In tonights episode I give blogging advice to a new blogger, Maia Cotton, a gorgeous up-and-coming model from New Zealand who is also represented by my management agency, Chic.

With fashion bloggers now starting their blogs in high school and growing their audience very quickly through social media platforms like Instagram, I can’t reiterate enough the importance of not forgetting about the platform in which you have the most control over and are the most able to develop for the long term, your website.

Social Media is fickle and constantly changing. When I was in high school it started off with MSN Messenger, then we had Myspace, then just as I finished year 12 everyone jumped on Facebook. Twitter was created while I was at uni and then Instagram exploded shortly after, Pinterest is slowly progressing in Australia but HUGE in the states, and even though Snapchat has been around for a few years, its only now the must have social platform for many bloggers.

The point I’m trying to make is that Social Media constantly evolves and what’s cool now, may not be in the future, OR the platform may have drastic changes, with one of the best examples being Facebook algorithms.

How Facebook algorithms works: Say you have 100,000 followers on Facebook but Facebook only shows your updates to a percent of that audience, not the whole 100,000 based on a range of metrics that is meant to deliver content to people that are going to engage with your content. If you’ve ever wondered why your feed is sometimes filled with just videos of kittens and puppies, or Kim Kardashian stories, it’s because that’s what you’ve clicked on and engaged with previously or it’s what they have worked out will be best suited to you from other likes and interests, and your demographic.

Now going back to Instagram and the new breed of Instagram based fashion bloggers. Instagram is now owned by Facebook, so imagine focusing on this platform 100% of your time, growing your audience slowly but surely and then have the platform develop so that only a fraction of that audience you have built will now see your posts? Not cool right? Your website though will never change, unless you want it to. You have full control over this platform and that is something that you need to remember and hold at the highest value, you are the key to it’s success and you can develop a strategy that will be most effective for you.

I could literally go on and on but will leave it for now. My main point, control what you can and invest your time in your website. Social media is an amazing tool but look at it as a way to push your website more as a marketing tool and not your main focus with content or ultimately your livelihood.

Tune into Fashion Bloggers TV tonight (in Australia) at 9:30pm on E!

You can also watch the first season (now) and new episodes on You Tube a week after they air.