Once the Instagram algorithm happened, everyone’s views on engagement shifted. Today, engagement is one of the most important factors when it comes to a blogger’s success.
THE LOOK | rails romper (sold out, similar here), sunglasses (similar here), hat, sandals (under$20), watch c/o
If you’re a blogger, engagement should be one of your top priorities – whether it’s on Instagram or on your site. For me, I’m really proud of the engagement I have on most of my platforms. The Instagram algorithm freaked everyone out, but honestly I think it’s helped me with my engagement. I’m more conscious about the type of content I’m posting, I’m constantly looking through to see what my readers/followers responded best to, and always thinking about ways to improve.
For example, you may have noticed a shift in my blog posts. I started writing lengthier posts with more meaning than, “hey, here’s my outfit, click my links and buy”. While the main purpose of Pink Champagne Problems will be to inspire you through your clothing choices, I’m testing out this new concept of trying to inform my readers as well. Yes, I’ll always share where my outfits come from, but you are really responding to my more personal/tip-giving posts.
With all of that being said, I wanted to share some engagement tips and why you should ALWAYS engage with your favorite people!
Don’t be shy
I know you might think you’re a stage 5 clinger by commenting on EVERY single post your favorite blogger writes or curates, but I don’t think so. If I love someone’s content, you better believe I’m going to write a comment about it. Let’s just talk about Grace and I real quick: I’m pretty sure I’ve commented on almost every single blog post Grace has written over the years (dramatic, maybe). And since she has such an amazing reputation and well-established blog, I just assumed she didn’t care about “the little people” (me). I really just enjoyed her content so much and admired her as a person. Turns out, Grace is a NORMAL human being. Groundbreaking, huh. She was even nice enough to invite me to a super fun happy hour she hosted last week – it was so great getting to know her more! (We’ll get to the relationships part below.) Sometimes putting yourself out there can be embarrassing and tough, but I promise most people really are flattered and enjoy reading comments!
Be genuine
Don’t comment on a person’s post (on social or a blog) if you don’t really care. I know this post is all about engagement, but I’d rather get 10 really genuine comments than 100 generic emojis or “omg fab” comments. It really means so much more to me when I can tell how genuine a person is being. I know many people are against comment pods, but I’m in one with a group of 8 amazing bloggers that turned into friends. If I didn’t have this comment pod, I’d probably have my notifications on for each of their profiles (I have this feature turned on for SO many people…you should try it!). Although it’s apparently frowned upon to be in comment pods, I don’t think I would have found some of these amazing ladies otherwise. Again, I think if these types of pods are used in a genuine way, like to support your fellow friends in the time of the horrible Instagram algorithm, that’s okay!
Read, read, read
This kind of has to do with being genuine, but PLEASE read someone’s caption or blog post thoroughly if you’re going to write a comment. If I’m taking the time to write a well-thought out blog post or a caption that I’m hoping people will engage with, I’d hope that people are actually reading. You don’t know how many times I’ve seen captions that were of importance or sad and people just comment, “OMG LOVE THIS” or something like that. Do you know how silly you must look to the person receiving your comment? I know I always make sure to read through a post or caption before typing anything. If I’m only interested in an outfit, I typically just double tap for a like and opt out of leaving a blog comment. People 100% notice when you’re not reading what they’re writing. Keep that in mind!
There’s more to a comment
I can say that I’ve 100% formed legitimate friendships through commenting on other people’s blogs, engaging with their tweets on Twitter, and leaving funny comments on their Instagram posts. There are certain girls you just click with, and although I don’t know most of them in real life, I feel like I do! I’m always so appreciative of certain readers or other bloggers who take the time out of their day to write me. It honestly makes me so happy and feel like I have a purpose when I’m creating content. In return, I love supporting them. I love seeing what they’re doing and gaining inspiration from them. It’s these types of people that make me forget about the not-so-good part about blogging. If there’s anyone who knows what they’re doing when it comes to creating relationships, it’s Jenn Lake. She takes the time to thoughtfully write comments to people as well as respond to the comments people leave on her photos. If you go through her photos/comments, you’ll see that she just sounds like she’s talking to a girlfriend of many years. And she is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met…and everyone who knows her would say that about her. Oh and this is all in addition to pushing out an insane amount of great content every week. Plus her full time job. Yup. Superwoman.
At the end of the day, everyone is trying to grow their followings: whether it’s for their business or for play. Engagement on every platform is a huge indicator as to whether or not a brand wants to work with an influencer. So to sum it up: If you’re an influencer, make sure you’re being genuine when engaging with another blogger. If you’re a reader, I hope you know how much it means to us when you take the time to read and comment on our content!
SHOP THE LOOK:
Per usual, you hit the nail on the head Dana! It’s so important to engage & engage authentically with others – and I know I love sharing the love with others!
Thank you so much, Gentry! Sharing the love makes me feel so much more connected to this amazing community, so I love that we’re on the same page! xx
You’re looking lovely in this summery outfit! LOVE your photos and yes, engagement is so crucial for any serious blogger, without it, writing a blog is sort of pointless.
http://lartoffashion.com
Aww thank you, Natali! I totally understand what you mean about it being somewhat pointless if you’re a serious blogger!
I do participate in some genuine comment/share pods with other famiy travel bloggers and then some bigger groups. Right now I am trying to up pageviews, and that is not necissarily engagement, but some people from the big comment groups have stuck around.
I see no harm in that – it only helps you connect with likeminded bloggers! And same here – I think engagement leads to more people coming to your blog!
Preach it girl! I have to admit I’ve been super lazy this summer when it comes to instagram and blog engagement but you have inspired me to get back to what I love! You could not be more right about Jenn Lake being so authentic and a superwoman- she makes you feel like you’re her bestie!
xx Tess | Sequins are the New Black
Breaks are always necessary and could lead to a new focus. I’m so happy you enjoyed today’s post too, Tess!
