This week’s video is all about how to take better food photos, at home. After my Easter Cook Off collab with Brittanie last week, I’m going through some basics for taking and editing better food photos. I might not have had much success with my cheesecake, but I can take a food photo or two.
The good new is that it’s simple enough you can do it at home using basic equipment, items around your house and natural light. Sure, I favour a camera with a prime lens, but if all you have is your phone, that will work too.
K.I.S.S.
Keeping it simple your food photos can be next level sooner rather than later. This video includes some Lightroom Classic CC “edit with me” footage. Walk through the simple steps I take to edit food photos in Lightroom using the basic panel, sharpen mask and more.
I’ve included some links below to Brittanie’s Cook Off video (such a lol), another editing video where I share my tips for editing my outfit photos, and my Unsplash profile link where you can download some of these shots for free. Which, some of you have already done and tag me in them over Easter weekend. So fun!
That’s a ballsy title, right? Digital Marketing for an International Charity 101. Rather pompous but stay with me. Did you know that Samara, the other half of my podcast team, is a digital marketer? She is, and a big one. She works in Digital Marketing for an international charity, St Vinnies. That’s Saint Vincent De Paul to the rest of the world, haha.
In this episode, I interview Samara about her job. Stretching my interview muscles because I feel like hearing the experience of women is so important to what I’m trying to do here with this blog. We started talking and the episode ended up almost 40 minutes long and I loved every single minute of it.
I was impressed AND I needed to know more.
In her role, Samara works with the state managers and oversees the social for their Facebook and their CEO Sleepout event. Things like, how did she get there and what ‘qualifications’ did it take. What does she do day to day, and how much hands-on and planning stuff does she do.
And then most importantly, how does she deliver on the brand voice WHEN people can be dicks. By brand voice, I mean those few words that make a brand a living breathing thing. When it’s generosity, how can you be generous in the face of not that? As a charity who is involved heavily in supporting refugees, people can push your buttons.
I end up losing my mind over that a bit, haha.
My biggest thing was TELL ME HOW YOU DO THAT. How, can I do that? And how can I bring that to my business? Watch the episode here. We started recording our conversations over Skype and making it available on my Youtube channel. This episode was too good not to share, it’s easily my personal favourite we’ve ever done.
Business nerd, you know how it is. Haha.
And here we go. Pull up a comfortable spot, probably a beverage, and enjoy the newest episode. Not that into videos? It’s still available on iTunes and SoundCloud. Get the podcast into you. Did I mention I’m really proud of this episode? I did, didn’t I. Haha. My bad.
Questions? Let us know. I’ll drag Samara over here to answer all the digital marketing questions you can throw at her. If you have a question or topic you want us to cover on the podcast, leave it below. No topic gets left behind.
Your WordPress questions answered!? Yaaas. Who’s ready for this? It can’t just be me. Gayel here from Made Neat; if there is one topic I love chatting about, it’s WordPress. I can and will take an afternoon out with friends, sipping margaritas, to a conversation about their Google Analytics and websites.
It’s one heck of a party trick.
To suggest I can be a geek at times is a mild statement but it is all for the greater good. And hey, I work for a pretty cool digital agency these days. That makes it all ok. Probably.
What I find interesting about many people who own websites, is that they don’t realise how many elements go into establishing and maintaining a great home on the internet. They overlook tasks and practices that could be implemented to achieve great performance, SEO, traffic and conversions. Things they could be doing themselves, but usually aren’t.
Things that the professionals just do by default.
With that in mind, I thought for my very first post on the new look Suger Coat It, I would touch on these topics. It’s my WordPress Questions Answered, big fat 2018 tip of the day all in one. And maybe down the track, Suger will let me back to expand on them if you have questions. So make sure you leave them in the comments and we’ll go from there.
Your WordPress questions answered.
Using Themes … because they always look pretty straight out of the box.
For many people, choosing to run a theme over a bespoke WordPress website comes back to the budget. There are so many themes on the market it is easy to grab the first one-off the shelf and request your website designer customise it. Careful with this route. It can prove problematic.
Careful consideration needs to be given to using themes, the big one is page speed. Often many plugins are required for the theme to run on your sire which inevitably slows down your page speed. Poor customisation of these themes can also mean that the site lacks branding and a unique look each website deserves.
Work with your designer to find a theme or follow their recommendation for one that they know works. If you’re installing yourself, make sure you read reviews {scroll past the five stars and look for three or four stars to get the real version}. Sometimes it’s best to stick with a theme developer recommended by a friend.
What do you mean page speed? My website loads … eventually.
The speed in which your page loads isn’t just something that provides for great user experience. That said, nobody likes to wait for anything to load these days, keep that in mind. Page speed will impact your Google ranking and score for usability. If your selling products or services via your website, it’s pretty much a death sentence.
