Fashion careers: How to become the Social Media Content Creator at Asos

Social Media’s role in fashion can no longer be ignored as it has become consumers’ favorite way to communicate with their favorite brands. According to industry experts, a good, targeted social and digital media strategy can build and drive brand loyalty. Being visible on digital platforms allows brands to react faster and target their campaign more precisely to the right audience.

Online retailer, Asos, has always placed an importance on social engagement, particularly via Instagram. FashionUnited recently interviewed by email Titi Finlay, the Social Media Content Creator at Asos (her sneaker tutorial is the most viewed on the company’s IGTV) on how she went from a struggling art student living in London to being flown on a luxury brand trip to Dubai for her dream job.

As the Social Media Content Creator at Asos, what does a workday look like?

Usually in the mornings I’m on emails and then our team starts the day with a meeting on current events, so we can create timely content and bounce ideas off each other. In the afternoons I’ll usually be shooting content (mainly shots of sneakers), or briefing influencers/designers to create stuff for our socials. There’s a lot of admin involved too, so it’s not all creative. Evenings I try to be off my phone unless I’m at a brand event, as working in social media can be really full-on mental health-wise, but sometimes I do have to post Instagram stories or content outside of work hours – comes with the job!

You recently created a sneaker tutorial which generated over 1.2million engagements in 24 hours, making it the most viewed IGTV video on Asos’s Instagram. How did you come up with that?

I actually didn’t make this piece of content for Asos originally, I just made it one weekend for fun as it’s something I had been thinking about doing for a while. When my boss saw how well it performed on my own channel we decided to repost on Asos and the views went crazy! I think it shows that really organic, thoughtful, satisfying content always does best. When you’re passionate about what you’ve created rather than just make content for volume, then it will always do well.

What do you love most about your job?

I love that I can be creative and that I get so many amazing opportunities. Memorable highlights have been meeting some of my heroes like Pharrell, Jeff Staple and Mike Cherman and also being taken to Dubai with Puma for Sole DXB festival. It’s great that no day is ever the same and as a creative person that really stimulates my mind! I also love that any idea I have can very quickly be actualised, and that there is budget and resource to make it happen.

You have interned for Harper's Bazaar, the Sunday Times, influencer and fashion journalist Katherine Ormerod as well as rebranded The Braid Bar for creative director Willa Burton. How did all these amazing opportunities come about?

A couple of years ago I was working in restaurants and feeling really directionless about my future. I’d always wanted to work in fashion, but I had zero experience. One day I hit rock bottom and decided that I was just gonna go for it, I had nothing to lose. I actually just outright emailed Katherine and Willa asked them both if I could intern for free to learn from them.

It was really hard as I had no money and had to work a lot of jobs to be able to pay my rent and intern at the same time, but it paid off as I was then recommended for both the magazine internships by Katherine and then it all just sort of snowballed from there. I wasn’t born with any money or connections, so I went out and got them for myself – which a lot of people don’t have the guts to do!

Did you always want to work in the fashion industry and what did you study?

As soon as I left university I knew I wanted to work in some kind of fashion or creative role, but prior to that I just wanted to be a famous artist. I studied Fine Art and I paint, and I wanted to do that for a living but the reality is that’s super difficult. Now that my career is more established, I’ve gone back to painting in my spare time and it feels amazing!

What advice would you give to your college-self?

The advice I would give to my younger self is: Don’t listen to anyone except your own intuition. When I was struggling during my internships, going to the job centre and trying to survive life in London so many people told me my goals weren’t realistic and to maybe ‘try and become a teacher’ instead – and these were people close to me who loved me and wanted the best for me. The problem is a lot of people are conditioned with the idea that big dreams are ‘unrealistic’ and unachievable, so they don’t understand that you actually can go for them and if you don’t give up, you WILL get there!

What is your must-have fashion item?

A pair of chunky white sneakers – probably my Acne Manhattans or a classic Nike Air Force 1!

Photos: courtesy of Titi Finlay