Huge shoutout to Wendy @wendyfitnessmodel for inspiring this Revo Rant
(Featured model: @courtneykurncz)
I do not have 20,000 followers….
I’ve talked an awful lot about building your brand and growing your social media audience. Though I consider my online following to still be quite small I have applied the concepts in this rant and seen consistent grown and success in this area.
Since launching the Revo-Image side of our business (Portfolio and commercial photography) I have invested in and fully committed to my learning as it pertains to social media marketing. I have invested countless hours of reading and watching online, and I’ve always discussed strategy with everyone on my team. Even with all that you can’t help but wonder...
“Am I really on the right track”?
I will not be covering instagram algorithms, business analytics or ad campaigns in this rant. I’m going to be discussing more granularly how to organically grow your online audience.
In the past 24 hours I had the opportunity to bump into a very successful social media start @wendyfitnessmodel who has over 20K followers on Instagram. She responded to our “Super Selfie Lockdown” challenge and that led to more and more conversations and a new budding partnership.
Whenever you meet someone who has attained all of or a portion of what you’re chasing, it’s always good (100% OF THE TIME) to pick their brain and see what you can learn from them.
As Wendy and I chatted about her massive instagram success the fundamental truths of it all were solidified in my mind. Did I get any “new” information?? Not exactly but that was the best piece of “new” info I could ever get. It was inspiring to hear her story and to be reassured that what I’m speaking to clients and team members rings true.
The world of internet marketing can feel like a moving target. Companies are always refining their guidelines and their algorithms or completely changing things altogether. Because of this I really want to speak to the unchanging truth about what is most important when expanding your online reach.
***As you read some of this dialog between Wendy understand It is not meant to shame anyone or say "look how good she is." It’s to show how simple it can be. Most of you reading this have made huge strides in understanding your brand and your “why”. Keep it rockin’.
I asked Wendy “how did you do it (obtain 20K followers)”? Her answer was obvious and brilliant:
“I’m an athlete first and foremost and I was just taking a friends advice and posting pictures to inspire others to get fit.”
Whoa! Did you get that? Did you get the truth that is screaming at us all in that one simple sentences? There’s more but let’s break this down.
1. BRAND: “I’m an athlete first and foremost”. This is her brand. It’s who she is. It’s what wakes her up in the morning. She is starting with something bigger than pictures and modeling. “First”. What are you “FIRST”? For me, I'm a producer first... a musician... someone who likes to take artistic elements and arrange them into masterpieces. Photography was just born out of that. I’m a content creator “first”. I’m a leader first. I treat success as my duty for the world around me and seek to inspire others to reach their potential. This all comes before I take a single picture. It’s my story. What’s yours?
Correctly understanding and conveying your brand-identity is absolutely vital to achieving lasting success in Internet marketing.
2. WHY: "…to inspire others to get fit.” She’s being humble but what did she just drop? Her “WHY”! If you understand your brand and your “why” you will be unstoppable. She goes on to say “I never post captions that say look at me, it’s always about inspiring people”.
Wendy is bringing people into her story and then inviting them to participate in it with their own story. Do you get it? This is huge? There’s your engagement. Go check out her posts and read her captions. You’ll see what I mean.
3. CONTENT! You’ll notice the "content" part is last.
Your content is pointless without your brand and “why” understood and clearly defined for your audience.
“…I go on shoots in the freezing cold, in a downpour, on top of cliffs etc. The more adventurous the better” said Wendy. No, you don’t have to go on a roof top during a snow storm (good job @fitmodelmom) but this does speak to the creativity involved in making some real engaging content. Yes, being the prettiest in the world will help, but creativity and quality are king.
BWC: Brand, Why, Content
We will talk more about strategy, timing, engagement, 3rd party sharing, frequency etc on another rant. But if you can lock in on these 3 steps/ concepts and stay consistent, you will reach your goals.
Wendy, thank you for sharing your story with us and for helping us all keep the main things the “main things”.
Where are you struggling? Which of these 3 steps do you need help with? Where are you dominating and what success have you seen from it?
I always love to hear your story and talk though any questions or concerns you may have.
Lets roll!
Jason, Owner
