INSTAGRAM GROWTH

As promised in yesterday's post I am sharing what I think contributed to my Instagram growth this year. One of my biggest hopes of 2016 was to grow my Instagram account to over 10K, so that I could be classified as an influencer on more than one social media channel. But I didn't want to just get a number, I wanted to organically grow an audience that relates and enjoys what I share.

Up until fall of 2015 I had been using Instagram regularly, but I had been sharing a mix of my own iphone snaps and work of I had done as a stylist. It was kind of a mix of everything with no consistent message for people to understand and relate to. Essentially, no one could really know me from a glance of nine photos, and that's, basically, what people look at before they decide to click "follow." 

After I accepted the big problem of my lack on consistency and voice I became to determined to change that, and ever since then my Instagram has continued to grow organically. There are also some tools that I believe have helped, as well as wisdom I have gleaned about the platform. Below is a list of what I believe has contributed to the growth. I hope these things help you too.

1. I stopped posting my iPhone photos, and I hired a photographer regularly // I know that Instagram used to be a place of instantaneous photography. However, it's important to also note that since it's an image based platform people with photography skills and professional photographers are always going to have the upper hand. I came to terms with the fact that I can style an amazing photo, but I cannot take one to save my life. So, this year I had Rennai Hoefer come over every Monday of the week to create content for my blog and social platforms. This is content I make with my own hands so that it's still authentic to me and what I want to say. It's just that it's taken with a DSLR camera by someone that knows how to keep my style consistent. It's an investment that has paid off ten fold. Take the leap!

2. I use Planoly // This app is genius and helps me plan my grid. Being a curator is very important on an image based platform. You can have all of the best photos in the world, but if they don't go together in a pattern then your IG account is still going to look ugly. Appearance matters my friends, but that doesn't mean you have to lose authenticity either. It just means you need to plan. 

• Follow the pattern: person, thing, person, thing. This was told to me by a popular Instagrammer and it works. Creating separation between faces is helpful to the viewer.
• If you're a lifestyle blogger like me I often will mix-up the person as sometimes myself in an outfit and other times my kids. For the "things," I trade off between far away shots of space, close ups of objects and food.
• Pay attention to a color scheme. I try to stick to natural warm tones that are in my branding. I never post bright photos like pink, green, yellow, etc. That's just not my style. Define your style...Are you bright and bold or soft and natural.

3. Post daily // This has been very important in telling the algorithm that you're regularly updating your profile. However, I don't post just to post. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. If you don't have anything to say don't say it. It can hurt you to have a post that is not engaged with. So, make each post count.

4. Spend time commenting and liking other peoples photos // This tells the algorithm you are active. I especially try to do this immediately after I post. I also joined a couple Instagram communities with bloggers and creatives whose styles I really love. They notify me when they post, and then I make sure to go visit their profiles and comment. We are by no means obligated to do it, but I genuinely want to do it because I love their stuff. This is also helpful since the new algorithm hides a lot of the accounts I love most.

5. I don't do giveaways // I tried a couple of giveaways in the past, and I find that they may result in spike of followers in the short term, but they aren't people that necessarily enjoy who I am and what I am creating. This can also pose a problem later on when brands will see a high follower count, but notice your engagement is low. Brands would rather partner with a 10K account that is highly engaged with than a 200K account that has a smaller of a ratio of engagement.

6. I installed MiloTree App on my blog // When people visit my blog a pop up shows up asking them to follow my on Instagram. It's very tasteful and not bothersome at all. 

7. Play the Hashtag game // I found the best hashtags for each type of content I share (food, home, fashion, kids) and I add the hashtags in the comments. It has helped my content get noticed and engaged with a lot. To find hashtags, visit popular Instagrammers and see what they are using.

8. Get featured on big Instagram accounts // This year my home decor projects have been reshared by some huge IG accounts and some very small ones too. But each time that happens and people give proper attribution in their post I gain quality followers. They genuinely like my content and click over to my profile to follow me. 

9. Posted on IG stories // So far I have noticed the more I use IG stories the more I grow. I think this is a temporary thing, but it has been working. Of course, I only post when I have something I really want to say, so don't force it. Quality over quantity!

10. I shared some videos // The algorithm seems to favor .mov files that I share on my IG profile. They get ways more views and engagement than regular photos. That said, it's time to start learning how to do video and investing in video.

I hope this post was helpful. Be sure to tune in tomorrow to learn what has helped my Pinterest growth.

