The past two weeks I’ve taken a break from posting on Instagram. It’s strange because even though my presence has been limited online, I’ve been writing so many blog posts and creating content constantly. I have so many things in the works that I am so excited to share with you all. All the behind the scenes stuff has taken me away from my presence online and I need to work better at balancing both.
I sometimes feel the need to take a break from posting on Instagram because I get disheartened by the over promotion on Instagram. I feel like certain bloggers (not all by any means) can sometimes over promote things and it comes off as non genuine when people are promoting just anything to get a free product. I say this because you can start to tell when a blogger works with multiple brands in the same industry and calling them all “the best” it comes off as insincere.
SHOP THE POST
This over promotion dilutes the industry for those who are remaining super selective in the brands that they work with. If blogging starts to get the reputation that we advertise everything then people are going to take less ownership in what we are promoting which results in less credibility for us.
I’m not saying that any time a blogger promotes a product it should be seen as non genuine. There are a lot of bloggers out there who promote things that they love and use daily and this is so encouraging. Brands want to work with these type of bloggers and people want to follow these kinds of influencers because they value their opinion.
HOW CAN THE BLOGGING COMMUNITY FIX OVER PROMOTION?
The blogging community should only work with brands who they use and value. It’s simple. As a resource and running an online platform, your goal should be to help readers find products that align with your own values and standards. If you aren’t going to buy something why should you convince someone else to?
HOW SHOULD YOU BE AWARE AS A CONSUMER?
As a consumer, something you should be aware of is trusting the people you are following. Don’t be fooled by those who promote just everything and pay attention to trends. Have you seen this post on four other bloggers accounts you follow this week?
The best part as a consumer is that you have the choice. You don’t have to buy everything you see on Instagram. I do understand how the over promotion of products can make your feed feel like a reel of advertisements. So follow the people who you trust are being genuine in the promotion of products.
WHY I STARTED BLOGGING
As an oversharer and constantly the friend who is asked for advice on everything fashion, beauty, travel and lifestyle, I started my blog as a natural extension to share things I loved. It was something I had dreamed of doing for years and it felt good to have a place to store all my thoughts and ideas and recent finds. I’m the type of person that finds a snack or pair of $23 leggings they like and tell everyone from my best friends to strangers in a grocery store. I’m a WOO on my StrengthsFinder which means “Winning Others Over” and I just have this natural tendency to share things and help people.
When I started my blog (and this remains true today) I have never set out to make money off of this. If you enter the blogging world to make money you will be sorely mistaken because there is little money to be made especially when first starting out.
My whole heart is invested into this blog and I work on it any chance I get. From the second I get home from work into the wee hours of the night I’m constantly thinking of ways to craft and share content that can help others.
That being said, I’ve always made it a mission of mine to never promote things I don’t use or wouldn’t buy myself. Brands reach out to me directly daily and 99.9% of the time I say no. Because it’s not a good fit, or not a brand I use, or doesn’t fit my audience. This can be so challenging sometimes because sometimes huge successful brands will reach out to me and I will say no if it does not fit in my market. This is something I take very seriously and will not back down on.
When I have worked with brands in the past, it is usually because I have reached out to them wanting to share them with you all. This helps me score deals and discounts for you all sometimes with promotional codes, gift with purchase, etc.
I have a post coming out in a few weeks with a skincare brand I absolutely love and reached out to because I was loving their moisturizer. They sent me a whole bunch of products I hadn’t tried yet and before I share them with you I have been testing them because if I find they don’t work for me, then I’m not going to share them with you even if I love the brand.
I say all of this not because I think there is a right or wrong way to blog. The best part about blogging is the freedom to express your own ideas and values. If some people want to promote things daily and that works for them and they have a group of people who love to see that then great. I am more discussing how it pays to be genuine in the promotion of things.
There’s a new Taylor Swift song, Daylight, and at the end there’s a part where she starts to speak aloud and it’s my new favorite words to live by. Because I think it’s so important for both my blog and in life. I want to be known as someone who chases everything they love with a passion and shares everything I love with those around me.
