About Victoria Blanchard
Victoria Blanchard, a soft-spoken social media influencer based in Salisbury, UK, emerged from obscurity to become a remarkable success story. Her journey began as an unknown millennial, but through her dedicated efforts, she quickly garnered attention and landed partnerships with major brands such as Warner Bros and McDonald’s. Vikki’s impressive portfolio includes collaborations with a diverse array of industry giants, from Holiday Extras and Lego to McDonald’s and Warner Bros, showcasing her versatility and influence in the digital sphere.
Q. How did you first discover your passion for photography and documenting your life on social media?
A. I discovered my passion for photography when I had my second daughter, Everley. I really enjoyed taking photos of my kids as babies and growing up and really enjoyed learning more photography skills and practicing taking photos of my children. I started posting these photos on Instagram and it really became a passion of mine. Over time, I realized that combining my passion for photography with social media was a powerful way to express myself, build an online presence, and potentially reach a larger audience.
Q. Can you walk us through the initial steps you took to build your social media following to 30,000? What strategies did you find most effective?
A.It began with just posting things that I like and things that I was doing. A good tip is to be consistent with it. This is key to becoming a successful social media influencer. I found that having a niche and a beautiful flowing account of photos really attracts accounts to follow you.
Q. What was the pivotal moment when you realized you could turn your social media presence into a career? How did that feel?
A. When I first started posting photographs and documenting our lives I was clueless to what social media could be. Once I began growing my followers I noticed I would be offered a product in exchange for posting about it on our account and I was so shocked that this was even a thing. I was so excited that brands wanted to send me products and liked my photos enough to want me to advertise their products. It was a real pinch me moment! I just bought my first house two years ago, which was a huge accomplishment.
Q. You’ve worked with a diverse range of brands from Warner Bros to McDonald’s. How did you initially approach these partnerships, and how do you maintain these relationships?
A. It depends. I get a lot of emails from different brands wanting to collaborate with me in exchange for posting on my social media account. It began with items being gifted to me to then being paid for each post that I do. The more brands you have worked with and the more engaging accounts you have, the more you can charge a brand. This is when the brands get a real value from collaborating with an Influencer. Some of the brands that I have worked with are Holiday extras Grand legacy at the park Anaheim hotel, Little tikes, Pampers, Smyths toystore, Baby born, Baby jogger, Maxi Cosi, Lego, McDonald’s, Warner bros, NowTV, Alcatel mobile ,Ninja kitchen, Waitrose & many more!
Sometimes I reach out to brands that I am interested in working with but most of the time, I am contacted by the brands directly for paid sponsorships. I always ensure I keep a friendly relationship and follow any briefs the brands send to me. As long as the content does well and they are happy with what has been created, they will continue working with you and build the relationship between you and the brand. I feel very lucky that brands love what I create and want to continue working with me.
Q. Balancing a career as a social media influencer with raising three young girls must be challenging. How do you manage your time effectively between work and family?
A. It’s hard to balance but I do my best. I found it tough to begin with and really hard to balance my time between both social media and the children. My husband would say that I spend a lot of time on my phone. This was a struggle in the beginning because I needed to be very active to build my account and have a career in social media. Something always has to give, and unfortunately this was the case, but now I am very good at balancing my time and I know when to switch off my phone, so that I spend some personal time in the evenings with my husband. Starting out, it takes a lot of time to grow an Instagram following and you have to be consistent with it. I found that creating a posting schedule really helped. As my account grew, I could afford to not be on my phone at all times. My children are so supportive and they love to join in and help create my content. It’s a lovely time capsule to look back on!
Q. Traveling and staying in hotels for free sounds exciting. Could you share one of your most memorable travel experiences from your career?
A. We visit our family in Los Angeles every year. My sister, my brother and my mom moved there a few years ago. We love visiting Disneyland during our yearly visits. Our top travel experience so far is staying at The Grand Legacy hotel in Anaheim! It is just down the road from the Disneyland resort and the perfect location. It’s definitely a hotel we will visit again. One of the perks of being an Influencer is that we get free stay!
Q. Your family seems to have diverse interests and careers. How has your background influenced your approach to your career as an influencer?
A. It wasn’t something I set out to do, it just kind of happened! I am a true social media girl that loves to share my life. I post organic content about my day-to-day life and incorporate paid content into it, without it feeling like a job. I am incredibly lucky that I get paid for doing something that I truly enjoy and am passionate about.
I plan to expand to YouTube in the near future too!
Q. In your opinion, what sets your content apart from other influencers in the parenting and lifestyle niche?
A. I find that my account is more than just a parenting account, it is a whole lifestyle account where I share not only about parenting and my little girls but also days out, holidays and house content. You get to follow the blanchards and see what we get up to. I love sharing our house renovations and people love watching before/afters of what I create in the house. I am a DIY girl that loves to get creative with home design. I like to switch up my children’s rooms with new paint, furniture and design. The kids love it!
Q. You’ve mentioned enjoying meeting interesting people. Can you tell us about a memorable encounter or collaboration that has impacted your career?
A. I love meeting other content creators and attending events when I can. I have met other notable Influencers at some of the fun events in London that we, as Influencers, get invited to. There can be reality tv stars to some celebrities at these events, and it’s a lot of fun! It feels surreal sometimes because I have an online friendship with fellow influencers and when we meet in person, it’s as if we already have been friends for years.
Q. With your interest in healthy food and fitness, how do you incorporate these passions into your content and daily life?
A. I have started prioritizing my health and fitness now that my children are all at school. It’s something that really makes me feel good and look good. I have started switching up my social media to showcase more of me and am really excited as I pursue this more.
You can find me on Instagram – @lifewithvikki.raisinggirls
