I'm 18, can you believe it?! No? Me either!

I wanted to create a little blog post in homage to my 18th birthday and document a little bit of what I got up to so that I'll always be able to look back at this post and remember!

I kicked off my birthday celebrations on Tuesday when I headed out for a meal with 4 of my favourite people in the entire world, my Mum, Amanda, Hannah and Jodie. We met up at the Trafford Centre and headed to the restaurant Pesto for a lovely meal. It was so lovely to catch up with them all and it's literally my favourite thing when our families come together so it was just perfect! 


Then, on Friday it was my actual birthday, eeek! I began my birthday by waking up to our living room decorated with loads of decorations, which were just lovely and just what I'd wanted, and those huge number 18 balloons which I love! There were pom pom decorations hanging from the fireplace, embarrassing photos stuck to the walls and balloons filling the floor, there was even a silver balloon that spelled out 'yay' - very cute! I sat with my Mum, Dad and Brother and opened all of my lovely cards and presents, which I'm so so grateful for, and slowly took in the fact that it was actually my birthday and I was actually 18 haha - it just doesn't feel real!

I then spent my morning getting all dolled up and taking lots of selfies (lol you gotta get a good one on your bday) in time to head into to Manchester with my Mum and Dad for the day. 






In typical 'Holly' style, when we arrived at the train station, I came to the realization that I'd forgotten my bloody ID, doh! so we had to drive back and forth again haha, but I think I'm just so used to not being able to drink that I didn't think I'd need it hahaha. Anyway, we headed off on the train and went straight to Rosso where we had the most delicious meal and some lovely cocktails, and I showed my Mum and Dad all of the Snapchat filters, which was just the most hilarious thing!
















After that, we visited Cloud 23 for another cocktail. I'd never been before so I was so excited and honestly, I was so happy when I arrived. We were seated by the window so we could see the amazing view and it was just so nice in there - I'll definitely be going back! I had a cocktail called 'Bittersweet Symphony' which was delicious and it was just so nice to sit there with such a lovely view and spend time with my Mum and Dad (I mean, how cute are those photos?). 


We then headed home and I got ready for the evening as I was off out for a meal at The Alchemist with my friends. I decided to go classic 'Hol' and wear my signature red lip and wear an all black outfit - you just can't go wrong doing that! 

My friends arrived and gave me some lovely presents- a few which made me a bit teary eyed haha - , which I'm so so thankful for and we then headed back into Manchester again. 

The Alchemist was amazing! I'd never been there before either but the atmosphere was just perfect and the service was so lovely and they made me feel so nice for my birthday! My friends got them to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me whilst I sat and cringed and I drank 3 delicious cocktails which I got ID'd for so obviously I felt super sassy when whipping out my ID and being like 'I'm 18, wooooo!' hahaha!

Finally, on Saturday evening I went for a family meal with my Mum, Dad and Brother at Piccalionos, which was so lovely too. It was nice to spend time just the four of us, even if I was completely exhausted from the day before lol and I had 'Happy Birthday' sung to me again whilst I sat and hid behind my hands.. #pleasedontlookatme hahahaha.   

I had a really nice day and I'm really grateful to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday so, thank you so so much if you did! Let's see what this first year of adult hood will bring, wahoo! 

I'm Eighteen!



I'm 18, can you believe it?! No? Me either!

I wanted to create a little blog post in homage to my 18th birthday and document a little bit of what I got up to so that I'll always be able to look back at this post and remember!

I kicked off my birthday celebrations on Tuesday when I headed out for a meal with 4 of my favourite people in the entire world, my Mum, Amanda, Hannah and Jodie. We met up at the Trafford Centre and headed to the restaurant Pesto for a lovely meal. It was so lovely to catch up with them all and it's literally my favourite thing when our families come together so it was just perfect! 


Then, on Friday it was my actual birthday, eeek! I began my birthday by waking up to our living room decorated with loads of decorations, which were just lovely and just what I'd wanted, and those huge number 18 balloons which I love! There were pom pom decorations hanging from the fireplace, embarrassing photos stuck to the walls and balloons filling the floor, there was even a silver balloon that spelled out 'yay' - very cute! I sat with my Mum, Dad and Brother and opened all of my lovely cards and presents, which I'm so so grateful for, and slowly took in the fact that it was actually my birthday and I was actually 18 haha - it just doesn't feel real!

