Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Mark Matthews @markymath

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

My name is Mark Matthews and I was born and raised on Vancouver Island, Canada. This part of the world is absolutely beautiful and will I never take for granted how lucky I am. My main source of income is as a professional mountain biker, but I’m also an online influencer. Over the past five years I’ve gone on countless adventures in search of some of the world’s best mountain bike riding. Since first using Instagram in 2012, I have developed a knack for photography and a passion to share these awesome, hilarious, and epic adventures with my fanbase.

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

Mountain biking, hiking, landscapes. I live for adventure in the outdoors and have a passion for mountain biking.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

It was a nickname given to me by fellow bike riders.

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

My go to is the Adobe Lightroom app on my iPhone because it’s so effective and quick to tweak a photo before sharing, the split toning feature is really fun to play around with. Another long-time favourite of mine is Snapseed, and I’m also a fan of VSCO sometimes.

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

I follow a bunch of different people! For mountain biking I like to follow @geoffgulevich ‘s adventures. He’s a long time friend of mine and fellow teammate who’s always up to something rad, and his GoPro shots are amazing! @chrisburkard takes insane photos and I’ve been following him for ages. I’m also a huge fan of @mason_mashon’s work.

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

Get out and take more photos

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

The opportunity to work with brands outside my regular industry, they see things in a completely different light than my bike sponsors. I am able to get more creative in a sense and I love that.

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

If you are a brand, take the time to research the people you want to collaborate with, and work with people ore long-term rather than for just single gigs. Partnerships only grow stronger overtime and it will increase the influencer’s loyalty to you. Don’t proposals without a set of deliverables and an introduction stating why it’s a good match. It’s annoying when a brand automatically assumes you should say yes to their offer. As an influencer, the key is to agree to work with someone who fits your image and who’s product or service is extremely applicable your audience. Knowing your audience is the number one key to staying authentic. When it’s a good fit the collaboration will fit naturally into your feed. You never want an awkward product placement or a random advertisement. As an influencer, your end goal shouldn’t be to make a few extra dollars (although that is part of it), it should be to make the brand you collaborating with more sales.

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

Be yourself, capture as many moments as possible and share the best. Once you start to figure out your audience over time, share what people want to see.

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

The opportunity to built long-term partnerships and growing together.

Topics:

• Nature & Outdoors
• Photography
• Travel

Country:

Canada