One of the things I love about blogging is that I work on my own time. I don't have a schedule, I go on my own pace and sometimes there are no deadlines in regards to blog posts. A lot of bloggers I follow are great with being on schedule, always have a post up every week, updating their social medias all the time...not me. My dogs do keep me in a routine at home but when it comes to blogging, I don't sit in front of my computer to write a post unless I am in a zone and have an idea of what I want to write.
On that note, I wanted to mention even though I am not posting here, I am sharing mini-reviews on my Instagram: @fivetwobeauty_
You probably have heard this a million times from every Instagram user, I also have no idea how that Instagram algorithm works, and it sucks! You may see my post from two days ago today or this morning's post a few hours later because of this algorithm BS Instagram has. For a moment, it really affected me that I at some point I debated on buying followers and likes, but I read somewhere Instagram can tell and may shadow ban your post. I ended up joining Loop Giveaways and Insta-Like pods instead.
I definitely went through the pro's and con's of Loop Giveaways, and here's what I have so far. For the last 6 months, I joined a Loop Giveaway once a month. PRO: I did gained followers through this. CON: Half or more of those followers will unfollow within a month, and so I will join another loop the next month. Before I started doing the loop giveaways I had 1986 followers, and now I am almost to 2500 followers. It's like I gained around 100 followers or less for each loop I joined. PRO: Not all Loop Giveaways are over $100-300 to join in.
To pay for over $100 per loop giveaway is a CON for me unless you do have that money to spend then go ahead since I think you do gain more followers with those bigger loops.
Another CON for me is the last loop I did from a different host (not the one I mentioned above) had a broken loop because one of the girls decided to remove the post from her account. So for many hours the loop was broken hence we weren't getting any followers. I paid more for that loop as well and had the lowest gained followers. My tip to you is do your research, see what other bloggers use for their loops and don't be afraid to ask how it's working for them.
I started joining Insta-Like Pods last year as well because I believe the likes help to increase your impression (total number of times your posts have been seen) on Instagram. And also having a higher engagement tells Instagram that you're account is pretty active that they may share your post on the Suggested Page for other users to see. And being on the Suggested Page increases my reach (number of unique accounts to see my post). In theory, a higher reach and engagement will give me new followers and for brands to see my account, in hopes they may want to work with me.
Yes it is time consuming if you're part of a huge pod so start with a small one. I have both and I actually like the smaller pod I'm in because I'm actually getting to know these girls besides seeing each others posts. I have actually followed some accounts from the pods because I really like their posts. I found many different online shops and recipes, and outfit ideas from the pods as well!
There are so many different theories out there on how to get around this Instagram algorithm, some say to post two-three times a day, use tons of hashtags, use Insta-stories to let your followers know, tag the brands on your posts, and so many more. I am doing all these as well because I want my account to be seen! I don't want to be buried behind all these 100k+ accounts. I still am a small fish in a big pond that's why I'm doing my best to swim on top.
Instagram is definitely not perfect but it's still my favorite social media to use. I get to share my photo creativity and "flat lay skills", share quickly what I think of the beauty products on the pictures, and start a conversation with fellow beauty and fashion lovers. I also get to share behind-the-scenes through Insta-stories. I'm trying not to let the algorithm get to me since I love sharing my pictures; I love seeing other's posts may that be dog and cat pics, travel pics or food pics or beauty pics - it's inspiring, it's motivating me to keep creating. I love the app, it just needs more tweaking.
So if you don't see any new posts here, check out my Instagram !!!
Comment on my latest IG post if you're a new follower so I know to thank you and to follow back!
