Food and Instagram go together like peanut butter and jelly.  Why? Because Instagram is essentially visual storytelling and a way to connect with others through experience sharing. Although technically food is nourishment, it is also much more than that. It is community, story, and connection. Whether you are an enthusiast, a blogger, small business or running a major brand’s social account, we have some easy workarounds, fail-proof food photography tips, and must-have apps that will surely inspire you to get your food-gram skills up to par.

What if I told you that in order for your brand to stay relevant in the expanding global market you must be doing one crucial thing - embracing diversity. What if I also told you that not embracing diversity will affect your bottom line? Would you invest right now to change the way you market? If you are not marketing to diverse audiences, you are already lagging far behind the curve.

Even though the average person is bombarded by an avalanche of marketing content every day, most modern consumers are willing to see or hear a review from somebody they respect or admire. So lo and behold, with the rise of digital marketing and social media communication comes "Influencer Marketing." Influencer marketing can be a very powerful marketing tactic. Brands can find epic success by leveraging influencers to drive brand awareness, exposure, conversions and customer retention with a deliberate influencer marketing strategy.

They say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so just imagine the stories brands can tell on social media. That was the basis of our thinking when we built one of our own social influencer platforms in 2017. As marketers we wanted a social platform to tell the stories of some of the best food and drink producers in our state of Virginia to an audience that really wanted to know about them. We started researching heavily but came up short in finding a social presence where all of this converged–and so Virginia Foodie was born.