360 Campaign Part 2

INTERNING FOR: EMMA JEAN CLARKE

During this year I have been able to secure a position working for social media influencer, Emma Jean Clarke as an intern. This experience has enabled me to gain confidence in myself due to the behind-the-scenes insights as well as seeing my input and ideas being used on different projects and areas of content creation.

Some of the tasks I have completed for Emma include, helping to create a content creation schedule, planning for events such as Coachella 2022, and working with brands such as Nasty Gal. I also was responsible for researching new and different methods of content creation.

For example, we spoke a lot about being smart when creating content, for example, filming a live stream get ready with me, then going on to film for TikTok, reels, YouTube and Instagram at one time thus, giving her the opportunity to plan her Instagram feed, create a posting schedule and not have to worry about getting content every day to post that day.

This approach enables an influencer to be more consistent in posting and therefore works with the algorithm for the platform to push their content.

Planning Monday TikTok Live (GRWM)AM Instagram content TikTok content Post to TikTok

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday PLAN INSTA GRID Post to TikTok Post to Instagram TikTok Live PM

TikTok Live (GRWM)AM Instagram content Post to Instagram TikTok content

TikTok Live (GRWM)AM Instagram content Post to Instagram TikTok content

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

PLAN TIKTOKS Post to TikTok Post to Instagram TikTok Live PM

TikTok Live (GRWM)AM Instagram content Post to Instagram TikTok content

TikTok Live (GRWM)AM Post to TikTok Post to Instagram TikTok content

I have created this basic content creation and planning schedule as an example of what a week would look like as a social media influencer. The idea behind this is that I will be constantly creating and sharing content to ensure that I am being consistent on my chosen platforms. Instagram and TikTok will be the first two social media outlets that I will maintain a presence on due to the fact that I would like to maintain consistency and I don’t want to attempt to do this on too many platforms at one time until I have established a significant following.

The schedule includes what content I will be filming and shooting and when I will be making these posts. This is in line with the research that I have put together regarding the creator tools and insights functions on both of my chosen platforms.

I have also included time in my schedule for planning my Instagram grid so that the layout is aesthetically pleasing, attracting viewers of my profile to follow and engage further with me. I also think it is important to plan as I can then keep up with trends and ensure that I am putting out content that consumers will want to see and engage with.

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Campaign My overall goal for this module is to kickstart my career as a social media influencer. In order to do this, I will use my research into influencers, different platforms, myself through the brand me module, and the skills I have acquired from my internship. My campaign will showcase a clearly planned and executed Instagram grid that will reflect y social media presence and the foundations for projecting myself forwards on Instagram.

To achieve this, I will draw upon what I have learned from my research and development, for example, consistency in posting, use of hashtags, the understanding of the app and algorithms, and pushing content after posting to promote my brand. As well as this I will be looking at organic growth and how I can achieve this by utilising creator functions such as TikTok Live and channelling viewers to my other social media platforms.

My first port of call will be to test the waters on TikTok, as I have established, this is a great place to experiment with different types of content creation. By analysing what works and what doesn’t in terms of engagement from my target audience, I will be able to establish the type of content to focus my energy on creating.

TikTok as a platform is more open to experimentation than Instagram or YouTube, which tend to favour more polished aesthetic content creators. Therefore, while I am in the testing stage TikTok is a good place to start as it gives an accurate representation of consumer engagement and will allow me to grow a following which can then be channelled towards my Instagram.

While I am establishing a presence on TikTok, I will be planning and shooting my content for my Instagram to ensure that it is cohesive and representative of me and my values, while fitting into my niche and appealing to my target audience.

In order to do this, I have created some mock Instagram feeds from influencers and content creators I feel will share a similar aesthetic to myself. This has enabled me to create a visual to back up and inform how my grid will look. This level of planning is imperative to the success of my brand and marketing myself as an influencer as it is the semiotics of how I come across as a brand to my consumer and showcases more than just pictures of me, but my values, who I am as a person and ho I want to portray myself publicly in order to relate to my consumer.

This will act as a mood board and will help me to stick to a cohesive theme and branding when I post my own content as a part of my campaign. It will also inspire and inform poses, lighting choices, editing techniques and inclusion of different types of content that I maybe would not have considered previously to this.

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These images represent the type of content that I will be creating. These themes have underlying themes of summer due to the time of year (June) being on trend for the time of year is a really important aspect of creating content as it will allow my consumer to relate more to my posts.

