Not gonna lie, I've always wanted to know all the secrets behind how Michelle Phan has become an internet sensation. So, I was super excited when she spilled all her social media secrets to People, including an interesting tidbit: Michelle Phan doesn't follow celebs on Instagram.
Why, you ask, is Michelle Phan so against looking to famous people for inspiration on social media? She explains, "I don’t really follow very famous people on Instagram. I don’t really relate to what they post. I just wanted to follow people that inspired me, like illustrators, artists and artisans."
Phan continues to explain by saying:
"That’s what people are looking for now on Instagram. They don’t want to feel insecure when they see celebrities showing off expensive cars and jets and parties and dresses. They want authenticity… something real that evokes inspiration, not jealousy. That inspires creation."
I couldn't agree with the YouTube star more.
Reaching over 7 million subscribers, Phan has literally become a worldwide name and one of the most sought out beauty gurus in the industry. She is now even the creative director of her new project, ICON Network, a platform dedicated to lifestyle, beauty, and fashion content. IMHO, being able to catapult your passion to an actual brand and business is something so admirable and noteworthy. As someone who likes to personally cover rap songs on YouTube, it's pretty fascinating to see how social media works and how it can change someone's life entirely. So how does one become so successful by posting 3 minute makeup-inspired videos on the Interwebs? Phan tells People her best advice when it comes to social media stardom.
"My best advice for anyone out there that feels like ‘I don’t have a million followers so why should I even give it a shot’ is that it’s not about the numbers it’s about the engagement. That’s how you can build influence… A lot celebrities get millions of followers, but when I click on their pictures there’s only 20,000 likes or 40,000 likes, or only 200 comments which is a very low ratio. Then you go on another account that has 500,000 followers but they get around 80,000 thumbs up, and over 1,000 comments. And so their engagement level is actually higher than the celebrity with millions of followers. That’s how I put value on a creator."
So, remember this important lesson from the social media superstar herself: keep putting good content out there and doing what you love. It's as simple as that. To learn more of her tricks, head to People for the full interview.
