Sunday Brunch & Social Media Branding
When it comes to social media and trying to use your presence to build your brand, there is no set of rules that tells you exactly what steps to take. Everyone has advice to give but the recipe that worked for them may not be as effective for you. For the most part, I try to create content that will be appealing to other people while still staying true to my self expression and creativity. This strategy doesn't always produce the most likes or gain me the most followers, but it does contribute to slow and steady growth. As I continue to work my social media accounts with the resources I have, I also continue to attract the attention of influencer agencies and larger themed accounts. I've been able to collaborate with several brands from skincare lines to seasonal menswear clothing companies. I took to brunch this past Sunday with a friend and entreprenuer to discuss this whole concept of branding a bit more in depth.
For brunch this week, I wanted to dress up, while still maintaining some aspects of comfort and informality. My steel grey two piece suit, tie, and white button up are all by Express. The Black t-shirt with pearl detail is from Pull & Bear, bag by Rockland London, Scarf by H&M, and my comfy white trainers and black overcoat are both from Zara.
Getting jobs and partnerships as a small influencer can be difficult. Most companies want to work with influencers who have a large following and reach on social media, because that in turn helps them ensure their brand reaches a variety of people. When you don't have tens of thousands of followers and viral posts to match, you have to get a bit more creative in order to land campaigns. I do my best to make sure my content is distinguishable from everything else that fills the explore page on Instagram. While I find it important to make quintessential blogger posts about my recent travels and the good food I come across, I still try to leave room in my feed for my weirdest and most funky outfits, and other parts of my life that are just for fun. I've recently come to an understanding that the people who support and follow your brand want to see more than just your sense of style or how you curate photos on your page.
Sunday Brunch at Milk London in Balham is an example of an outing that I'd make sure to share with my followers, however I've recently started to tag the friends I go out with, as well as snap a few extra photos to show the restaurant and location. Details like these work to make the post a little more insightful, because the company you keep and things that you enjoy doing are both direct reflections of the type of person you are. As aforementioned, your supporters want to know what type of person you are. They want to know who they are supporting and how your experiences make you a relatable figure. If you are reading this and working to grow your platform on social media, I encourage you to still show glimpses of who you are. There is definitely a common template that most bloggers and social media influencers seem to follow, however I still believe there is power in mixing your feed up and occasionally breaking the mold!
Photos by Adriana Williams (@adw___)
