Today's Everyday Fashion: Facebook Content

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Inspiration: J. Crew

Inspiration: J. Crew

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Cardigan: Limited, $18 (similar, similar, similar)
Shirt: Ralph Lauren outlet, $45 (similar, similar, similar)
Skirt: Limited, $25 (similar)
Shoes: Colin Stuart c/o MJR Sales (similar)
Necklace: Stella & Dot, sold out
Purse: Calvin Klein/Saks Off Fifth, $130 (similar)
Approx. dates: Skirt is 7 years ago. Necklace and shoes are 3 years ago. Cardigan and purse are last year.

When I first put on this outfit, it seemed familiar and I was convinced I'd already done a post with it! I had to look through old outfits on my Facebook page to make sure it was new. Turns out I just really like this color combo. I paired the same top and cardigan with pink jeans last year here, and the same shirt tied over a mint dress here, but not this exact J.Crew-inspired combination.

A lot of you have asked how you can quickly look through outfit ideas and history, and I recommend using my Facebook page. Every outfit I've ever posted is organized into 5 photo albums in chronological order, and you can easily scroll through the thumbnails in just a couple minutes. I depend on those albums for writing new posts everyday - that's how I remember the prices of items, and how I provide similar links. I simply go back to the last time I wore that item, and copy and paste the pricing and any similar links that are still applicable. That's also why the dates purchased are approximate. I use the most recent post where the item was worn, NOT the original post, so those dates are based on my foggy memory. (Heavy emphasis on the "approx.")

My initial reasoning for the way I organize my FB page has nothing to do with writing blog posts though. When I started my FB page in May 2010, it was more of a marketing tactic. My "big idea" was that FB is the #1 social site in the world, so why not publish blog content right there where people could see it and read it? Versus directing people to blogs to read the content there - especially since not everyone is/was familiar with reading blogs. Facebook was a totally different world then - within a couple weeks I had  200 fans. A good chunk of them were friends, but their friends were organically discovering my page because FB was interconnected and everyone could see that their friends (my friends in real life) were commenting and liking. I hit 20k fans in my first year, but my blog was much slower to build at first. Three years later I'm at 69k fans (people) on FB, and 1.2 million unique visitors* (people) on the blog, so growing a following on FB first wound up organically, in this case, gaining a much bigger following on the actual website.

Unfortunately, if you are starting a blog or social media page now, FB is a different world and the exact methods I used wouldn't necessarily work the same way now. FB has changed their algorithms several times, most notably (for me) in November 2013. As a result:

1. About 50% of my FB followers were seeing my posts in their newsfeed everyday. Since November, it's more like 1-5% of fans seeing my posts. FB was not at all shy about their motivation behind this. The same week of the change, I received a straightforward email that I would need to start paying FB in order for people to see my posts. Due to my fan count, it's $75/ per post minimum** or well over $4,000 per month. I've never paid for an ad anywhere*** so I haven't been quick to jump on that train. For now growing my page isn't a huge priority so I'm not actively working on it, but I may try some guerilla (or paid - gulp!) tactics I've been brainstorming at some point. 

2. At the same time, FB's spam filters changed. One day I noticed that 20 or so outfits were missing from photo album #5. Turns out, one of the links that all the posts had in common was marked as spam. The posts were gone - the photo, the caption, all the likes and comments were all deleted. I kept doing my daily posts with the full outfit details for a bit longer, but more and more photos kept getting deleted so I stopped. Now I just provide a link to the blog for details. The exact opposite of my original method when I started. I hope to find a work around and go back to the old way of posting soon!

That's probably way more information than you ever wanted to know about Facebook, but the moral of the story is: you may not always see my posts in your newsfeed as a FB fan, but the page is still a good resource for scrolling back through old ideas or trying to find something that caught your eye a couple weeks ago. You can visit my FB page here. To access all 1,300+ outfits go to Photos --> Albums. Look for 5 albums called "J's Everyday Outfits." I hope this helps! 

*That's 1.2 million in the year 2013. Source: Google Analytics.
**Since writing this post, the minimum for advertising is now $30 per post, down from $75. Things change quickly on FB.
***To post a coupon/offer on FB you have to pay a fee, and I did three last year. I wouldn't consider that an ad, but some might so it's worth mentioning. Those fees are covered by the company offering the coupon.

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