We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexa Wisnieski. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexa below.
Alright, Alexa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I grew up with a pencil in one hand and a sewing needle in the other. Anything hands on was a no brainer as a kid. My aunt started me on a sewing machine at the early age of four. Projects in 3D always made the most sense and I could easily understand. I was Irish step dancing at the same time and the competitive dresses were too expensive to continuously keep up with the trends. I decided I needed to learn how to make them myself so I could stay competitive, but when people started buying my costumes from me that is when I really knew that I wanted to be in a creative field and the most logical choice was fashion design.
Alexa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
For those who don’t know about me, I am most known for my hat-making / millinery videos I post on social media. I had moved to Nashville and was on the search for a new job. I was lucky enough to find a local business that had what looked to me like the perfect mix of art and fashion. After about a year after finding my dream job decorating blank ready made hats there was a slow rainy day and I decided to film what I was working on, clipped the videos and sped it up to some trending audio. Within a few weeks I had hit over 100,000 views on tiktok and was onto my goal of hitting a million. People started sharing these videos all over and it basically pushed me to start posting on all social media platforms. Once I felt I had hit my ceiling at my previous job I decided I wasn’t going to stop. I decided to start my own company Lex Lynne LLC where I create the hats completely from scratch. Each hat is blocked to the proper size, there are more color options and i am able to curate my own selection of fabrics/feathers/details. Each hat is meant to be a piece of art that can be worn or hung up on the wall. It serves more than one purpose.
For those who don’t wear hats my profiles I have created are much more than the hats created in each video. I want to inspire creatives on all levels. I want people to feel inspired to share their process, take a leap of faith, take the opportunity to reach the audience they never knew they had. I also get to work with amazing artists and musicians to help promote their music. With the videos being so entertaining it makes it easier for a video to trend and more people hear the music they’ve released.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
What I have learned in about a year and a half has been a lot but may vary from user to user dependent on the content.
First off, especially in the beginning, post everyday if you can. The more someone engages in your content, the more your content will be shown to that viewer. If that viewer engages in other content more then you may miss your shot in getting back to their for you page. Moral of the story, keep posting.
Second, trending audio is your best friend. Use sounds that are trending, typically you will know because you’ll see several on your for you page or it’ll be marked as trending on the app. The best thing you can do is hop on the wave before it gets too big. Your reel/tiktok will be pushed a lot more over 100 competing videos than over 10,000. If you can catch it before its huge then you may make out even better!
Third Repetition. If you notice a video did extremely well, look into why. When did you post? How long is the video? How often did you change frames/how quickly? Did you start the video with a specific image? If a viewer is moving on after 8 second then you either need to catch their attention in those 8 seconds or cut your video to 8 seconds. You want them to start the video again so that it reads they watched it all the way through.
Fourth, Hashtags. Many people say they’re not necessary but I will continue to stick by them. Definitely be literal and let everyone know what the video or image is but also use hashtags that will introduce a new audience. For example if its a video of a hat, I may use #hat #hatter #millinery but I also use #nashville #creativeprocess #satisfying. These hashtags are still related but it’s giving more information on the videos purpose.
Fifth, go find your audience. Go to pages that already have like minded followers. Comment back to people. If they havent found you, go find them. Even if it’s just agreeing with comments people will check your profile and then maybe you gain another follower.
Lastly, Engagement. Make sure to comment back to those commenting. Ask questions back to your followers looking for a response. The more you can get them to comment the more it will drive your post.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part about being a creative is understanding yes I get to create for myself but I am really creating for others. I create to do what I love everyday but I also create to let my 10 year old self know that I could have a creative career. I hope that everyone has the chance to drop the imposter syndrome, put away the typical societal norms and just give what they love a fighting chance. When I receive emails, dms, or comments of people saying “because of you I was able to gain the courage to…” my heart melts every time. I didn’t realize that sharing the process of what I do everyday would have such a powerful movement in peoples lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lexlynne.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/alexa.lynne?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090933978523&mibextid=JRoKGi
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Lex_lynne?si=Z_a5bN1-jKN98oqw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8f35wuQ/
Image Credits
Justin Hammond