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Aesthetics, algorithms, and analytics with Christine Abayasekara

20 Dec 2020

By Mahika Panditha We all know how Instagram has a way of toying with the engagement on our content. Whether you have a personal or public account, it always seems that the people who follow you can miss your posts – and not even one, but several. Thankfully, there are people at work to help us figure that all out and guide us through the trenches that are social media platforms. Meet Christine Abayasekara. You may know her as @rebelkids on Instagram. She is currently working on a book which is out today, so do check that out. She is also simultaneously working on her second master’s degree. Isn’t that amazing? She has lived in five different countries by the age of 25 and is passionate about travel and food – you will see so on her page with the most beautiful content she produces. We spoke to Christine this week about all things social media, her book, and her initiative “Locals For Locals”. To start off, tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Christine and I just turned 26. My mother is German and my father is Sri Lankan; even though I was born and raised in Sri Lanka, I have lived in both countries for extended periods of time. I speak German too. I have a Bachelor’s in International Relations and a Master’s in International Development Management. I am currently doing a second Master’s in Cybersecurity Governance. In my free time, I love to travel, write, and explore new food and cuisines. I am also passionate about horse riding and I am a part-time model. How did you get into consultancy work? Almost four years ago, a friend needed help with the social media pages for his establishment. I was figuring life out after my first degree, so I offered to help him, with no experience whatsoever! Around the same time, my boyfriend, who is a part-time musician, needed flyers and other promotional material done for his events and music releases, so I started teaching myself how to make these for him. Then I helped a family friend rebrand and relaunch his handmade, eco-friendly soap business. To do this, with the exception of the logo, I did everything from graphic design, label design, brand guidelines to photography, photo editing, marketing, and social media management by myself, learning and googling along the way. After this, some friends of mine started to approach me for advice on their own social media pages and that’s where it started. During the first curfew, I put my work online as well, and now I have worked with over 100 clients in multiple countries. Take us through the Locals For Locals initiative. How did it start? Where is it at now? The Locals For Locals initiative started just after the first curfew. I am a big supporter of shopping local and supporting small businesses in Colombo and around Sri Lanka. Just after the first curfew ended, I launched a platform that worked as an online directory to local businesses. We have over 500 vendors and businesses on the platform now. Things slowed down naturally a bit after things started going back to normal and I’m currently in talks to hand over the platform to a new owner. You have written a book that is out today. Do tell us about it. Yes. Because of the Locals For Locals platform, and also through clients I worked with on social media, I noticed that a lot of home businesses and creative start-ups were popping up – homebakers, jewellery makers, and even clothes vendors. However, I was also noticing that a lot of these businesses didn’t have the time and resources to manage their own social media effectively. In this day and age, social media, especially Facebook and Instagram, are so crucial in sustaining your business long term. Unfortunately, social media managers, photographers, and graphic designers can be very expensive, especially for businesses that are just starting out. A few months ago, I decided to put everything I learnt in the last four years into an e-book (hopefully soon to be a paperback as well!) that would be beneficial to small business owners who want to handle their own social media but were just a bit confused by the whole thing. The book is mostly about using Instagram to promote your business. In the book, I explain everything from setting up your pages, writing captions, and using hashtags efficiently to how to understand your Instagram insights, how to actively engage your followers, and how to grow your page without sponsoring your content. I also have a section on smartphone photography where I explain how to take beautiful images using just your smartphone and how to edit them afterwards. It includes all the tips and tricks I know. Every app and website I recommend is also free of charge and easy to use. The book comes with a few freebies, such as photo presets (for photo editing) and worksheets, including a sample monthly content plan. How will your book be available to readers? Today, my book will be available. It is an e-book, so you can download it straightaway. It can be viewed on a laptop, tablet, Kindle, or mobile phone, or you can print it out so that you can fill in the worksheets. It will be available at a discounted price until the New Year, so it’s a great Christmas present for someone! It will also launch on Amazon a week from today. For more information, check my Instagram @rebelkids or my blog rebelkids.blog, or email me on christineabayasekara@gmail.com. Any advice you can share here for small business owners and budding entrepreneurs? The most important piece of advice is to use social media as much as possible to promote your products. It’s free and if you do it right, you can reach a large audience. Personally, I always go looking for Instagram or Facebook accounts of new restaurants or new businesses I hear about. I’m sure everyone does these days! I check out menus and new products online all the time, and most of my purchasing happens online these days as well, usually through brands I have discovered online. Social media is so important. If you can afford it, invest in a photographer, and get a graphic designer and a social media manager. However, you are not alone if these services are simply out of your budget right now. In fact, you are in the majority. So, investing in my book will probably save you a lot of money. Haha! Any future plans we should keep an eye out for? At the moment, I am focused on my degree and my social media work, which keeps me pretty busy. When I’ve got something new in the pipeline, you’ll be the first to know! PHOTOS Christine Abayasekara


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