There are a few factors that come into play with a websites page speed, the big ones are :
As previously mentioned in page speed, running too many plugins on your site will slow it down and risk problems with incompatibilities. Suger, I’m looking at you and your love of all things plugins here. Keep things really simple for yourself and only run the bare minimum of plugins.
The essential plugins we recommend as a digital agency include :
YOAST SEO
Gravity Forms
WP Fastest Cache
The trick is to only use what you need and delete any that could be running or are redundant. And I mean everything. If you’re not actively using it. Disable it, test it didn’t break anything important by refreshing your webpage and remove it. You can always reinstall it later if you change your mind.
We know that running only necessary plugins on a themed site can be difficult. Often developers will use plugins to deliver items that someone building a Bespoke website will code in. It’s finding that middle ground between what your budget allows, how you want your site to look and the page speed. Walk that line, you’ll find your happy place.
Google Analytics … you mean stalking my site visitors to see where they live right?
Having Google Analytics running on your website is essential. Especially for anyone that needs to maintain excellent Google ranking. Keeping an eye on your Google Analytics ensures your website is running as best as it can be and growth can be tracked. That doesn’t only mean looking at your site demographics, other important indicators include your site’s bounce rate, acquisition and site speed {that guy again}.
Google Analytics tracking code can be easily added by yourself or preferred developer if you don’t already have it on your site. See how you go with this tutorial from Google as a starting point to install on your website. If you pay close attention to what it’s asking you should get through it in no time.
HTTPS … Do I really need a security certificate?
If ranking in Google is important to you, then ensuring that you have an SSL certificate running is essential. I’ve said that before, but there are a few key things Google views as important and this is one of them. Google now gives preference to sites that are https {secure} over those that aren’t. It’s about the user experience, they want to make sure the users they are sending to your site are safe there. Contact your host for an SSL Certificate. They should also be able to assist you in getting it up and running on your website.
Gutenberg … Excuse me, say what now?
Over the coming months, WordPress will release its own version of a page builder called Gutenberg. In the WordPress development community, we are waiting with excitement to find out exactly how this will change the environment we work in. For the everyday WordPress user, this means no longer needing to use a page builder plugin that can be tricky and heavy on page speeds.
Suger uses Divi on her blog {editor: plug} and it uses a thing called Page Builder. But this WordPress native development meant that you can get that ease of use without having to be on a certain theme from a certain developer for it to work efficiently. Watch this space, this is exciting news for those who DIY their website.
Gutenberg, or a Page Builder, will mean having more control over how your website pages look. This could be a great thing for you or it could just be one more section of WordPress that makes no sense. It all depends on how good you are at design and user experience. Which in the end, as experts, is why people will always need Developers like us. Job security, phew.
And lastly… my top tip for 2018 – A Great Digital Content Strategy
I’m hoping that this post has helped get your burning WordPress questions answered. It can be daunting to someone new to get started. I hope I’ve helped! But the final tip I wanted to share is about creating a great digital content strategy. Sure, you can pay to get to the top of Google, but that isn’t necessary. When you have a great digital content strategy you can place your business website there in an authentic and organic way.
Utilising content as an SEO strategy is by far my top tip for 2018. Honestly, it is one of the easiest ones to deploy on a WordPress site. Create great content by being helpful, solving problems with evergreen content. Make a list now of the questions your customers or clients always ask and start answering them.
Alongside that incorporate updates in your industry, the clients you are working with through profiles and/or links and happenings in your business. This style of content {the personal, getting to know you stuff} will always win you results. People like you to be a person on the internet. Especially on social media. And personally, I think is a far better way, way more fun, easy to generate week after week way to outrank your competitors than coughing up the dollars.
{editors note: Want to hear more about this? I have a BUMPER post coming talking about creating a digital content or social media plan for your business. Watch this space}.
And that’s it! Phew. Your WordPress questions answered over and out. Got more? Leave them in the comments and between Suger and I and we’ll get back to you. After all interactions like that are good for your linked website and this one. Did you know that?
Considering a dark Instagram theme? There are some pros and cons for you to consider before you take the leap to the dark side. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back, I live there. And if you’ve been to the Suger Coat It Instagram you’ll notice we went over to the dark side about six to nine months ago. It’s a dark, moody, often monochrome feeling theme that makes my heart happy.
Man, I love that dark moody theme.
Dark themes suit all style of accounts but work especially well for food, street style and portrait/lifestyle accounts. But, there are downsides to running a dark theme in a world of light and bright Instagrams. I’m going to outline the pros and cons, for those playing at home. Plus, there’s a video where I talk you through if that’s more your style. If it is, make sure you pop over to YouTube and leave it some love. That sort of thing matter over there. Ready? Let’s do this.
