Social Media Inconsistencies - Sivan
08.21.18

Social Media Inconsistencies

It’s been a minute since I did a blogging tips post but I feel like this is the perfect topic to discuss in light of the transition I’m currently going through. Whether I’d like to admit it or not, I’ve had to have a private conversation (with myself) about how I intend to move forward with my blog and social media presence once the baby gets here. While it’s probably very tempting to just dive in full force with baby content (especially when my audience is clearly interested in the topic), I always think through all of my business decisions to ensure it’s the right one for me. One of my social media pet peeves is inconsistency. It can apply to so many different areas–your aesthetic, posting schedule, brand promotions, & more. As someone who has been in the game for the last few years I feel like I’ve cultivated an understanding and eye for spotting these types of things. The thing is, some of these inconsistencies aren’t a bad thing, which is what I want to break down today. I’m sharing my opinions on good and bad social media inconsistencies.

Aesthetics

Let’s start with the most basic one to spot. Being aesthetically / stylistically inconsistent. It’s no secret that bloggers love a good grid. We get a sick thrill from cohesive color schemes and the perfect layout. It’s truly an art and since many of us are creative beings it makes perfect sense. I recently learned (info passed to me from a recent Instagram seminar) that only 1.4% of your followers actually look at your grid. In fact, majority of people are finding you / following you from an individual post you create. So rather than focusing on your grid being perfect, focus on making each and every post great. Create interesting, engaging content that will have your audience interacting with you while also getting some aesthetic pleasure from seeing your photo.

Behind every photo I post there is a whole process: first it must be pretty to look at, it needs to trigger some sort of interesting caption, the lighting must be right for my aesthetic / edit, and it must be on brand for me. Every now and then I’ll post something in the moment that is straight up ugly but it’s a real moment that I want to share. It can honestly give me anxiety seeing it stick out like a sore thumb on my grid but ultimately no one is looking at my grid as a whole so I really shouldn’t give a shit. My only defense for making your feed look great is to appeal to brands. You want to show them your best work, that you’re consistent, have a style, as it represents the type of content you create and you obviously want to showcase good quality.

My overall consensus on the grid is don’t stress over it. Keep your edits consistent and develop a style that works for you but don’t ONLY post if it’s perfectly within your color scheme. That’s not reality and if people DO look at your grid they might find it hard to relate to someone who perpetually lives in a world of creamsicle-tinted brunches and flowers.

Posting Schedule

In my opinion, one of the worst inconsistencies in social media is not posting. We all go through this–you’re having an off week, you’re at your desk all week, you haven’t done anything exciting for a minute, you haven’t put makeup on in 5 days, & so on. There are endless excuses for why we don’t post, but it’s detrimental to your business as a blogger if you go quiet for too long. My goal is always to post at least 1 Instagram post per day. Some days it’s easy, some days I post 3 times, some days I repurpose an old photo, some days I have nothing. I get it, trust me, I do. BUT, when this is your job, you need to get your shit together and figure something out. Get creative. Since being pregnant I’ve run into this rut a lot, as I’m not getting dolled up and attending cute events as often, but I make up for it by keeping my IG Stories alive and kicking. Some might even think I post too much, but the key is to keep the story going. I always like to tell a story and the only way to do that is by taking you along each step of the way.

Brand Promotions

Look, there’s no denying we all want to get paid at the end of the day. Sponsored posts are an integral part of the business but they need to make sense. It can be very tempting to accept a job for the money but you have to consider the consequences of doing so. Working with the wrong brand for YOUR brand can lose you followers and risks you losing credibility with your audience. My priority from day one has always been to ONLY work with brands and products I love. It’s simple. It took me years to build an audience, and one that trusts me at that!, so there’s no way I’m risking losing my credibility with you guys. Sometimes as I scroll through Instagram and see sponsored posts created by other influencers that I follow I can instantly tell when it’s not the right fit for them.

My other thought about sponsored posts is the opposite of inconsistency, actually. It’s being too consistent with the way you present sponsored posts. It’s easy to find a formula that gets “approved” by brands but your audience will definitely pick up on this. If you’re consistently posting the same type of content on sponsored posts it will get stale. Period. Engagement will suffer and people will stop ‘liking’ your sponsored content, which again, is detrimental to your business. Low engagement is not anything a brand wants to see, ESPECIALLY on sponsored posts. If any bloggers are reading this and feel like you can relate, my advice is super straight-forward and simple, just get creative. Get your mind away from typical poses and think outside of the box.

Content

This is where I’m currently at. I’m about to have a baby and clearly will be incorporating her into my content, but how do I do so without losing myself / what attracted you to follow me in the first place? This doesn’t just happen with babies. I’ve seen other influencers go from real to super editorial (or vice versa), personalities to aspirational travel bloggers, etc. The transition can be awkward, if we are being honest. Especially if you’re invested in that person and start seeing posts that just don’t align with the original content you signed up for. But again, I understand the struggle and need to switch things up or introduce a new category. For your own sanity, creativity, and life changes it needs to happen sometimes. I don’t necessarily find this inconsistency or change a bad thing, but I do feel like it needs to happen organically.

When you treat your blog like a business you spend a lot of time and energy thinking about the how in every part. The delivery, execution, presentation, etc. I feel that as long as the category / transition makes sense for YOU your audience will hopefully adapt without any issues. However, be open to criticism (hopefully constructive) from your audience. If they aren’t feeling it, maybe try a different approach? I don’t feel like engagement should necessarily dictate your whole life, but you also want to be providing content that your audience finds valuable and enjoys.

Would love to know your thoughts on this. Any bloggers out there experiencing any of these inconsistencies?