Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Mariah McAlpin @mariahmcalpin

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

I am currently based in Cape Town, South Africa (the most underrated paradise ever)! I was born in Florida, USA and grew up there my whole life (can’t complain, Florida is also a paradise)! When I turned 19 I decided I wanted to travel the world. It had been my dream for years and I finally felt independent enough to do it. I owned my own business and was able to work from my computer so it worked perfectly!
The first country I decided to visit was South Africa… super random and honestly didn’t even know there was real civilization there. I just heard from a friend that it was awesome- and that was an understatement!
So I planned a two week trip there with my best friend and ended up falling in love with the man of my dreams.
We have now been dating for over 2 years and I have never been happier!
I spend most of my time in Cape Town but every 2-3 months I fly back to Florida to see my parents (and of course, reset my 3 month visa- woohoo US passports rock!).

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

I don’t really have a set interest or topic I post about. I just post about things that make me happy! Whether it be exploring a new country, sporting my new fav bikinis at the beach, or grabbing a red cappuccino at my favorite coffee shop- you will probably be seeing it on my social media sites!

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

Wish I had some super exciting store about my creative instagram name but realistically its not creative at all… I just used my first and last name given to me at birth… didn’t even get to chose that… lame.

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

Ugh… really don’t want to give away my editing secret…. but Snapseed is the bomb! It is thee best app ever for editing photos AND ITS FREE!

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

Like… more like obsessed with-

@theblondeabroad
@galaezra
@pilotmadeline
@captain_potter
@iamgalla
@theblondevagabond

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

Contact awesome Instagram pages (that do feature of other instagramers) that post the same content as you, and as if they would be willing to post your photos!

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

I come in contact with so many awesome people a day! I have made some really amazing friends from connecting on social media and have had a lot of incredible opportunities that I could have never imagined!

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

I don’t know much about PR, I just know what I look for when purchasing a product or service.

I purchase about 80% of my products and services online. 75% of those services or products I purchase online is after doing research on social media. Usually through hashtags and geotags.

For example: If I am looking for a resort to stay in while I am in Thailand I am going to search #thailandresort or #kohtaohotel – and the list of hashtags go on. I also search the ‘places’ section on instagram and look up photos taken in that area. I look through the photos of the geotags or hashtags and find a hotel that catches my eye and usually end up staying there. It is very rare that I look into a blog post or Google “best hotels in Thailand”. I want a honest reviews, with real photos!

The social media world is HUGE and so many people these days have a lot of followers, so with a bit of searching I am sure you can find someone who is truly interested in your product! And that speaks so much more to potential customers then seeing a post that is clearly paid for, from an influencer that only really cares about cashing out on the deal! 🙂

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

It is SO important! I think the more freedom the influencer has to promote a product/service the better! Nothing is worse then seeing a copy/pasted caption written by the company.

If an influencer is genuinely passionate about your product they are going to do a killer job at selling it!

I think the best way to get someone to buy is to show them why they need it, not tell them why. You need to make them realize they need the product on their own! 🙂

I think when you can do that then your quality of content is priceless!

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

I get hundreds of DMs a week in regards to people wanting my opinion on different things and sometimes its hard to give an opinion on something when you have nothing to compare it to.

But working with brands gives me the opportunity to provide more information for my followers, so it becomes a win win situation for the both of us.

You can’t keep followers if you don’t have anything to offer them. For me, my instagram account offers more than just photos… it offers education on traveling, advice of fashion, brands, sales, fun activities, etc.

So when I have a brand that wants me to promote for them I’m like ‘Heck yes! You help me and I help you!’ I have followers hungry for information and you’re wanting followers who are looking/needing your product!

Topics:

• Animals & Pets
• Design
• Fashion
• Hair & Beauty
• Health & Fitness
• Nature & Outdoors
• Photography
• Technology
• Travel

Country:

United States of America