Natalia Elenkina on Leveraging the Power and Reach of Instagram
A ten-year-old girl from Russia dreams of becoming a model. She poses in front of the mirror in her room and wonders when she will have cameramen lined in front of her. Her time passes going through the various fashion magazines where she cuts out pictures of her favorite models. She mimics their poses when no one is around, confident that she would become a successful model one day.
Fast-forward a decade. Instagram has now become one of the most popular social media platforms. And Natalia Elenkina, that ten-year-old Russian girl who dreamt of becoming a model, is setting Instagram on fire with her photos. As a result, she is now a leading model in the fashion industry, and brands want her signature on their contracts for tons of projects.
Acknowledging the attention
Natalia is used to getting attention for her looks and style from a young age. Initially, she felt embarrassed when people would come up to her and want to take photos. Then, they told her that they followed her on Instagram. That was one of the turning points in her career. She figured out that this wasn’t something to be embarrassed about. Instead, she started acknowledging her fans and increased the number of posts on Instagram.
She said in one of her interviews, “I didn’t realize that the rise in my Instagram fan-following would one day lead me to fulfill my dream. I was merely capturing the moments that I had wondered about when I was a little child. What started as mimicking models led me to pursue my career in the industry that I love the most.”
Instagram stardom is nothing new these days. From cooks to photographers, you can find tons of professionals taking it to Instagram to showcase their skills. Natalia, too, used the platform to gain followers and capture the attention of various brands.
Working with top-notch brands
Posting pictures on Instagram is one thing, but it’s a new responsibility when working with some of the best fashion brands. Whether it’s for some apparel brand or an upcoming company that wants to promote their cosmetics, many of them are trying to sign up Natalia for their projects. But what does the emerging Instagram star have to say about her busy life?
“It’s a dream come true moment for me. Ever since I was a child, I dreamt of brands lining up to work with me. I think almost every girl at my age during that time had such dreams. But seeing that dream come to life is surreal. I still think that I would wake up one morning and all these things would be gone. If there is something called living the dream, then this is it for me. I’m happy to work with so many brands, and it gives me immense pleasure that my parents are proud of me.”
There are also reports that Natalia would soon step into Hollywood. But her fans would have to wait a little longer to find out if that’s going to happen or not.
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