How I became an ‘influencer’ on Instagram

I’d been struggling with my mental health for a few years, for various reasons, and realised that I needed to work out what was making me unhappy.

One area that I knew I could change immediately, was the way I used social media. I had fallen out of love with it and deleted my Twitter and Facebook accounts years before, so all I was left with was Instagram.

Any accounts that contributed to my anxiety were muted. I didn’t dare unfollow people for fear that they would notice and would call me out on it. This sounds ridiculous, but I’ve seen it happen.

I started following more accounts that inspired me, with the majority focusing on home interior and renovations. My partner and I were saving for our first home so following these type of accounts got me excited for what was to come.

We reserved our first home. There was no show home in our area, so we reserved off-plan and relied on the builder sending us regular updates to see how things were progressing.

I deleted any photos on my account that identified me, my family or friends but kept all the scenic snaps from holidays and trips away. I removed every single one of my followers and unfollowed anyone that I knew, including my family.

I changed the name of my account and started documenting the progress of the build. I found lots of our soon-to-be neighbours who were also documenting their journey and started building relationships with them. It was a welcome escape from reality and nice to share stories with people going through the same process.

In the beginning there wasn’t a lot to post about, updates were few and far between. Even after we got the keys and moved in there wasn’t much to show, as we didn’t have much.

I began posting and interacting daily when there was more for me to show and talk about – buying new pieces of furniture, shopping hauls, decorating, accessorising etc.

I started entering lots of giveaways (home-related ones) and engaging with accounts that I liked. The more giveaways I won, the more exposure I received. And the more accounts that I engaged with, they reciprocated by engaging with my posts and sharing my account with their followers.

When I reached 5,000 followers I decided to launch my own giveaway to celebrate. It was really important to me to work with small businesses and five lovely ladies agreed to contribute towards the giveaway:

·        Jade from Love With Lines offered one bespoke a4 line illustration.

·        Em from Forever Flowers by Em offered one faux blossom arrangement.

·        Katie from Design by Katie Jane offered one personalised initial bracelet.

·        Jenny from JS Loves offered one hanging sign.

·        Jessica from Sugared Sweet Scents offered one crème brulee candle.

The giveaway ran for two weeks and there were 799 entries in total.

I began seeing lots of brand rep opportunities and one in particular caught my eye - Little Welsh Aromas (LWA). They’re a small independent business based in Wales selling wax melts, candles and all sorts of lovely smellies. Their products are cruelty free, 100% vegan, and they are actively cutting down their plastic usage by packaging their products in alternative ways.

I informally applied by commenting on one of their grid posts and shortly heard from the owner, Gemma, to say that she’d like me to come on board. We agreed to an initial three month period where she would send a parcel each month with some of her products and in return, I would do a minimum of one weekly grid post with regular stories. I also have a code that I can share with my followers that gets them 10% off the total of any order.

Very soon after I started working with LWA, the owner of Bee-utiful Homeware, Sam, approached me. Shortly after the birth of her son, she was diagnosed with a rare condition and not wanting, or able, to return to her desk job she looked at ways of sourcing stock and decided that she should use her passion for interiors to go it alone!

She was new to Instagram and wanted to explore the world of social media and I offered a guiding hand. We agreed a similar partnership as with LWA (including the discount code for my followers) except I did a little extra this time around – editing photos, content creation, stories, highlights etc. I helped Sam re-brand as Oakfield Interiors including designing her logo and also helped her re-design her website.

Someone I met through Instagram was gifted a household electronic device and explained how he had received it. I went through the same process, which involved completing a formal application form and received an email saying that all current opportunities had passed but they’d be in touch if something else came up.

Not long after, I received an email saying a new opportunity was available for a specific product and to apply if interested. I filled out another application form and was accepted on the same day then my product arrived around 7-days later. The agreement was that I had to post on my grid once and share a story with a minimum of three frames, tagging the retailer. I also had to leave an honest review on the retailer’s website.

A small independent print business (Unique to You) was looking for brand reps. My friend told me about it and so I messaged them asking for more information about the opportunity. We agreed to work together on a rolling month-to-month basis.

Most recently I was approached by a personalised gifts company in Bristol. Their offering was slightly different in that they would send out a spontaneous gift once my discount code had been applied to a set amount of orders.

I spent some time thinking about it and decided that it was unethical to promote the business and their products without having personally seen or used them and so politely turned down their offer.

I’ve signed up to the BRANDBASSADOR ambassador marketing platform - an app that I can access on my mobile where influencers can register or get invites to become “brand ambassadors” for selected brands. Upon approval, influencers can complete “missions” in order to earn commission points. These points are redeemable for freebies/giveaways, gift cards, or cash.

I’m also registered with the Savvy Circle – part of Supersavvyme. Supersavvyme is an online platform, created by Procter & Gamble (P&G). As a Savvy Circle ambassador, I’m among the first to get to know new P&G products and have the chance to collaborate with brands - for free. Opportunities are regularly posted and you have to complete a formal application to be considered.

I don’t currently have a social media strategy, I do what I do because I enjoy it. It’s a hobby.

I tend to have shoot days at the weekend. I’ll set aside some time to do a photoshoot of the whole house or certain rooms - largely when there’s something new to see (i.e. we’ve decorated or bought something new) but occasionally I just have an idea of how I’d like to show a room, or area and I’ll set up the styling and away we go. I have a bank of images that I use for my grid and more often than not, the caption doesn’t relate to the image.

I also have a bank of hashtags that tend to work well and so I alternate which ones I use on each post. I tend to always use the full 30. I tag each of my grid posts with the retailers of the items included in the photo, plus a few extra pages who tend to share the accounts who mention them.

I use my phone to take the photos and edit them with Snapseed, adjusting the brightness where needed although I have just invested in a ring light which is very useful for the darker days and evenings. I use Canva to create all other graphics – stories, highlights, logo etc.

I’ve only just started making reels so finding my way around that a bit. I tend to record them outside of Instagram, edit them in Splice and then upload as a reel. My most successful reel so far, with 6,672 views, is of me making an iced salted caramel latte!

As my account is growing I’d like to come up with a more definitive plan and set myself some goals so that I can take this journey further.

I’ve fumbled my way through to now. I’ve met lots of wonderful people and businesses but have also seen a negative side where people become obsessed with power and ‘fame’.

Yes, people do get caught up in the numbers and people do buy followers. I’ve actually unfollowed people because they’re so hung up on reaching a certain milestone that they BEG for shares and follows.

Ultimately, I’ve got to where I am now by accident. I didn’t set out with the aim of becoming an influencer, let alone a micro one!

But now that I am where I am, I’d like to use my platform in a positive way. I want my account to be an escape for people, in the same way that I escaped through others.

I’m going to continue using my account in the way that it was intended.

To be social.