How Candace Cima, @LifeinMy70s, Found her Niche & Gains 4K Followers Each Month

Growing your social media business consistently is tough. It requires diligence, passion, and creativity. But even in a competitive industry, some creators manage to succeed. What's their secret?

In this Creator Spotlight series, we’re here to find out. We’ll delve into the stories of influencers who have transcended the ordinary, rising through the ranks with unparalleled dedication, creativity, and authenticity. We’ll follow the growth trajectory of those influencers hitting the mark month-after-month, and share their habits and routines with you so you can be inspired to grow your business, too.

How Candace Cima, @LifeinMy70s, Found her Niche & Gains 4K Followers Each Month

Meet Candace, the woman behind @lifeinmy70s. Candace's journey as an influencer began unexpectedly when she was recovering from pneumonia in Florida and stumbled upon an interview about influencers. She searched for older influencers talking about topics she was interested in, but came up short. So, she decided to post on Instagram about styles for older women, with thoughtful ideas on aging gracefully.

Candace started posting about fashion and styling tips for older women on Instagram to create the type of content she wanted to see in her feed. With consistent growth of around 4,000+ monthly followers, Candace now has a following of 138K+.

But her growing audience isn’t just passive viewers; they’re taking action. 40% of her surveyed followers said they purchased an item based on Candace’s recommendations at least once a year, and 33% decided to purchase at least once a month.

Candace's success comes from creating content that reflects her niche interests that resonate with a target audience, sharing personal experiences, experimenting with social media platforms, and pursuing her passion for learning.

How do you get your start with content creation?

Candace: Three and a half years ago I was reading an article about Influencers. Until that time I had never even heard the term "influencer." Although I got the impression from the article that the typical influencers were younger, I wondered if there were any older influencers my age. I have always had a lot to say about aging and I wondered if this might be a platform to share my thoughts on aging. So I began putting up some posts on Aging with Style.

What do you think makes your content unique?

I think that my age gives me a unique perspective and the fact that I have so many thoughts to share about ging. I think that when I share my thoughts older women are interested because they have many of the same thoughts. They also seem to enjoy seeing new fashion ideas. I think that younger women are interested because I give them a new way to look at aging and fashion.

What is your mission as a creator? What do you think brings your online community together?

My mission as a creator is to in some small way be part of changing the dialogue regarding aging. I want to show women young and old that aging is changing. I am very fortunate to have such a positive and interesting online community; a community that is united in their belief that women can support and lift each other up.

When it comes to growing your business, what is the number one thing you’re focused on?

The number one thing I am focused on in growing my business is to grow my platforms so that I can reach more people. The more people I can reach the more ideas I can share and the more ideas my followers can share with each other. The best community is one where we all share and support each other.

Candace's 3 Takeaways on Growth:

Find a Niche & Fill the Gaps

Candace’s secret? Create the content you want to see in the world. Candace saw a gap in the types of content she found online — not enough influencers talked about aging or fashionable styles for older women. So she filled that niche for herself, creating content that reflects her interests and experiences. She focuses on how older women can maintain their style as they age, catering to an underserved audience.

“I think that it's essential to give everybody what they want but to talk about what you know, whether it's how to style a dress or how to think about life. And for me, I get my ideas during the day of my own life. I'll be going about my life and something will happen in my life and I'll go, oh, I bet other women think of that too.”
‍- Candace Cima, @lifeinmy70s

Never Stop Learning

Candace focuses on flexibility by trying different social media platforms, starting with Instagram and then expanding to Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. In her words, Candace approaches each new platform as a learning opportunity. Always willing to ask questions, experiment, and learn new things to help her grow her accounts.

Share What You Know

Not only did she fill a niche with her content, but she deeply understands the audience she’s posting for. Her social listening helped her connect with her audience through authenticity and relatability. Candace stresses the need for sharing personal experiences. She avoids pretending to be an expert and focuses on topics she knows well.

Feeling inspired? Let’s get to it.

Growing your accounts doesn’t have to be a pie-in-the-sky dream — it’s about putting pen to paper and taking that first step toward growth. Here are a few steps to take to help you along the way.

Here’s how Fohr can help you grow your accounts:

1. Create an influencer profile on Fohr. Read more for 8 ways to use your influencer profile here.‍
2. Set Goals to help you grow. We offer a tool on your influencer profile Dashboard to set achievable milestones.‍
3. Subscribe to Negronis with Nord. This weekly podcast offers advice from our Founder & CEO, James Nord. He shares practice tips for business ownership and, when tipsy enough, hot takes on influencer marketing news.

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