#browninfluencer
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
How many Asian / Indian influencers do you follow?
How many do you engage with?
How many do you support?
How many do you admire?
Not many I'm guessing, either because a) there's not many out there or b) their following isn't substantial enough to pique your interest and they're simply not on your radar.
As an British-Indian female that is so unashamedly passionate about fashion and style, I have moments when I have to think twice about whether or not my followers will be interested in certain aspects of my life and what I'm getting up to.
Will you dis-engage when I post about Diwali?
Will you scroll past posts of my Indian wedding?
Will you turn off my stories if they reference parts of my culture?
My growth and engagement has stagnated somewhat, most likely due to 'the algorithm' but it means I'm trying to engage so much more and that's helped me realise how little I get back in return.
Accounts of larger followers that I engage with don't reciprocate, however I see their likes and comments, even follows, on lots of other accounts of a similar following to mine, only the difference is that their owner looks much more similar to them....coincidence?
Brands and inspo accounts have reposted me in the past which is always so lovely and really helps with growth. However I noted that when two of bigger High Street brands did repost me, they chose posts I uploaded where my face just happened to not be in it...another coincidence?
I'm not saying everyone on Instagram is like this, I have engaged with so many fabulous bloggers and instagrammers and influencers, but sometimes the feeling of being an outsider creeps in. I hate the thought of playing the 'race card' but I just wanted to ask the question and put my thoughts out there.
I'm am also not saying that if you're brown you won't succeed for this reason, I know that is not the case, there are so many Asian - Indian influencers / models / journalists etc out there that I am inspired by daily - Monikh, Simran Randhawa, Neelam Gill to name a few. I'm just saying it feels more challenging at times.
I'm tired of trying to remain blissfully ignorant to this and I'm tired of always putting these occurrences down to being purely a coincidence.
It may be the case that the quality of my content or my consistency just isn't there, but I work so hard to create my content the best it can be, so I find this slightly hard to believe. What about you?
I want to talk about it openly and I want to know...have any of you have ever felt the same way?
We should grow our community and we should constantly support each other even if other influencers or brands refuse to acknowledge us.
#browninfluencer
Please use the hashtag and share the post and your own thoughts on this, I would be so interested to hear what you think and would really appreciate you taking the time to let me know.
Don't forget to check out my Instagram @thestylecount where I will be using this hashtag wherever possible!
3 comments
I think what you’re saying is bang on. I think it’s more authentic and interesting that you post about cultural events and I wouldn’t worry too much about things on social media just go with the flow and do what suits you it’s your account and besides I like it! 1 fellow brown influencer to another ��
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and I learned a lot. Thanks. I live in an area of the United States which has a large population from India. #blogcrush
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear that you have experienced this. I grew up in an area of the UK where there are many asian families (as a white person, I was actually a minority in my school!) so I really love the asian culture.
ReplyDeleteI now live in a predominantly white area, and often feel sad at the remarks that are sometimes made by people. The problem is, the media perpetuates so many racist stereotypes and many of the people here only have those newspaper reports to go from because they don't know any asian people personally. I often wonder if I would also be making those same racist remarks, if it weren't for my background and experience.
So I think it is more important than ever for you to keep going with your work here and to show that we can't stereotype somebody by colour. Social media can be a great tool to make your voice heard and, perhaps those people who don't have the opportunity to have any asian friends in "real life" can broaden their horizons and becomes friends via social media.
Anyway, somebody else really enjoyed this post too and decided to share it at the BlogCrush linky for you. Hurray! Feel free to pop over and collect your "I've been featured" blog badge #blogcrush