Happy humpday everyone! In honor of recently breaking through 15,000 followers on Instagram, I asked you guys on Instagram whether you wanted to see my Instagram and blogging methods/tactics or to offer coaching/mentoring blogging sessions. The majority vote went to….

15 tactics I’m doing right now for my blog and Instagram!

Today you’ll get the 4 tactics for Instagram and blogging in this blog post. And at the end of this week I’ll be emailing out my PDF of 15 tactics I’m using right now to my email list! So if you haven’t subscribed to Emma’s Edition yet, please do!

4 Tactics I’m Doing for Instagram & Blogging Right Now:

Tactic #1: Changed my hashtag strategy (included in PDF)

This is probably one of the first and biggest changes I made on Instagram. During fashion week last September, my account wasn’t showing up under any hashtags (read my about my whole experience here). Even though Instagram is saying there is no such thing as a shadow ban, I do believe if you use the same hashtags over and over again, you might get marked as spam.

Here’s what I’m doing with hashtags: I’m only using hashtags between 10,000-300,000 posts within those hashtags.

Here’s why: hashtags like #ootd have over 170 MILLION posts tagged to it. Because these hashtags are so over saturated, your posts will have a harder time coming up to the top 9 posts of the hashtag.

Tactic #2: Show off your personality with Instagram Stories (included in PDF)

I know this is probably scary if you aren’t comfortable talking in front of the camera… but talking to your friends/followers through Instagram stories is a great way to connect with them! I recently posted “How I Keep My Blog Going with a Full Time Job and Grad School”. And then on Instagram stories I went on and talked about the things I left out. I talked about how I don’t cook, I only sleep 6-7 hours a night, and I wake up around 5-5:30am to take my dog Boone on walks! I barely had any make up on and I had just gotten off work.

If you’re a little nervous speaking into the camera, start small! Use boomerangs or feature products but talk in the video. Practice makes perfect!

Tactic: #3: I make it a priority to constantly learn and work on my blog and Instagram

This piece of advice isn’t included in the 15 tactics round up because I want all the aspiring bloggers and creatives out there to also be open to continuously learning (wooh bonus tips!). One way I’ve continued to evolve Emma’s Edition on both Instagram and my blog is through all the lessons I’ve learned through other people. My top 3 favorite podcast focused around blogging/social media are:

The Science of Social Media by Buffer

Become a Pro Blogger with Darren Rowse

The Influencer Podcast with Julie Solomon

I listen to at least one episode a week from all three of these podcasts on my way to and from work!

Tactic #4: Authenticity to me means honesty

This piece of advice is also not included in the round up because I feel like this is relevant advice to anyone whether they’re a blogger or working towards a different path.

I’ve been learning how to share who I am beyond the curated Instagram feed and blog posts these past two years. I’ve learned that embracing who I am – a career woman, a creative, a Filipino-American woman, has actually helped my readers see who I am. I’ve learned to not try to be someone I’m not. I don’t wear luxury items (even though I would love a Gucci purse one day) and I’m not traveling constantly around the world. Instead I’m in conference rooms running meetings, classrooms in the evenings for lecture, and then blogging in my free time.

I do my best to share my day to day life on Instagram and my blog and I think my readers have responded really well to that.

How are you being authentic and honest with yourself?

So again, this are just a few tactics I’m doing for my blog and Instagram right now.

If you want all 15 tactics, please subscribe to my newsletter: HERE!

I’ll be sending it out THIS FRIDAY! P.S. Don’t worry I won’t spam you! (I don’t have time to between school, work, and blogging). I plan on only sending one email a month!

Also shout out and thank you so much to Ollie Quinn for this fabulous sunglasses!

If you’re looking for a new pair of glasses or sunglasses, Ollie Quinn has incredible frames at affordable prices. All of their frames are designed in-house. If you ever want to stop in there and try on frames, Ollie Quinn is located in Capitol Hill (910 E Pike Street Seattle WA)! They’re super friendly and so easy to work with!

You can get 10% off with the discount code: OQEmma! 

This code works for both online and in-store!

Thank you always for reading! I can’t wait to email out the 15 tactics on Friday!

Love,

Emma

Photos: Karya Schanilec