MY BUSINESS IN 2016

This past year was one of those years where I felt like nothing came easily, but so much fruit came out of my hard work. It almost felt like every day I was thrown a curve ball or pitched a fast ball, and each time I stepped up to the plate, swung my bat as hard as I could and, by the grace of God, I scored a lot.

I wanted to share the areas in which my business grew this year with you because I think there are some key tools and nuggets of wisdom that helped make them successful. I'm going to break everything down into multiple blog posts though because there is simply too much to say for it all to fit. I'll share a new post a day for the next week or so. Be sure to check back and read the next.

2016 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. More than doubled my Instagram account from 4,000 to 10,800
2. Grew my Pinterest account by 37,000 people
3. Published by top magazines & companies (Rue Mag, Lonny Mag, Domino Mag, One Kings Lane, Anthropologie, Martha Stewart, Adore, Elle Decor)
4. Most partnerships to date. To name a few: The Home Depot, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Gold Peak Tea, Fisher Price, Hudson Jeans, Coleman, Living Spaces, World Market, Decorist. See my collaborations page for more.
5. Hired an assistant, photographer, intern and babysitter regularly
6. Spoke at the most conferences to date (Alt Summit, Mom 2.0 Summit, Haven Conference, BlogHer Food).  I will be headed to Alt Summit again in 2017.
7. Launched my online Pinterest classes for passive income
8. Began Pinterest account management for Chatbooks and Guesterly, and will be taking on more.
9. Decorated six rooms (master, girl room, nursery, guest room 1, guest room 2, living room)
10. Managed to continue to raise two children, have a marriage and friendships

What helped me accomplish all of this? 

I don't say this to sound trite, but I truly believe what I have been given comes from God. In particular, I think the wisdom in knowing which business partnerships were wise and unwise, as well as which people to hire were guided by Him. Some people say they go with their "gut." For me, I do the same, but I believe it's a spiritual "knowing" deep within my gut. 

I also put in a lot of elbow grease and found some insanely great business tools to help me, and I would love to share them with you in the days that follow. Starting with Instagram...

Photo by Katie Jameson

New Year's Party for Kids

It has been five years since we went out for New Year's Eve. Now that we have kids, staying up late to party and then waking up at 5:30a.m. (when our kids wake up) is just not how we like to start 2017. We would much rather start the new year with a full night of sleep, but that's not to say we don't love a good party. 

Instead, we just party at 5pm (midnight in England), and say "Happy New Year" then. We have friends over with their kids, and make it one giant pajama party. I love these organic cotton PJ's from Skylar & Luna if you're looking for some cute PJs for your kids. All of the kids are wearing them in the photos.

I serve pigs in a blanket, cinnamon rolls, fruit and other breakfast goodies. It's super easy, fun for all and a great way to ring the New Year in with friends and kids with no fuss.

For decorations, I keep it simple. I just blew up 30 balloons and a got a couple special ones from the party store. The kids spent the entire time throwing the balloons around. I also got some horns and party hats, and called it good.

For activities,  we just push the furniture back and have a big dance party (we are loving the Trolls soundtrack on Spotify right now). You can also ask the kids what their resolution (or their parent's hope is) for the new year and write it on a chalkboard. It makes for some super instagrammable moments. 

Most importantly, make sure to just have fun and not worry about getting all gussied up for a party. Stay comfortable and make amazing memories with your family and friends.

Photos by Rennai Hoefer; Pajamas provided by Skylar & Luna

REAL TALK REAL MOMS: BIRTH STORIES

As a Christian, this time of year is a season of contemplation of my faith and the reliance I have on Jesus Christ. And now that I'm a mom, each year when I think about Jesus being born over 2,000 years ago, I often think about Mary, and all of the feelings she must have experienced becoming a new mom, carrying the Savior of the world, and birthing him in less than desirable circumstances (in a barn, no family around, and during a time when young boys were being slaughtered by King Herod). Regardless, of whether someone believes that Jesus was the Messiah, giving birth like Mary did is a victory alone. When I compare it to my my birth stories (they were hard just because it's frickin' child birth), I can't imagine how any person could get through that experience without a greater power to rely on. In this installment of The Real Mom Series, we are sharing our birth stories. My religious beliefs are my own and this topic just happened to fall during Christmas, so be sure to read everyone else's stories and experiences.

