Today we’d like to introduce you to Katarina Elle Zarutskie.
Katarina Elle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Southern California and made the decision to move to Miami after meeting my wonderful boyfriend Nicolo and enrolling into the University of Miami. I was always into fashion and an avid believer in sustaining a healthy lifestyle because of years modeling in NYC, CA, and in Europe. These were all contributing aspirations that got me started on Instagram.
I had a small but engaging amount of followers heading into the summer I moved to Miami with Nicolo. That all changed when a small incident occurred on a trip with Nicolo to the Bahamas right before my first semester classes began. I was mistakenly bitten by a Nurse Shark while free swimming in a protected area open to the public and that moment was captured on camera by another guest who was taking photos of the sharks. From there, the story broke out (both for the good and bad) a month later across almost every news station and social media platform. From there, my journey on Instagram escalated very quickly to a few hundred thousand followers.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road but that is what makes this adventure so exciting. From 10,000 followers to 200,000 in a week, I truly had to begin treating this Instagram as a proper source of aspiration and advice. There have been so many people and organizations along the way who have tried to take advantage of my brand which resulted in important life lessons. From PR companies that promise the world and underdeliver to managers who take your income from the brands you work with, this is very much a hard business and you always need to be on top of everything you do. It is important to stop and think before you post anything because with this type of following, one mistake can cause such a reaction from your community. I would never want to do anything that would ever upset or hurt followers who come to our pages for inspiration and advice.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
The business side of Instagram is collaborating with brands that resonate with my fashion and healthy lifestyle ethos. It’s very important to be selective with who you partner with because you must align with your values and the values of your followers to create posts that are successful with a lot of engagement. Sometimes managers will bring me opportunities and take a percentage of the overall income on the project. Other times, brands reach out directly to me and we work together to create the content of their dreams! Regarding my brand identity, I focus on finding the healthiest products for body and mind while keeping up to date with the latest fashion trends. I am most proud of having a wonderful platform to provide help and advice to people around the world! It is so cool to have such a wide-reaching voice at such a young age!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I wouldn’t say there is a secret sauce to success in the Instagram world. I believe it takes a lot of determination and creativity to create a brand identity and ethos that resonates with your community of followers. I believe there is a community of followers for everyone and their identity! Whether its fashion, food, pets, or video games; there is a community out there that you can relate to and engage with. Take the time and create engaging posts and you will see how quickly things begin to grow! It’s a marathon, not a sprint so just keep working hard at it <3
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katarinazarutskie/
Image Credit:
– Ronald Wayne, Jean-Claude Levasseur
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