Peek at anyone killin’ it on instagram right now and you can guarantee these familiar ‘R’s are woven through their feed. These are three R’s I swear by on instagram.
BTW – Bit random from me I know, but this has been on my mind, it’s a personal take and you might not agree though I’m guessing if you read more blogs than just mine, you’re already on track to hitting a gift-guide-at-christmas-wall.
Repetition. Repetition has been the most important of the ‘R’s for my growth on instagram. Back when my followers were much smaller – roughly 5 or 6k – i was unitentionally making strategic decisions which I reckon got me noticed and on the coveted Suggested User list. Suggested User FYI is a list of users that Instagram recommends to it’s community, it’s a list that in the 2 weeks I was on it grew my account by 50k *excited squeal a year on.
I’d chosen my subjects – fashion flatlays, occasional selfies, pretty white houses usually in London and the odd #fwis – and I stuck to them like glue. I repeated them and sometimes (very rarely) I even reposted them. And I passed up on sharing pics of my supermarket trolly, my dinner, my hubby, nights out…. even if sometimes I desperately wanted to.
Real life. Here I am wearing an outfit that I actually wore, bounced about the whole day and nearly fell over crossing the road in. Keeping things real – even if I share the pics next to Dior and not the other 80 bombed by a luminous cone – is what it’s all about. I so believe in posting the best version of yourself – which explains why this shoot took 210 captures and there’s a good 60 on the cutting room floor I’m narcissistically storing in my iCloud for a throw-back one day… hehe. Course there’s been times when I’ve gone against my own rules: when I’ve jumped through umpteenth hoops to create an amazing experience which I could ‘gram and show off about. But frustratingly there’s also a random selfie or shoefie I’ve captured on the hoof, hardly any filter, forgotten to facetune… and you can guess which one got the more engagement. My new years resolution is to worry less about creating stories for my ‘social’ and just get on with enjoying myself.
Relevant. Maybe more important to business minded or aspiring bloggers. But staying relevant in the context of your niche topics keeps you in the game and more likely to grow and stay inspiring. I regularly stalk/engage/explore new feeds and community members so I can stay up to date. I still stick to my vibe, my filter and my topics but I’m always on the hunt for new things that interest me and make me want to be better. That said, I’m wearing J’s sweater circa 2010 and pulling the same silly faces I did back when my instagram started. Baby steps people, baby steps.
Keep an eye on me ‘RRR’ing @lornaluxe
L xx
over-the-knee boots |PUBLIC DESIRE
men’s christmas knit | old but similar HERE
skinny jeans | ASOS
sunglasses | CÉLINE
clutch | CHARLES & KEITH
belt | old but similar HERE
All words, styling and creative direction my own.game