REAL MOMS: Thoughts by Natalie, The Effortless Chic, A Daily Something, Design for Mankind

Elle and Levi are opposites in every way - gender, interests, ages, personality and even their birth stories. 

Elle was my first. We took the classes and read the books. I went into the idea of birthing not wanting any pain medication and having a set birth plan (like many first time moms). Everything was as planned as I could make it be. And then my water broke three weeks early in the middle of the night just after celebrating Ryan's birthday, and, well, that wasn't in the plan at all. We went to the hospital, and once we were admitted we needed to make sure we had a baby within their set timeframe or it was straight to c-section. Looking back on it, it was definitely not an ideal birth situation. I didn't progress, so they hooked me up to pitocin (grrrr...I HATE that stuff). My contractions got super intense without dilating past a 3 cm for quite a while. I was in sooooo much pain and the contractions were coming so fast I couldn't catch my breath. I finally opted for an epidural, but since it was Labor Day weekend (ironic, right?) no one could get to me for an hour. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I got stadol (worst drug ever). I don't remember much that happened when I got that, but I know I said some CRRRAAAZY things to the doctors and Ryan. I finally got an epidural after that, but then my body started shaking non-stop, and the epidural didn't take right. My legs were numb, but I could feel every contraction. So, several hours of labor, without being able to walk and shaking made for super fun times at the hospital. 17 hours of labor total, and two pushes and then she was in my arms. And then the world just melted away because I became a mom in that moment. 

For Levi, it was text book for the most part. I labored at home without really knowing I was laboring for the majority of it. It was about 5:30pm on a Saturday night when things started getting more intense, but I was still functioning through it and doing my usual tasks. I had a feeling it could be "the day," so I told Ryan to go take the dog and Elle over to his parents' house. During that short hour that he was gone things intensified quickly. When I realized that I was actually in labor I wobbled upstairs to take a shower (knowing it would be awhile before I could do that again), and then packed my bag. I was huffing, puffing and screaming through it all. Finally he came home, and when I couldn't even have a conversation I knew it was time to go the hospital. There were so many swear words that came out of my mouth while driving to the hospital. I seriously thought I was going to have a baby in the car. When we got to the hospital I was already at 8 cm. It was crazy! They rushed me back into a delivery room, and told me that I was going to have a baby in the next hour. By this time it was 8:30pm, and there was no one at the hospital. I had such great care and attention by the staff. I ended up being able to get an epidural, and I'm thankful that I did because the only snag in the perfect birth experience was that the cord was wrapped around his neck. It took two and a half hours of pushing to get that guy out. They had to put me on oxygen because his heart rate would drop with every push. I don't think I realized how scary it was for the doctors until afterwards. They were just trying to keep me focused, and I was. He finally arrived at 1:21 a.m. on a Sunday. It was perfect. He slept forever, and we just snuggled. (Read more of his birth story in a past post here).

My post-partum experiences with both of them were the hardest part of it all, but that's for another Real Moms installment! Merry Christmas everyone!

2016 FAMILY PHOTOS

Every year, no matter what, I make sure we take family photos. I think it's really important to have documentation of our family over the years, and I'd like to think that the generations that come after us will treasure them. 

Since we have been sick a lot it was hard to plan a big photo shoot out, and, honestly, I'm kind of over all of the outdoor family shoots. Just like in any industry, new trends emerge and shooting families in their homes in a more "real life" setting seems to be where the family photo session trend is going. But, for us, it was also just about convenience. 

So, since we planned to do it in our house we thought wearing our PJ's would be fun. We had Rennai Hoefer come over just before Thanksgiving and take pictures of us putting up our tree. Funny enough, our tree never got decorated beyond a couple cereal garlands. Haha, but, hey, minimalist is "in," right? 

We found all of our jammies at Target this year, and chose gray and white because of our interiors colors in our living room. I thought bringing in our blue velvet sofa would make it feel a bit more holiday-ish too. We just put it by our blank white wall and had some fun. 

Of course, the kids didn't really cooperate like you hope, but that's real life, right? It made for some good pictures for us to cherish. Like this one above where Elle was choking her brother (yeesh). 

We put them all together in a photo collage for our Christmas cards that we made with minted. And, we actually got our cards printed, addressed and mailed this year, which was a big win for me. 

If you're looking for a great family photographer in Arizona be sure to check out Rennai Hoefer! She is amazing!

From my family to yours, we hope you have a very merry Christmas that is filled with hope and joy, and hope that 2017 brings much blessing to you.