For those of you who havenโt sat down to watch the widely popular Netflix series Emily In Paris, this TikTok sums it up well. Kiddingโkind of.
Essentially, after landing a job in (you guessed it) Paris, our American heroine Emily embarks on a whirlwind adventure of marketing, luxury, romance, and croissants. The show is an easy one to pick apartโfrom the fashion to the Parisian stereotypesโbut for me, the biggest issue is its portrayal of what it takes to be successful on social media. As a social media manager myself here at @ournaturalhabitat and @vitruvi, I canโt help but wonder how she managed to gain a following at all.
Granted, this feel-good binge watch clearly doesnโt need a killer plot to hook an audience. After its debut in 2020, over 58 million households tuned in within the first month, making it Netflixโs most popular comedy series of the year. And I must admit, I binged both seasons as soon as they came out. Still, I cannot ignore the major plot hole that isย Emilyโs โinfluencerโ status. Within a matter of months,ย she grows her personal social media audience from just a few dozen to thousands. Which is not to say it isnโt possible, but the way in which she accomplishes this just doesnโt add up. One of my favorite scenes in the series is when she treats herself to a croissant, films a quick Boomerang video (please tell me who still uses this feature), and captions it: โโButter + Flour = ๐.โ While yes, I do agree that butter plus flour equals heart, I wish that was all it took to wield major results.
Here are some tips that Emily should consider for her next round of Instagram content.
Prioritize video
Consideringย the rise in popularity of TikTok and Instagram Reels, itโs no surprise that video content is the key to success on social media; static posts paired with punny captions just arenโt the path to growth anymore. Thereโs a scene in the show when Emily, invited to an exclusive influencer event, selects a strawberry off a vine in order to promote a lipstick; in her post about the product, she exclaims that โitโs smudge-proof, even when youโre berry hungryโ (audible groan from moi). That would not cut it in the real world.
Back in June, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced that the platform was no longer a photo-sharing app. This statement alone marked a major shift in the way Instagram operates, prioritizes content, and attempts to compete with the evolving social landscape. Emily misses this trend completely.
Get personal
While Emily sure has a knack for making her mark, she needs to show more of her personality on her account. In order to establish a connection with your audience, youย have to entice them; Emilyโs posts fall flat unless you personally know her. Now more than ever, people around the world are posting raw, unedited, and personality-first content. In a lot of ways, you can create your own community by just being yourselfโas long as you post consistently, utilize trends, and have something to say.
Have a clear purpose
In order to establish a connection with your audience, you need to let them in and give them a reason to follow; people want to engage with accounts that inspire, educate, and entertain. The question I keep coming back to is: why would anyone follow Emily? She needs to reconsider what her entire content strategy is. Perhaps sheโs vlogging her travels and taking us through her daily life; maybe sheโs sharing her #OOTD with us each morning; or maybe sheโs keeping it as simple as being an American in Paris for the first time and rating the restaurants, venues, and excursions sheโs fortunate enough to now be a part of. She needs to really think about what the point of each post is.
Needless to say, Emily still has a lot to learn. So, Netflix, please consider this my officialย application to be a social media consultant for season 3.
Sincerely,
Elija In Vancouver