The Pros and Cons of a Dark Instagram Theme
THE PROS
It looks good. Like, really good. Especially if you’re into food photography. It might just be me, but it seems so chic and modern. I might be biased but dark photography just speaks to me. I love the way that you HAVE to know where your light is coming from to make it work. It’s an artform, and I love it.
Less competition as Instagram is filled with highly saturated or light and bright themes. It stands out in the feed, especially when you do it well. You could be THE stand out account in your niche if you account is different to the others.
Moody is IN. Think Riverdale and those dark tones. It’s night time photography, bokeh or fairy lights and saturated hues. It works beautifully with street and portrait photography in this sense. Perfect for conveying a mood.
Show off your skill! As I mentioned above, there’s a real art to dark photos, one I’m trying hard to master. A dark Instagram theme is just what you need to show it off. This is especially true if you use a lot of light and shade in your images or created light with flash or painted light.
THE CONS
Less likely to be reposted or shared by brands. WHY? Because of it being different from most themes out there. I’ve found working with businesses and brands that they are requesting brighter, predominately white images. Whatever your feed you can make that work, but it demonstrates the trend out there for light and bright.
Summer. Short version, I live in sunny Queensland, and it’s summer. Saturated colours and bright light are what my world looks like right now. I’d love to share an image of saturated blues and the bright teal of the ocean, but I’ve chosen my look, and I have to stick with it.
Dark can crossover to just bad. Make sure you’re not underexposing your photos just to make it work. Crisp, clear, well-lit images with a dark and moody vibe are what you’re after. Start to really pay attention to light and shade, that will help.
And there you go, team. What do you think? I know for some of you, theming your Instagram isn’t a thing. But you can’t argue that it’s not gorgeous when it’s done well. Make sure you check out the video, there are links in the description to more dark themed Instagram beauties.
Recently Suger Social took over the social media and digital marketing for a brand I have known and loved for a hundred million years. In the time prior to the takeover, IMO the spunk and personality and had gone. The guts of who they were. They’d become generic.
That, my friends, is a social media death sentence.
Not having a brand personality is mistake number one when you’re running a business, blog or brand account. I know, I’ve been there on more than one occasion myself. Not just personally either. I’ve worked for clients that don’t want to participate in a personal or direct way in their social, but the results never come like they should. A brand needs personality.
Personality matters more than content, more than product, more than anything on social media. If anyone ever told you to be ‘professional’ or formalise your language, they were wrong. Been given the advice that you need to take it seriously, act professionally or hide the struggles?
Well, they were wrong.
This new school of consumer don’t appreciate the glossed over version. They use social media to consume content and content is best told with story-telling. No story, no sale. I see your faces behind that screen, I just gave you the secret sauce, did you catch that? So how are YOU telling your story?
What’s your unique point of view?
Story-telling whether through your words or images is by necessity personal. It comes from you. It belongs to you and you are welcoming people to share in it. To experience it {that part is important, experience it}. Don’t get caught up in presenting an image and doing it perfectly; it will always land flat. Let the unique voice {sourced from the unique selling position} of your brand speak.
Oh team, I’ve fallen into this trap more times than I can count. There are times that I want my feed and content to LOOK a certain way. Ahhh so good-looking. But that can take away from the story or from saying something that actually matters. Try to remember that, I will too. Consider what it is that your customer or client VALUES from you. That is what you should be delivering in your own unique way.
If you’re a little bit nervous right now, if you’re wondering what the heck you’re going to say, I’ve got you. All you need to do is consider your brand to be a person. If it lives and breathes as an entity, then speaking for it is something you can learn to do. Consider what it is that you {your brand} has to offer, what makes YOU the only person to be able to deliver that.
It seems hard, but one day it will just click.
Because once you know what it is for you to say, there’s no way to do that badly. When you share it will be from a place of delivering on the message you are setting out to deliver. Sharing will be TO SHARE. Offerings will be to provide a solution. Trust me, you’ll never have to ‘sell’ again or run out of things to say, it’ll be part of your brand and therefore just be a way of being in communication with your community.
As far as YouTube achievements go, this feels like the first one. 100 subscribers, I’ve now officially made it. Small pickings by a lot of channels standards, but a milestone achievement none the less. When I started posting regularly in August this year, I certainly didn’t expect to be here already.
I’m a blogger and small business social media coach, so I applied a lot of those same methods to growing my channel. This post is for those of you wanting to do the same thing, or who are curious about such things. It’s especially for those who thought that maybe someday they might start but who are a little worried that no one would ever watch.
Same.
But, they did. Not in droves, and I certainly won’t be rivalling the big guns anytime soon, but they did show up. With a consistency that is both charming and motivational. From everywhere. From the blog, from YouTube search, from browse functions and other social media. Thank goodness, because there’s no hiding your success or failure on YouTube. It’s there for everyone to see.
