FASHION BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS: Gaining Instagram Followers

Cardigan Green  |  Burgundy Cardigan | Nordstrom Floppy Hat Under $16 | Shop my Shades

South Korea has been so sticky-humid and hot. Yesterday was actually the first day it has cooled down since June. It was refreshing! I brought out my cardigan and my floppy hat! With all these fun fall fashion trends popping up around us, I was excited to finally rock mine. I posted links to similar cardigans I am crushing on. My clutch is from Purple Peridot and my shades are from ilymix.com. You can get 20% off your purchase using code: cutebrandik20

Now let’s get started!

     So as a Fashion Blogger, why do we want followers? Because we want people to appreciate the content we create! Some of us wish to monetize our blogs and influence people in the things that we sell! I am right?

       This post is a continuation of my last blog post “Fashion Blogging For Beginners: The Mistakes I Made Starting My Fashion Blog,” One of the mistakes I made in starting my blog, was the fact that I gained my followers the wrong way.

  Quick disclaimer: This blog post is simply free advice and it’s an opportunity to share my journey in becoming a Fashion Blogger. My intent is to inspire new bloggers to work towards their goals by sharing my success and my mistakes.

   When I first got an Instagram account in 2012, I was hooked! I had about 50 followers; all of them were people I knew. I used to post my mediocre photography and pictures of what I was doing and to be honest; nobody cared! In 2015, I actually began fashion blogging and the situation on my Instagram was pretty much still the same. I became impatient! I wanted likes on my pictures and followers on my Instagram immediately.

Here are the mistakes I made in gaining followers.

1. I used apps to gain Likes and Followers
2. I did not follow any Fashion Bloggers to network with
3. I did not use the right hashtags
4. I did not comment on people’s pictures, I did not network!!!
5. I did not post content regularly
6. I did not stick to a theme on my Instagram (Fashion)
7. I kept my Instagram handle personally. Meaning, I would continue to post pictures in reference to my daily life that NO ONE CARED about

Let me tell you about Using Apps to gain Likes and Followers:

  When I began blogging, I discovered the app called ‘Get Likes for Instagram.’ This is a great app because it really works and you will get all the likes you desire but you will need to pay money to get a ton of likes. I was able to get 60-70 likes easily just by liking other people’s pictures through this app. For every 4 likes I gave out, I would gain coins that were redeemed for one like on the pictures I wanted to promote. You can also buy coins for more promotions on your pictures for likes. The process was all too exhausting and I really didn’t have time to put into this app. I later realized that these were not genuine likes and the communication between my content was not getting the credit it deserved. I needed real likes from people who really appreciated my material.

  The app ‘Get Likes for Instagram,’ led me to another app called ‘GetFollowers.’ It was pretty much the same concept except this app was for gaining followers. The app ‘GetFollowers’ help me go from 50 to 300 followers in a 3 month period but then I noticed a flaw in this app. I was wasting time because a lot of these Instagram accounts were not real. Therefore I did not gain true followers. I also noticed a trend of new followers unfollowing me within a few days or even minutes.

  I stopped using these apps once I realize the credibility my Instagram account was lacking. I could not receive any recognition as a Fashion Blogger with fake followers and fake likes. If you are starting out, I do not recommend any of these apps to use. However, I did keep one app that I found to be very beneficial to me and I still use it today. The app is called ‘Followers,’ it is extremely helpful and it shows me exactly what I need to know about My Instagram followers. Here is what the app provides:

1. Who all my New Followers are
2. People who have Unfollowed me
3. People who are not Following me Back
4. People I am not following back
5. Users who Blocked me

   This app is perfect. I love it! It helps me out a lot. I can see exactly what is going on with my Instagram account when it comes to my followers. Don’t you just get annoyed with those people who decided to follow you and as soon as you follow back they immediately unfollow you! Well, now they are easy to detect! I can see all those people who follow to unfollow me. What is up with that, right? For all you fashion bloggers out there I recommend this app.

In my next blog post, I am going to tell you how I began to gain followers and the different trends I’ve noticed in the Art of Following on Instagram so stay tuned!

Keep Fighting For Your Dreams

-Brandi Kimberly