HOW TO GROW YOUR FOLLOWING

If I had an FAQ section how do you grow your following and, how do you slick my hair would be top of the list. Re: the latter I use a variety of procduts but this Bumble and Bumble wax is a firm fave. Anyway back to question number one, a quesition I am asked constantly, so much so it has prompted me to write this post.

At the back end of 2017 I wrote 'Yay to 20k' self explanatory in its title, but what the title failed to capture was what the entire post was about. Which was essentially my guide at that time to growing your following, or more specifically what I'd learnt over that year and how my following had grown. To be honest everything I've written still stands, and I would HIGHLY recommend you start there before reading any further here. 

Growing a following is even harder now than it was before, alot of people are turned off by the pushy presence of influencers and their #ADs thus less likely to show support. A word that I use often when talking to others is consistency. Consistency is key to actively growing your following, yet there are also exceptions to the 'rules'. People still can blow up overnight via one viral video or shoutout from the right person. But it could be argued that it still goes back to consistency, as that person was always posting.

So, how do you grow your following, boost your engagement, just generally get noticed in an over saturated playing field? The easiest way - buy some followers. Yup, it's a real thing! Unless you are born in a barn and have no clue about how the gram (and other platforms) work then yes, buying followers is an option. Would I reccomend it - hell NO! But I decided I would cover as many bases as possible in this post and that is one of them. Lots of people buy followers, even the people you wouldn't expect to do it. It's basically like taking steroids at the gym, you will get big quickly, but it probably won't last forever.

I will be completely honest, in some situations buying followers might make sense. Ok, so let me explain before you close this post in outrage. As with everything in life, it's all relative. For some people this Instagram game is just that to them, a quick dabble of excitement while they pass the time. Those people might buy followers because (a) they want to have a high number of followers for brands to notice time (b) they want said brands to gift them, etc. Or (c) they might just want more followers and don't want to put in the work. Even some brands buy followers, basically for some of the reasons above. If a brand has a large following, you are more likely to make a purchase from them then one with less. The same thing works for people, but either way, isn't it just deceit?

The reality is everyone can tell when you have bought followers as your engagement will generally reflect it. It's all good having 50k followers, but not so good when you only average 500 likes per pic. Altough some brands just play the numbers game and only look at the K's in your profile and work with these people, but may not get the return on investment they expected. Its sad because accounts with fake followers are doing a disservice to the industry. People put real life sweat and tears into growning their social following, to be undercut by a fake. But that's life really, don't let it dishearten you. For me buying followers isn't an option, I'd rather be the person in the gym getting real, long lasting gains then shooting metaphorical and literal crap inside me for short term rewards. But thats just me, the former is the much harder road to travel. 

So if you are not buying them how do you generate new followers? There are 'tactics' that people use. A good example is the follow for follow. Which is self explanatory, follow a bunch of people (it helps if they are in the same field as you, fashion for example) and hope they follow you back. After a few weeks months, you slowly disengage and unfollow the accounts you're no longer interested in. This can go hand in hand with commenting on profiles. If you comment enough times on a persons profile, they are bound to notice you and more likely to engage with you. Don't spam comment tho I cannot deal with spam commenters, I think they are as bad as people who buy followers. Commenting on peoples profiles is a great way to get noticed by others and grow your own following. Don't get it twisted, these approaches also require a level of consistency and can actually be a whole job in itself, I know a person who paid someone to do this for them to grow their brand profile - it worked.

As with any of my best work (if I do say so myself) this post has taken on a life of its own and looks set to be a 2 parter. But the best is yet to come! For part 2 I have spoken to other blogger babes and asked them how they grew their following. Between them they have over half a million followers so you are sure to find some great tips and tricks that most definitely will help you along your way.  For most it is a slow but steady growth in-which you can sometimes even decline. But perspective is key in the journey, always keeping in mind - what is growth to you? I will see you in part 2. xx

Top: NA-KD Fashion 
Trousers: H&M (similar)
Sunglasses: Quay Australia
Shoes: ASOS (similar)