Instagram, for better or worse, is a huge part of my daily life. I never take a break from it. I never go offline. I never unplug. And to be honest, I don’t want to. While I sometimes tire of pictures of avocado toast, sunsets and all my friends who are #blessed, I am never sick of it. I love it for style and fashion inspiration, I love watching cakes being made in time-lapse, I love feeling super creative with all the filters and of course, the memes. Finding a good one can make me laugh...out loud..by myself...in the middle of the night. Instagram may as well be my best friend.
Instagram provides me so much entertainment at a personal level - it allows me to keep in touch with friends from all stages of life, connects me with users with similar interests (thank you #hashtags) and keeps me up to date on pretty much anything I am curious about. Personal use aside though, it’s what it does for my business that keeps me coming back day in and day out.
Bottom line, Instagram is allowing me to make my dreams come true. By democratizing the exclusive world of celebrity, fashion and wealth, Instagram has leveled the playing field to let anyone who wants to take part, have a role, a voice or an opinion. VC Backed or bootstrapped, celebrity or unknown, we all start our accounts at the same place and it’s up to us to grow our loyal following. That brand loyalty we are all striving for is earned through hard work and a personal voice and it’s up to us, and us alone, to earn it.
I started my children’s clothing line, Worthy Threads, in April 2017 and have been using Instagram as our sole marketing tactic since launch. I am on it all day long, finding content, posting content, researching hashtags, looking for IGTV inspiration, and engaging with followers and other users. As someone with exactly zero contacts in the fashion industry, influencer world and retail market, living outside of New York or LA, it is through Instagram that I have been able to make connections, build relationships, reach brands and earn followers that would never have heard of Worthy Threads. Instagram makes the seemingly impossible possible.
This isn’t to say that Instagram success comes overnight. As previously mentioned, it’s a huge part of my daily routine. We have created a strategy, we made a commitment to only use professional photos on our feed and have our brand voice come through on the grid. Anyone who stumbles upon our account can quickly learn that we make unique kids clothing with a sense of humor. We are even more active in our stories and this is where people are really connecting with us. This is where I am really engaging with other users and building relationships on behalf of the brand. Posting videos of my kids isn’t a happy accident, but rather an intentional and consistent reminder that we are here. I am here raising my family, building a business and fine tuning our voice. It’s allowing our users to connect with me at a personal level and is giving them backstage access to my daily life as a mom, business owner and person. Instagram is an incredible toolbox, but it’s on us to do the work.
We are all just a follow, direct message or comment away from everyone else on the platform. Assuming they check their requests folder, which many do, I have been able to connect with celebrities and influencers, brands and editors, artists and competitors. It’s because of Instagram that I have been able to get our kids clothing recognized and appreciated by people around the world.
One of my favorite things about Instagram though is the relationships I have built. While the focus on social media these days is appropriately and necessarily around bullying and trolling, I can’t tell you the amount of positivity I have received from the platform. Through Instagram, I’ve met countless supporters, cheerleaders and helpers of Worthy Threads and me personally. It’s connected me with people that I never dreamed of being in contact with that have in turn connected me in ways I never thought possible. It’s brought people into my life who I know when we eventually meet in person, will feel like I’ve known them and their families for years. Instagram gives people the opportunity to find success. It’s letting us all rewrite the rule book in a way that works for us. Through hard work, dedication and creative thinking, Instagram makes me believe that anything possible.
