Social Media Consulting, Tips and Tricks of the Trade with Ana Cruz
Ana Cruz is currently the Head Editor of Sponsored Content at Narcity Media, she runs a lifestyle and fashion blog, and an Instagram and YouTube account called With Love Cruz. She’s going to provide from social media consulting for those looking to up their game!
She is a blogger and creator based in Montreal and she took some time out of her day to do some social media consulting for people looking to spark some life in their social media accounts.Whether it be established businesses with outdated social media outlets or new entrepreneurs looking to break the internet with their accounts, many people have trouble generating a constant flow of followers. Getting a good base used to be easy, just follow as many relevant people as possible (and some not relevant), get follow backs and then unfollow a select group of them to increase your ratio. You could also not unfollow and just keep the followers without the guilt. However, this isn’t as easy as it used to be due to Instagram’s new follow limits. Now you can only follow and unfollow a certain amount per day and it will hurt a new Instagram accounts ability to gain followers fast. Luckily Ana is going to provide some tips and tricks to increase followers, maintain a strong social media presence and answer some other questions about her work.
How did you get into this business?
Ana: I started a blog a couple of years ago but I didn’t take it too seriously until last year. I was seeing how many other people we’re making a career blogging and I knew I could write, as a matter of fact, I really enjoy writing so it just kind of made sense to try it out.
How did you increase you following on social media?
Ana: A lot of dedication and a lot of consistency. Before I had a following, I was sloppy about what kind of pictures I’d post, there were a lot of selfies and 99% of the pictures were horrible quality. Once I decided that I wanted to make some sort of living through my IG, I cleaned up my account, removed all my selfies and started focusing on my niches. I wanted to focus on fashion, beauty and lifestyle so I started posting pictures that were in those same categories. I also started posting more frequently. I established a content calendar and have been using it ever since.
How do you keep followers interested?
Ana: Consistency and originality. You have to do things different, figure out a unique approach. Also, I stick to my niche.
What do your followers seem to like the most?
Ana: They love fashion and beauty posts. I’ve tried a couple of food posts and flat lays but they don’t seem to engage as much on those posts.
Do you have any specific (measurable amounts within a time frame) objectives for your social media following, and how do you plan on doing so?
Ana: I try to aim for 100–200 new followers per week.
As I mentioned, I have a social media calendar where I set up my posts ahead of time. I scheduled photo shoots so that I have plenty of content for the month and I begin drafting posts ahead of time so that I’m not running around last minute trying to figure out what to write about.
Any tips for bloggers?
Tips for writers block
Ana: Usually when I have writers block it means that my brain is mentally exhausted or I’m over thinking. I like to step away from my computer and focus my attention on something else and then come back to writing later once I’m feeling more inspired.
Where to find inspiration
Ana: I get a lot of my inspiration from other bloggers and YouTubers. That usually gives me an idea of what’s hot and trending. I also like to check out Pinterest as well and see what other people are pinning.
How to narrow down your target audience
Ana: Narrowing my target audience is based on my interests and passions. For example, a huge interest of mine is fashion and beauty so I like to curate content based on those niches, that way I’m attracting a specific type of audience.
What social media platform do you use the most?
Ana: Instagram + YouTube.
Do you have any other media platforms? (websites, tv, radio, etc)
Ana: I’m only on Instagram and YouTube [and Narcity Website], of course I love going online and checking out other blogs and I’m a big fan of Netflix.
What do you like about blogging? (brief summary)
Ana: I love that I get to tell the story. I control how the narrative goes. I control what gets said and how it gets said. I also love that it never gets boring, I could honestly sit and write about anything and sometimes the words just spill out of me. It also helps me connect with other like-minded people who share similar interests as me!
Takeaways from this interview:
So whether you’re just start out or trying to envigorate you social media account, you definitely have to try out some of these tactics to increase your social media following and maintain a solid following base. I encourage anyone who reads this to try some of these tips like content scheduling and increasing your consistency and see if it helps your social media platforms!
If you’re interested in fashion, beauty, travel, and some fun videos and pictures, you definitely have to check out Ana’s instagram
https://www.instagram.com/anacruz/
Or check out her blogs on Narcity
https://www.narcity.com/author/ana-cruz
If you’re not in the mood to read, check out a video of hers on youtube!
