For anyone who is serious about running a successful fashion blog, one of the most important skills you need is good social media marketing. A unique and important skill within itself, platform such as Instagram is naturally useful tools for a fashion blog to make the most of. That being said, knowing how to promote a fashion blog on Instagram is a lot harder than it might sound from the offset.
Social media marketing has changed a huge deal since it first became more than just a potential tool for good use. Now, as social media plays such a vital in our professional opportunities, we become more drawn and accustomed to its presence. That being said, those who run a fashion blog still seem to misunderstand the importance that it can play in terms of their decision making.
For example, many people who run a blog tend to mistake the idea of fashion blogging as being enough on its own. A blog, though, is in dire need of readership. Without readership, a blog is nothing. This is why you need to be able to bring in people from as many venues as possible – and what better way to find people than social media?
It’s like having someone out advertising for you in the street – if the street was only populated by people who like what you already offer. Based on profile activity, names, likes and everything else we can more or less decipher via social media marketing how likely it is that someone likes your business. Naturally, then, a fashion blog lends itself to finding people on Instagram.
So, what are some of the most useful tricks that you can use to make this easier on yourself and how can you promote a fashion blog on Instagram?
Apply the basics
One of the most important parts of being a good fashion blogger when it comes to Instagram, then, is being able to apply the basics to your Instagram usage.
If you want to promote a fashion blog on Instagram, one of the first things to deal with is to take a closer look at your username. Is it similar to your blog name? Some people have a really witty name for their fashion blog but then fail to follow up on it with identical social media accounts. Avoid that and avoid usage of odd characters or spellings in the username; the easier to find, the better!
Also, be sure to make your bio short, sweet and very simple. Use your primary headline from the website, perhaps? Most of the time, though, a very simple bio with a link to the blog will suffice. You will be using your actual fashion blog for showing your linguistic qualities, so keep that in mind as long as you need. Also, if you are going to add a bit of personalization and add a bit about yourself then you should absolutely do so – but keep it clear and separate from the content about the actual blog itself!
Lastly, try and find a good public picture. For the blog, you can use your official fashion blog logo. On your IG profile, though, try using a picture of yourself. People like to see the face behind the name, so give them something to remember you by.
Lastly – and this is only said for reinforcement – you have to be public. Many people make private accounts and wonder why they are not getting any kind of contact or visitation. Without being public, you lose much of the social media marketing potential that Instagram offers fashion blogs!
Post, post, post!
While it’s obvious to some, it is less so to others; post, and post as much as you possibly can. Posting is vital as you need to be clear, open, friendly and consistent with your message. Consistency is key, so always keep that in mind when it comes to your actual output as a blog. If you are someone who likes their fashion blog to be fun and informal, then keep the serious voice for only the most serious announcements. Avoid flitting between overly serious and overly fun too often as it can really ruin your appeal.
One more thing you should avoid: excessive use of filters, especially a lot of different ones.
Your feed also needs to have a theme that looks like your blog. Similarity in name is not enough; your Instagram has to feel like an extension of your fashion blog in the first place. So, do yourself a favor and get a modern, minimalistic looking WordPress theme for your blog to go with your design. Something like Stile or Limpia. Both of these themes are fun and very minimalistic and can set the tone for your own Instagram’s shape and design.
You can also easily promote a blog post if you want to, as well, which we heartily recommend. Get a photo from your latest fashion blog post and then post that on Instagram – maybe a snap of the headline and the first paragraph, with a link to the blog post in the caption saying something like “Interested/Intrigued? Click here to find out more.”
Lastly, create fun, little teasers – post an image that is going to be part of a big upcoming blog post, and let people know it’s coming soon. It creates hype and will get people checking out your Instagram for any more details about how you come across.
Follow, like and comment
Instagram is not just a one-way street; those who do best with it are prolific users and communicators for all the right reasons. We recommend that you start off by following other brands and personalities you are fond of. Find people who you like, perhaps other fashion bloggers that you enjoy and follow them.
Comment and reply on other posts as regular usage of the follow, like and comment functions can be very powerful. Don’t just post all the time and never comment or interact with others; it’s called social media for a reason. Speak to others; expand your horizons and let other people know that you are out there in the first place.
Most importantly, take the time to get used to seeing other people on Instagram who you could interact with. DON’T, though, look to promote yourself as every turn. What will ruin your social media marketing is making every social media post or interaction a marketing attempt. Your best forms of marketing are indirect; just creating a profile and a persona of someone who is not desperate to make themselves heard is the perfect starting point.
Create a way to show other users of Instagram that you are here to interact and to share wisdom; you aren’t just here for numbers.
Advertise with Instagram as a fashion blogger
Now, we know that you probably want to keep costs down, but sometimes you just need to be ready to invest a few dollars into advertising with Instagram as a fashion blogger. This is very important as it means that you can get access to people who are as likely as possible to like working with you and reading what you have to say in the first place.
Start off by learning the value of being able to promote on IG. It is very powerful and will go some way to making sure you can stand out from the crowd. You need to be visible, and this means setting up your own Instagram business account. This allows you to post promoted content that will be shared with people who seem to fit the values and interests of your business.
Believe us when we say that this is an expensive but hugely worthwhile experience; one that you are much more likely to see massive progress from getting involved in. You can use the excellent analytics features of Instagram to see where you are, how your posts are doing and what has to be improved to make them even more effective.
However, in order to have your own Instagram business account, you need a Facebook business page that you are admin of. Set up an ad within the Facebook Ads Manager and then choose photo, video, carousel or story ad that will run on Instagram, and watch how it performs.
This kind of promotional power is what makes social media marketing so incredibly powerful. Used right, it can make all the difference to helping you take things that extra step further. It’s tough, yes, and expensive, but very much worth it!
Track progress
Now that you know how to promote a fashion blog on Instagram and maximize your social media marketing potential, you have to take that all-important next step to change things around for the best.
To do that, start looking closer at how you track and manage progress. We cannot recommend enough the use of Instagram Insights to try and better track your progress and take yourself that extra step further when it comes to promoting progressively.
Instagram Insights allows you to get access to the IG Insights panel, one of the most powerful marketing companions that you are ever likely to have. It’s like having someone sitting next to you all day going through the good and bad of how you are marketing.
It will show you vital statistics about how you are working and who is checking you out. It details genders, age, location and the most popular posts that people are checking out and engaging with the most.
Naturally, that can be immensely powerful and do a huge deal to help you take things to a new level of performance. That being said, you should also be looking to use various tools such as Squarelovin and Iconosquare that can give you even better information about when the best times to post would be, what photos are doing the best and what hashtags are performing best.
Basically, the idea that social media marketing is a game or a guess is a nonsense. With tools like this, you can track and optimize your progress without issue.
Conclusion
With the above in mind, then, you should feel far more comfortable to promote a fashion blog on Instagram. The above ideas are all easy to use and offer a genuine pathway for you to make changes when it matters.
Not only that, but each of the ideas here can be used to easily make a big difference to the way that you work. Social media marketing is hard to get right, yes, but running a fashion blog without making the most of Instagram’ unique marketing potential is asking for problems.
Negligence and an inability to see what the next generation of marketing techniques and tools can provide you with is a rather dangerous mistake to make. Instead of making that error, why not get involved with our team today and make a more intelligent decision about how to look after your business? We guarantee that, in time, you will begin to see a wholesale change in the way that your fashion blog runs itself.
If you use the ideas above, you are almost guaranteed to see a natural and lasting improvement in the way that your fashion blog is received.
