Lifestyle influencer Dominika: Men are the easiest audience, but not my target one

A LOT OF TIMES, I CANNOT SEPARATE MY FREE TIME FROM MY WORK.

How did you get to your job?

Looking back, I was interested in it ever since I was little. I used to steal my dad’s camera and record what my day would look like. I’m from a small village where I ran around the streets and made my first, childish content.

At first, I was scared to post things online, but later it took off. I even found a boyfriend who was into it. I also attended an art high school, and TikTok helped me a lot.

AT THE BEGINNING, PEOPLE LAUGHED AT ME WHEN I SAID I WAS AN INFLUENCER.

Do you encounter a lot of criticism?

Yes, unfortunately, it’s a part of this job, and it needs to change. At the beginning, it was much worse. I didn’t believe in myself at all and took all the sarcastic comments too personally. Even today, when someone says they’re an influencer, people mock them. It’s almost like an insult now. On the other hand, I boldly say that I’m proud to be an influencer. It’s a great job. It’s not only taking pretty pics.

I grew up during a time when dangerous diets and drastic detoxes were promoted on the internet. Anorexic blogs were flourishing. At thirteen, I was already going on week-long fasts. I thought I was the only one struggling with something and wasn’t completely happy with myself. I needed someone to take care of me. Someone who would tell me, “Come here and love yourself. You are beautiful.”

I BECAME A WOMAN I NEEDED AS A GIRL.

I’m glad to have girls on my profile who are going through similar phases. I want to be there for them. I show myself there without makeup, bloated, with greasy hair, and swollen. I show true me. I’ve learned to love myself, even when everything isn’t perfect. I spread it further. Self-love is the key.

How to build a good Instagram profile?

Consistency. Keep working on it for several years and the result will come. Becoming an influencer is easy, but staying at the forefront is something completely different. I admit, female influencers have it easier in this industry precisely because men are easily attainable audience. At the beginning, I used it in a certain way to get higher reach. However, later I realized that I don’t need to interact with literally everyone on my profile. I deleted many people and found a completely different target audience. With valuable content, the numbers may increase slower than with controversial one, but it makes sense for me and it’s worth it.

I ASPIRE TO BUILD STRONG CONNECTIONS WITH WOMEN WHO FOLLOW ME.

What was the biggest partnership that was offered to you?

Once I got an invitation to a wrestling match, I declined, haha. In the past, I’ve collaborated even with sanitary pads. Currently, I work with various cosmetic brands. Some collaborations were financially very rewarding, but what I value the most, are the ones coming with some experience. For example, I went on a trip to Norway, which was a huge thing for me.

The truth is, a company becomes interested in collaborating with an influencer primarily based on their profile. If we only post revealing photos and don’t focus on any other valuable content, companies notice it and reconsider whether they want such influencers to represent their brand. Getting attention is one thing, but adding value to the content is another one.