Episode 1 on PTM Stories: Tracy Kyasiimire, a content creator, digital marketer, and social media influencer currently serving as Team Lead at Labyrinth Content Studio.
People always ask me how I’ve grown my following across multiple social media platforms. Today, I’ll share my story. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it was eventually built.
I’m active on four social media platforms, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and LinkedIn being my newest venture. Of the four accounts, I have the most followers on Instagram with 151,000 organic followers I’ve grown over about eight years. On X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, I have 9,944 and 9,446 followers respectively. Now, you might wonder why I have a gigantic number of followers on Instagram compared to more moderate numbers on the other platforms. The answer is simple: my niche. A jack of all trades is a master of none.
Long before the breakout of TikTok videos, reels, collaborations, and other new digital trends, Instagram was the home for showcasing lifestyle content. I turned this knowledge into my strength. I can’t definitively say whether creating content and growing numbers was easier then or now, but it’s a topic open for debate.
Back then, simply sharing a picture with a catchy caption could get you far. Combine that with consistency, and you will appear on the “Explore” page. Sites hungry for content would pick up your pictures, occasionally tag you, and boom your follower count would grow.
Over the years, I’ve immaculately established my name in the lifestyle corridors, from fashion, hospitality, and entertainment to health and skincare. My name pops up whenever there’s something lifestyle-related.
I have a mantra that I live by: “Everything and anything can be content if well packaged.”
From being a girl who loved posing for pictures and innocently posting on Instagram, I was noticed by the biggest fashion store at the time. Elevating my phone camera pictures to professionally edited photos by talented photographers made me an internet sensation.
My pictures were boosted by pages beyond East Africa including cities I’ve never visited. Pages with millions of followers like BlackBeautifulAndClassy, BoldBlackWomen, and MelaninGoddess shared my content. Blogs wrote about me and tagged my page, providing free publicity, known today as “earned media.”
Let’s be real, though—it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Misleading information about who I was and what I did circulated because I didn’t know how to define myself on social media, I used pseudo-names like Treyctash and Black Goddess.
While I don’t have a verification badge yet (though these days you can buy one), fake accounts started popping up, impersonating me. Some of my generous followers fell victim to scammers, but they eventually found my real account.
I made plenty of mistakes out of ignorance but I never gave up. I learned a lot and when I was introduced to the world of influencing and content creation —it was the best thing that has happened to me. The idea of making money by leveraging my social media presence was thrilling.
To this day, at social gatherings, family events, and beyond, I am known as the “content master”. It’s a title I hold with pride (LoL).
Investing in up-to-date technology is crucial because content marketing, like any other business venture, requires financial and time investment.
I use mobile phones, cameras, gimbals, editing apps, and Canva, to name a few. I go the extra mile to pay for these tools. Over time, I’ve learned to do many of these tasks myself, saving money I would have spent hiring someone to help me create content occasionally.
Believe me when I say digital marketing is broad! I’ve only scratched the surface of content creation, social media marketing, channels, mediums, success indicators, and metrics to measure. Influencer marketing, collaborations, digital trends, and digital marketing tools —I’m just getting started.
How do you determine what type of content resonates with your audience and which platform to optimize? Who is your target audience?
Social media platforms now have analytics tools that show you demographics including which gender follows you the most, the ages of your followers, the days your followers are most active, and the times of day you’ll get the most engagement, among others. Consistency is no longer an excuse because you can now schedule your posts.
I could go on and on because I know someone is hesitant to dive into this field, thinking it’s rocket science and feeling overwhelmed by all the information online, just like I was.
In short, I have thrived.
Various businesses from different industries have noticed me (since then) and reached out for partnerships.
I hope they find this post/story to motivate your start.
ALSO READ: BUILDING YOURSELF AS AN INFLUENCER, IS MORE OF A LONG GAME THAN A SPRINT — GAD ROGERS
