Whether it was trying to figure out Instagram’s algorithm, taking advantage of every social media platform, and asking friends and family to share my posts, social media has been a huge struggle for me while trying to grow my blog. I tried the IG boot camp, watching vloggers share their expertise, etc. but nothing was working. Maybe I wasn’t implementing the advice I received? I’m not sure.

When I asked for help from people who worked in social media, the advice they gave was to follow and unfollow people just to get follow backs. Or to buy followers so that my account looked more credible. I’m sorry, but that’s extremely fake and I refuse to do that. What’s the point of trying to form a connection with followers and brands over social media if half of them are paid?

The problem with trying to build a career as a blogger is that I believed my success was measured in followers and “likes.” I got so obsessed with being successful on Instagram that I was actually starting to get depressed! I had no interesting content, but I was determined to upload one post every day in order to stay active. Therefore, I forgot about quality over quantity and actually trying to form connections with my followers.

I recently moved to a new city and started a new job so I took this as an excuse to take a break from social media. I’ve been extremely MIA because of all the changes going on in my life but it was a transition I needed to make before I can offer you all some posts actually worth sharing.

Once I stopped posting every day I was so afraid of seeing my followers decrease. But I had no interesting content and I was determined to not post anything that I was not proud of. To my surprise, I gained more followers during my hiatus… Go figure. This was when I realized that I would never figure out Instagram’s algorithm and the only thing I needed to focus on was forming connections with the followers I already had.

My recent hiatus taught me three valuable things:

1. My success is not measured in “likes” or followers, but rather in the connections I can form online and in person
2. Not every moment needs to be perfect. I love to update my IG or Snapchat story on a daily basis but I learned to stop stressing about how good a picture needs to look or how perfect the boomerang timing is, because social media should never take more than 30 seconds out of my social time with friends
3. I need to post for myself before I post for others. I don’t know when I’ll have a definite target market for my blog, but I’ve narrowed it down enough to know that my content should be attracting people who are like my friends and people who appreciate something real. If I can’t take my candid pose seriously, why should anyone else?

So I’m done spending an hour trying to get the perfect “candid” shot and I won’t be posting every day. I’m ready to post real content from real experiences that are worth sharing. These posts won’t be an every day thing and that is okay.

My best friend gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten. When I explained why I was frustrated he said, “Life is about doing things that make you happy. If you have to force it then it’s not right. The things that make you happy should just come naturally.”

The last thing I want to mention is that I’m so thankful for all of you who follow my blog and/or my social media. I can’t wait to share some posts I’ve been working on! Tequila Stained Tees has an exciting future and I have lots of plans for the direction I want to go with it and the only followers who matter are you guys. As always, thank you for reading.