Katina Mountanos never wanted to be an influencer. But when the founder and CEO of olive oil brand Kostarina started posting on social media about product specs and the category as a whole, it launched her into a whole new skill set: being on camera and making short-form videos.“I’d explain, ‘This is what to look for when you’re shopping for olive oil in the grocery store. This is how to tell if your olive oil is real or fake.’ And then I would sit down with my team, and they’d say, ‘This post of you performed the best out of all the posts this month. We need more of those.’ And it started to, like, creep up,” she said.
Mountanos is one of countless brand leaders navigating the ins and outs of short-form video at a founder-led brand. While having a founder as the face of a company is hardly a new strategy, the prevalence of short-form video and broader influencer culture has put more pressure on founders to get in front of the camera. Not only is there the opportunity to connect with would-be customers, but retailers eyeing brands for wholesale may have unofficial requirements around a strong founder-led social presence, as that could potentially drive in-store traffic.
In response, founders are increasingly taking on the role of creator. Digital marketing platform Constant Contact found in a survey of over 5,000 people that nearly three out of four small business owners are adopting a “creator” identity. And nearly half of them, or 47%, personally manage their company’s social media presence.
