Founder & Creative Director of Laagam and influencer Inés Arroyo has achieved great success at a young age. Primetag interviewed her at the #RealFollowers event in Barcelona. We spoke about entrepreneurship, innovation and what makes a good influencer good.
In 2016, Arroyo created a women’s fashion brand in Barcelona, Laagam, coming from the Swedish saying Lagom meaning, “Neither a lot nor a little”. In addition to her successful brand, she has had her hands in a variety of business endeavors and now holds great knowledge in regards to the Influence Marketing world.
Keep scrolling if you want to learn more about her success.
Disclaimer: this interview has been transcribed and translated from Spanish to English. You can also watch the video of the original interview below.
Inés, what differentiates a good influencer from a bad influencer?
Inés – What sets us apart is the relationship we have with our followers. In this field of work, it is very easy to tell who is genuinely excited about their followers getting to know a certain brand or trying new products and who simply focuses their content on themselves.
In my case, the type of advertising I do is hugely focused on what I have always worked on, fashion. This means that if I suddenly had a paid collab with, for instance, Lidl, I wouldn’t have succeeded as an influencer as I am promoting a product that I neither wear nor consume.
Above all, it is the transparency of the influencer’s content that encourages their followers to remain loyal to their personality.
You started early on Instagram, focused for a couple of years, and now you have ventured with the creation of a podcast. What kind of content works best for you?
I – When I first started, my instagram rose like foam because I was one of the first Spanish influencers. Now there is a lot more competition and the audience has many more profiles to choose from. So I have decided to be very specific and focus my content on my entrepreneurial life. I now strive to inspire young girls based on the role I have taken in my professional career.
The podcast gives me the ability to connect with my audience on a deeper level and for them to know me personally.
It’s a new way of communicating which makes me feel very comfortable. It allows me to shift the focus from me to other people that I can learn from. No other [fashion] influencer has a podcast in Spain and I am enjoying the freshness of it.
I believe a wave of reinvention is about to arrive in Influencer Marketing
Inés Arroyo
How has the change in the Instagram algorithm affected all influencers?
I – Well, it definitely contributed towards our frustration[laughs]. Personally, I don’t understand anything anymore. I mean, there was a time when we were careful about posting around 10 a.m or around lunch and dinner time. With the algorithm change, it no longer matters.
It is frustrating, but we had to adapt. Similarly with Instagram removing the likes count. There will be people who like it and people who won’t. In my case, I am very happy about likes being removed.
Has the fact that you are an influencer helped you in the creation or promotion process of Lagaam?
I – Me being an influencer has been the best marketing since the beginning. Obviously, Lagaam started strong because I encouraged my audience to check out the brand. Today, Lagaam is bigger than me. There are people who know my brand but don’t know me, which means the brand is successful on it’s own.
I monetized my influence on Instagram by creating my own company. However, right now it does not depend on me, that is, if I go three days without uploading anything from Lagaam, it does not affect sales. Alternatively, some influencer-owned brands don’t receive orders if they don’t upload any content.
Tell us, what do you think will happen in the next couple of years within the Influence Marketing landscape in Spain?
I – I believe a wave of reinvention is about to arrive. Influencers are finally starting to diversify their content in various formats so that their audience doesn’t get bored. Followers are tired of seeing a bunch of accounts all posting the same content. People are craving new stuff.
I believe that professional influencers will want to give added value on what they are currently doing. This way, brands will also want to work with them not only because they create content, but because they have other aspects, such as a restaurant, which enables them to share more than a single story.