The main thing I learned being a blogger who started YouTubing, is that not everyone who reads your blog or enjoys your photos on Instagram are interested in your videos. Perhaps even fewer will take the time to move from Facebook to YouTube to watch them. And that’s okay; people have their ways to consume media.
That point, about people viewing media where THEY want, is worth keeping in mind if you decide to start a YouTube channel. I had no idea who Casey Neistat was until I started getting interested in YouTube. It’s one of those platforms that you’re either into, or not. So, don’t expect your existing audience to care automatically. That doesn’t mean they won’t. Keep sharing on whatever platforms you have available to you.
Don’t have an existing audience? Start to build one just as you would for business, a blog or a brand. Your YouTube channel needs that support from social media to drive traffic. I learned that. YouTube rewards those who can bring the audience to them, so you need to be doing that for every single video, or it will crash and burn into YouTube obscurity.
Which is a big pile, let me tell you.
Then, there’s the whole your content probably sucks thing. New to making videos? The sucking thing, yeah, that is probably you especially if you haven’t invested a lot of time into learning the tricks of the trade. When I started out, I thought to get on or behind the camera would be the hard part. It turns out to only be a quarter of what’s going on.
Learn as much as you can so your content is the best it can be. The best way to do this, in my experience, is to choose a posting schedule and stick to it! Practice makes perfect, right? But done is better than perfect. I’ve learned a lot by just doing it and getting my videos out on a regular schedule. I did my best to determine the best ways to deliver it. Which meant watching a whole heap of tutorials about using, at first, iMovie, then Adobe Premiere Pro.
Like anything online, consistency is critical.
When I was creating content, I tried to figure out who would be interested in it. Everything from the actual video material to the supporting shares or blog posts, to the titles and thumbnails of the video. Since I started back in August, I’ve changed some of my thumbnails three times. Not ideal. But also important because I learned better ways to do things.
Another thing that “just showing up” did for me was to put me in front of the camera week after week. Sometimes on multiple occasions just to make the one video. I’d practice recording with my camera, my webcam and my iPhone 7+. I learned how uncomfortable I could be in front of the camera and how often I say um or so. I pity Samara and all the work she has to do with our podcasts now. Haha.
Thanks, Samara, I owe you one.
My next lesson was that sound is almost, if not more, important than the actual video quality. I found that people left my videos faster if there was s sound issue. So, I made videos where I could use my podcast microphone. This strategy worked fine for the social media posts and blogging tutorials. But it wouldn’t work for moving content. After about a month, I purchased the Rode Video microphone; the little one, not the boss pro one. I’ve used it once so far, so it’s hardly been essential.
Which brings me to the next point. The gear, while it does impact your end result, shouldn’t stop you from making something. As I mention in the video, I’ve recently upgraded my webcam as a sort of reward for the work I’ve put in so far. But I didn’t need any of it to start. And you don’t either. So, forget the excuse that you don’t have the right gear and get started creating.
And that is some of what I’ve learned in my first three months as a YouTuber.
3 months, 20 videos, 100 subscribers and countless hours of fun, frustration and f-bombs. Thanks for coming along for the ride! If you’re on YouTube, I’d love to have you join us. Leave me a comment or a like, the algorithm over there likes that kind of thing, apparently. If not, I’ve embedded this video below. Enjoy!
Now, are you ready for THIS jelly? We have gone to the top. The Curvy Fashionista is a resource for plus size women on the internet and it all started with a blog. This blog turned brand and one of THE places to turn on the interwebs for all things plus size news, reviews and more. Join me as we take a look at the website and social media for clues on its massive success.
And as always, there will be takeaways to apply to your own blog.
The video this week has a bit of a revised format to the previous videos featuring Nicolette Mason and Kellie Brown. I wanted to talk to the camera more and add a bit more action. Expect to dive further into pages of the website, social media and other content. I think it works. Let me know what you think in the comments.
And now, how to blog like The Curvy Fashionista.
The major takeaways here can be summed up with these three points (I condensed it from the video summary). As I do. Haha. Some of the points have been made on the previous episodes. These are the ones that are specific to Marie Denee of The Curvy Fashionista. Ready? Let’s go.
One. Pivot!
When things aren’t working with a platform where you’ve already built a community, don’t be afraid to pivot. Facebook is a giant pain in the butt, I know. But it’s not over, not by a long shot. When things need to change, look for ways to engage, utilise things like Facebook Live and Ads to maximise the community you’ve already built.
Two. Get some help.
You can’t do all this work yourself and by bringing on guest bloggers or recruiting writers, you can build on the content you can produce yourself. When blogs are crossed over to brands, they always look to add more voices. More voices mean more content, and more content means more opportunities for your readers to visit the site or participate in social media.
