

It’s great to be on all these different social media apps like Snapchat (un: notanotherblonde), Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope, but if you’re not speaking the same language as the users, it’s pointless. I’ll do a whole blog post on the exact languages of each platform but in short this is how it goes:

Snapchat – candid, raw, uncut material that either entertains, educates, or inspires people. Snapchat is definitely the place for the creatives. I follow about 20 people but only watch 3 people’s Snaps on a daily basis because they’re funny, offer value, or super inspirational with their globe-trotting life and personal style.

(For more check out Snapchatters who offer the most value on Zanita.com)

Instagram – let the pictures do the talking. Many people don’t read your captions BUT this can be an advantage for you to increase your engagement by posting long-form captions since no other bloggers do it. Find as much white space as possible and fill it when it comes to Instagram. Instagram is tricky because it seems like everything’s been done already but if you pay attention there are plenty of opportunities.

Facebook – videos and stories that evoke emotion do well here. It’s also a great way to form a community around your brand. Members engage with other members and you’re able to really listen and communicate with your audience.

YouTube – the most successful YouTube videos are those that entertain, educate, or inspire. It’s similar to Snapchat’s language, but you have as much time as you want to get your point across.

HOWEVER, nothing is more frustrating to a consumer/follower/viewer than having something draggggggg out. Get to the point and get it over with. People like concise but if your video has to be 10-30 minutes long, make every minute count… every minute!

So before you jump head first onto a social media platform and wonder why you’re not successful, do your research and make sure you’re on the same page as the rest of the platform’s users from what they post, when they post, how they edit their content, what they say, etc.

you should invest in apps

If you’re going to share one of my blog posts or quote me on something this year, let it be this:

If you want your brand to survive, you should invest in apps. That’s it.

What I mean by this is the world is going mobile and fast. Aside from editing pictures and writing content, using our phones as our go-to source of knowledge, inspiration, communication, relaxation, (the list goes on and on), is quickly replacing laptops and desktops. Even photo editing can be done via mobile with apps like VSCO, Snapseed, and Photoshop. Not to mention the amount of time we spend on Instagram and Facebook from our phones.

Even CMS (content management systems)  like Blogger and WordPress have apps. If I were going to make a prediction with how blogging would operate in a few years I would tell you to invest in creating an app for your blog so people can easily access ALL your content in one place. We Wore What and The Skinny Confidential have already done this.

there are no patterns, blogging is unpredictable

You lose followers, you gain followers, then you lose them again. You have 4 successful posts at 5pm then one unsuccessful post at the same time and you have no idea why. We can justify why one post performs better than another all we want, but the reality is no one really knows, (not even the “experts”). The market/your audience is fickle and almost impossible to track 100% accurately.

It’s a vicious cycle that never ends, but as long as you’re gaining more momentum than you’re losing, you’re on the right track. The best way to get some idea of what our followers are attracted to is through trial and error until something sticks; and once it doesn’t have the same effect anymore, try again with a different approach.

you must be a quick thinker

You start to notice trends and patterns within a certain social media platform until said social media platform changes its algorithm and you’re back at square one (talkin’ to you Instagram). So yeah, I’d say you have to adapt and be quick on your feet if you want to survive the blog eat blog world.

Not only do you have to be quick but you have to be original. Use your voice, your style, and your thoughts to dominate the blog world. Once you stand out you’ll develop loyal readers who will keep engaging and keep sharing your stuff regardless of whatever future algorithms Instagram has up their sleeves (I’m sure there’s more).

The questions to ask yourself are how can you capitalize on these changes? What can you do that will actually allow you to benefit from things everyone else is complaining about?

if you want to win big you have to take big risks

As I mentioned before in blogging, nothing is guaranteed. What is happening today may be completely different by tomorrow and in order to stay relevant,  you have to shake things up from time to time which could mean taking a risk.

Take a risk by starting a podcast, creating a video series, trying different social media platforms, or rebranding yourself. Let the zig zag method take you to the top. You’ll never know what doors will open or how your audience will take it until you try.

Key takeaways: spread your brand/blog content across multiple social media platforms, speak the same language as your audience, go mobile, pay attention to trends, adapt to change, and take risks.

Your homework is to tell me HOW you’re blogging like a gambler. What risks are you taking? What quick thinking are you doing? What are you investing in? Tell me about it in the comments!

xx