Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: DJ Hargrave @tailormadedj

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

Right now I’m a junior at High Point University majoring in Strategic Communications! I was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I’m all for experiencing new things, meeting new people, and finding some way to make someone else’s day better than mine.

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

Men’s Style, personal branding and self-improvement are my topics of interest. I try to use my blog as a platform to not only inspire men to dress better, but as a way to help them improve as men holistically. As far as Instagram, you’re going to see A LOT of my outfits. In fact, I’d say they make up 90% of my posts. At the end of the day, its what my followers want to see because its where I get the most likes and engagement. Why try to fix it if its not borken?

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

I believe that your style is tailor-made to you – your lifestyle. personality, personal taste, the whole ordeal…So you should own it! I also wanted my name to be attached to the brand, which is why I included my name in my Instagram handle.

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

Photoshop is my bread and butter. It usually takes me about 45 seconds to edit a photo, but the difference is worth way more than $9.99/month. I usually just play around with the ‘curves’ feature and up the contrast. Then, I’ll use the editing feature in Instagram – they’ve really stepped it up recently.

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

Blake Scott and Sabir M. Peele are some guys that really inspire me. Justin Livingston inspires me the most. Justin’s the main reason I was inspired to start blogging and he’s the inspiration behind how I edit my photos.

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

Really invest in your community and post engaging content. I”ve recently tried to incorporate a lot of (which look do you like the most?) and post three different outfits. Using captions that provoke a response from your audience really helps as well.

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

Waking up every day knowing that someone is watching my every move. It really keeps me in line, especially when I’m about to post something on Instagram or Snapchat. You have to remember that you actually have influence over people.

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

I encourage brands to let influencers choose what products they wear (for example, giving them a budget and letting them choose what they want) because it allows the influencer to be completely authentic in what they choose to wear. Also, I advise brands to look for influencers who post consistently on both their blogs and Instagram. One Instagram post has its one hour of fame, but a blog post along with an Instagram post can go a long way.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

Don’t copy cat what someone else does. Try to avoid using an iPhone camera if you have a DSLR for all of your Instagram photos. I understand that sometimes you’ll be out and spot something that’ll look good on Instagram, but steer away from using your iPhone for outfit posts. Ask yourself “If I were a reader, would I be inspired by this?”

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

Its amazing to actually partner with brands that you grew up wearing. My fondest memory is being a denim jacket from a particular brand and they ended up being the first brand I fell in love with. Seven years later they’re approaching me for a partnership, plus I get to inspire my readers – Its incredible.