So You Want To Be An Insta-Star
The launch of the popular app, Instagram, took place in the month of October in the year of 2010 causing the “insta-model” phenomenon to begin. In today’s society, anyone can become a model or a photographer; it just takes a phone and a social media platform. The way things work for today’s Instagram models is much different than modeling before social media exploded. Models used to have to go to modeling schools, create portfolios, and go to casting calls to get a job in the industry. Some may say that the idea of getting discovered by the modeling industry on a social media platform does not take as much hard work as it did for models in the “pre-Instagram” era. Millions of teenagers across the globe including Whittier College Freshman, Alexa Gaxiola, would argue otherwise.
The Girl Next Door
Alexa Gaxiola has had an account on Instagram for about four years now. The beginning of her Instagram career was a bit rocky due to the fact that she was still young and her parents did not want her using social media as a platform to post pictures of her everyday life. She was forced to delete her Instagram account causing her to lose all of her followers. Eventually her parents allowed her to create a new account and she had to start all over. Her base is now beginning to expand and she now has 2,677 followers. Her pictures range from about 300–640 likes per post.
Gaxiola does not see her “Insta-modeling” career as a job, she sees it as a way to get her pictures out into the world to be remebered one day. To her, it is not a way to get by or make a living. Instagram is a place for her to be creative and express her love for photography. She posts to inspire, to make people smile, and to possibly make a difference in someone’s life with her encouraging captions.
Opportunities are handed out left and right in today’s digital age. Just because teenagers such as Gaxiola take advantage of the opportunities that are given to them it does not mean that they do not have to work just as hard as the people that found their path without social-media platforms. Since Gaxiola is not contracted to a modeling agency, she is a self-taught photographer and “Insta-model.” She acknowledges the hard work put in by models who go through modeling agencies to make their dreams a reality, but she also believes that it takes just as much work for Instagram models. They do all of the work on their own without any managers. When it comes to Instagram and other social media platforms, she manages herself. She takes her own photos and puts in hours of hard work that an agency would typically do for their models in order to make the photos look as best as possible with the proper editing apps.
The Model
Instagram Models such as, Kathryn Clark, see themselves more as “social media influencers” rather than runway models. Kathryn has had a profile on Instagram since the app became popular so she watched her following grow as the app grew. She noticed a sudden spike in her followers when she was on the popular YouTube reality series “Summer Break.” An episode came out every week, so that brought a great deal of attention to her and her social media outlets.
Clark now has 21.4 thousand followers on Instagram and her likes range from about 300–2,000 per picture. She does not specifically label herself as a model on her Instagram profile because she wants her young audience to see the “uneditied” version of herself as well. Clark says she posts because she wants to be a positive influence to younger girls. She would rather post pictures that look real so her young fan base does not feel pressured to meet up to a high expectation. She is also very cautious about what she posts due to the fact that many young girls look up to her.
Clark has promoted several brands and companies on her Instagram page. People reach out to her through her email in her bio asking her to promote their products. Bikini companies such as Triangl send her free bikinis and in exchange, she posts pictures of herself wearing the bikinis on her Instagram. Another company, Skinny Tea, reached out to her and asked her to promote their product on her profile. When it came to the tea, she was getting paid and was told what poses to do and what to say on her captions, there was more of a structure.
“Instagram modeling is a lot different than being owned by an agency. Agencies give you bigger opportunities but Instagram helps you get noticed much quicker,” says Clark.
The Brand Manager
There is another side of the “insta-model” phenomenon that Instagram users do not know much about — the brands that ask models to promote their products. Getting models and influencers to talk about and show off products on their own personal social media is a lot more complex than it may appear.
Andy Salzer, founder of Hiro Clark, often goes through Instagram to find influencers to promote his t-shirts. “Instagram has definitely changed the process of looking for models. Before IG, modeling agencies were a one stop shop for finding models. But because of IG, we have a variety of ways now to scout models,” says Salzer. Although Salzer believes that going through models owned by an agency is more professional, he finds that reaching out to models on Instagram can be much more cost effecient for smaller brands.
When it comes to actually finding the influencers and “insta-models” to promote the brand, he has a process. First, he uses the Social Rank app to look for his most influential and active followers. He also reaches out to his friends that are considered influencers in the social media world. Salzer likes to make sure that the influencers and models he contacts are a “brand match.” He says the models have to have the “look and feel” that represent the product. He wants them to be a strong representation of his work, not just someone with a ton of followers. Using Instagram influencers can make a big, and cost-effective, difference for brands including Hiro Clark. If the right influencer promotes the brand, it will lead to immediate sales of the products.
The Heartthrob
Many models who promote clothing brands and walk the runway today were discovered on Instagram. Instead of going through an agency to get top-of-the-line models to promote their clothing or products they use “insta-models.” It is an easier way to reach out to an audience that can relate to the “insta-models” rather than “super” models who teens only see as celebrities.
Take Internet sensation Cameron Dallas, for example. He started his career as an “insta-model” taking his own pictures, editing and posting them. Cameron Dallas labeled himself as a model on social media and evetually blew up and became a teen heartthrob and social-media influencer. He was the “Justin Bieber” of the social media world. Dallas now has 17.6 million followers on Instagram and has modeled for brands such as Calvin Klein and Dolce and Gabanna.
Cameron Dallas found a career in the modeling industry through the hard work and dedication he had while starting up his Instagram profile. Aside from being one of the most popular social media influencers and models, Dallas has been cast in such movies as Expelled and The Outfield and has starred in his own Netflix reality show about his rapid rise to fame.
Instagram has opened the door for many people all shapes and sizes. It has made dreams come true for girls who never thought they would be considered a “model.” The modeling industry is infamous for only accepting girls over a certain height and under a certain weight. Instagram has no requirements, anyone can be a “model” on their platform.
Millions of Instagram users find joy and inspriation discovering “plus sized” models, models that are under the “height requirement”, male models, males that wear makeup, and many more breaking social norms. Instagram is a platform that allows people express their creativity and inspire others across the globe.
