5 QS: Georgia Eliopoulos of Extra Sparkle Please

Georgia Eliopoulos
Extra Sparkles Please
@extrasparklesplease

 

Up next, we sat down with Georgia Eliopoulos, creator of ExtraSparklesPlease.com, to talk about future trends in the world of blogging and what she loves most about being an influencer.

 

1. Tell us about your blog currently and the direction you see it heading in the years to come

“Lifestyle! As 60 per cent of my followers are moms and dads, I want to provide more content about family life in general. I also want to talk more about personal experiences… the stuff people “don’t talk about”. Most recently I started adding in food and recipes.”

 

2. Why did you start blogging?

“When I started this blog my slogan was always “because she had so much to say and wants the world to hear it.” I had people in my everyday life asking me questions and decided to take that and make it more accessible to them… just one click away!”

 

3. What is your favourite and least favourite thing about being an influencer in Toronto?

“My favourite things are the experiences I’ve had and the people I have met along the way. I’ve met two of my closest friends through this industry – if all of this were gone, I still have friends for life. My least favourite thing is how cut-throat and cliquey it can be. I’ve learned that the reality is that the “bloggers supporting bloggers” concept may be true, but people will do whatever they have to do to get ahead.”

 

4. Where do you see the industry heading in the next few years?

“Personally, it’s going to be interesting. EVERYONE seems to want to be a blogger, so it is becoming very oversaturated. This is what I am doing for a living and I can see how many people are finding loopholes in the system, which sets back the ones who are staying as organic as possible.

“I think bloggers in the next 2 years will end up gearing their content more towards podcasts and “video diaries” (not YouTube); people will want to visually see and hear what people have to say rather than looking at the same photos of people at the same trendy cafes and restaurants. I think in 2 years, Instagram won’t pack the same punch and we will have to rely on a new, more realistic platform to be heard!”

 

5. What’s one piece of advice you can give PR agencies when working within their existing network of influencers, or those agencies that are looking to start working with influencers?

“Be less sweet. There are a lot of influencers who have a sense of entitlement and people have to realize that you have to get through all the no’s in order to get a yes! I started working towards this in January and first started getting paid in September. Let us work to build a relationship with PR agencies and help you guys out. It goes both ways! Also, give us more links to purchase to include in our posts. For example, even if no one buys anything from one of your client’s posts, look at how many people’s interests are being piqued to go beyond Instagram and our blogs.”

 

These five questions with Georgia Eliopoulos were compiled by Kristia Pavlakos, Coordinator, and Laura Zechel, Consultant, APEX PR/ruckus digital.