While there’s no doubt TV show Fashion Bloggers has boosted Margaret Zhang’s profile, the writer/stylist/photographer/law student was already a popular fixture on the Australian blogging scene.
While her blog Shine By Three was nominated in the Elle Style Awards 2014 “Blogger of the Year” category, it’s her Instagram that impressed us most - Zhang has an impressive 318,000 followers.
Gaining so many followers is no mean feat, and there is definitely a method to the madness. Here, we explore some of Zhang’s top tips for being social media savvy.
Quality, not quantity
For Zhang, social media is not a numbers game - her focus is more on having an engaged audience over a large one. "Brands have suddenly realised it doesn't matter if you have 500,000 followers or 100 followers, it just depends on who is right for your brand," Zhang told Sydney Morning Herald.
Give insider glimpses
While Zhang posts many high-styled shoots on her website, when it comes to Instagram, she likes to portray a different angle - for example, she will post a behind-the-scenes shot taken at a shoot. "On Instagram, I wouldn't go and post every single editorial picture that I've shot, carefully creatively directed and carefully edited for my website, because that's not what people want to see. Your Instagram is about what is real and what is now; people like to think they're following you real-time on your journey."
Keep it consistent
Zhang advises people to find their niche and stick to it. If your ‘thing’ is posting pics of dogs, don’t suddenly start throwing in a random cat. "When people Google [me], they don't want to see blurry Saturday night pictures, wine-ing in a Mexican restaurant or something like that," says Zhang.
"From a business point of view as well, when someone clicks onto your profile and they see your full image feed, they want to see a very coherent message, whether you're about minimalism, or words, or colours, or travel.
"But you need to have that feed very clear and it needs to be done under the one vibe. The most successful people on Instagram, who have the most engaged followers, are the people who have a really strong visual identity as soon as you look at [their feed]."
Show off your best side
Lastly, ensure you are 100 per cent happy with an image before posting it, and put time and effort into editing and captioning it. "People aren't on Instagram to learn about what's happening right now. They're on Instagram to see beautiful imagery and beautiful content, and I feel that timing doesn't really matter for them,” concludes Zhang.
Images: Shine By Three
