Whether it’s getting your blog content to the masses, networking your way to that next big opportunity or branding yourself for potential future employers or collaborators, one thing’s for sure: social media matters. Here, we outline five reasons fashion bloggers and vloggers should harness the power of social media to get their names heard and make their mark on the industry.
- Getting your content out.
No matter how long you’ve been blogging or vlogging or how much content you create, social media is the bridge between you and your readers. It’s a way for you to reach a new and existing audience that won’t just read your content but engage with it, share it and enjoy it.
With each channel, be it Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest or Ello, you have an opportunity to share your content in a way that’s interesting and meaningful, track how that content is doing and react to that in a personal, engaging way.
Throughout AE53 Fashion Blogging & Social Media and FSH 218 Blogging Content Creation & Promotion courses, we don’t just look at how you can do that on social media, but some of the ways in which you can create standout blog content, from making your writing stand out online to how you might organize that content into calendars. With so much time invested in the creation of your content, it deserves to be seen!
- Showcasing your visual aesthetic.
Every day, an estimated 95 million photographs and videos are shared on Instagram, and every minute, 400 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. No matter how you look at it, we’re living in a visual world and social media offers a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of that.
Perhaps you’ve invested time and energy into curating a professional-looking and exciting visual identity, or perhaps you’ve designed a layout for your blog that feels like an extension of your interests and personality. Social media can extend that identity and help tie everything together.
Not only that, but it also offers a fantastic chance to experiment and test new visual ideas. Got a new visual project you want to test-run? Got a new logo you want to get some feedback on via a Twitter or Instagram poll? Social media’s your answer.
- Networking.
Networking is crucial. If you’re looking to get to the top of your game within the industry, you’re going to want to make meaningful connections, get involved in creative collaborations and forge lasting relationships with bloggers, influencers and brands.
While social media is built for sharing content and promoting your visual aesthetic, it is also, as the name would suggest, inherently social and comes with all the tools you need to get going.
Hashtags offer you the opportunity to get involved in a conversation that’s already happening (or start a new one you’re passionate about), while a simple comment, follow or well-written direct message could mark the beginning of a long-term collaboration.
- Building a Business.
While blogging, vlogging and social media are a hobby or passion project for many, that passion can be turned into a full-time job in which you’re your own boss.
Not only can social media itself be used as a tool to do something specific, like push your blog to the top of a Google search or extend the overall reach of your blog, but it can act as a space for you to sell your own products, promote brand products through affiliate links and, as we said above, test the waters for new ideas you might have.
And the best part? Starting a business might seem like an expensive process but setting up on social media account doesn’t cost a dime.
- Navigating The Future.
Not even the most skilled of trend forecasters can predict exactly what will happen in the future but, with social media and an appetite for discovery, you can have a pretty good guess.
By using the connectivity and scope of social media, you can envisage what the future of your blog, vlog and channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter might look like in 15 or 25 years’ time. Will Facebook’s future exist in a virtual world? Will people be reading your blog via WhatsApp?
Though we look at these changes in the Fashion Blogging & Social Media course, it’s important to remember that your success won’t come from knowing what these changes might look like, but that you’re open to adapt to them and shift your plans accordingly.
Text by Josh Walker, Fashion Journalism online instructor
