Retail Caffeine's Instagram Launch: a new way to engage
- Kendal Ann
- May 30, 2020
- 3 min read
I have launched a new dedicated Instagram account for Retail Caffeine! Follow @retail_caffeine for updates on new blog posts and additional tidbits of information.
When I started this blog, I was not interested in creating a new Instagram account. I felt like my personal one showed pretty much the same posts since I mostly use all of my own pictures on this website. After some thinking, I decided that creating a new Instagram account for my blog would be beneficial.
Having a separate Instagram account for my blog and website allows me to post more information more often. The people who follow me on my personal account may not want to look at posts about different strategies and theories related to the retail industry, and followers of Retail Caffeine might not want to see personal pictures of my life. So, I think it's a win-win! (If you want to follow both of my accounts, I will happily accept.)
Click on the above image which is linked to Retail Caffeine's Instagram account to read a short bio about me.
Another huge benefit of creating a new Instagram from scratch is I get to utilize and develop my digital marketing skills. I have taken numerous marketing courses during university at both the bachelor and master levels. When working in retail buying, I often collaborated with the marketing team in the creation of weekly catalogs and eCommerce updates for my respective categories.
Actually, I thought marketing was an area that I never wanted to work in. At the end of 2019, I turned down a marketing work placement during the last semester of my master's degree at a very large brand on the Gold Coast because I wanted to go back into retail buying. Unknown to me, the brand was going through a transition in the buying department, so I was turned down. I ended up working as a Marketing Coordinator for two very small brands instead, which was a fun experience.
I have always wanted to know more about every business I have worked in, which led me to always asking questions and learning new skills. My thought process was... How could I work in retail buying and have no say in the way the products were being marketed? Or, how could I work in retail buying for a clothing brand if I had never sold clothes in a store before?
Now, that I have launched this blog and website it seems that my career is naturally progressing to marketing. I am totally okay with this, and I have been enjoying it! I believe I have established a well-rounded career in the world of retail, and I now have a depth of knowledge that is more than just one product category, store format, or department of the business.
Making a new Instagram was very intimidating to me due to the rise of influencers. Influencers are often mocked in the media, but there is a place for them in the world of business that we are in. If you really think about it, influencers who have over a million followers have a very wide reach. Brands who partner with these accounts could gain recognition from people that they would never have been able to before.
There are a select few influencers I follow because I genuinely enjoy the content that they post. My goal is not to become an influencer, but if it happened it would be an added benefit. With that being said, I would not partner with just any brand or account. The influencers I follow have personal connections with the brands they work with and the agreements are mutually beneficial. If I were to work alongside a brand, it would have to parallel with the messages and purpose of this website and who I am as a person.
It is hard to be "original" in the creative space now due to social media. I hope that you find what I am writing and creating is appealing and authentic. All of the pictures I post I have taken and edited, or a friend has taken a photo of me and I have edited it. I take my blog posts very seriously, and I want them to be well-written and researched; therefore, it does take a significant amount of time to get a blog post out. The Retail Caffeine Instagram will feature images and links to blog posts, but it will also feature shorter, easy-to-read posts that I do not feature on my blog. This is so I can better manage my time. Additionally, there will also be some fun Instagram stories! I hope you follow along and enjoy it.
I invite you to follow @retail_caffeine on Instagram and engage with me in a different way!
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