And ISN’T SHE THE BEST?!
Loving all these longer posts, so definitely keep doing them 🙂 I feel like engaging authentically has led me to meet some of the best people in this blogging world – I think back to that collab we did years ago! ?
xx Caroline
http://www.whenwear.com
YAY! That makes me so happy – I’m so glad you enjoy them, Caroline. And OMG, our blazer collab. LOL I wore like a linen blazer under a sweatshirt in the middle of winter. That’s so cute for us 😉
Thanks for all of these tips Dana! I am trying to be more consistent with engagement outside of the pods I am in because I do follow some pretty cool bloggers as well and want to show them more love! I wish more people would read captions as well because we are putting in the time in everything we post!
P.S. I am obsssed with the sunnies you are wearing in this post!
Hi Julia, thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I believe consistency is key and it always means so much to me when I see the same people commenting on posts and REALLY engaging/caring what I have to say!
And thank you! They’re sold out from Nordstrom, so I tried linking the most similar pair!
The prettiest photos… LOVE the light house! Love that you wrote about engagement, so important! It’s so tempting to just want more and more numbers, but ultimately, it’s a case of quality over quantity! Plus, I love building real relationships with people on IG… like us! We totally met through social media, but it doesn’t even feel like it. Love you!
Thank you! Matt nailed these for sure!
And yes, I feel like I’ve known you forever all thanks to social media! Love you too!
Engagement is so key! I might not have the largest following, but when I came back from TBScon a lot of brands said that high quality content and engagement were the two things they looked for when partnering with a blogger. You know I also love Twitter for engagement too, I think it’s so under the radar!
xo, Alicia | AliciaTenise.com
Right? Like you honestly kill it. I’m so proud of all the work you do and seeing all of the insanely great collaborations you land. AND YES, WE ARE ON THE SAME PAGE WITH TWITTER (I needed the all caps because YAAAS). I freakin’ love Twitter so much, and a lot of my traffic comes from there even though I don’t have a ton of followers!
100% agree with all of this! one of the worst things about the algorithm to me is how it makes people churn out so many comments instead of being authentic. and you’re so right about jenn! her comments are so sweet and genuine!
x Diana // Pearl Girl
YES! Totally agree. Jenn does an amazing job at taking the time to comment back, something I definitely need to get better at!
Totally agree with you! At first I was nervous about the algorithm, but engagement is far more important than the number of “likes” you get on a photo. Plus, engaging with others is the best way to get to know your readers and other people in the blogging industry!
Rachel / http://www.helloher.co
You’re so right! If it weren’t for engaging with my readers, I wouldn’t know that longer posts are what people want to see more of! Also, I really thank you for all of your support for this blog! So glad we’ve connected 😀
Oh. My. Gosh. Dana! You are seriously so wonderful to say such kind things. I have absolutely loved getting to know you both online and offline, and I also love all of the new long-form content you’ve been creating. YOU are Superwoman!!!
I MEAN EVERY WORD!
You’re truly an inspiration to SO many people, and I hope you know that!!! Thank you so much for all of the support! xx
Sooo true! I loved this post chica, especially the importance of comments!
xx, Tomi
http://goodtomicha.com
YAY! Thanks, lady! So glad you enjoyed. Comments can be so helpful when it comes to forming great relationships!
Thanks for this post – I just started a blog a few months ago, so this is really useful for me. I’m finding it difficult to get the engagement that I’m hoping for, but I’m going to try some of your tips to up my own engagement!
http://www.theheatherreport.com
I think everyone is experiencing it – and if they aren’t saying they are, they’re lying. I have to put in a lot more effort nowadays to get a decent amount of engagement. But I’m so happy we connected – I LOVE PITTSBURGH. I’d seriously move there if I could 😉 I loved going through your blog, I never would have guessed that you’ve only been doing it for a few months! You’re a rockstar!
xx
Dana you are amazing! This post is so wonderful. I completely agree with everything you said. I do feel like a stage five clinger often with a lot of the bloggers a comment on daily {oh hey!} but like you’ve said I’ve formed relationships with them. Even my FAVORITE blogger Krista wrote a little blurb about me in one of her posts, stating that she loved how supportive I am. Which literally made my life and made me feel WAY less clingy haha. Thanks for sharing this post gal!
xo Laura Leigh
http://www.louellareese.com
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Omg, I remember that post that Krista did. It’s the little things and I know how appreciative you are of your readers too. xx
Great post, Dana! This is always in the back of my mind. I totally agree with everything you said… especially about being genuine. It goes so much further in creating real relationships. Jenn is definitely amazing at it, as are you! xo Bryn http://www.waketonroad.com
Thank you so much, Bryn! I can tell just how genuine you are and how much you love creating meaningful content! xx
This was a great post, Dana! I couldn’t agree more about the reading the caption. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a comment that has nothing to do with the picture I just posted. You are so right, people 100% notice. Totally agree about the lengthier posts as well. I recently made the switch to this too and the response seems great so far. Thanks so much for sharing your tips on engagement, I really enjoyed reading them!
xo, Rachel
A Blonde’s Moment
Thank you so much, Rachel! It’s such a pet peeve of mine, so I’ve really tried to read fully through captions before commenting on a post…even if I love someone’s outfit or picture specifically, the caption could contain so much more! xx
Oh my gosh Dana – thank you for the sweet words!!! You are the best! And had so much fun at happy hour! xx
such a great post dana! you’re killing it lately 🙂 loving your newest content about blogging (and how you still mix in your fashion)…so good!!!!