Three. Keep it real as you go.
It can be hard as your blog grows to continue being candid or personal. There’s so much more opportunity for criticism and for people to weigh in on your life. But there are advantages too. The community support and interaction mean so much. But it is hard to live your life somewhat publicly, and Marie is a great example on how to juggle both.
There you go, team!
Another ‘How to Blog Like…’ in the bag. I enjoyed taking a look at a little less personal blog. I hope you enjoyed this look around. I’m such a fan, keep that in mind, this is in no way meant to be a critic. Let me know, what did you take out of this? For me, I learned a lot about staying open with my blog, from Marie, and how to incorporate different content into my YouTube channel. I can’t wait to roll it out.
Recently, my local newspaper compiled a list of our town’s 30 most influential people. I did not make this list. What am I even doing with my life…? I’ll be sobbing in my flat white for days. Did you pick up the sarcasm? You did. Good. I’d link to the post so you can read the comments, but well, no links for them and their click bait article. #sorrynotsorry
BUT, it got me thinking about influence. What makes someone influential? There are entire industries based around influencers why then, can’t we measure it with any real clarity? What IS influence and who gets to decide what is influential? I’m glad you asked. Here are my thoughts on the whole thing.
I was in my car for something like 18 hours this weekend, I had plenty of time to think this over. Brace yourself.
It came down to this; influence can be cultivated, it’s definitely subjective and you never really know the impacts of it. What makes someone influential is people listening to them. Equal parts empowering and terrifying, right? It’s why we have to be so careful about who influences us. Who we allow space in our mind to shape who we are.
There are plenty of women who have experienced or are experiencing the negative impacts of influence that read this very blog. Negative repercussions with their relationship with their body, their family, their spouse or children. Not to mention their experience with the world at large. Thanks, patriarchy. We labour under the weight of influence in so many areas of our life, it’s about time we starting asking some questions.
Who ARE these people?
Who are they and why are we listening to them? Are they worthy of the space they occupy in our hearts and minds? I encourage you to ask yourself those questions every single time you feel yourself being influenced by another person. You have to determine if that person is worthy of your time considering their opinion. Consider the things that make you feel like rubbish, did they start with you?
Or is there someone in your life who is causing this upset with their influence? I used to work under a man that thought I was hopeless, lazy and more than a little bit slow off the mark. None of which I believe about myself. But over time, under his influence, I started to doubt myself. This went on for months and months and it was only after I was out from under his umbrella of grossness that I started to feel confident in my abilities again.
Question everything, team.
Bloggers, especially question bloggers and social media influencers. Hold them to account. Demand they be open with you. Anyone who can’t be open with you doesn’t deserve your trust. I really believe that. Sometimes I’m online and I see campaigns I’ve turned down or not been chosen for posted without disclosure. It’s not cool. So, ask away.
Question it all! From the way the world works right down to your opinion about how late is too late to eat. Who told you that? Are they someone you want shaping your life? Are you even okay with that? Ask yourself what’s in it for them and whether or not you can get on board with what they are saying.
What if you gave yourself the permission to BE the influencer?
An influencer is anyone who says something out loud for others to hear that has an impact. For better or for worse. I made that up, I should have Googled the actual definition, but that’s what it looks like for me. So what if the person you listen to, that other people listen to, were you? Because it could be and in the case of who you’re listening to, it should be you.
The great news is that anytime we say something we have the opportunity to influence, and we should take that seriously. It’s something I had to spend some time getting comfortable with when I started this blog. Was I okay with having an influence? Sure. But did I feel worthy of that opportunity? Not really. At the time I questioned my own voice and ability to effectively lead myself, never mind anyone else.
It’s still something I struggle with.
My issue is that I didn’t feel good enough or smart enough, stylish enough, together enough. But that was a lie. A fear I had and a story I told myself that stopped me from using my voice. You don’t have to be perfect to impact people and use your influence for good. We kind of HAVE to, the bad guys aren’t too concerned with whether they are worthy or not. Let me tell you.
You have a voice and you should use it. Be your own influencer. Don’t wait to feel perfect or worthy of the space. And certainly, don’t wait for your home town to put you on some list. Trust your gut with people, do what is right for you and use the voice you have to create some good stuff out there in the world online and off. You’ve got this.
Kellie Brown of And I Get Dressed is easily one of THE most stylish bloggers in the universe. My universe anyway. And the plus-size fashion universe, definitely. So, don’t miss this episode as we check out Kellie’s blog, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for some blogging tips and tricks.
And, there is a lot of fangirling. I’m sorry about that.