I then spent my morning getting all dolled up and taking lots of selfies (lol you gotta get a good one on your bday) in time to head into to Manchester with my Mum and Dad for the day. 






In typical 'Holly' style, when we arrived at the train station, I came to the realization that I'd forgotten my bloody ID, doh! so we had to drive back and forth again haha, but I think I'm just so used to not being able to drink that I didn't think I'd need it hahaha. Anyway, we headed off on the train and went straight to Rosso where we had the most delicious meal and some lovely cocktails, and I showed my Mum and Dad all of the Snapchat filters, which was just the most hilarious thing!
















After that, we visited Cloud 23 for another cocktail. I'd never been before so I was so excited and honestly, I was so happy when I arrived. We were seated by the window so we could see the amazing view and it was just so nice in there - I'll definitely be going back! I had a cocktail called 'Bittersweet Symphony' which was delicious and it was just so nice to sit there with such a lovely view and spend time with my Mum and Dad (I mean, how cute are those photos?). 


We then headed home and I got ready for the evening as I was off out for a meal at The Alchemist with my friends. I decided to go classic 'Hol' and wear my signature red lip and wear an all black outfit - you just can't go wrong doing that! 

My friends arrived and gave me some lovely presents- a few which made me a bit teary eyed haha - , which I'm so so thankful for and we then headed back into Manchester again. 

The Alchemist was amazing! I'd never been there before either but the atmosphere was just perfect and the service was so lovely and they made me feel so nice for my birthday! My friends got them to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me whilst I sat and cringed and I drank 3 delicious cocktails which I got ID'd for so obviously I felt super sassy when whipping out my ID and being like 'I'm 18, wooooo!' hahaha!

Finally, on Saturday evening I went for a family meal with my Mum, Dad and Brother at Piccalionos, which was so lovely too. It was nice to spend time just the four of us, even if I was completely exhausted from the day before lol and I had 'Happy Birthday' sung to me again whilst I sat and hid behind my hands.. #pleasedontlookatme hahahaha.   

I had a really nice day and I'm really grateful to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday so, thank you so so much if you did! Let's see what this first year of adult hood will bring, wahoo! 

Recently, you may have noticed a lot of us bloggers complaining and moaning about the Instagram changes that have been put in place. Yes, that's right. I'm talking about the bloody Instagram algorithm. I think it's pretty obvious that the majority of people hate it and although once you've gotten used to it, you just kind of get on with it, it's something that's had a bigger impact on us bloggers than you might have thought.

You may be thinking - why does it all matter so much? And well, as a young blogger myself, my biggest and most popular social media platform is Instagram. I use Instagram to promote my blog posts, promote brands and share my life with people who are interested in it (I have no idea why, I'm not that interesting haha). And the algorithm is something that has caused huge ructions in all of that not just for me, but for many other bloggers who are trying to grow their little space on the internet too.

Back in February, almost every single one of my Instagram posts would receive at least 500 likes and a lot of them were receiving 1,000 likes. Now, fast forward to June and I sometimes struggle to even get 200 likes, despite the fact that I now have almost 10K more followers. And whilst a lot of people say not to focus on the numbers because yes, it's great that I have 20K Instagram followers but that doesn't necessarily mean to say that I'm the worlds best or worst blogger, these numbers are important to a blogger because they signify engagement with an audience, with readers and also are so crucial when it comes to growing your relationship with brands and companies and even being able to compare your growth in a years time.

Yes, of course it's great to see that your latest selfies has received 800 likes and it can be pretty shitty when one gets a minor 100 likes, but it's not the fact that we're reviving 'likes' that's important. What's important is the fact that 800 people have seen that photo and that 800 people have read the caption and noticed what brand your wearing or working with or promoting or have seen what you have to say. That's what is important. 

Obviously, if only 100 of your 20K followers seem to be seeing or responding to the image you're posting then you're bound to feel a little disheartened... but you're also going to start panicking, because WHERE ARE THE OTHER 19.9K? Where are these thousands of other people who used to see what you were saying and are actually interested too, because well, they follow you! 


A decrease in likes subsequently means there's also going to be a decrease in comments, which is honestly a really shitty feeling. As a blogger, I love engaging with people who enjoy my content. They're the people who make blogging worthwhile and have helped me to grow my blog to where it is today, so to suddenly have no one commenting and seeing what you're posting is actually a little bit heartbreaking. 

