Believe it or not but Margarida and Daniel managed to do something that many believe to be impossible - in less than a month they managed to grow from 40k followers to 300k followers!! We are absolutely blown away by their results but before we show you how they did it, we want to introduce you to this power couple:
Meet Margarida & Daniel, aka @allaboutwanderlust_, a Portuguese couple with a passion for the world - and one of our top CLD student duos!
How it started
Their story actually goes back a long way! They’ve been together for 12 years and only shortly after meeting they decided to start traveling together - that’s when their passion for discovering the world and taking pictures to capture those moments began.
In 2017 they decided to create their first Instagram account, called @travelentines. “Back then we were just posting, without planning a lot. We knew nothing about Instagram and we were completely unaware of how it worked. For us it was just a way to keep in touch with friends and family.”
But one thing led to another, their account grew over time and once they hit 10k followers they even started to get approached by hotels for collaborations!
A very bold choice...
Even though Margarida and Daniel got contacted for more and more collaborations and brand deals, they started to realize that they were posting content that didn’t align with their beliefs and values and it just wasn’t what they were aiming for. It was only about brands and hotels and not about their passion anymore. “In fact it was a dead account, we had barely any engagement or a genuine connection to our followers.”
That’s when they did something most people might not have the courage for - at 70k followers they decided to start from scratch, delete their account and open a new one!
They got clear on their “why”, rooting their passion to travel the world and to capture unique moments and to share them with others. “It was really scary but we trusted our knowledge and everything we had learned up to this point”. That’s when, in 2018, @allaboutwanderlust_ was born - a new account to align with the value they wanted to bring to their community all along.
The breakthrough
With their knowledge, experience and the skills they had developed over 18 months of growing their first account, Margarida and Daniel were able to break through with their new account and grow again to 40k followers. But this time around they had much better engagement and a large number of loyal followers who really cared about the content they were sharing.
Little did they know that things were about to change for them in a BIG way!! Margarida and Daniel made a commitment to a REEL strategy where they would post short tutorial videos that aligned with their niche and gave a lot of value to their followers. These Reels absolutely took off due to the professionalism and value they provided.
Now these guys already had a lot of previous experience and skill but they decided to take our TPI (The Power of Instagram) course to see if there was anything they could improve.
We asked them what they thought about the course and they replied:
“I wish we had something like this in the beginning when we started. There is so much valuable information. The first chapters about the mindset were so important - especially the chapter on finding your why was a real game changer for us. We had never thought about it before but as soon as we did, our path just got so much clearer and everything started to fall into place.”
What’s the secret?
When we asked them what their secret was, the answer was: persistence! You need to be persistent, that is key.
If you want to make it in the world of social media you need to break your old beliefs and develop a mindset that helps you to overcome your fears. If you want to build your dream life then you need to start working on your mind. You can’t take any action without having a clear thought first.
But of course it’s not only about your mindset and how you approach things. Your content is just as important - after all it’s what will attract the followers in the first place. And when it comes to your content there is one thing we cannot stress enough: CREATE REELS! Not only do you have a much higher chance of going viral but they can also bring so much more value to your audience. Don’t believe us? Look at Margarida and Daniel.
“We wished we started Reels from the very beginning. As soon as we started creating Reels we grew in ways we never would have imagined.” At first we were just showcasing our photography and we added our pictures to some trendy songs. But then we noticed how everybody was asking us how we made the pictures match the rhythm of the music so well and so we thought about doing tutorials on how we do it. We did the first tutorial 3 weeks ago and it went crazy. The interaction we had was amazing and by now we have over 21.2 million views (and it’s still growing!). 4 weeks ago we had 40k followers. Now we have 300k! Our impressions in the last 30 days were 60 million. We knew Reels were powerful, but we didn’t know HOW powerful they could be.”
Margarida and Daniel are the perfect example of the impact Reels can have for you. It’s the new way of showcasing our work, reaching new people and connecting with others, so if you’re not using the Instagram feature, this is your sign to get started! “We really think Reels are the future. Standart posts are more for your community whereas Reels allow you to grow.”
Juggling a full time job while handling an Instagram account
Now, creating all this content and engaging with your followers on a daily basis is a lot of work but just like so many others, @allaboutwanderlust_ are still juggling their full-time jobs while handling their Instagram accounts. They both work at the city hall, Margarida is a legal counselor and Daniel is an inspector for the city.
“Sometimes it is so hard to show up on Instagram after a busy day. It’s basically like having 2 full-time jobs but it is our passion and we enjoy what we do. We try to post 2 posts and 3 Reels each week, because we need to keep people engaged.”
Seeing their commitment is impressive and what they have achieved even more but as we always say, if you care enough and are willing to put in the work, you will see success!
What does the future hold?
When it comes to their future with Instagram and their journey as content creators we asked @allaboutwanderlust_ what their plan is for now and their answer was clear - focus on connecting with their followers.
If you aspire to become an influencer or want to build a brand with a meaningful connection to your audience then make sure you give back. Instagram is not a one way street. If you want people to interact and connect with you then you need to do the same.
If you are ready to take the step and want to learn everything we have learned about Instagram over the past years, then check out our course: “The Power of Instagram”. It’s the best launchpad for your new career/life and we are really proud of what our students are already achieving.
Make sure you head over and check out Margarida and Daniels work @allaboutwanderlust_
Lots of love,
Your CLD Team