I did the best to restrain myself, but I was totally out of control. Kellie is one of my favourite bloggers with content that makes me green with envy. She has this amazing style and has been featured on my all time favourite blog, Manrepeller. That’s when you know you’ve arrived. Le sigh, so cool.
For me, Kellie is a blogger to aspire to because she transcends that ‘box’ plus size bloggers are sometimes placed in. Kellie has worked with many international brands, her style transcends size (which let’s face it, doesn’t happen a lot) and she works it. It’s a business and the professionalism shows in her beautiful images and ‘on-point’ graphic design and branding.
Lots to see here, team!
There are a few issues with sound in this episode. Ugh. But, if you’ve heard the early episodes of my podcast, it was the usual echo of my giant office. If it REALLY bugs you, sorry about that. AND, I’ve picked up a new mic from my camera so it shouldn’t be a problem moving forward. I feel like this whole make a video a week thing has been such a HUGE learning curve. Thanks for hanging in there with me while I learn.
And I Get Dressed was on my list from the start so I was excited to share it so soon after the start. I hope you guys are enjoying this new series. It’s been fun to be able to check out what other plus size bloggers are doing on their blog and social media. I’m obsessed with finding more bloggers to share, so make sure you let me know your favourite.
I guess you’re here because you want to blog like Nicolette Mason, right? I hear you. That’s why I’m kicking off my new YouTube series, ‘how to blog like…’ the top five things you can do to blog like Nicolette Mason. She’s pretty darn fabulous!
We are going to dive into her social media channels, I’ll provide the commentary, for ways to improve your blog. Nicolette Mason is a blogger I’ve admired since I first started blogging. Around the time I discovered her, she secured a column in Marie Clarie magazine. I felt like, WOW, that’s so not something I thought a fat girl could do. Let that sink in for a moment; it’s a pretty massive realisation. The possibilities are endless.
From there I, in a fan-girl-esque fashion, have followed her career closely. From her days as a brunette, through her wedding and on to her launch of her clothing line, Premme. And now, she’s being featured (again) on this blog. That’s how you know you’ve made it, right? Forget fashion week. Pffft. Haha.
Let me say one thing; this isn’t about copying Nicolette’s style or branding. If you do that, I’ll put you in the naughty corner. In this video, I talk about what makes her one of the best. It’s about the tips you can focus on to improve your blog. If you have any questions, want me to clarify anything I’ve said, leave it in the comments. To be clear, all the opinions expressed in this video are mine, I didn’t have access to Nicolette to discuss them nor did she approve this video in any way. I’m just a fan, trying to blog better. Disclaimers aside, let’s begin!
Want to see your favourite blogger featured? That’s simple. Tell me who they are in the comments 9here or on YouTube) and I’ll start making a list. Coming up next, we check out the blogging style of Kellie B of And I get dressed. Can’t wait!
Well, bet you didn’t think you’d hear this one from me, right? The blogger, telling you that there’s such a thing as being TOO attached to your social media and by extension, your phone. Well, I am. That’s because I’m your girl. I’m in the best possible position to speak to you about this; I live and breathe the internet. It’s my hobby, my relaxation and a large part of my livelihood. Even with all of that I had to learn when to turn off and how to be okay with it.
Let me tell you a little about THAT!
A couple of years ago we sold our home and moved to my sister’s house while we purchased our next property. Nice, all was good, except for one thing; we had no internet. Heck, no phone reception some days. It was worse than growing up on dial-up. I went from full access to pretty much nothing. And I felt it.
There was this ball of anxiety about not being able to able to schedule posts, to communicate on Facebook or Instagram and all the other things that social media requires. Some nights, with my phone perched on the highest window sill, it still wouldn’t work and I would get super angry and upset.
Here’s the thing, that’s bad.
As the months went on, I realised that the world keeps spinning. As dramatic as it sounds, I felt like for my blog and my business, that it wouldn’t. Like, if I wasn’t there to keep things spinning it would just fall in a heap. Newsflash. It didn’t. There was freedom in that realisation. I felt like I could exhale for the first time in a long time. The pressure was defused and I found that less and less I would reach for my phone. It’s not that social media was forgotten, it just wasn’t THE most important thing anymore.
The pressure was defused and I found that less and less I would reach for my phone. It’s not that social media was forgotten, it just wasn’t THE most important thing anymore. It became part of a process. I’d plan ahead, schedule, and then, like magic, I got out there and got a life. I’ve certainly still got plenty of love for my phone but more and more I find I don’t even pick it up. Well, unless I’m waiting (I’m so freaking impatient) or to show the people something online.
So, are you hooked on your social media?
There are some major red flags when it comes to getting too attached to your phone, and by extension, your social media. I know that we are used to having our phones, having them work and being ‘connected’ online whenever, wherever. But it’s not good when you feel that you NEED to be online, no matter how many FOMO jokes we make.