The algorithm has meant that now our Instagram timelines are no longer in chronological order (why god? why?!) which is another thing that is just a. freaking. nightmare. for bloggers. If I post an Instagram in the morning promoting my blog post that has also gone live in the morning and then people who are following me aren't getting to see that post until 11pm at night, then they're about 90% less likely to 1. have the time to go and read it 2. remember to read it another time and 3. even want to start reading when they're knackered after a long day. So, yeah, it pretty much sucks. 

By the way, there might be some bloggers out there that like the new algorithm or don't really care that much about Instagram at all - I'm not trying to bunch us all into one stereotype - but I'm just referring to the reaction that I've basically seen on Twitter and spoken to other bloggers about and well... it's not good. 

It's something that has really frustrated me because between February and now, my blog and me as a person have grown so so much but yet my biggest social media platform doesn't even show it and can't even remind me, if I were to look back, in the future of an accurate representation! I just think it's all a little disheartening. 

Instagram is still great if you're already surpassing 50K and have thousands and thousands of interactive followers but for people who are still growing... it's all just feeling very crap and, it's just taken all of the fun out it. 

Let me know how you feel about the algorithm down in the comments and also if you can see where I'm coming from as a blogger.

Now, I'm off to go and sit in a mood until Instagram changes back... *sobs*

Why Do Bloggers Hate The New Instagram Algorithm?


Recently, you may have noticed a lot of us bloggers complaining and moaning about the Instagram changes that have been put in place. Yes, that's right. I'm talking about the bloody Instagram algorithm. I think it's pretty obvious that the majority of people hate it and although once you've gotten used to it, you just kind of get on with it, it's something that's had a bigger impact on us bloggers than you might have thought.

You may be thinking - why does it all matter so much? And well, as a young blogger myself, my biggest and most popular social media platform is Instagram. I use Instagram to promote my blog posts, promote brands and share my life with people who are interested in it (I have no idea why, I'm not that interesting haha). And the algorithm is something that has caused huge ructions in all of that not just for me, but for many other bloggers who are trying to grow their little space on the internet too.

Back in February, almost every single one of my Instagram posts would receive at least 500 likes and a lot of them were receiving 1,000 likes. Now, fast forward to June and I sometimes struggle to even get 200 likes, despite the fact that I now have almost 10K more followers. And whilst a lot of people say not to focus on the numbers because yes, it's great that I have 20K Instagram followers but that doesn't necessarily mean to say that I'm the worlds best or worst blogger, these numbers are important to a blogger because they signify engagement with an audience, with readers and also are so crucial when it comes to growing your relationship with brands and companies and even being able to compare your growth in a years time.

Yes, of course it's great to see that your latest selfies has received 800 likes and it can be pretty shitty when one gets a minor 100 likes, but it's not the fact that we're reviving 'likes' that's important. What's important is the fact that 800 people have seen that photo and that 800 people have read the caption and noticed what brand your wearing or working with or promoting or have seen what you have to say. That's what is important. 

Obviously, if only 100 of your 20K followers seem to be seeing or responding to the image you're posting then you're bound to feel a little disheartened... but you're also going to start panicking, because WHERE ARE THE OTHER 19.9K? Where are these thousands of other people who used to see what you were saying and are actually interested too, because well, they follow you! 


A decrease in likes subsequently means there's also going to be a decrease in comments, which is honestly a really shitty feeling. As a blogger, I love engaging with people who enjoy my content. They're the people who make blogging worthwhile and have helped me to grow my blog to where it is today, so to suddenly have no one commenting and seeing what you're posting is actually a little bit heartbreaking. 

The algorithm has meant that now our Instagram timelines are no longer in chronological order (why god? why?!) which is another thing that is just a. freaking. nightmare. for bloggers. If I post an Instagram in the morning promoting my blog post that has also gone live in the morning and then people who are following me aren't getting to see that post until 11pm at night, then they're about 90% less likely to 1. have the time to go and read it 2. remember to read it another time and 3. even want to start reading when they're knackered after a long day. So, yeah, it pretty much sucks. 

By the way, there might be some bloggers out there that like the new algorithm or don't really care that much about Instagram at all - I'm not trying to bunch us all into one stereotype - but I'm just referring to the reaction that I've basically seen on Twitter and spoken to other bloggers about and well... it's not good. 

It's something that has really frustrated me because between February and now, my blog and me as a person have grown so so much but yet my biggest social media platform doesn't even show it and can't even remind me, if I were to look back, in the future of an accurate representation! I just think it's all a little disheartening. 

