A DIGITAL marketing professional who lives, eats and breathes everything associated within the field, said she can’t stop herself when it comes to helping people ‘glam’ up their Instagram pages.
You’ll often see Catherine Payne outside 14 on Chartwell in uMhlanga, directing what may look like a photoshoot, but it’s actually her helping ‘grammers’ snap the perfect shot.
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“I often see people trying to get that great picture for Instagram, but they just can’t seem to capture it. I approach strangers and ask them if I could take the shot for them and, while doing that, I teach them a few techniques,” she said.
Payne, who hails from uMhlanga, said teaching people about looking for better lighting, how to pose, and what to do to get that incredible shot, is something she loves doing as she understands how important it is to have an attractive Instagram page, especially if you’re an influencer or if they plan on heading in that direction.
“I try to persuade the person to rather do a reel instead of a photo because photos aren’t showing organic growth like reels are,” she said.
“Many decline filming a reel because faces can’t be edited or enhanced like pictures can, but my advice to those who want to gain a following is to start creating more reels,” said Payne.
She added that when it came to digital marketing, there were many different components but, at present, influencers and content creators are hot topics.
“These days, it’s so much harder to attract followers as there is much more on offer. You need to be something wow or be somewhere wow,” she said.
“I find that medium to large enterprises are needing people to be the face of the brand and that’s where influencers and content creators come in. Which is why I encourage people to chase their influencer/content creator dreams. The industry needs you. If you’d like to be any of these, to break through the noise you need to find a niche, be it cooking, fashion, Instagram advice, make-up, fitness and the like, instead of posting random shots and reels, post with purpose. Your followers want value, not your random latte picture,” she said.
Follow Payne for free advice on how to spruce up your social media at cath_beth.
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