How To Be A Real Life Influencer Like Azulena Royer
Thought Vases Dress, Fair Trade Bracelet (available in store)
Azulena Royer is the type of modern woman that a lot of people envy. As a fashion and beauty influencer, Azulena gets to share her daily looks and favorite new products to her 35.5k followers on Instagram and grow her network because of it. A lot of people think that being an influencer is only possible for a lucky few, but Azulena explains that it can be possible for anyone with the right motivation. Read on as she shares some tips for growing your Instagram and networking in all the right ways.
"I did a little modeling in high school. So I started my Instagram back in 2012 as a personal/modeling account to share with friends and also get some exposure. I’ve always wanted to be a fashion influencer and about a year ago seemed like the perfect time to rebrand my account. So now I focus on reviewing new apparel, accessories and beauty products. Discovering new brands and products makes me happy and I want to share those discoveries with others.
The best part of being an influencer is a combination of the people and the free items that save me a lot of money.
Overall I think my taste is very feminine. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, but more share outfits that make me feel beautiful and confident. Dresses are my favorite thing to wear and I’m in heels 95% of the time. Heels make me feel more confident and give me that extra boost since I’m only 5’2”. I’m also conscious of sharing affordable items. I try to share items that are accessible most of the time. That being said, I have my own collection of luxury items that I adore. For example, I saved up babysitting money in high school to buy my first Louis Vuitton bag and I still use it all the time. For me it’s more than an accessory, it’s a symbol of my hard-work and a beautiful memory of traveling to Paris to pick it out after my high school graduation. So it’s about combining affordable and luxury together.
When I'm putting together an outfit it starts with a piece of clothing that I like. Whether it's a blouse or a dress, the accessories are secondary.
Geneva Dress Fuchsia, Brass Castara Earrings (available in store), Crystal Cuff Bracelet
Create thoughtful outfits or flatlays.
Take high quality photos.
Edit them consistently (presets help immensely).
Post at least one permanent post per day and look at your analytics to see what time your followers are on Instagram the most.
It's all about consistency. All of the studies I've read about Instagram say you have to post every single day. I post at least once or twice a day.
If you want to be big (10k+ followers), prepare yourself to spend a lot of money on Instagram advertising and giveaways consistently. These are the two most effective ways to gain large amounts followers.
Don’t buy followers in bulk. First off, they’re not real, they don’t engage and brands know when they are fake.
You definitely need a good photographer and a DSLR camera. Someone who won't get sick of taking pictures of you every single day is ideal. My boyfriend takes my picture thankfully.
When you first start and don’t have a lot of followers, brands won’t really reach out to you. As a professional saleswoman, you have to be proactive and pitch yourself to companies. No matter your size, make yourself a media kit and send it out. When I started, I emailed literally hundreds of companies. Don’t be afraid of rejection. There are a million companies out there and you don’t want to work with one that doesn’t want to work with you. It’s a two way street.
Most importantly, KNOW YOUR WORTH! The truth is that some companies will offer you horrible deals. For example, they will comment on your post and offer you a discount on a product in exchange for a post. You should never be paying them when you’re advertising them... that’s 100% backwards. It’s incredibly sad to see how they prey on new influencers. An authentic brand will usually DM or email you and it will be tailored to you rather than a copy and pasted general message. Trust your gut if a company seems sketchy.
You can follow Azulena's Instagram @azulenaroyer.
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