Hi everyone. This is a long post with little imagery. Buckle up!
When I started blogging over two and a half years ago, I had no idea it would be my full-time job. I was working at a state department doing social media for the insurance and benefits program and needed a creative outlet. At the time I had 190 Instagram followers and posted maybe one to two times a week of the outfits I had written about. But at the time it wasn’t about social media, it was about my blog.
Fast forward two years later and Instagram is a huge platform for bloggers. I post 1-2 times a day, am active on Instastories and work my butt off to make sure my likes and impressions are high. But you know how it is, Instagram changed its algorithm, some users are being shadowbanned, people buy likes and followers. Instagram just isn’t fun anymore.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve watched my numbers drop, people tell me they never see my posts in their feed and in hashtags I use. What’s a girl to do? After stressing out and worrying about it, I had a thought. I didn’t start blogging to be instafamous.
Let that sink in.
I started blogging because I loved fashion and style. People were always asking me for style tips and where I got my outfit and it was fun for me to write about that. I never dreamed my blog would take off the way it did and allow me to eventually quit my job. I’m so incredibly blessed and feel like the luckiest girl in the world to get to do my dream job. But somewhere I lost my way. I shifted my focus off my blog and to my Instagram.
I’ve looked over a few of my posts and have a lot of pictures but zero content. What the heck is wrong with me? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but over the past couple of weeks I’ve been posting less on Instagram. Maybe once a day, maybe once every other day, and I’ve been working hard to bring good, quality content back to GretaHollar.com.
I’m trying to write about things that I think are useful. Like removing stains from clothing, how to dress for a trip to Italy, tips on being an awesome bridesmaid, things that you can actually use.
I’ve also been reading up and learning about how to utilize other social media platforms right now. I’m on a big Pinterest kick and have enjoyed learning strategy and how to use other social sites to my blog’s beneft.
I guess what I’m trying to say is stop stressing over being shadowbanned and the algorithm change. When bloggers started, it was about writing and content and not about being Instafamous (well maybe it is for a few people). Don’t get caught up in it so much that you find yourself crying and hyperventilating into a bag.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand how Instagram is some people’s bread and butter. I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers, I’m just talking about how for me personally, I’m shifting my focus back on writing.
