In a follow-up post on The Fashion Emblem, Mila Stolk makes a case I often make to creators I work with: don’t leave Instagram. Change how you use it.
Why Instagram still matters
Long-form platforms are growing, but they are still niche. The people who book creators, PR managers and brand teams, mostly still look on Instagram. That is where opportunities find you.
Stolk tells how a tagged Story led to a brand breakfast and a conversation with its PR manager, who was actively looking for creators with something to say. From the brand side, that is exactly how it works. When I build a shortlist, Instagram is the first place I check a creator’s taste, consistency and the way they talk to their audience.
One platform signals, the other goes deep
The useful frame is not Instagram or a newsletter. It is Instagram and the newsletter, each with a job. Instagram shows what you are interested in and how you see. The deeper platform holds the thinking. Curiosity carries people from one to the other.
I plan creator channels the same way: every platform gets a role, and the formats follow from it. For brands, it is the same logic I use in a content plan.
“No time” is often something else
Stolk is honest that “no time” is often fear or resistance in disguise, and that much of the time goes into scrolling. If Instagram truly does not suit you, fine. But it is worth asking what is really in the way.
Clean the room you work in
Two practical steps from the post that I pass on to creators:
- Curate who you follow. Unfollow accounts that drain you, follow fewer, and repeat it every few months. Clear out old saves and messages.
- Train the algorithm. In the content preferences, add words and topics you do not want to see. On Explore, mark what you are not interested in.
What you consume shapes what you make. A calmer feed is not only a nicer place to be. It is a better source of ideas.
Show up on your own terms
Audiences want considered voices and brands want substance. Quiet can be a form of integrity, but so can showing up in a way that feels right. Your voice can take time to develop.
If you want help deciding which platform does which job, and how to show up so brands notice, that is part of my content strategy work with creators.
Source: Mila Stolk, “How to show up on IG when you’ve outgrown the old version of it”, The Fashion Emblem, April 2026.