Ugh, anxiety.
For me, it started with that anxious feeling when you can’t access your phone or social media. If you regularly feel angry, frustrated or upset by reduced or limited access to the internet, this could be a red flag. Sure, there’s a difference between getting frustrated when you’ve got something to do and when there’s no reason for you to be online. Watch out for that. Start to leave your phone in the car or on charge in your bedroom instead of having it with you all the time. This distance will help you realise, you’re really not missing much.
Mindlessness.
Another red flag was the flicking between apps and refreshing. No, I’m trying to spoil ALL your fun, but if you find yourself doing this over and over again, pouncing on new posts or updates, well… Not great. I still find myself slipping into this, especially when I’m having a hard time sleeping. No one updates at 3 am and refreshing the page a billion times won’t change that. If you find yourself doing this, stop what you’re doing, put the phone down and find something else to do. I like to leave my phone in the kitchen when I’m watching TV, or in the car when we go to a park, cafe or to visit people.
Avoiding.
If you find yourself avoiding places or situations that won’t have service or wifi then well, bad news. While we were at my sister’s I would find all sorts of reasons to delay my return home from work. As the time came to head home, even though it should have been the highlight of my day, I would mess around on my phone and avoid going. There was nothing to do. No news, or updates, no nothing… So what was that about? It was FOMO (fear of missing out) and it hit me hard. All I could do to break the habit was to just go. Make myself, when I had to. While I was there I started leaving my phone in the car, at home or in my bag.
There you go team, I hope that for some of you this post will give you the space to step back from your socials (your phone) a little and get back into your life. It’s not that we mean to get caught up or check out, it’s that these devices and the communities we find online are SO available. Don’t beat yourself up, just make some small changes, it’ll make the world of difference.
Something started happening about a month ago (for me). I saw a decline in interaction on my Instagram account and felt like I was in front of the same 15 people over and over again. It turned out; I’d been shadow-banned. Woot. Just what you need when trying to build an audience, not being able to reach people; so frustrating.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been chipping away to get myself off that blacklist and back to business. Within this post, I’ve shared a few ideas I have around why my account was shadowbanned, some other posts that may assist you identifying if it happened to you, the things that seem to have worked to get un-banned and how I’m going to be proceeding from here to keep my nose clean.
So, Instagrammer friends, this one is for you.
What IS Instagram Shadowban?
The shadowban is your Instagram account being banned from hashtag listings (and therefore the reach that can come with them) for sketchy behaviour. Unofficially. But that is the gist of it. The Shadowban is detailed more at the “Plann That” blog. I’ve read a few articles and this one seems to cover off on the most things. Worth a read if you want to go more in-depth about Instagram’s point of view and the new hashtag algorithm. It’s interesting reading for Insta-geeks. Or that could just be me. Haha.
How did I get Shadowbanned?
From what I can figure out, there are a few key things to getting MY butt sin-binned. If it happened to you, your reasons may be different. You’re going to have to play around and find out what works. It’s not like Instagram will reply to your question asking why you have to guess using the information available to you. And when it came to my account, these are my best guesses.
Approve all the things!
The first reason I can find is that I had a ridiculous number of apps approved in my API section. Everything from apps I’ve tried to plan the layout of my feed, ‘influencers’ platforms to try to source work, scheduling programs and places to print my Instagram photos. Sheeesh. This was my reason one and it could be yours too.
Think about it; API approval happens every time you log in to an app to track your followers or (you know who you are) if are using an app to follow/unfollow, comment spam or whatever. It has something to do with your IP address and multiple location logins and how that correlates with the increased possibility that your account is spam, being shifty or whatever.
Hashtag abuse, apparently.
I used the SAME hashtags all the darn time because I found it easy and convenient. What worked for me was using the Tags for Likes app with my own ‘custom’ options in there that I could copy and paste whenever I posted. A lot of these had close the 30 hashtags (the allowed max) per list, so I was pushing the boundaries hashtags wise. But, I’m not alone in doing that.
There are also grey and blacklisted hashtags that you are probably using that with repetitive use, combined with some of the other factors, may have caused the drop on your account. The best list I’ve found (and it’s updated regularly) is this one over at The Data Pack.
The naughty corner.
Thirdly, (such a weird word) I would time myself out. Have you ever been replying to comments or leaving comments and had them stop working? You post them, but they don’t appear? You’ve been sin-binned. And when you get blocked like this, it means you’ve done too much commenting in a too short time (or liked or followed), and you are in the naughty corner. Whoops.
Getting sent to the corner is something I often did because I reply to my comments on my computer. As I whiz through them one after another, clearly I’m too efficient and BAM, momentarily blocked. It would happen to me once or twice when I am actively posting, but at least five times a week. It is TOO MANY. Instagram treats you like spam at this volume (even though I was replying to and liking comments on my account of any tagged images).