Instagram is still great if you're already surpassing 50K and have thousands and thousands of interactive followers but for people who are still growing... it's all just feeling very crap and, it's just taken all of the fun out it. 

Let me know how you feel about the algorithm down in the comments and also if you can see where I'm coming from as a blogger.

Now, I'm off to go and sit in a mood until Instagram changes back... *sobs*


Two years! Two freaking years! How has that even happened?

Blogging has been an aspiration of mine for years. I've followed the journeys of bloggers/vloggers like Zoe Sugg, Sammi and Lily Pebbles from the very beginning back in 2009 and to now say that I'm on my way to turning my own little blog into a bit of a career, is crazy!

My blog has helped me piece my life back together and made me realise that if something doesn't make you happy, don't do it. Blogging makes me happy and that's what keeps me motivated.

Over the past year, blogging has created so many amazing opportunities for me. For example, in this post I'm able to collaborate with the amazing Shoeaholics website and show you these gorgeous Kurt Geiger heels and bag they kindly sent to me!


The Shoeaholics website features designers such as Kurt Geiger, Michael Kors, UGG and soo many more! But the best part is that these amazing pieces have up to 75% off their original price, eeek!

In this post I'm wearing these beautiful Miss KG heels and this fabulous glitzy Carvela by Kurt Geiger bag! I thought this was the perfect outfit to celebrate 2 years of my blog and just get a little bit dressed up and fancyyyy lookin'. I styled the two along with my fabulous, 20's style, dress from Zara and I think they all go so perfectly together!

I absoloutley adore the two pieces I chose from the site, but you'll have to take a look yourselves because there are so many amazing designs on there! And, be quick because with 75% off, things sell out fast and you don't want to miss out!



Anyway, continuing on from what I was saying...

Blogging has created amazing opportunities for me and I think even helped towards me becoming a model and building a name for myself. I've seen my instagram grow from 300 followers to now a huge 20,000 and I recently hit 1,000 Bloglovin readers which, is just insane!

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you ♥ and here's to another 2 years of blogging blogging blogging!

I love you allllll!

Celebrating 2 Years Of Blogging


Two years! Two freaking years! How has that even happened?

Blogging has been an aspiration of mine for years. I've followed the journeys of bloggers/vloggers like Zoe Sugg, Sammi and Lily Pebbles from the very beginning back in 2009 and to now say that I'm on my way to turning my own little blog into a bit of a career, is crazy!

My blog has helped me piece my life back together and made me realise that if something doesn't make you happy, don't do it. Blogging makes me happy and that's what keeps me motivated.

Over the past year, blogging has created so many amazing opportunities for me. For example, in this post I'm able to collaborate with the amazing Shoeaholics website and show you these gorgeous Kurt Geiger heels and bag they kindly sent to me!


The Shoeaholics website features designers such as Kurt Geiger, Michael Kors, UGG and soo many more! But the best part is that these amazing pieces have up to 75% off their original price, eeek!

In this post I'm wearing these beautiful Miss KG heels and this fabulous glitzy Carvela by Kurt Geiger bag! I thought this was the perfect outfit to celebrate 2 years of my blog and just get a little bit dressed up and fancyyyy lookin'. I styled the two along with my fabulous, 20's style, dress from Zara and I think they all go so perfectly together!

I absoloutley adore the two pieces I chose from the site, but you'll have to take a look yourselves because there are so many amazing designs on there! And, be quick because with 75% off, things sell out fast and you don't want to miss out!



Anyway, continuing on from what I was saying...

Blogging has created amazing opportunities for me and I think even helped towards me becoming a model and building a name for myself. I've seen my instagram grow from 300 followers to now a huge 20,000 and I recently hit 1,000 Bloglovin readers which, is just insane!

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you ♥ and here's to another 2 years of blogging blogging blogging!

I love you allllll!


There's just something about Birthdays that I love. They mean so much to me and I love celebrating them, both other people's and my own. This year it's my 18th birthday and I am sooo bloomin excited. My past two birthdays have been pretty shitty and I've pretty much been dreaming of my 18th birthday since I was about 11, so I'm determined to make it pretty damn special (and yes, I will be dragging it out for the entire weekend, Mum and Dad). 

