Paula Holmes is a fashion blogger and highly influential PeerIndex user. With a solid score of 50 she keeps her followers up to date on the latest fashion trends, social media stories, reviews and celebrity interviews. We had the pleasure of interviewing Paula on everything from tips on how to be a good influencer to the importance of confidence in the social media sphere.
1. What made you decide to blog about fashion and media?
I have always had an interest in fashion since I studied Fashion Business at University and have been intrigued by the celebrity culture that surrounds the media.
After working in Digital for a few years I decided I wanted to explore my passion again and use the knowledge that I have built up and so The P-Ho Diaries was born. The P-Ho Diaries is a hub for celebrity news and fashion and includes a spotlight interview section where I highlight new artists, designers and entertainment talent. The site has become more of a reference for people to turn to rather than a personal blog, which is great!
2. Who is your ultimate influential tweeter?
Very hard question. There are so many people that influence me on twitter for different reasons. I think the ultimate influential tweeter has got to be someone like @ladygaga. She has a huge following, engages with her fans through pictures, replies individually and promotes her own Little Monsters social network. Very clever.
Lady Gaga has her own social media platform called ‘Little Monsters’
3. Why did you choose P-Ho as your social media “stage name”?
P-Ho was a nickname I had offline (the initials of my first and surname). It is a representation of my personality which I think is an essential part of social media. The twittersphere has now adopted it too!
4. On your blog your tagline is “Fake it till you make it”, do you believe social media celebrities live by this motto?
I do in a sense. I think to be a social celebrity you need to have a high social influence amongst your target audience. To do this you need to really believe in yourself. If you do, others will believe in you too. Confidence is the key, you might not be the biggest gossip site on the web but if you believe you are, others will soon follow. A great example of this is Perez Hilton. He couldn’t be a celebrity so he wrote about them instead and now has over 5 million followers on Twitter. So I guess maybe it should be “fake confidence until you make it”.
Perez Hilton, left, became famous by blogging about celebrities
5. What five tips can you give on how to be a good influencer?
- Engagement – engage and talk to your audience, too many influencers do not respond or communicate with their followers.
- Share good and relevant content – don’t be worried about putting your spin on it. Personalise it.
- Follow people relevant to you – not just influencers and the usual famous faces.
- Use rich media – don’t just write, it’s not interesting however clever or funny you are.
- Ability – talk with assurance, don’t worry what other people think.
6. What rewards have you benefited from for being an influencer?
I was given some clothes from Nicole Richie’s fashion label to wear which was fabulous, just like being a real celebrity. I also have had quite a few PeerPerks from PeerIndex. The £50 voucher from Achica was great as I had just moved flats so it was brilliant for getting a few nice home bits. Being one of the first people to receive the Ford B-max hologram was also pretty cool.
7. Which are the top 3 websites that you visit the most online?
Pinterest, Twitter and Buzzfeed.
8. If you could be an animal which would you be and why?
A Dolphin. Who doesn’t love a dolphin? Plus they are also very intelligent, apparently.
Check out The P-Ho Diaries for weekly pins, fashion updates, celebrity interviews and reviews.