Today we have a very special guest with us, the one and only Runge Ralph, as you will hear him called on Instagram. Runge Ralph and I will be chatting a little bit about conquering Instagram and the strategies he used to grow to over 11k followers in a few short years.
Bronson Vaughan, aka Runge Ralph, is the Co-Founder of SightinSea, outdoor apparel, and accessories company based here in Texas. Bronson and his wife Nichole started Sight in Sea in 2017. They are a brand born only 100 miles from the Gulf Coast of Texas.
Basically, they decided one day that merging what they love and who they love was something we would rather invest their time in. So, from the just of it, they decided to act like deep, authentic Americans and the result is a combination of quality gear that is functional for the exploration of the great outdoors.
Now, beyond bringing in their own batch of goods (just hats for now, but a new hard-good on the way, which we may talk about later), they also put a little time and effort into their blogging platform…. more or less, “Runge Ralph” has a passion for outdoor goods and products, so……….naturally, he thinks, why not write what you’re passionate about. Just don’t let him get to know your husband, because before you know it, you’ll have to buy a new storage unit for all the new gear he convinced him to buy. “But honey, it was a good deal.”
So, back to the basics, SightinSea hopes they can become more than a brand, they want to capture the spirit and simplicity of being outdoors, but more importantly, who you get to experience them with.
Keys to Conquering Instagram with Runge Ralph
Interview Questions on Conquering Instagram
- Basically, we wanted to merge what we love, which is spending time outdoors, with who we love, which is friends and family
- The outdoor and apparel industry was missing something, so we wanted to fill that hole with some of our own gear.
- Truly connecting with like-minded people. Converse with them, comment, engage in what they have going on.
- Apart from the planning posts in ahead, spend an uninterrupted 20 minutes a day, doing the things above
- This is an interesting question. So we did a big sale for Black Friday last year and our research had told us that we need to be a little more personal. People like pictures but sometimes you can only post so many good pictures. We needed that interaction and “real life” communication with our peers. So with that, we made some live videos describing our hats and what makes them stand out. From there we noticed how people really took and enjoyed the videos, and beyond that, they loved even more the goofy ones with the kids. So, it was then, that Runge Ralph was born.
- I try to do several a week. Its been pretty neat to see how interaction has been since doing Runge Ralph videos. It’s funny because Runge Ralph is not my personality at all, or at least not the one I let most people see. It has been a great little way for us to have fun here at Sight in Sea, it helps lighten the mood through our struggles and even my kids started to call me Runge Ralph, so we named them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
- Have you ever noticed how you may gain 10 followers one day but lose 5, it’s very interesting to me how hard you have to work to KEEP followers, that’s why you can’t just focus on new, you have to work just as hard to keep the ones you have.
- Consistency… Consistency…. Consistency…. Run different posts at different times of the day and see which works best for you. When you do, post at that time once a day 6 to 7 days a week. That way people know when they can expect you to post. At the minimum, plan 7 days out.
- Always have some sort of stories available at the top for people to look at. But don’t have a bazillion of them because people don’t have that much time. Share your own post or someone else’s. People love that.
- Spend 20 minutes a day, apart from the planning to interact with people. Comment, but not just a simple comment, actually engage with what they are doing, basically like photos and interact with people. Because honestly, do you even look at who liked your photos, or would you be more apt to remember who commented on your photo?
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