Social media is an essential tool for any business or individual for building a brand and networking. The rise of social media has had a significant impact on the modeling industry. Previously, models had to rely on modeling agencies as their only method of gaining attention within the industry. Nowadays, that's no longer the case; models can build their brands independently thanks to social media. One of the social media platforms that has been most useful for the modeling industry is Instagram. Among the many models building their careers through Instagram is Varvara Vlasova, who hails originally from Russia.
Vlasova successfully launched her modeling career through Instagram alone, and since then has grown to become an established social media influencer with over 164k followers. She has attracted this massive following through her lifestyle, PR, and make-up activities that she chronicles on her account. Though her career is currently going very well and the future continues to look promising for her, Vlasova has had to conquer and overcome all of the challenges and obstacles of establishing a social media presence. Sharing her experiences, Vlasova highlights the following as the main challenges she faced while initially trying to build up her following on Instagram.
● Identifying her target audience
The biggest challenge for any aspiring social media influencer is to know the specific target audience they need to help their brand grow. For Vlasova, figuring out who her target audience was initially turned out to be quite a challenge. This is a challenge that many social media influencers face, as the audience they target will become the foundation of their success.
● Establishing a clear brand identity
The other biggest challenge for anyone trying to gain a following on social media is establishing a clear brand identity. Social media users need to have a clear connection to a brand before they feel inclined to follow it. Hence, influencers need to establish a position of authority in their niche.
● Knowing the right time to post
Having a young account with fewer followers requires extra consideration when it comes to deciding when content should be posted. The various existing social media platforms have different peak posting hours. Posting during peak hours is not advisable for people who want to gain followers, since content can often end up lost in the sea of post from other, more established social media accounts. Vlasova had to experiment and find the posting hours that allowed her content to be more visible to her target audience.
● Promoting the brand
Initially, Vlasova had to really push her brand to make it more visible. Promoting a brand in the social media space is not easy by any means; any new influencer who is attempting to get their brand off the ground will inevitably face many challenges that can be very discouraging. The process of gaining followers, especially on Instagram, can be a frustratingly time-consuming experience.
To Vlasova, it's all about posting good content that people want to see; she vows to continue doing her best to post unique and engaging content that will continue to bring in an audience.
