First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you who participated in our brand survey! We were blown away by how many (over 400!) of you took the time to help us better understand what sets House of Harper apart. As many of you know, I started House of Harper back in 2011 while I was living and working in New York, before I had Knox and Andrew. So much has happened since then, including moving home to Texas and raising two boys, and it felt like the appropriate timing to check in and make sure we are still producing relevant, inspiring content. I wanted to take a moment to share some of our survey results and give you an idea of how we are using your input to evolve our content. Read on below for 5 interesting insights and what is next for HOUSE of HARPER!

 

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1. Real Life

Probably the most overwhelming sentiment we found in our survey results is that you want “real life” content. From parenting, to style and entertaining, you provided us with solid feedback that you want to see what my life really looks like on a day to day basis. This is so helpful to know and we are prioritizing articles about the highs and lows of motherhood, behind the scenes at HoH, and what my daily life looks like outside of outfit shoots or special occasion entertaining projects. I want you to see that my life looks very similar to yours, and for you to feel like you have a safe space for advice and open, honest conversation. While it’s fun to talk about the latest trends, it’s more important that we are talking about topics that are truly meaningful. On that note, this September we will be focusing on jump starting fall with healthy habits and lots of real life advice on motherhood, work, back-to-school etc., which we will be sharing exclusively through our newsletter. Be sure to sign up here so that you can receive even more real life content!

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2. Interior Design + Outfits

In terms of specific content categories, it was very clear from the survey results that you come to House of Harper primarily for style/outfits and interior design inspiration. We’ll be focusing on these categories while of course still covering all of the topics that we ourselves think about on a weekly basis — like beauty, parenting, travel, and work. I greatly appreciate all of the interest you have shown in our Houston home, and I am excited to loop you in soon on our family’s Hill Country home that I am helping to design this year!

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3. Practical, Classic Style

Almost 70% of you described House of Harper as “classic,” and I loved hearing that! While it’s always fun to explore new trends, this reminded me to stay true to my classic style that you all relate to. Around 60% of you said your personal style is practical and that you gravitate towards everyday styles, which is also so helpful to know when I’m talking about everything from outfits to interiors and entertaining. This goes back to the importance of real life content — yes, I love getting dressed up for dinner dates or big meetings, but the reality is that I’m usually running around in jeans between school pick up and getting dinner on the table!

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4. Houston-Specific

I feel so honored that many of you have been following House of Harper since the very beginning. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that almost half of you started following me a couple of years ago, and that many of you are fellow Houstonians! I’ve tried not to focus too much on Houston-specific content knowing that many of you are based elsewhere, but it seems like a lot of you want to know my favorite local spots. I am going to give you more recommendations and insight on my favorite places around town, both on the blog and also in my Instagram stories. This also ties in nicely with real life content and how I actually spend my days, from favorite coffee shops to kids’ clothing stores and dinner date spots! We are also working on a series of local community events — stay tuned for more details!

5. We *Still* Love Instagram

Since the very beginning, House of Harper has been a website platform, and our social media channels have just been an extension of the brand. While I still plan on keeping this same mindset, and believe firmly in the importance of prioritizing our blog over social media, you all made it clear that Instagram is where you are engaging with us the most. With the new algorithm, it seems like Instagram stories are the best way to reach you with updates on the blog, and we will be utilizing this tool even more to keep you looped in. While we sometimes all have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Instagram, I think the platform, stories especially, can be a fantastic way for me to show you my real, un-curated and un-styled life looks like.  So be on the lookout for more personal messages from me on IG stories!

Any additional thoughts on how we can improve our content? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below! xo