I've always pictured this huge celebration; surrounded by family and friends, embarrassing childhood pictures printed out and stuck on the wall, the huge number 18 balloons, zoella-esque decorations (I mean, how cute are the decorations she uses?), drinks all around - the whole works. (I also pictured a very tipsy night out to top it all off too, but that's not really the important part haha) And although everything on that list might not all be able to go to plan, now that I've finally reached the ripe age of 17 years 11 months and 15 days old, I'm still very much determined to make this one of the most amazing birthdays for me to remember.

Birthdays to me signify a celebration of a particular person. Like, say it's my friend Hannah's birthday, I kind of think of it as a day to celebrate all about Hannah. I want to make them a cute card, get them a present that they'll love, make them laugh and help them celebrate as much as I possibly can. That's what I love to do. I think it's just nice to spoil that person on their day!

Now, to some of you, I probably sound like a birthday obsessed lunatic, because I know that there are some people out there that really just don't care too much about birthdays. I think birthdays definitely do get a little less exciting as we get older. I mean, it's not like I'm able to throw a Party Bus party (did you all have those?) or invite all my friends round and play Pin The Tail on the Donkey (although, that does sound incredibly fun, especially if Vodka was involved.) However, I really do love to just celebrate them!

I'm hoping that I don't come across as selfish when wishing for this amazing 18th birthday, but I'm sure there are lots of you reading that can kind of see why I am doing so. I mean, 18 is a big birthday to celebrate, am I right?! I can finally just go to the shop and buy what I want or walk into a club without nearly breaking into a sweat in-case I hear the words "ID please". Also, it means that my parents have successfully raised me to be a fully grown human being. I mean, well done guys! *pat on the back* and finally, for me, it means that I didn't give up when things got really tough. I've struggled through a lot despite only being 17, but I kept going and I made it to this point now and to a point in my life that I honestly didn't know if I would make it to.. but I'm here and very ready to celebrate it.

So, bring on my 18th birthday! Bring on the drinks, the love, the laughter, the friends, the family, the embarrassing photos, the big balloons, the birthday meal, the throwback playlists, the special birthday dress, the millions of Facebook messages that I'll need to reply to so that I don't seem rude (lol)... bring it on!

Ps/ I've got a few birthday-themed posts coming up because I just can't resist haha!
  • June 09, 2016

God Damn I Love Birthdays


There's just something about Birthdays that I love. They mean so much to me and I love celebrating them, both other people's and my own. This year it's my 18th birthday and I am sooo bloomin excited. My past two birthdays have been pretty shitty and I've pretty much been dreaming of my 18th birthday since I was about 11, so I'm determined to make it pretty damn special (and yes, I will be dragging it out for the entire weekend, Mum and Dad). 

I've always pictured this huge celebration; surrounded by family and friends, embarrassing childhood pictures printed out and stuck on the wall, the huge number 18 balloons, zoella-esque decorations (I mean, how cute are the decorations she uses?), drinks all around - the whole works. (I also pictured a very tipsy night out to top it all off too, but that's not really the important part haha) And although everything on that list might not all be able to go to plan, now that I've finally reached the ripe age of 17 years 11 months and 15 days old, I'm still very much determined to make this one of the most amazing birthdays for me to remember.

Birthdays to me signify a celebration of a particular person. Like, say it's my friend Hannah's birthday, I kind of think of it as a day to celebrate all about Hannah. I want to make them a cute card, get them a present that they'll love, make them laugh and help them celebrate as much as I possibly can. That's what I love to do. I think it's just nice to spoil that person on their day!

Now, to some of you, I probably sound like a birthday obsessed lunatic, because I know that there are some people out there that really just don't care too much about birthdays. I think birthdays definitely do get a little less exciting as we get older. I mean, it's not like I'm able to throw a Party Bus party (did you all have those?) or invite all my friends round and play Pin The Tail on the Donkey (although, that does sound incredibly fun, especially if Vodka was involved.) However, I really do love to just celebrate them!

I'm hoping that I don't come across as selfish when wishing for this amazing 18th birthday, but I'm sure there are lots of you reading that can kind of see why I am doing so. I mean, 18 is a big birthday to celebrate, am I right?! I can finally just go to the shop and buy what I want or walk into a club without nearly breaking into a sweat in-case I hear the words "ID please". Also, it means that my parents have successfully raised me to be a fully grown human being. I mean, well done guys! *pat on the back* and finally, for me, it means that I didn't give up when things got really tough. I've struggled through a lot despite only being 17, but I kept going and I made it to this point now and to a point in my life that I honestly didn't know if I would make it to.. but I'm here and very ready to celebrate it.

