3 tips on how to strategize your online presence from model and influencer, Abby Luke

Key Takeaways:

• Protect your intellectual property by trademarking your product 
• Anticipating the concrete demand that going viral brings
• Pay attention to branding

Once you go viral with one post, how do you maintain people’s interest in your content? 

More and more people are confronted with this question, especially in our digital age where you can accidentally reach unheard of levels of virality in a matter of seconds. When you’re not prepared to receive this much attention in such a short amount of time, it can be difficult to come up with a plan on how to maintain your audience.

Luckily, on my podcast Transition of Style, I had the chance to interview Abby Luke, queer model and influencer, and we delved into this subject precisely. Abby has been an influencer for a few years now, so she knows a lot about the intricacies of the industry, and how to stay relevant throughout time. 

Drawing from her experience as an online influencer, my discussion with Abby Luke teaches us how to strategize your online presence, in order to maintain a healthy relationship with your audience without losing yourself in the algorithm.

Here are 3 lessons you can learn from Abby Luke about strategizing your online presence, while remaining true to yourself.

Diversify your online presence

Justablu - YELL IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS

Watch Justablu’s clip titled “YELL IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS”

Twitch

Back in the days, when Facebook was pretty much the only real social medium, online presence was way easier because there was only one existing platform. Nowadays, with Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Twitch and way more, things are way more complicated for aspiring influencers or online actors. It’s very easy to get lost in the intricacies of each network, because each one has its own rules, its own audience, its own algorithm, etc. 

However, in this day and age, sticking to one platform only isolates you from a goldmine of business possibilities and opportunities for growth. The challenge remains in maintaining a balance: diversify your online presence, but do it in a smart way, so that you don’t dilute your identity and lose yourself along the way.

Abby Luke was able to strategically diversify her online presence, by showcasing different aspects of her personality and skills on different networks.

"I feel like I have different personalities on different platforms," she explains. "TikTok, specifically, is very sexy, confident, dance background, musical theater background... And then Twitch is very much my goofy side. My hanging out with friends side."

As Abby Luke shares, to build resilience against the fluctuating nature of algorithms, nurture a diversified presence online: don’t put all of your assets in the same basket, but invest in different platforms and adapt your presence to each. In her case, while her main account remains her TikTok, she is also active on Twitch, where she displays her more “goofy side”, and on Instragram where her modeling gigs are highlighted.

Assess your skill sets

Depending on the online sphere that you’re part of, you may need to acquire certain skill sets in order to stay competitive and keep up with other creators. If you plan on diversifying your online presence, you also need to widen your expertise, in order to master the functioning of algorithms on different platforms.

All of this means constantly assessing your skill sets, and making sure you're up to date with what’s going on inside your niche. This reality is something that Abby Luke is confronted with every day. Her online presence is especially strong on TikTok, where she publishes videos with carefully edited transitions. To maintain the “wow” effect that transition videos rely on, Abby constantly has to keep an eye out on new trends, new tools, new methods, and make sure her videos maintain a good level of editing.

"[TikTok] is going to this whole cinematic experience. Not with everybody obviously, but in the corner of TikTok I’m on, I see so many people [where] I’m like, 'this is a work of art.' [It's] like watching a short film or like a movie," she shared, reflecting on new content creation trends on TikTok.

"That’s where I project my corner of TikTok to be going... [which] means I need to pick up yet another skill. Which I’m capable of learning."

As Abby explains, to keep in touch with your audience or come up with the best content possible, pinpoint what other people in your niche are doing, and see if it’s worth you learning a new skill as well. However, don’t feel too pressured to constantly one up each other in the race for views and statistics. Just remember not to lose sight of what your audience loves about you. Sometimes videos with the lowest production value have the most engagement. Just stay true to yourself.

Pay attention to branding

Last but not least, be careful on how you brand yourself throughout all of your different platforms. As you diversify yourself and enter more and more online spaces, it’s easy to get lost in all of the virtual worlds you touch upon. To maintain consistency and help your audience find you, make sure your handle remains the same on all different platforms. 

In the case of Abby Luke for example, during our conversation, she explained that all podcast listeners could find her “literally [on] any social platform you can think of.

"It’s always @justablu. Literally on every platform it’s the same name because … branding!”

Because “branding” is absolutely correct. No matter what platform you decide to expand to, make sure to claim your branded handle even if you never end up posting on that platform. That way you can stay consistent with your online presence, no matter what platforms you evolve on.

Abby Luke’s experience navigating the realms of social media presence and engagement offers us precious lessons on strategizing your online presence and maintaining your audience interested and supportive. You can keep in mind these three important takeaways: diversifying your online presence, assessing (and sometimes expanding) your skill sets, and paying attention to branding . 

In my interview with Abby Luke, we discussed online presence, but we also talked about many other interesting things!

If you want to learn more about this exclusive interview, listen to the episode on the Transition of Style website here.