nanda_schwarz
This is the girl you see over and over again in the fashion boards on Pinterest, under the #style tag on Tumblr, featured in Urban Outfitter’s blog posts. She’s a 22-year-old student of Intermedia from Cologne, Germany. And her name is Nanda Weskott.
Nanda Weskott — nanda_schwarz to her 182 thousand Instagram followers — handles brand sponsorships with a curious modesty and grace. Nanda Weskott is what I see for the future of digital marketing.
Nanda started her blog when she was 18. She insists that she’s been interested in fashion and color since she was a young child and loves “to wear anything (she) feels confident in no matter what” (https://srevolrof.blogspot.co.uk/). This sounds like what any aspiring fashion blogger would say — but Nanda really makes you believe it.
Nanda Weskott is a real girl. I trust Nanda, and more importantly, I trust her recommendations. Most importantly, I’m not the only one. As a naturally skeptical person and a student of Advertising, I don’t often trust celebrity endorsements, sponsored posts, or the aforementioned Urban Outfitters blog posts (or really, blog posts written by any company). I have a belief that I can see through them, that I’m smarter than all those big brands out there because I know what goes on behind the scenes.
There is just something about Nanda that makes me believe it when she says that ____ brand is the new cool.
So what does make Nanda’s Instagram personality so believable?
- She’s honest about her sponsorships. She’s lucky enough to be picky about them, so while we (her followers) know that she’s being paid to advertise for these companies, we rest assured that she’s being paid to advertise a product that she can actually advocate for.
2. She’s honest about herself. She shares stories that make her vulnerable; personal things that contribute to her followers’ ideas about her character and come together to form a personality.
In that last post, she shared something heartfelt. And she credited a brand for her story.
This is why Nanda Weskott is the future of digital marketing.
Sure, I noticed that she tagged the brand — no, it didn’t turn me off to her Instagram account, or the brand. This post had the opposite effect on me that average sponsored posts do. Very likely, something about that post gave me a positive image of the brand. A few weeks after it went live, I went into the Swatch store and bought myself a watch.
Nanda Weskott has built herself a powerful online presence. Her down to earth brand and consistent post-style evokes trust from her followers. She posts regularly, often adding to her story throughout the day. She includes the little moments, inspiring viewers to see the pleasure in a morning cup of tea, or even their mundane daily face-washing routine. Evidently, she wants her followers to see her as a real person, and to her this means seeing her doing things that real people do. In this way, she is a superior “marketing tool” to celebrities, who live untouchable lives. Nanda Weskott has something that anyone can have, an appreciation for life and a flair for style. She shares her knowledge with the world, and her posts teach her followers to do the same.