So, bring on my 18th birthday! Bring on the drinks, the love, the laughter, the friends, the family, the embarrassing photos, the big balloons, the birthday meal, the throwback playlists, the special birthday dress, the millions of Facebook messages that I'll need to reply to so that I don't seem rude (lol)... bring it on!

Ps/ I've got a few birthday-themed posts coming up because I just can't resist haha!










I remember when I first started using Instagram, I would just post whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I never thought that, one day, Instagram would become part of a career I was trying to pursue, never mind the fact that I'd be running it almost like a business.

Instagram is a huge part of the blogging world and today I thought I'd give you a little look into how I run my Instagram account and why I find it useful to do the little things that I do! Currently, I find the key to Instagram success is to plan ahead. I like to plan my posts about a week in advance, that way I'm always on top of my content. The way that I do this works in steps *kind of*, so let's go through them, shall we?

1. First of all, I will have already taken my outfit/blog photos. I find that taking them in bulk (around 5 outfits) works best and gives me about 2 or 3 weeks worth of content. I'll usually go through, edit them, put them in order of what needs to go first, bla bla bla. Then, I'll download them from Dropbox onto my phone.

I organise my Instagram on the app VSCO and therefore, need to have access to my blog photos on my phone. Dropbox is a great way to import photos from your computer to your phone and visa versa as it simply allows you to save the photos to your Camera Roll.

2. Second of all, I also try and stock up on other Instagram photos such as flat lays or cute pictures I've stolen from Pinterest/Tumblr. These are great for posting inbetween outfit photos or on days that you haven't got other content going up.

3. The next step is to plan my feed and figure out a posting order. Now, weirdly, I schedule my blog posts off of what day I will be able to post the outfit on my Instagram account. This is because my Instagram is my most popular account and therefore has the most interaction. So, what I do is import an outfit photo into VSCO, put it in an order with all the other photos which works and looks aesthetically pleasing and then work out which day that photo will be going up on. I then head to my blog and schedule the post for the coherent date.

After I've figured out what day I will be posting the first outfit on. I will then begin to import other images (usually 4-6) into VSCO to figure out what days these will also be going up on. Some of these photos (say, a flat lay including a product sent to me by a brand) might need to go up on specific dates, so I always take that into consideration however, other than that, I just put them in an order that looks pretty haha.

Once I've ordered around 4-6 photos after my first blog photos on VSCO, I then import the next outfit and basically repeat the process. This means that there's always a few days gap between my outfit posts but there's still content to be posted and fill up my Instagram!

4. Then, really all that there is left to do is ensure that these images are then posted on the correct dates. This means, that even if I'm at the gym looking like a sweaty mess, I might have an Instagram picture to post that talks about my brand new outfit on my blog, (where I do not, indeed, look a sweaty mess.)

I pretty much just make sure that no matter what I'm doing or what happens, that the particular image that needs to go up, goes up. I've often been in situations where what I'm posting on Instagram, literally has nothing to do with what I'm doing in real life but at the end of the day, if something (especially sponsored work) needs to go up, it needs to go up or else I find things become incredibly un-organised (and I'm an organised freakkkkkk). I've even been having a major meltdown before and suddenly had the thought 'shit, I need to post that instagram' hahaha.

As well as making sure I'm posting on the right dates, I also have to ensure that I'm posting at prime times for engagement. I find that posting at specific times allows my images to get more 'likes and comments' compared to just posting willy nilly. There are apps such as Iconosqaure that are able to analyse your account and give stats about what times of day you receive the most engagement (pretty handy huh?) but I've also just found that if you think about what times of day people are most likely to be checking their phone (eg, first thing in the morning before work, at lunch and after work/school in the evenings) then that's a great way to figure out when to post too!

5. When posting Instagram photos, I also have to ensure that I'm tagging, hashtaging and mentioning the things that need to be mentioned. For example, if it's an outfit, I will often tag the brands that I'm wearing, accounts which share other people's outfits such as '@ootdsubmit' or accounts that work with affiliate links like '@wearisma'. I will also hashtag words such as '#fbloggers' or #ootd', which are relevant to the photo and I will then also be sure to include my blog URL and the name of the outfit post. That way, nothing is missed out!

Hopefully this all made some sense and can give any of you other Bloggers or Instagrammers out there a little idea of how I personally run things, but I do also think it's good to just have fun with Instagram sometimes too! I don't always stick to this religiously ... I'm just very organised haha!

