Get Fashion Inspiration With Lynn’s Top Blogger

By ADRIANNA BROWN

Copy Editor

Sitting at a round table centered in the cafeteria courtyard of Lynn University, senior Victoria de la Cruz adjusts her shades, checks her phone and scrolls through her iPad Pro, rereading the latest post on her fashion and lifestyle blog, “Sartorial Dreams.”

“Sartorial means ‘relating to tailoring, clothes or style of dress,’” said de la Cruz, scanning the content of make-up tutorials and style must-haves. “I came up with this name [Sartorial Dreams] when I was about 16. I ended up using it five years later, when I finally decided to create my blog.”

Sartorial Dreams, which celebrated its first birthday just five months ago, has a combined following of more than 17,000 people on social media and has readers from more than 60 different countries.

“I always see that there are people from China, Philippines, Germany and other countries reading my blog,” said de la Cruz, still scrolling through webpages of outfit-of-the-day selfies. “I really believe that this wouldn’t be possible without the help of social media.”

Like so many other young bloggers and entrepreneurs of the 21st century, de la Cruz is her own brand developer, marketing manager and publicist. The 22-yearold native of Barranquilla, Colombia has created a network all her own, embodying her vision of Sartorial Dreams through a bundle of social media hosts, including a personalized Instagram, Facebook page, Snap Chat and Twitter account to develop, advertise and share content.

“Ever since I was little, I have been obsessed with fashion,” says de la Cruz. “When I got to Lynn, I discovered that my love for writing was a passion also. I loved writing for the school newspaper, iPulse, but I decided I wanted to try something with more creative freedom.”

Thus, Sartorial Dreams, where followers can read about de la Cruz’s travels, style inspirations and beauty tips, was born. A year later, the beauty blogger has a combination of perseverance, quality content and effective social media marketing ploys to be thankful for.

“I am a firm believer that perseverance and time management is key,” she said. “I try to organize my content weekly depending on the platform. I post almost daily on Instagram, three times a week on the blog and three times a week on Facebook.” When not posting, de la Cruz spends three to five hours a day checking on her social media status; commenting on posts, liking pages and asking friends for content requests.

“I’m always trying to stay up-to-date,” said de la Cruz. “It is an organic way to get followers and to engage people with similar interests.” As an advertising and public relations major, de la Cruz understands that creating a successful campaign, especially about oneself, is much more complex than taking good photos or posting formal captions. “Of course, the content must be high quality and memorable,” she said. “But I would say that being confident is a very big part of the whole process.”

While social media has helped rocket de la Cruz’s blogging brand into noteworthy territory, she does not hesitate to qualify that individuality, and the ability to share it successfully on social media platforms, boils down to confidence. “It is tempting to compare yourself to others,” she said.

“You have to be creative and innovative; its always better to set trends than to follow them.” After a few more scrolls, de la Cruz has one last glance at Sartorial Dreams’ home page, then closes her iPad Pro and tucks it away into her purse. “For anyone wanting to market their blog, brand or campaign on social media, they have to remember to stay true to who they are.

In the end, people are going to like you for you, so you have to be confident about it.” As for the blogger, staying true, staying social and staying consistent could only guarantee thousands of more supporters and endlessly more sartorial dreaming. Follow de la Cruz’s blog, Sartorial Dreams, on Instagram and facebook: @sartorialdreams and facebook. com/sartorialdreams.