Interview with an Influencer: Nerelle and Rochelle (@swankandroche)
Nerelle and Rochelle (@swankandroche) chat about their journey to becoming fashion, lifestyle and beauty influencers with over 12.2k followers. Find out how these sisters amassed a loyal following, became successful fitness ambassadors and developed their lifestyle brand.
Nerelle & Rochelle (@swankandroche) take time out of their hectic schedules to tell us about their journey to become lifestyle, beauty and fashion influencers. This sister duo has amassed a following of over 12k since officially launching their Instagram in late 2016.
These sisters have successfully amassed a highly engaged audience over the past two years. Their success on Instagram has allowed them to work with some of Australia's most exciting health and fitness brands including The Health Lab and F45.
We sat down with Nerelle and Rochelle to chat about how they got started, their favourite moments and exciting future projects. Don't miss it!
How long have you been an influencer for and what channels do you operate on?
We opened our Instagram account back in 2014, but never really used it. We would occasionally post some inspo but that was about it.
We officially started in the latter part of 2016, and within the last two years we have started to spend a little more time creating content and growing our page.
Our main channel is our Instagram (@swankandroche) and our website (www.swankandroche.com), but you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and maybe YouTube in the future…
What would you say is your point of difference and why your followers keep growing?
We think being a sister duo is a great point of difference, it means we always have two opinions! We each have our own interests and passions, as well as ones we share and we try to bring that all together in Swank & Roche.
How did you initially start to grow your following?
Engaging with people, tagging brands and following like minded accounts. All the regular things you do on Instagram anyway.
Everybody is always looking for the secret formula but the truth is, there isn’t one…. or if there is, we haven’t found it yet! In all honesty, once you start shooting your own content and adding your own touch and feel to the pages you’ll notice the your followers grow.
If your page is just like anyone else and it doesn’t offer anything unique, why would someone follow you? You’ve got to give them a reason, create a unique aesthetic and unique content that they can’t find anywhere else and that’s something we are constantly trying to work on!
How many hours a week do you spend working as an Influencer and all that goes with it?
One of us works full time and the other part time and studying. We also have our own personal commitments so juggling our time can be tricky but we try to allocate as much time as possible to it. We use the evenings a lot!
Because we both are quite occupied we really use any time we get - it also depends on what we are working on at the time.
Do you take the photos on your own or do you have assistance from someone else? What do you use to capture and edit your content?
We style and shoot our own content and love the full creative control this gives us. Although, at times this can be challenging, with one of us always behind the camera it means we don’t have as many shots together!
Currently we shoot on either our Sony or Canon camera but many of our images are also shot on an iPhone (iPhone X). The quality of a phone camera these days is incredible and to be honest it’s a little easier to carry around!
We use a combination of editing apps and we are still learning. Mainly Lightroom (either the laptop version or or the app if we are on the go) and VSCO. We try to take our pictures in good lighting to minimise time spent editing and to maintain its originality.
Do you have a manager to take care of the business side of things?
Not at this stage. It’s just the two of us running the show!
What are 2 of your favourite posts that you’ve ever done and why?
A lot of thought an effort goes into each and every one of our shots so that is a tough one! We do have few favourite quotes. Although simple, they usually motivate us so we try to include them in our feed every now and then. One of our favourites is the one below!
We also love our travel photos, not only because of the beautiful sceneries but because of the different memories and experiences we have had around the world.
Do you use any tools to help you manage your account?
We use UNUM, which is an app that allows you to schedule upcoming content. This is especially great when we know we are going to have a super busy week. We can plan in advance what we will post when and this also helps a lot with keeping our feed looking cohesive.
Do you know the demographics of your following?
Mainly women from across the world between the ages of 18 - 35
How has your experience been working with brands?
We love collaborating with other brands and it is a big part of what we do - always open to new collaborations!
What are some of your favourite collaborations and why?
We work with brands that we feel that we align with, so it’s hard to pick just a few favourites. We love all our collaborations with both big brands and small brands.
We also always love working with local brands and brands from around the world, some of which our followers may not be aware of; So sharing these hidden gems with them is a pleasure.
What do you think of the new IGTV feature? Have you published content on it yet?
Whilst we haven’t officially publish our first IGTV, we do love the feature. Creating a Youtube channel is a discussion which we have had on several occasions so we were excited when the IGTV feature was first introduced.
Publishing our first IGTV is on the cards, so stay tuned!
What advice would you give to brands looking to work with influencers?
Reach out to influencers that you feel align with your brand, be clear with what you are willing to offer and what you expect in return. Be open to ideas and build a relationship with the influencer.
How do brands generally contact you?
Most brands reach out via email and occasionally DM.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to become an influencer?
Just do it! If you have a passion for something, go for it.
Like anything, it’s not always smooth sailing, but if you love it enough then you shouldn’t let a few stumbling blocks stop you. It doesn’t cost anything to open an Instagram account, so you’ve got nothing to lose, just give it a go! You won’t know everything to start with and that may scare you, but that’s ok. We have learnt so much along the way which we would have never learnt without giving it a go. We still don’t consider ourselves experts, we still have so much to learn and are learning every day.
CREDIT: @swankandroche
