In the influencing world, social media is the foundation for everything you do. While it’s an amazing platform to share your passions, sometimes it can be a real struggle. Since I started my blogging journey two years ago, I’ve met a ton of people and learned so much. And even though it may seem like everything has been all sunshine and rainbows, it definitely hasn’t been. I’ve had my own struggles with social media that I have learned how to overcome, and I want to share them in hopes that it will give others a sense of relief to know that they aren’t alone.
Don’t play the comparison game.
I played the comparison game for SO long and it’s not pretty. I used to look at other influencer’s pages and think things like, “I wish I could wear that”, “Why is she growing so fast and I’m not?”, “What is she doing that I’m not?”, “There’s no way she has real followers, look at her engagement!” Sound familiar? I am guilty of all of this. The truth of the matter is, NONE OF THAT MATTERS. If you find yourself obsessing over how many followers a person has, how many likes their photo gets, how quickly they are growing and why…..STOP. The more you obsess over it, the more energy you are taking away from yourself. The best thing you can do is focus on YOU. Stop yourself from looking at their profile, stop yourself from looking at their number of likes. Once you stop doing that, you’ll be surprised at how much you will grow and how much more creativity you will have room for to produce great content.
Use competition as fuel.
You may find that in the influencing world, there are girls that preach about unity and women supporting women, but their actions are REALLY about competition and they’re just out for themselves. I’ve had girls talk about me behind my back and then smile to my face and preach that we should all support each other. I don’t talk about that, but it happens. The influencing world can be harsh. For the longest time I let it bother me so much and I would obsess over what I did wrong. But what I’ve come to realize is that there are always going to be people that don’t like you and want to see you fail. Most of the time it’s either jealousy or they feel threatened by you. YOU have something that they want. Use them as your fuel to do better, be better, and rise above. REMEMBER THIS: winners focus on winning, losers focus on winners.
Yes, the algorithm sucks.
We all know that the IG algorithm is playing all of us right now. Everyone’s engagement is at an all time low and it’s a struggle. But we are never going to be able to figure out how to “beat the algorithm” since it changes daily, so don’t let it stress you out so much. Post GOOD content that YOU love and try different things to see what works. Try posting at a different time of the day, or changing up your captions to spark engagement. Be more active with your followers. Be more creative with your pictures and pay attention to what your followers are loving from you. I used to post a lot of flatlays of beauty products on my page, but I noticed that my followers weren’t really engaging with that sort of thing. So now instead of a flatlay, I’ll post a photo of me actually WEARING the product and talking about it in my caption, and those have done much better. It’s all about trial and error. But don’t let it take over your life! Remember that creating content is supposed to be FUN!
Never expect anything from anyone.
Don’t get disappointed when someone you think is your friend (either in real life or on social media) doesn’t deliver. What I mean by that is, don’t get upset when they don’t like your photos, watch your videos, buy from your links, and/or engage with you like you would expect for them to. It’s not healthy, it’s just going to drive you crazy, and you will just be disappointed. I’ve had people say “omg I’m so proud of you!” or “I’m rooting for you, girl! We have to stick together!” And then when it comes down to it, they actually don’t support at all. Again, keep the focus on YOURSELF. One thing you have to remember is that your goals and your dreams are YOURS, they are not ANYONE else’s. Don’t expect anyone to believe in you or support you, no matter what they say, because that’s not their job. If you get support along the way, then that’s amazing, but just don’t EXPECT it. The most important person that you need to believe in you and support you is YOU.
If you are an influencer, I’m sure that there is something in this post that you can relate to. And if you’re in the beginning stages of being an influencer, just know that there will be bumps along the way and you will more than likely experience some of this, but as you grow, it will pass and you will become a better person because of it.
