Faisal Shafique Tells Us How He Built His Network of 6 Million

Faisal Shafique is an Instagram famous social media Guru and Entrepreneur. Having worked for years on his brand and page @fact on Instagram, he has become known in the digital space as a professional growth expert for both social media as well as entrepreneurship endeavors.

Building authentic online relationships is more important now than ever. From joining a LinkedIn Group or posting a colleague’s blog post on Twitter, there is a multitude of ways to focus your social media efforts towards entrepreneurial and business success. 

To have the most impact on your social media channels, it’s critical to focus on high-growth areas where your core audience spends their time. For millennial women, Instagram is the shining star. In fact, more than a quarter of millennial women check their Instagram daily, with half of the 800 million Instagram users falling within the 18-29 age range.

As Instagram is the go-to social network for millennials to discover content from family, friends, brands, influencers, and celebrities alike, it’s paramount for users to go beyond just passively using the social app to expand their professional network.

Shafique says, “Slide into DMs.”

Although the first thing you think of with the flirtatious in-nature “Sliding into DMs” meme isn’t professional networking, there are huge advantages to going outside your comfort zone and starting an Instagram chat — either from the news feed itself or replying to an Instagram Story.

It’s imperative that when you do send a direct message, you have original, non-generic copy that highlights that you’ve taken time to research the person’s style and feed. For example, if you are connecting with a fashion influencer mention how you enjoy watching their holiday fashion videos or the #ootd (outfit of the day) posts on their feed. You can also get a feel for how they communicate from their copy and emoji use, so try and mirror that writing in the direct message itself. This way, when you bring up a partnership, they’ll trust that you’ve taken the time to align with their brand.