The Instagram saga continues…
THE STORY
…Last month I wrote a post about the massive decline in Instagram engagement that I and many other bloggers have been experiencing as of late. Up to this point it has continued unabated with the exception of posts that I have promoted through Instagram, which confirms one of my theories…posts by bloggers/content creators are being throttled to coerce us into paying to promote our posts. However, I stumbled upon another theory the other day and have since read a few articles that seem to back it up.
And it’s actually connected to something else I’ve also discussed previously; instascammers. Instascammers include the skeevy men hitting up on women, the money scammers and the fake bot accounts. I try to keep them weeded out by blocking them as they show up. Sometimes though it gets overwhelming and far too time consuming to keep up with. It’s also easy for them to slip through the cracks on days that I just don’t have the time to check my notifications carefully or overnight when I’m sleeping. Thus, the fake accounts can slip by unnoticed.
What I didn’t think about though is since Instagram is only showing your posts to approximately 10% of your followers, if a chunk of said followers are bots or scam accounts then that is going to skew your engagement numbers. How any particular posts fares in regard to visibility is entirely dependent upon initial interactions within the first hour or so. That means if a fresh post goes up and it gets pushed out to only a small percentage of your followers and those particular followers are bots or scam accounts then that post will get very little interaction so the algorithm buries it…meaning your truly interested and engaged followers may not have the opportunity to ever see it. Here’s a link to one of the articles that I read that explains all of it in more detail.
So this weekend I began the purge. It’s a laborious process to go through all of my followers and block the accounts that appear to be scammy or fake. I’m still working on it bit by bit; I’ve been doing it while watching t.v. or engaged in other activities so that I’m not bored out of my mind. Believe me, it’s been painful. My follower count is already down by almost 500, and even though we like to say that numbers don’t count, it is a little ouchy to watch it drop. If you want to clear out your followers so that you have a truly engaged audience, here are a few things to look for:
- An imbalanced follow/followers ratio…i.e. 25 followers 7,000 following
- 0 posts
- No profile picture
- No bio, or if there is a bio, poor grammar and spelling
- Mentioning WhatsApp or a phone number in bio; same goes for mentioning that they are looking for love
- Posting similar/same photos on repeat
- At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, a lot of these accounts seem to originate from specific regions of the world
THE OUTFIT
Caite & Kyla nailed it with literally every single piece in their fall collection. I’ve already shared the silk kimono that is the same print as today’s silk print maxi dress as well as this cute little tunic dress that I layered over skinny jeans.
When I saw the print, colors and mouthwatering embroidery on both the kimono and this silk print maxi dress I fell in love instantly. So much so, that even though the dress is literally miles too long on me I had to keep it; it was simply too beautiful to part with. Even with heels though, it was too long so I was determined to find away to make it work. While a belt did the trick, I really liked the way the dress flowed when I simply gathered up the extra material at the sides, pulled it to the front and knotted it. I added a sparkly brooch on the knot for a little extra pizzazz and I was good to go.
The long cardigan and over the knee boots were necessary because the temperatures have cooled considerably. I had considered layering a chambray shirt instead of the cardi, but a knotted shirt over a knotted dress would have been too…knotty…lol.
Over the knee boots are one of my tricks for keeping my legs warm when I’m just not feeling tights (which is most of the time). They also add an extra layer of warmth layered over tights or leggings once the cold really kicks in. I feel like they are one style of boots that can really become a cornerstone of your fall/winter footwear collection. If you’re hesitant to give them a try, don’t be, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how versatile they are.
THE TIP
Over the knee boots are key to any fall/winter footwear collection. They work beautifully with everything from leggings to evening wear. OTK boots are chic, edgy and practical all at the same time. If you’re still hesitant, try starting with a basic color like black, taupe or brown; a lower heel also makes this style less intimidating. Also, I’ve found that the styles that tie at the top to hold them up are a fail…I’ve never come across a pair that stays up with the tie. Look for a pair that has a shaft that stays up on its own as opposed to the softer tie top styles.
On a side note…stop by Your True Self blog to read Angie’s tips on styling moto vests. She’s sharing one of my looks with the pastel pink moto vest I actually forgot that I owned!
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Dress: c/o Caite & Kyla; Boots: Similar; Cardigan: Target (Similar)
