Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Hira Ahmed @withhira

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

I’ve lived in a lot of different places so it’s hard to say where I’m from. But I think, for me, home is Toronto. It’s where I’ve (collectively) spent the most time and where I feel most comfortable. Right now, I’m doing a lot of things. I like to keep my hands full. I am working as a TMJ assistant while I apply to graduate school. I’m, of course, blogging and working on new content constantly.

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

I post mostly about my personal style, followed closely by food. My blog is called Fashionibble (clever, i know) because my two biggest passions outside of physiology and health care are fashion and food.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

I actually changed my instagram name last spring and quite honestly it took a lot of brain storming. I wanted something that was easy to understand and not already taken (ha!). Instagram is a platform for me to just share what I’m up to so “withhira” seemed fitting.

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

90% of my photos are taken with an SLR, so they go through Lightroom and sometimes Photoshop on my laptop. Once they are on my phone, I use a combination of Snapseed, VSCO, and Instagram to do some more edits so that everything flows together. My overall goal is to increase the brightness and create pictures that have a clear, bright, white look.

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

There are so many! For inspiration, I turn to Aimee Song (@songofstyle), Nicole Warne (@garypeppergirl), Blair Eadie (@blaireadiebee). These women have a great sense of style, they have wonderful travel inspiration, and are overall simply killing it! I am also inspired by the people I’ve met in Toronto and been able to create friendships with. Being a content creator can be quite stressful and it’s always nice to have a support system of like-minded individuals.

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

For some reason, my mind jumps straight to food. I always recommend my absolute favorite brunch spot in Toronto called Maha’s. Outside the realm of eating, I think we should all explore our own cities; it’s wonderful to travel abroad and experience different cultures, but getting to know our home towns is just as exciting. I’ve been living in Toronto for almost 6 years and I think I’ve barely scratched the surface on what the city has to offer.

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

My favorite part is working with brands I’ve admired for years before I started blogging or being active on social media.

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

I think developing a unique brand voice is the most important aspect of running a campaign. But it’s also necessary to not be too strict with what’s expected from an influencer such as requiring the influencer to say a specific sentence. More often than not, doing this can look forced; if the influencer promoting the brand is not using his/her own words then they are not being authentic.

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

I am a huge believer of quality of quantity. I have read numerous blog posts that recommend posting multiple times a day on instagram. And it’s great advice, but only for someone who has the time to create a high volume of content. I think one of my pet peeves is when I see people reposting the same images over and over again in an attempt to “post consistently”. My advice is to show your personality whether it is through the images or the caption; share your voice and don’t stress too much about what’s trending and popular.

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

My favorite part about partnering with brands is that I get to add my voice and point of view. I get an opportunity to share something I believe in with people from all over the world. I like being creative and finding new ways of presenting a brand’s product.

Topics:

• Cooking
• Fashion
• Food & Drink
• Photography

Country:

Canada