Meet the Muse: @devanondeck
- How would you describe your Instagram?
A juxtaposition between art and fashion. What you see on my Instagram is a byproduct of understanding myself, my audience, and the technology that encompasses all of this. In other words, it’s a gallery of conversation starters.
2. How did you get started with Instagram?
2014 is when I started taking Instagram seriously; intentionally building my personal brand. I used to have a more colorful profile, and it’s only recently that I started to be consistent in keeping it to a few colors. But my originality is conveyed through my editing even from early on. If you scroll down my profile, you’ll see that I’ve been “flying” since back in the day.
3. How did you grow your Instagram and when did you start getting this number of followers?
Nothing happens overnight. Just like everything else in your life where you need to evolve and grow, you always gotta move forward.
For me, I started with experimenting, and appreciating that I’m standing in a very rare position. Not a lot of people have the same perspective as I do, as I have the privilege of coming from a mixed background of art, tech, fashion and marketing.
When I post on Instagram, I’m very intentional with my timing, captions and community management. I also constantly do A/B testing to see what works and what doesn’t. Most importantly, I’m always engaging with my followers, replying to comments and DMs for instance.
4. Speaking of staying innovative, how do you keep coming up with fresh ideas for content? What kind of brands do you usually work with?
I’m a storyteller. A great story is all that matters. From a content standpoint, I draw most of my inspiration from outside the world of fashion. There’s so much beautiful imagery and video on the internet and in art galleries to draw from.
I have a good working relationship with Greats, VINCE, PUMA, Everlane, Lucky Brand, and Christian Louboutin to name a few. These are all brands that have a story to tell.
With Lucky Brand, for example, their marketing & social team is really killing it at storytelling, and that’s why I think they’ll continue to win. I align myself with companies that push to find their various niches and take risks; these are the ones who motivate me to keep doing what I do.
5. What is the most important aspect for you or influencers in general to keep in mind when working with brands?
A. Relationships are everything.
B. Cool means nothing if it’s not effective.
As an influencer, you are a business. When you are talking to brand partners, you have to underline how you can prove your ROI. It’s about giving clear expectations to them.
6. How do you maintain relationship with your brands?
A balance of being professional and making friends. At the end of the day, people would rather work with someone they actually like. But be careful, as likability won’t make up for breaking your word or being late with deliverables.
7. What do you think influencers should avoid doing?
They should avoid taking deals that do not reflect their personal visions for themselves or their worth. It’s important for us influencers to not undervalue ourselves. But then again, it also comes down to what your personal goals and vision is for your brand. You have to make the judgment call.
8. Is there anything that you would have done differently if you knew then what you know now? Or if you have any stories that you care to share with us.
Oh yes! I’m at the point where I’m constantly reevaluating myself. For one, I would have had this much hunger while I was still working my 9–5 job. My message for everybody out there: if you know what you’re passionate about, don’t wait on it and start right away.
I also would have used hashtags sooner, had I known about the benefits of using hashtags. I used to be super anti hashtags, up to a few months ago when I was convinced by a friend. So that’s something that I would’ve changed from the beginning. I also try to use #s that people don’t use as often. Basically learning a lot of growth hacks would’ve been helpful.
9. What is still your biggest challenge?
I’d say it’s being pigeonholed by brands as an influencer only. When in fact I’m an Art Director and Digital strategist first; the influence came as a result. Rather than just serving as a billboard, I’m much more concerned with how I can best support a brand’s business goals and add long term value. And no one expects that. So it can be a bit of a challenge to wrap their heads around at first.
10. Who are some of your favorite or must follow Instagram accounts? And why?
I love the work of @ellemayleckenby, she’s hella dope! Also @aitor_throup… flames! And @duckwrth, he’s a creative genius. These are 3 accounts that definitely inspire me. They are all artists with strong brand stories.
11. I saw that you also have a headwear line, MyClo. Is that what’s next for you?
MyClo has been another focus of mine for quite some time. It’s an American-made headwear company that supports small businesses nationwide with every purchase. I’m blessed to to have a cofounder that holds me down when my schedule gets crazy; shout out to Niranjan!
As far as my personal branding goes, you can expect me to continue pushing the envelope when it comes to creative content. And hopefully you’ll see more travel content from me. I want to continue to travel with a purpose and continue build brand experiences.
12. Where do you see the future of influencer marketing is heading?
Influencer marketing will be explosive in 2017! Content will continue to be king, especially video. Consumers are getting savvier and will demand more from the influencers they follow, which is why lazy product placement won’t work much longer.
Also social apps will continue to build out ways to make in-app purchases and for businesses to track their traffic sources and ROI on a micro level. Which will hopefully help set standards on the B2B side of things.
For more updates about Devan, follow his Instagram here!
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