The use of blues, skin tones and green will not only tie into the season but will also lean towards the more masculine side of my style, in addition to this it will create a nice juxtaposition with the more feminine posts that will be represented by the pinker and again skin tone or nude colourways on the grid. The semiotics behind this will show my consumer that the versatility and blurring between, masculine and feminine is something that I feel passionately about and incorporate into my personal branding.

Also supporting this theory will be the incorporation of both feminine and masculine styles in terms of clothing and glam. I want to represent a realistic version of myself that is authentic and not the most perfect version of me, rather the most real version of me. My life is exciting, and I am fortunate to have so many things, including confidence and a safe space to explore my style and experiment by pushing boundaries and typical gender norms in fashion. I would like to represent this in my feed.

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Personal Branding Personal branding is the representation of your core values, beliefs and morals. It is the true nature of your personality and the reflection of how you portray yourself and how you are perceived, by peers, consumers and anyone you interact with. Digital footprint is really important here as this is often how people will interact with you and in many cases is where a lot of networking takes place and opportunities arise, therefore it is important to ensure that your online presence truly reflects your personal branding.

In the career of an influencer, personal branding is one of the most important things as consumers are buying into your personal brand, the power of online presence is so important, and many people are on such a high pedestal that it leaves no room for mistakes.

In the current ‘cancel culture’ – the mass unfollowing or boycotting of a public figure due to a scandal - influencers have to be extremely careful with their content so as to not cause offence or disrespect to cultures, communities and societies.

Throughout this module, I have undertaken a series of different research tasks to ensure that I know my own personal branding before I embark on this career path of being a social media influencer. A huge portion comes from the brand me module, which allowed me to self-reflect and dissect who I am and what my values, beliefs and morals are. From this, I discovered that I am an introverted extrovert.

I am the life and soul of the party, with a huge part of my life revolving around the nightclub scene which has inspired many of my looks, my experimentation with fashion and makeup as well as my love and belief in freedom, self-expression, exploration and escapism. On the flip side of this, I care hugely about sustainability and that often influences my style and ways of working. I am also a huge advocate for health and wellness including beauty and skincare and taking care of our mental health having overcome some truly difficult experiences in my life.

As a whole package, I have developed a clear plan for how to communicate my personal branding while marketing myself as a social media influencer for my FMP module, through research into myself, my tastes, my consumer, the existing market, and semiotics and the development of my personal branding.

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Reflection From my research, I have established the necessary steps I will need to take in order to successfully market myself as a social media influencer. Relying on the knowledge I have acquired from my internship, my brand me research, research into influencers and lastly, my in-depth research into different social media platforms.

My work for Emma Jean Clarke enabled me to understand and see first-hand how to operate in order to gain a sustainable income and career from influencing. This knowledge will support me in my own development of content and communication with my audience, while also utilising skills in terms of brand deals and liaising with brands to participate in ads and promotional content. One thing I learnt from Emma in specific was not to ‘sell out’ and take every brand deal at the start of your career. it is easy to be enticed when brand deals come in, however, the most important thing as an influencer is to stay true to yourself and your core values as a brand.

Brand Me helped me to realise who I am and what my core values and beliefs are. This knowledge will support me in clearly communicating myself as an influencer and creating a real bond with my consumer, creating a loyal audience and brand identity. This will allow me to achieve my goal of creating a safe space for my audience.

My 20x20 research has allowed me to gain more insight into my specific tastes which has helped me to establish my fit and gap in the market, as well as my target consumer. I have clearly outlined the type of content that I enjoy as a consumer, this will help me to develop my own content and explore the type of content I post. For example, the TikTok styling videos by Sammi Jefcoate may be one avenue I explore as I enjoy viewing this type of content so will potentially enjoy creating it. This inspiration will support me in the planning for my own social media presence.

Gaining knowledge of different social media platforms and how they work, namely TikTok and Instagram, has given me more confidence in approaching this task as I feel I will be able to utilise the platforms to their fullest potential. For example, using creator tools and insights functions on Instagram will allow me to analyse the success of my posts, the engagement from my audience and target market, as well as the correct times to post due to the number of active followers at a set time. This research will help me to get the most out of the social media outlets I have chosen to progress with or my campaign.

This research has helped to inform the mock-up visuals I have created for my visual campaign. My grid will be cohesive, and representative of my personality, aesthetics and values. With a focus on genderless fashion and beauty content, with underlying themes of sustainability equality, self-expression and escapism running throughout. The semiotics of this campaign will be used in order to communicate clearly to my consumer who I am and why they should follow me.

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