Vrouw Achter het Merk: Carolien Spoor

Carolien Spoor does so much that even a centipede would be jealous of her. She acts, makes beautiful canvases where you can breastfeed your child, decorates houses, and is especially very active and witty on Instagram. So she saw another fun task for herself: teaching others how to create their content to unprecedented heights.

Teaching about UGC, tell us all about it.
‘Let me first explain what UGC is: this stands for User Generated Content, which means that the videos or photos are created by the ‘end user’. The created content is then posted on the brand's own channels, so as a UGC creator, you don't need to have a large following on social media, but you create content directly for the brands. I find this incredibly interesting because it means that literally anyone can become a UGC creator.

Nowadays, everyone makes cool videos or photos for their social media accounts, so how amazing is it if you can earn money part-time or even full-time with this? And then the idea arose to develop a course together with the Shoutout Agency (an agency that represents UGC creators) for everyone who wants to work as a UGC creator. As an actress, but also as a content creator, I notice that ’storytelling’ is the most important thing. So besides teaching our students all the ins and outs about UGC and the different types of UGC content, a large part of our course is also about presenting yourself and how to best convey a story to your audience. The cool thing is that all students get immediate access to three brands to pitch to as fresh UGC creators upon completion.’

Brands are looking for unpolished and authentic content.

I have known you for a long time and saw how your Instagram account gradually developed its own look and feel. How did that come about?
‘In the beginning, I was more focused on strategic thinking: what am I going to specialize in on my social media account? I soon realized that I let this go and only wanted to post things that I personally like. That's extremely broad, but what I noticed is that I show overall content that is quite unpolished, with humor and a lot of relativity, and that worked very well. Even when I film a paid collaboration, I regularly show myself completely without makeup or with my hair in a bun, simply because as a mother of two young kids and all the other things I'm busy with, I certainly don't have time to fully prepare myself when I need to record content. That ‘unpolished’ aspect is also a very important point in UGC content: brands are looking for unpolished and authentic content.’

What lessons have you learned in your Instagram career?
‘That it is very important to know what your message is. What do you want to convey to your audience? That has to do with storytelling. I always love to end a video with a wink or by making fun of myself, because this is just the reality for me instead of overly polished content. That's also why I still find making content so enjoyable: I always determine what the story will be and choose my collaborations where I can work without being too polished or with a wink.’

What has helped you so much to shoot up to 120,000 followers?
‘By staying true to myself. I once posted a photo on vacation that was a bit sexier and posed: that was in a bikini in the sea. I immediately got comments on that, haha. But if I have done a beautiful photoshoot, I still share it with pride. I will only show at the end of a carousel post how I was slumped on the couch with stains on my shirt and without makeup after such a shoot. Back to my mom life, haha.’

For a few years now, I no longer show the kids fully in the picture.

You are not at all about showing the polished version of life. We often see you without makeup in not always flattering situations. Do you also have boundaries when it comes to what you share?
‘For a few years now, I no longer show the kids fully in the picture. They are still present in terms of sound, and I do show them from the back, but I found it increasingly difficult to show them extensively to 120,000 people as they got older. But if I have a really nice photo of us where they are more in the picture, like around Christmas, I still share it with great pride.’

Give us another elevator pitch where you briefly and concisely tell why people should definitely join your course.
‘Do you have a passion for making videos and photos and would you like to earn money with this? Do you want to decide where and when you want to work and pitch yourself directly for three cool Dutch brands after the course?! Then the Shoutout Academy is really something for you! One more bonus: with the code AMAYZINE you get www.shoutoutacademy.nl ❤️ 24 hours long 20% discount on the course.’

And how are you doing otherwise? What’s on the agenda for the coming months?
‘I’m doing well! I have many exciting things on the agenda: I am busy with my own feature film that I wrote this spring from LA, this weekend my design collection for Eijerkamp is coming out, next year I will launch another cool design collaboration for a large bag brand, and I hope to further expand the Shoutout Academy.’

Finally: do you have three fun Insta accounts that we should definitely follow?
@mignonettetakespictures
Great authentic content!

@bofakkeldij
Is a cool UGC creator to follow.

@venswifestyle
The proof that social media is for all ages, and I hope that thanks to the rise of UGC, even more of this kind of content will appear on my timeline.