The reality of the modeling industry is that models don’t earn regular income unless they have consistent clients. Consistent clients most typically come in the form of eComm or fit modeling clients. EComm however, is typically more accessible for taller models, and fit modeling is very niche–it requires a fit agency and some amount of technical training.
What does this mean for petite models?
The most common bookings for petite models are commercial, beauty, print, and lifestyle campaigns. This means to give yourself the best chance of booking consistently to make a livable income, you need a social media presence.
A Strong Personal Brand Shows Your Essence
In my observations, with the rise of AI in the modeling industry, models are now getting hired because they have something more than just the right measurements or the right look for a job. They have an essence to them that can’t be replicated by AI, which they display in their castings and through their Instagram profile.
This is particularly the case for commercial and lifestyle campaigns. The petite models I am connected with on social media who are consistently booking jobs all have 10k+ followers (a select few have 5k+ followers) and share snippets of their life on their Instagrams. Many of them specialize in some sort of movement, whether that be dance, gym content, or running
I also recently attended a casting where I was explicitly asked how many Instagram followers I had. While they said it wasn’t a huge consideration, it was part of their consideration.
Furthermore when casting directors search up models’ Instagram profiles, they have a better understanding of who the model is outside of their polished portfolio.
Agents Stalk Your Social Media
If you’re not signed yet, getting a good agent is the fastest way to start booking high quality jobs. While your number of followers isn’t a make or break for getting signed, you must have your profile public. Agents have many model submissions to go through, and they will not consider you if you do not make their jobs easy by having your Instagram profile public.
A step further than having your profile public is to post photos of you and your hobbies so agents have an idea of who you are and the talents you posess.
They’ll also see who you follow, and this gives an indication of how knowledgeable you are about the industry. They will see what casting directors, fellow models, and agencies you are connected with. As a new model, following the right people isn’t strictly necessary, but think of it more as a bonus to your application.
Casting Directors and Production Companies Stalk Your Social Media
When my agents send me castings, I am often asked to share my Instagram handle. To give myself the best chance at booking jobs, I keep updated images on my instagram profile. I also post videos of me speaking to the camera, as this is what I have to do for self-tapes as well.
The more content they can reference of you on video, the more opportunity they have to see your energy, charisma, and charm. 😉
How Investing in Social Media Has Pushed My Modeling Career
I started investing in my Instagram account by posting almost every day because of a conversation with a model friend. She shared that she booked regularly after she started making videos semi-consistently on her Instagram. At under 5k followers, she is a micro-influencer, but this presence is truly what brands wanted to see to start consistently booking her.
After this conversation I committed to posting every day for 90 days, to see where I landed at the end of it. I started my experiment August 1, I’m currently writing this article on August 31. If you want to follow along with my journey, check out my profile below.
To start out, I truly did not care about the numbers, including views, likes, or follows. These images and videos were posted as “additional materials” SOLELY for casting directors and potential agents who already had my Instagram handle from application materials. When they searched me up in their deliberation to get a sense of who I am, they would see videos of me talking about my passions. With this in mind, I posted about Muay Thai and Acquisition Entrepreneurship, which are two topics on which I can talk for hours.
Posting from the perspective of not caring about the numbers truly helped me get over the hurdle of not wanting to be perceived. This had stopped me from posting regularly on Instagram for years, but I figured, if I am going all in on my modeling career, I have to give myself the best chance of succeeding. The next logical step to take after all the test shoots, agency contracts, networking, etc, was to show more of myself on my Instagram account.
In the month I started investing in my Instagram, I signed with an MA manager (a goal I had been working toward for 6 months), and a production team reached out via DM to book me for a huge athletic brand.
In both of these situations I had DM’d both the MA and the production team first, weeks and months prior. It’s possible that I had already laid the foundation for these opportunities by showing initiative and DM’ing these accounts weeks prior.
While I can’t definitively attribute these outcomes to my posting daily reels, the timing is a ✨coincidence✨.
I grew my account from 1,700 followers to 3,200 followers in the month of August. If I can grow some 1,500 followers in the span of 4 weeks, I know I can scale this even further in following months.
The petite models I am connected with on social media who are consistently booking jobs all have 10k+ followers and share snippets of their life on their Instagrams.
How to Apply this for your Modeling Career
If you haven’t done so, your first step is to put your Instagram on public. Do it now, I’ll wait…
Now that that’s done, this is your professional profile now. You don’t have to make it too polished, but keep it PG. Don’t post anything that the brands you want to book wouldn’t want to be associated with.
Try to post at least once a month if you’re not full sending it as a content creator. Prioritize clear photos of your face with little to no makeup. Post photos of your hobbies! Don’t feel pressure to grow, though if you do, this will probably help your chances of booking jobs. (At the very least, it won’t hurt).
While you can post your portfolio and TFP images, keep in mind casting already has these images that your agent sent them. Give them something extra that shows your essence 😊. Who are you? What are your interests? Do you have a sense of humor? How can you show this on your grid?
With that in mind, happy posting!
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