Let me know what sort of things you do to plan out your instagram down in the comments and whether it's as much as a military operation as mine!

How I Run My Instagram Account











I remember when I first started using Instagram, I would just post whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I never thought that, one day, Instagram would become part of a career I was trying to pursue, never mind the fact that I'd be running it almost like a business.

Instagram is a huge part of the blogging world and today I thought I'd give you a little look into how I run my Instagram account and why I find it useful to do the little things that I do! Currently, I find the key to Instagram success is to plan ahead. I like to plan my posts about a week in advance, that way I'm always on top of my content. The way that I do this works in steps *kind of*, so let's go through them, shall we?

1. First of all, I will have already taken my outfit/blog photos. I find that taking them in bulk (around 5 outfits) works best and gives me about 2 or 3 weeks worth of content. I'll usually go through, edit them, put them in order of what needs to go first, bla bla bla. Then, I'll download them from Dropbox onto my phone.

I organise my Instagram on the app VSCO and therefore, need to have access to my blog photos on my phone. Dropbox is a great way to import photos from your computer to your phone and visa versa as it simply allows you to save the photos to your Camera Roll.

2. Second of all, I also try and stock up on other Instagram photos such as flat lays or cute pictures I've stolen from Pinterest/Tumblr. These are great for posting inbetween outfit photos or on days that you haven't got other content going up.

3. The next step is to plan my feed and figure out a posting order. Now, weirdly, I schedule my blog posts off of what day I will be able to post the outfit on my Instagram account. This is because my Instagram is my most popular account and therefore has the most interaction. So, what I do is import an outfit photo into VSCO, put it in an order with all the other photos which works and looks aesthetically pleasing and then work out which day that photo will be going up on. I then head to my blog and schedule the post for the coherent date.

After I've figured out what day I will be posting the first outfit on. I will then begin to import other images (usually 4-6) into VSCO to figure out what days these will also be going up on. Some of these photos (say, a flat lay including a product sent to me by a brand) might need to go up on specific dates, so I always take that into consideration however, other than that, I just put them in an order that looks pretty haha.

Once I've ordered around 4-6 photos after my first blog photos on VSCO, I then import the next outfit and basically repeat the process. This means that there's always a few days gap between my outfit posts but there's still content to be posted and fill up my Instagram!

4. Then, really all that there is left to do is ensure that these images are then posted on the correct dates. This means, that even if I'm at the gym looking like a sweaty mess, I might have an Instagram picture to post that talks about my brand new outfit on my blog, (where I do not, indeed, look a sweaty mess.)

I pretty much just make sure that no matter what I'm doing or what happens, that the particular image that needs to go up, goes up. I've often been in situations where what I'm posting on Instagram, literally has nothing to do with what I'm doing in real life but at the end of the day, if something (especially sponsored work) needs to go up, it needs to go up or else I find things become incredibly un-organised (and I'm an organised freakkkkkk). I've even been having a major meltdown before and suddenly had the thought 'shit, I need to post that instagram' hahaha.

As well as making sure I'm posting on the right dates, I also have to ensure that I'm posting at prime times for engagement. I find that posting at specific times allows my images to get more 'likes and comments' compared to just posting willy nilly. There are apps such as Iconosqaure that are able to analyse your account and give stats about what times of day you receive the most engagement (pretty handy huh?) but I've also just found that if you think about what times of day people are most likely to be checking their phone (eg, first thing in the morning before work, at lunch and after work/school in the evenings) then that's a great way to figure out when to post too!

5. When posting Instagram photos, I also have to ensure that I'm tagging, hashtaging and mentioning the things that need to be mentioned. For example, if it's an outfit, I will often tag the brands that I'm wearing, accounts which share other people's outfits such as '@ootdsubmit' or accounts that work with affiliate links like '@wearisma'. I will also hashtag words such as '#fbloggers' or #ootd', which are relevant to the photo and I will then also be sure to include my blog URL and the name of the outfit post. That way, nothing is missed out!

Hopefully this all made some sense and can give any of you other Bloggers or Instagrammers out there a little idea of how I personally run things, but I do also think it's good to just have fun with Instagram sometimes too! I don't always stick to this religiously ... I'm just very organised haha!

Let me know what sort of things you do to plan out your instagram down in the comments and whether it's as much as a military operation as mine!

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