The Shocking Truth About Louise Delage's Instagram Account The secrets of this social-media sensation reveal many truths about life, online and real world.
By Lesya Liu •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Have you heard of Louise Delage?
In case you haven't, Delage is a 25-year-old Parisian, who rose to Instagram stardom in just eight, short weeks, with more than 41,000 followers as of writing this. Delage is a cute girl with a pretty smile and a hip wardrobe. Go on; visit her profile. Very Instagram-y, right?
Related: What Instagram Star Louise Delage Can Teach You About Marketing
Pop quiz: What is the one thing - although in different forms -- that's present in nearly all of her photos?
Answer: There is a drink in nearly all of her images. I bet you didn't notice this at first.
As it turns out, Delage doesn't exist. She is a character in a campaign, created by Addict Aide and BETC, and she is a prime example of the subtle widespread presence of alcoholism among young adults.
In these photos, someone so young, pretty and carefree can't let a drink out of her hand. The most interesting part is that out of thousands of people following and liking her photos, not many caught on to this, which only goes to prove Addict Aide's point that addiction is not always easy to spot.
So, how did the account's creators ensure profile visibility and what can entrepreneurs learn from it? Fortunately, I'm going tell you.
According to an interview with AdWeek, the team created a strategy around four pillars: content, hashtags, bots and a key opinion leader (KOL) strategy.
Related: How Do You Stand Out From 500,000 Advertisers on Instagram?
The agency thoroughly examined Instagrammers' habits, including engagement peak times, hashtags, filters and imagery style. They were also very diligent about who Delage followed. Finally, they enlisted help of Instagram influencers, who helped spread the word about the profile.
BETC gave Delage all the details required to make her cool to today's young people. Her profile photos are sexy, enigmatic, fashionable, well-posed and always include her with a drink in her hand. She has that it girl look; Delage possesses all of the characteristics of the gilded youth. Plus, she follows the Instagram playbook to a T.
How could she not get famous overnight?
Aside from the promotional tactics, BETC and Addict Aide hit on something bigger.
It brought together pop culture and psychology to hit the nail hard on the head, and make viewers a part of the scheme.
In today's society, where life becomes more and more perfectly scripted for social media, did you overlook glaring details that were hinting at less than a perfect life?
Now that the campaign is out in the open, did you stop, and analyze your reaction? Were you reminded that not everything in real life (IRL) is as perfect as appears on Instagram?
Another thing worth noting is that if someone could construct and craft the story of Delage, a fictional character, you should be able to create a brilliant story around your existing, real business. After all, Instagram requires one image and an accompanying story at a time.
Related: This Is Why Social Media and Drinking Alcohol Don't Mix (Infographic)
Overall, this was a brilliant campaign - both technically and conceptually. The creators of the campaign brought a lot of attention to the issue and generated buzz in social and printed media. As I write the article and go back to the account, the growth of followers is astounding. In the last 24 hours alone, Delage acquired 15,000 new followers, which is even better than before we knew she was fictional.
