Natasha Grano on how she became an Instagram sensation... Words by Natasha Grano
January 9th 2017
Boom! Today I turned 25 Dearest Diary and my Instagram went live! I posted my first pic! It’s my first time writing to you as a single mummy since baby Rio arrived in my life. A lot has happened! I bought an active Instagram page from a blogger and merged it into the 'Natasha Grano' page * Cheesy grin*. I made a huge decision today to try and push myself in a positive direction. I want to become an internationally acclaimed influencer who will one day have my own brand and will help others find their life purpose too.
For the last two years I have been extensively studying Instagram. I’ve learnt what I like and how I will find a niche. I’ve watched hundreds of YouTube tutorials on how to grow organically and have Skyped my mentor in LA about becoming 'Insta-famous' and running a successful blog.
#Notetoself- transform my shopping addiction into an inspiring fashion & beauty Instagram page to inspire women from the inside out. Turning bad habits into good habits. Yes honey!
I will use the high quality photos I shot last week with my boyfriend’s camera while wearing the latest pieces from a variety of high street and designer brands. So from now on I’m going to be posting once or twice a day. I’ve prepared all the captions to show my authentic self in my best light. As I have a passion for female empowerment I am using motivational quotes to inspire my viewers to feel empowered. So then I hit the floor running with all my knowledge, perspectives and pictures and I took on the world of Instagram! And that’s how it began ;)
May 10th 2018
Dear diary, I’m finally doing what I love and feeling so alive in the process! I came across some challenges, naturally, such as dips in my engagement for short periods of time and so I changed the whole layout aesthetically of my page. The more popular my page becomes the more brands contact me for collaborations.
Now that I’m over 1 million followers my rates are in the four figures! I get to spend a lot of time travelling to my favourite spots all around Europe to luxury hotels who invite me to stay. I get to eat for free in all the top restaurants in London too, honestly this has got to be any girl's dream!
I realised quite quickly that my followers absolutely love seeing my luxury lifestyle and they adore the locations in my photos. I shoot regularly at my home in Mayfair with photographers who I find on Instagram. I have been able to start a luxury villa company called @mmmvillas and rent them out in Marrakech all year round- simply from my following on Instagram! I’ve realised that Insta Stories are the key place to grow your following rapidly.
Playing games with my followers, interacting with them using polls and documenting my lavish daily activities have meant I really know what my followers like!
#NoteToSelf - Always tag a location of a well known city (even if it wasn’t taken there) in my stories and hide it behind the photo as this means my story will be viewed by anyone searching that location! Oh and also add lots of hashtags on the story as the same principle applies.
September 12th 2019
1,200,000 followers, interviews in all the top glossy magazines, red carpets every week... Dear Diary I have so much to tell you! And I’ve actually fallen in love with a wonderful man, he’s a well known actor ;) (Vikings star Elijah Rowen) We spent our whole summer on beaches and yachts.
I no longer need to shop at all. I am endorsed by so many luxury and high street brands and I even have fans who ask for pictures in the street *blushing*. I mean I still love to shop but only for handbags and shoes really, so around £7,000 per month which is half of my old shopping addiction.
I get invited to the coolest events such as the Dior and Vogue Parties with the rich and famous! Guess what else?! I even shoot with my baby Rio all the time, he just turned three, can yuh believe it?! I photoshoot for the fashion and beauty brands I promote on my Instagram about once a week and guess what?!
I am officially the co-founder of the brand UMAY which is set to be the next House of CB/PrettyLittleThing! I have two sponsored children in Uganda whom I am very much in touch with as well as supporting them financially (all through the charity Compassion). and i will be visiting them later this year. The opportunities Instagram has given me are mind blowing. It’s fashion week right now and I’m front row at all the major shows, and when I’m not there I’m doing TV presenting backstage and interviewing the designers and A-listers. Sooo fun!
#NoteToSelf - I’ve realised anyone can become a super influencer Dear Diary. Self belief is a huge part of it and then having clear direction on who you are and what you are trying to achieve is the rest. Good glossy clean photos and consistency in posting is key!
My biggest secret is to remember as soon as a post goes live, the first hour after that is the most crucial. Interaction is critical at this point and that means interacting with other like minded influencers or even one stage above me, in hope they’ll come back and like and comment on my post too! Can’t wait to tell you my news next time as I am working on something so exciting that even you can’t know yet Dearest Diary.
Ciao for now xoxo