The other day, someone had asked, “What was your process of becoming a public figure?” So, I want to talk to you about my experience with social media, and how I grew, especially over the past five years of my life.
BEFORE I WENT VIRAL.
Before I went viral, I would post about anything and everything on my social media accounts. I didn’t have any niche or aesthetic when it came to my content; I was just a mom, posting about my daily life, without any purpose behind it. I didn’t go out much; I stayed at home a lot of the time, so why would anyone be interested in that? I didn’t put in any effort into my photos, my captions, etc. I wasn’t under a huge public spotlight, so I didn’t think there was any reason why I should be mindful of what I shared. I remember thinking that it took me soooo long to utilize hashtags because I just thought it was silly. I also felt extremely awkward with taking selfies (I still feel this way, but I’ve gotten better about it).
Then, in 2015, I went to my very first convention in Indianapolis. That’s when I discovered cosplay. When I saw people walking around in costumes, I thought I missed out on some kind of memo. Was I supposed to dress up, too? I didn’t know what was going on, but then I heard about cosplay, what it was, and that’s when I knew that this was something I wanted to do. I decided that the next time Indy Comic Con came around, I wanted to join in on the cosplay community. In 2016, I forgot to plan ahead.. so, I ended up going as my normal self. I made sure to mark it in my calendar when the next convention was so that I could have a cosplay by then.
And then, in 2017, I premiered my Hermione!
THE START OF MY SOCIAL MEDIA LIFE.
I thought it was fun to dress up, since dressing up as a character wasn’t new to me. Prior to cosplaying, I had performed a few small roles for unprofessional acting gigs, so I thought it would be fun to share with the world that I actually did something cool for once (besides just sitting at home). At the convention, I took a photo with someone who looked like the 10th Doctor from Doctor Who, and then I decided to tag MuggleNet because they were showing off Harry Potter themed cosplays. MuggleNet shared my photo and it grew popular.
Shortly after that, I was approached by a writer for Buzzfeed, and they wanted to write an article about how I ‘looked like Emma Watson’. I figured, why not? I just thought that people would see the article and brush it off. I didn’t think I was an interesting person to read about, which I still do feel this way.
But, at the same time, I just thought it would be cool to get some recognition for the work I put into my cosplay. I wasn’t anticipating the article to go viral everywhere. I didn’t realize how popular it had gotten until I Googled up Emma Watson and my name was spread all over the place. It felt unreal to me. After doing some research, I realized how people had a fascination with ‘lookalikes’ and ‘chameleons’ (people who could shapeshift their appearances through make-up and prosthetics). Then again, the film industry does it all the time.
If I was going to go viral for something, at least it was flattering to be compared to Emma Watson.
GROWTH DOESN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
Before I started growing on social media, I had about 300 followers on my Instagram. MuggleNet jumped me up to 3k, and then Buzzfeed jumped me up to 27k. When I did a make-up test of Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy, Karen Gillan shared it to her Instagram, along with ComicBook.com featuring me in an article about it, I jumped up to 32k. And when I posted Instagram Reels, I hit my current peak at 51k.
All of this had happened over the past five years, so it didn’t just happen overnight. The reason why I’m saying this is because a lot of people expect to grow their accounts fast. That’s not how social media works. You have to put in the work, the time, the consistency, etc. to see good results. You also have to utilize popular hashtags, sounds, trends, and more. Your content should be authentic to yourself. Your photos and videos should be of good quality, and posted during your peak audience hours. Analytics will be your friend.
Side note: check out my 7 Tips & Tricks for Instagram Reels to help you grow on Instagram.
I should also note: when I joined TikTok over the pandemic, I noticed that my growth moved a lot faster on there than on Instagram. I’m currently at 737k followers. That’s insane!
IN CONCLUSION.
The process of becoming a ‘public figure’, for me, started by going viral from my Hermione cosplay. Since then, through trial and error, I’ve learned a lot about social media. I’m happy to share with you any secrets or advice, so don’t hesitate to reach out to me for any answers to your questions.
In the meantime, I’ll be sharing more social media posts on my blog. I have a lot more I want to share with you, such as more tips & tricks, how to’s, the dark side of a huge following, etc. Stay tuned!