Just call me Spammy McGee. Ummah.
And finally, I participate on some hashtags that are considered ‘grey’ listed (easiest way to tell is that the hashtags don’t have a ‘top posts’ section or this list will help). So, what’s so risque that it got me banned? Curvy, is on the list. So are things like body positive and other (usually) NSFW tags. I know, I know, eye roll with me. Of course, the fat girls with their fashion are getting banned. Bloody hell Insta, you’re okay with naked, as long as it’s a ‘conforming’ naked.
But take heart, my friend was checking out the tags she uses, and beauty blogger is on the grey list; heck, I saw happy Thanksgiving and Easter too. It’s madness and to be honest; this is probably having the least impact of the four items I listed. BUT, still worth considering whether you want to incorporate those tags or not.
What I’ve been doing to get unbanned and increase engagement.
When it came to bouncing back, I took a few of the suggestions from Alex Tooby’s blog post. There are heaps of posts going around to help you out if these options don’t work for you. But, for me, I found that using a few of them and cleaning house, I was back in business. Here is a play by play of what I did.
Clean up your act.
First, I went into the settings of my Instagram and unlinked a HEAP of authorised apps. Anything I wasn’t using I removed (you can always approve them again later if you need them). Like I said in the previous section, I had YEARS worth of authorised apps in there, I would say close to 30 total. Now I have five.
Next up I removed a bunch of my ‘hashtag dumps’ from the first comment on my photos. I didn’t go all the way back to the start of my account, who has the time to go back over 6,000 images, but I did remove a few scrolls worth.
After that, I cleared my search history (someone said it works like a clear cache on your account, not sure if this is true). To do that yourself, the button is at the bottom of the “Options” listing (where you land when you hit the cog on the app). Click on it, and it does the rest. Easy peasy.
I tightened the App ranks.
Next up, to kick that Instagram shadowban butt, I stopped using all the non-essential apps on my phone. I didn’t check the “Followers” app to see who unfollowed me for a week. Before that, I had been doing it daily. What can I say, I like to keep an eye on who is ditching me? Haha. As part of the no additional apps thing, I made sure I posted manually. I operated in a low-key way for a couple of days.
During this time, I switched up my Instagram theme; I’ll blog about in a couple of weeks once my feed is settled in and is something I love. Because heck theming your Instagram is TOTES fun. Yup, deliberate use of totes for ironic lols. I played around with it in Unum (a planning app) and started planning images, how they could work together and collecting more for my stash.
But I wasn’t done yet, what about switching from a business profile?
Some consideration went into the suggestion to change my account back to personal as a sort of ban reset. I decided against it, in the end, I like the analytics. The stats, snapshots, follower information analytics, are not available on a personal account. That’s a decision for you, but if there is no need for you to have a business account, why even deal with all this anyway? Personal accounts apparently get more rope than business ones, just look at Facebook Pages vs. Profiles.
EDIT/UPDATE: My research shows that reverting your account from business to personal WILL NOT improve your reach or impressions, and will actually make you look a little more suspect to Instagram who KNOWS you’re a business and what you’re up to. However, if you’ve never switched to business, there appears to be some truth to the better reach/impressions thing. Per above.
Finally, after being ‘normal’ for a few days, I logged out of all my accounts and logged back in. Not essential, but I did it anyway.
Getting back in the game.
From there it was about winning back Instagram by being engaging and entertaining to the beautiful (wink wink, follow me, haha) people who came across my account. Being ‘engaging’ in the sense of Instagram means eliciting likes and comments, saves and shares. To me, it just meant that I just had to make sure my Instagram had the same conversations as my blog and my Facebook page.
Engagement is the secret to Instagram in general since the shift from the chronological timeline. If the people who followed don’t interact with it, they won’t see it (al la Facebook). So, every post needs to be a good one. Every single one needs to have a reason for being there otherwise it’s just one more opportunity for you to go to the bottom of the heap.
All algorithms bless their heart. Aren’t they just grand? Haha.
And since we are talking about such things. If you wanted more information about the changes to Instagram, I have a workbook, obvs. I created this from the content I cover in my workshops so you can tackle it online. Click the image to check out the sales page for the book. Suger News readers, your code from a while back will still work, you’re welcome.
There you go team, an Instagram tale as old as time. Sort of. More of a shit (Instagram shadowban) happens kind of tale, but you get the idea. In the end, what Instagram is trying to do is create an environment where we all don’t have to deal with bots and spam all the time. I’m on board with that.
if it takes a little bit of wiggling on my behalf to make that work, I’ll do it. After all, it’s my favourite place to be on the internet at the moment, and I’m in their house. Happy ‘gramming!
