Describe your social media game: I would describe my account, in general, to be a laugh. I’m shameless and I don’t take myself too seriously; neither should anyone following my account. Although some of my content does take hours to create, I just want to inject a little bit of joy and bizarreness into your day.
Your followers tend to be: The demographic of my account is quite broad. I get the younger crowd because I am *cough* young, the older crowd because they just want to know what it feels like to be young again, the men want to be me, and the women want to be with me! I’m kidding, of course; everyone wants to be with me! (Remember I said not to take me too seriously?)
What made you take up such a career? This wasn’t always my career and I am still balancing a number of roles: content creating, directing, acting, as well as being part of my family’s business. I started using Instagram ever since the app first launched, but I only began to really invest time and proper thought into it after the pandemic hit. I’ve lived in London for eight years, performing in musicals, so this sort of thing was always in me. I definitely don’t fit into any particular mould, which is why I think people tend to gravitate towards my account. I’m honest and real, and when things go wrong, I love to tell the tale.
What do you believe is the role of an influencer? I don’t ever refer to myself as an influencer but more as a ‘content creator’ – I’m not a Kardashian yet, with millions of followers to influence. I create content for brands that are in line with my own. That way, viewers can actually relate and connect the two (the brand and the person). I feel like that should be the main role of an influencer / content creator, to always stay true to themselves. It isn’t my duty to cater to your needs and beliefs.
Why do you believe your content is relatable? I don’t need Instagram to survive. So I’m not trying to be anything that I am not, in order to please people, which tends to work in my favour. You get to see someone relatable, talking about things you can actually relate to. I love being open about topics you’d probably only discuss with close friends. Embracing the humour in life and bringing everyone along for the ride.
Who do you follow online, and why? @bennydrama7 for his comedic content, @jtfirstman for his risqué content, @nadialeecohen for her brain, and @andrewgeorgiades for his aesthetic (and maybe his abs).
TikTok – evil or amazing? Why? I’d love to get into it, but it’s just not sticking, mostly because I don’t find it creatively stimulating since mostly people just copy trends. To me that just isn’t exciting enough. But maybe that’s the whole point of TikTok? I don’t know! I’ll say it’s amazing nonetheless because it’s a platform.
I want to up my social media game. What do I do? Firstly, figure out what your game is exactly. Then, see how you’re going to execute and tackle that game in an exciting and engaging way. If it’s your personal account, I’d always encourage users to be themselves, and embrace all their flaws. People will be able to connect and relate with you so much more than trying to be someone you’re not.
How often do you post? I try to post on my main feed every other day, and post stories pretty much daily. The less I began to overthink things, the easier this all became.
Can spontaneity and influencer co-exist? Of course! Some of my favourite content is spontaneous and not as curated. The rough-and-ready look is very much in trend; you just always have to keep an eye out for detail and the aesthetic that matches your brand.
Any nasty stalker stories? Ha! I actually have a few, but mostly it’s just the creepy, ‘I saw you eating alone’ type of messages from someone I don’t know, a random story post of me out and about, or a drunk stranger saying ‘tifqa’ l’A**a’ so close to me we might as well be dating.
Follow Raphael Pace on IG at @raphaelpace. Check out other Sunday Circle features or this Q&A with MarieClaire Portelli.
