Summer is finally here and I am pretty sure that you already got your vacation plans ready! Among all the preparations you’re going through for that much-needed summer vacay, the only question that I’m gonna ask is this: IS YOUR INSTAGRAM FEED READY FOR THE SUMMER?
If your answer is no, well, I got you fam! Vern Enciso, Kerwin King, and Lucky Alabado of Discover Mnl teamed up with the Traveloka Philippines team for an afternoon of fun talks, chikahans, and food! Despite their busy schedules; Vern, Kerwin, and Lucky dedicated a full afternoon to bond and share their knowledge about content creation, blogging and achieving the much coveted #FeedGoals!
The afternoon started with Kerwin King’s talk about photography. In case you’re missing out, Kerwin (@kerwinking) is a 22-year-old online influencer and brand ambassador. He has 89,200 following on Instagram alone under his belt. He is known for his pastel-colored feed aesthetic which shows his personal interest in traveling, flat lays and visually pleasing landscape photographs.
Kerwin’s discussion was brief and simple but it’s the essential knowledge that you need to start creating either content for your social media platforms or your own personal blog! Here are his secret hacks that he willingly shared with us:
In taking good photos, it is vital to have a nice or at least decent camera. Sometimes, it is not enough to just have your mobile phone around. A camera is a good investment not just for your Instagram feed, but for capturing your moments during vacation! Another key point is how lighting changes everything. You need to find a good light that could make your photo dramatic or more pleasing to the eye. Lighting is EVERYTHING! He also shared his knowledge about Instagram styling. For his feed, he shared with us what tool he uses to edit his amazing photos–the Adobe Lightroom (for PC and mobile)! Really easy to achieve right?
For Lucky Alabado’s part of the talk, she discussed blogging and content creation. Being part of one of the biggest traveling community in the social media game which is Discover MNL, she generously shared her knowledge about building a personal brand, starting collaborations, finding purpose in blogging and of course the basics of flat lay.
In building a personal brand, she emphasized the importance of having a clear direction in what your brand’s mission and vision is. It is important to know the 4 Vs of branding which are the following: Vision, Values, Voice, and Visuals. This is what you need to establish before creating who or what you want your brand to be. On the other hand, after getting all your brand’s plan laid, you have to build a community.
You can build your own community and join an existing one so you can communicate your message to the world easily. Of course, when everything is ironed out and you have established your brand and community, you must open your doors to opportunities by turning your brand into a full-time business. Easy said than done right? Lucky shared with that although it sounds hard, you can turn your simple passion projects into a business through partnerships, collaborations or services. Always be open to collaborations because it opens your brand to broad ideas that will help you achieve your goals with someone beside you.
Now, here is everyone’s favorite part of her talk: FLATLAY 101. As someone who loves taking photographs, I always adore Instagram feeds that displays really visually appealing flat lay styled contents. Thank goodness Lucky shared with us some hacks in making our flat lays more cohesive and appealing:
According to her, COMPOSITION IS THE KEY. We must keep the lines of our subject clean and considerate of the symmetry of frame. Creating a definite space between objects is a must. Mastering the art of #FLATLAY is pretty easy. Simply use a basic and simple background, make use of the natural light, mind your spacing, pick a fun theme that you could religiously follow, get inspired by your surroundings, experiment on your layouts, have a prop box to make your hobby easier and have a hero piece or in layman’s term: a definite subject that you will highlight.
To end her talk, she simply shared a simple social media trick: In introducing your brand or your profile to people, it should show your natural personality. Be you. No one does it better than you yourself. Enhance your passion. Be relatable. Always develop a consistency in everything you do. Build relationships and connect with your followers (she does this like a natural) and always be in the know.
