Exclusive interview with Büşra Duran Gündüz, Dubai based Turkish Fashion & Travel Influencer, Content Creator, and Social Media Entrepreneur

Who is Büşra Duran Gündüz?

I was born on July 29, 1993, in Konya, Turkey. I was raised in my birth city where I graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Department of Management at Selcuk University. I moved to Dubai in 2018 and am currently based there. I’m married to my business partner, Gokhan Gunduz.

What made you decide to become an influencer?

Becoming an influencer happened organically. It wasn’t my initial intention. I just knew I wanted to share helpful resources with others, and my platform grew enough to warrant that. I am grateful to be helpful to others.

Is fashion important to you? Why?

I live a creative lifestyle and enjoy finding a style that reflects this. Even if I am not feeling well, dressing up often puts me in a better mood. As I’ve gotten older, I learned about ethical and slow fashion and that became super important to me because we vote and make changes with our dollars.

Describe your style of clothing?

My style is forever evolving and changing. Some days I feel like wearing all vintage, and other days, I feel like dressing up or getting comfy in athleisure. Most days, I wear something in-between. I also love upcycled outfits. The one constant thing is that my clothes are almost always comfy enough to sleep in. I am sensitive to various fabrics and work from home, so I keep comfort in mind while being camera-ready.

What kind of fashion advice would you give us?

Forget trends and focus on what brings you the most confidence and joy. And remember, what you spend your money on matters. It benefits the folks making your clothing, the brand selling them, and your community.

What has been your biggest challenge as a travel influencer? Is there anything that’s a misconception?

Covid has been a huge challenge for me and forced me to move away from travel. Before the pandemic, my career was at an all-time high. There’s a common misconception that I travel full time and don’t work at all. The truth is I work longer hours than I ever have before with many days at home in front of my computer. My working hours often involve very early mornings and late nights and often leave me very drained. With all that said I love what I do and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Do you think the influencer market is overly saturated? How can new influencers on the scene stand out?

Not necessarily. Just be yourself, everyone is unique and brings a unique set of skills with them. The biggest mistake I see is when new influencers try to mimic those, they look up to instead of being themselves. It’s worthwhile to pay attention to things you think others do well but ultimately to connect with your audience in a genuine way you need to be yourself.

Do you predict any shift in influencer marketing in the coming future?

Paid posts are becoming much more mainstream now. I’m getting lots of inquiries for those. Some Instagrammers in major cities make their living posting sponsored content. The only way I’d do that is if I was going to post about them anyway. Legally, you have to be careful with those posts and make sure you use the appropriate hashtags (#ad #sponsored, etc.) and also keep your core audience in mind. You don’t want to lose followers just to make money. Balance is the key.

Do you have words of inspiration for someone who wants to pursue a career as an influencer?

Be yourself, you are unique. Your audience wants to feel like they know you and are connecting with a real person. Try and be consistent with posting content, people love to feel like they’re getting a glimpse into your life so don’t only share the highlight reel.

What else do you do apart from blogging?

Well, I love Fashion and traveling. , I am also an award-winning Marketing Professional. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. My work is to identify the strategies and techniques used to attract customers to a business. I determine the pricing based on product demand and supply, help maximize a firm’s profits, and grow market share for a business. I also aid in new product development and critique market trends.

Let’s talk about growth on Instagram. You went from zero to over a million followers! How did you do it?

I think it has a lot to do with time management. I had a disciplined strategy early on with how I was spending my time on Instagram. The most important thing for me is to make sure I’m doing what’s healthy for me and protecting my mental health on Instagram. I’ve always had timers set for an hour when I’m in the app, even when I was first growing. It’s important to make sure that you’re not draining yourself because this is the long game! It takes commitment. The more you can go into your Instagram strategy fresh-minded and feeling good, not like it’s a burden, the better ideas you’ll have and the more creative you’re going to feel.

Is it easy to create content?

I know it looks very easy to make money, but content creation takes a lot of effort. Before we started, I didn’t know how to face the camera and pose. But now I love it. You should love to create content. When we are traveling, we are carrying camera equipment worth about $10,000, which is a huge burden. First of all, we don’t want to stay in a place where you can’t lock up the equipment safely. Then it’s a physical burden and it makes you tired and when you crush it, you cry.

Follow her on Instagram @hell0busra

https://instagram.com/hell0busra?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=