This week, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview our very own Instagram Chair, Vanessa Valles. During the interview, she talks about her time with HerCampus, her experience with doing brand deals, ways you can spice up your Instagram page and more.
Her Campus (HC): When and what led you to join HerCampus?
Vanessa Valles (VV): I joined HCFSU Fall of my junior year. This was the first organization I ever joined and wanted to get involved with an inspiring group of ladies. I also wanted to join a space where I could practice my writing and social media skills.
(HC): What is your current position at HerCampus?
(VV): I am the Instagram chair for HCFSU.
(HC): What are your responsibilities as the Instagram chair?
(VV): As Instagram chair, I manage my team of five on making sure we are sharing articles and relevant content with the ladies of FSU. Besides managing my team, I also create content on the platform that will increase follower engagement.
(HC): What’s made you apply for the executive board?
(VV): I wanted to join exec because I felt I had some really strong ideas to contribute to the team. The past exec teams have set such a strong foundation that I felt I could take our social media presence to new heights :) I also really wanted to be more involved with this amazing organization of women.
(HC): What’s your favorite part of HerCampus/being a part of the social team?
(VV): My favorite part of my position is creating content that our users will enjoy! My favorite part of being on HC this year is getting closer to some of the other members, specifically the exec team. I feel some of us have formed such a great bond (through zoom!!) that we work well as a team to deliver amazing content and results. Working with this group of ladies has been so inspiring and motivating to be the best I can be!
(VV): I have always loved the concept of social media, especially on Instagram. Creating content for my own Instagram (@van.valles) was something I found myself spending lots of time on. This extra time spent was something I genuinely enjoyed doing and would look up new ways to have really cool-looking photos. Once I joined HC, I quickly joined the social media team to test out my social media skills and expand my knowledge across all social media platforms. I found that there is more than reaches the eye when it comes to the world of social media.
(HC): How is running the IG team this semester different from being a part of the team last semester?
(VV): There is a lot more responsibility on you when running an entire platform. Instagram is oftentimes our students’ first introduction to HCFSU, so it is important to represent the brand well and promoting our writers’ amazing articles. It requires a ton of planning and is something you have to monitor all day, seven days a week.
(HC): Who are some of the people you look up to on IG, and why?
(VV): One of my favorite Instagrammers at the moment also happens to be someone I subscribe to on YouTube: @tarmarz. I am super obsessed with her style, her Brooklyn loft and the daily vlogs. Another Instagrammer I have been liking lately is @monikh because her style is literally amazing, and her content is so simple. I think there is beauty in simplicity and my pictures tend to be busy, so I find her account to be inspiring and a reminder that I don’t need to have a million embellishments to a photo for it to be cute.
(HC): What is your preferred platform, and why?
(VV): Instagram is, for sure, my preferred platform. Although the other platforms have aspects that I love to engage with, I love being able to tell a story through a picture.
(HC): What’s some advice you have for other people wanting to get involved in influencing?
(VV): I am pretty new to “influencing,” but I would advise college girls to join a community like College Fashionista or Campus Trendsetters. These networks allow you to work with a variety of brands so you can get to know what it is like to be a micro-influencer.
(VV): My first brand deal was through one of the above-mentioned communities, and it was partnering with GrubHub. I was excited to take pictures as I had not been focusing on my own personal Instagram during the summer due to staying at home most of the time. It ended up being a ton of fun and made me want to do more partnerships!!
(HC): In your opinion, what would you say is the best and worst part of social media and what you do?
(VV): The best part of social media is definitely the creative freedom you possess. The worst part is that at times it can be tough not to compare your content to others. This comparison might cause you to create content that is inauthentic to yourself, so it is important to stay true to who you are and just have fun with it.
(HC): How do you try and keep the Instagram content engaging between the feed and stories?
(VV): I try to include ways for our followers to interact with the content. For stories, this can be adding a question box or poll. For in-feed posts, it can be prompting to answer a question through our caption. Although these are the most used methods of ours, there are endless ways to keep followers engaged with your content.
(HC): What are some go-to tips you have for spicing up your IG page?
(VV): Just have fun!! For the past two years, I have gone by the phrase: “make Instagram fun again”. I create what I want because, at the end of the day, it’s what represents me in my online space. If you’re not having fun with it, what’s the point?
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