This Family Has 4 Million Instagram Followers — and the Kids’ College Educations Are Already Paid For

This Family Has 4 Million Instagram Followers — and the Kids’ College Educations Are Already Paid For

Within a few months, Katie was on a trip to California with her twin daughters, Mila and Emma, and Mila was recognized. Today, the Stauffer family Instagram account has 4 million followers and counting, along with a sizeable audience on YouTube and Facebook. Fans love photos of the Stauffer kids and the cheeky video scripts that feature the toddler twins. Katie talked with Entrepreneur about her start on Instagram, her content strategy and a standout moment from her experience as an influencer. How did you get your start on Instagram? Generally, I had my kids in my photos, so other people who had kids followed me. And one day, probably in the beginning of 2017, my eldest daughter made a video of the twins and asked me to post it. Every Saturday, our supporters can get to know Mila and Emma, watch the girls go head-to-head with challenges and get a peek into their lives." A post shared by Stauffer Family (@kcstauffer) on May 19, 2017 at 7:17pm PDT "We love this one because everyone loves a first day of preschool story. A post shared by Stauffer Family (@kcstauffer) on Sep 29, 2017 at 11:22pm PDT "We love this video because it shows off Mila and Emma’s unique personalities and how well they work together.

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Here’s how influencer mom Katie Stauffer got her start spotlighting her five kids on social media.

This Family Has 4 Million Instagram Followers -- and the Kids' College Educations Are Already Paid For

In this series, Instagram Icon, Entrepreneur speaks with the individuals behind popular Instagram accounts to find out the secrets of their success.

On an evening near the end of summer 2017, the Stauffer family sat in the family room of their Arizona home as Katie Stauffer’s phone started to light up with notification after notification. Her husband Charles — and their children Kaitlin, Charles, Finn, Mila and Emma — watched as the Instagram account Katie started to chronicle their family adventures had reached 1 million followers.

Within a few months, Katie was on a trip to California with her twin daughters, Mila and Emma, and Mila was recognized. Several strangers approached them to take photos. She knew this was the beginning of something big.

Today, the Stauffer family Instagram account has 4 million followers and counting, along with a sizeable audience on YouTube and Facebook. Fans love photos of the Stauffer kids and the cheeky video scripts that feature the toddler twins.

It’s paying off. The Stauffers recently announced Mila and Emma’s branded clothing line, which will be sold in Target stores and online starting February 24. Katie attended fashion design school before she had children, and after collaborating on the clothing line and helping to choose fabrics with Mila and Emma, she feels as if she’s putting her degree to use.

Katie talked with Entrepreneur about her start on Instagram, her content strategy and a standout moment from her experience as an influencer.

The interview is edited for length and clarity.

How did you get your start on Instagram?

I made the account about six years ago without much thought behind it — I had just wanted to try Instagram — and posted pictures of my kids. I started entering photo hashtag projects on different pages; I think my first one was a challenge that asked you to post a picture of a mailbox. Generally, I had my kids in my photos, so other people who had kids followed me. Then, companies started asking if they could send merchandise, like a shirt, for one of my kids to take a photo in. Our number of followers started growing, especially after I got pregnant with the twins. Some of our followers were interior design fans because I usually had parts of the home in the background of photos of my kids. And one day, probably in the beginning of 2017, my eldest daughter made a video of the twins and asked me to post it. It went viral, so we made another one, and that was it.

What’s your content strategy?

I try to post at least once a day and answer as many direct messages as I can, and my content strategy has always been humor — that always goes over well with my audience. My eldest daughter takes care of all the script, filming and editing because she loves it; I don’t have anything to do with the videos besides helping her think of relevant topics.

How do you leverage your account, and…

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