This week was a tough writing week for me. I like to keep my writing authentic and from the heart. This week I was blank, stuck, just had no clue what to write about. I’ve learned that if I don’t write from my heart, a place of passion I sound very technical almost like an infomercial. So this year with me taking my blogging more seriously I vowed to be more authentic. More authentic with my writing, my posts and my brand partnerships. So this post is how I keep my voice and brand authentic.

AUTHENTIC BLOG POSTS

With the reprisal of my blog I wanted to write about things that meant something to me. My blog focuses on fashion, beauty, Christianity, dating and social injustice. These are topics that I’m passionate about in my everyday life so they come naturally for me to write about and discuss. Most of my blog posts come from conversations I’ve had that week, topics that are on my heart to share or experiences I’ve gone through. They are usually fresh on my mind and in that respect easy for me to speak freely and authentically about. I also let the format come naturally as well, whether it’s a traditional blog post like this one, poetic prose like Color…Ism or a letter like Dear Brown Girl. I let the post take form and don’t try to force it one way or another. Dear Brown Girl is a letter to myself but I wanted every brown woman who felt this way to be able to read it to them selves too. I don’t think this post would have been as effective as a regular blog post and I was right. I’ve gotten some amazing feedback on this post as a result of it.

1. Focus on topics that mean something to you.
2. Speak from the heart.
3. Be flexible with the medium in which you deliver it.

AUTHENTIC BRANDING

This year I also started a new Instagram, authenticity was also on the top of my list when posting and partnering with brands. When I post it’s very similar to that of my blog, I post on topics that I’ve had conversations about, snippets from my blog, quotes that speak to me or anything that comes to mind that day. As a micro-influencer I get approached by brands to partner with them and share their products with my followers. I make sure the company is reputable, I look at their social media and make sure their follower count matches their engagement. I don’t want to associate with brands who follow people to get followers, buy followers or buy likes. I don’t want to tarnish my brand with another brand who doesn’t practice authentic social media practices. I also ensure that the brand is somewhere I’d actually shop even if they didn’t approach me. I take a look at their website and see if their style matches mine. Some things I look for are if the style matches mine and that there are a number of things on the website I’d actually buy. I don’t want to promote brands I’d only buy 1 or 2 things from. I want to make sure my followers will have options when they visit the site and not just the item I’m promoting.

1. Proper social media conduct.
2. You brand’s style aligns with theirs
3. Multiple options for your followers to choose from.

Hopefully this post has helped you with your voice and brand to create a more authentic presence online. At the end of the day it’s all about representing the things you love and are passionate about to your audience. I’m currently working on more ways to bring out my true authentic self online as well. As a result I’m thinking of sharing more of my life with you all on social media and in video formats. So stay tuned for more of me and I look forward to see how you implement these practices.

Photo Cred: Denton Taylor

Dress Forever 21 | Heels Cristian Siriano | Earrings Zara

authentic blogging authentic branding finding your authentic voice