Social media is perhaps one of the most wonderful things to ever happen to small brands. It's free, can have you going viral in seconds, and enables you to connect with a community halfway around the world. All these things sound amazing, but creating content is another story.
I've spent afternoons spiralling over strategies, buying equipment that TikTok is telling me I "have to own," and shooting content, just to end up re-shooting because I realised the t-shirt I'm wearing has a toothpaste stain all the way down the front. With algorithms changing weekly, the whole thing is completely overwhelming. Enter stage left, my heroine and good friend, Laura. With over 10 years in the game, Laura has seen it all, working for and with celebrities as well as brands that have reached millions of followers. It was with utter confidence that I handed over the first few months' strategy to her to get us off to a good start.
Luckily, having worked out our branding and strategy already, we had the pillars for a good social media plan. Although when I first began this brand, I didn't realise how much of my face would be posted across the internet. I've been told that founder content is very on-trend, with brands such as SULT and ODD MUSE leading the way. Their communities seem transfixed by their every word, with thousands of followers adding to their accounts daily. So it made sense that I, too, would hustle up the courage to bare my soul on Imaura's feed.
Getting in front of the camera has never been an issue for me, nor has talking, which apparently makes a good base for influencing, but my fears of trolls and negativity start flooding into my brain. What if I say the wrong things, or some nasty troll decides it's my day for judgment? I am quickly humbled by my sister, who explains that we haven't yet launched and currently have 15 followers, of whom most are family. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. But these things do have to be taken into account when putting yourself and your ideas out into the digital ether.
All these influencers make it look so easy! But in reality, it is all very time-consuming. Each video must be planned, scripted, shot at various angles and edited and don't forget the trending track that needs to be carefully chosen to reach the masses. My only hope is that these are just amateur problems (problems those in their 20s don't have), and I'll eventually cut down my PB of creation from 4 hours to 1. However, Capcut has now become my new best friend, a highly-rated platform for editing on the go. Even the least creative person can tackle it, enabling you to cut videos, add music, sound, text, animations and export it all straight to your feed. And no, I'm not being sponsored by them, but Capcut, if you're reading, a discount would always be appreciated ;)
So there you have it, my first look into the social world for Imaura. Follow us on Instagram @imaura_clothing or TikTok @Imaura.clothing.
And don't forget Wallflowers, it's time for you to bloom.