Instagram's Hidden Algorithm: 8M Follower Account Reveals All | Gina Tash DSH #981

Summary

Podcast Summary: Digital Social Hour – Episode #981: "Instagram's Hidden Algorithm: 8M Follower Account Reveals All" with Gina Tash

Host Sean Kelly brings in a deep dive into the evolving landscape of Instagram and social media growth with special guest Gina Tosh, a prominent influencer managing an 8 million-follower Instagram account. This episode explores the complexities of Instagram's algorithm, strategies for personal branding, monetization of large follower bases, and the nuances of being an influencer in the travel and fashion sectors.

---

1. The Shifting Instagram Algorithm

Gina Tosh opens the discussion by addressing the challenges influencers face due to Instagram's ever-changing algorithm. Historically, features like Reels provided a clear growth path, especially for smaller creators. However, for established accounts like Gina's, consistent growth has become unpredictable.

• Gina Tosh [01:01]:
  “And you never know when something's gonna hit... for bigger creators like us, it's hard. You never know anymore.”

She expresses frustration over frequent algorithm changes that prioritize different content types—first Reels, then Stories—making it difficult for creators to maintain visibility. The removal of chronological feeds has particularly impacted user engagement, forcing creators to constantly adapt their content strategies.

• Gina Tosh [02:03]:
  “I personally miss the chronological order. The timeline was... I don’t see them, they don’t show up.”

2. Impact on Social Media Growth and Engagement

The conversation delves into the significant drop in reach and engagement that many influencers, including Gina and Scott Clary, have experienced. This decline is partly attributed to increased political content and societal tensions, which may lead to reduced overall engagement on the platform.

• Scott Clary [03:20]:
  “My reach is down 70% in the past 60 days. It’s nuts.”

Gina highlights that Instagram’s focus on specific content types marginalizes diverse content, making it harder for creators to reach their audience organically. This shift has also affected how brands interact with influencers, emphasizing the need for updated metrics and adjusted strategies.

3. Origin and Growth of a Major Instagram Account

Gina shares the organic growth story of her main Instagram account, My Therapist Says, which amassed 8 million followers without relying on paid advertisements. The account started as a humorous, relatable meme page aimed at young women, which quickly went viral within the first month.

• Gina Tosh [07:45]:
  “We thought we were really funny, so we just wanted to, you know, put this stuff anonymously on Instagram... it went viral within like a month.”

This rapid growth underscores the power of authentic, relatable content and the potential for niche accounts to gain massive followings organically.

4. Monetizing a Large Follower Base

A significant portion of the episode focuses on how Gina successfully monetizes her 8 million followers. Unlike many influencers who struggle to turn their follower counts into revenue, Gina and her team operate My Therapist Says as a creative agency, handling content creation for major brands.

• Gina Tosh [10:32]:
  “We monetize by creating viral marketing content for big brands... we provide the 8.2 million people to view the content.”

This unique approach ensures that all partnerships are mutually beneficial, with brands gaining extensive exposure while Gina’s accounts remain authentic and engaging for their audience.

5. Content Creation Strategies

Gina emphasizes the importance of diverse content types in maintaining and growing an Instagram following. While Reels were once a reliable growth tool, Gina notes a shift towards static images and short texts performing exceptionally well.

• Gina Tosh [16:35]:
  “Static images do really, really well. Like text, like short texts do really well.”

Consistency in posting is another key strategy. Gina’s team posts up to six times a day across four different accounts, ensuring constant engagement and relevance in their followers' feeds.

• Gina Tosh [17:37]:
  “The more we post, the better it does. So that's another key to it.”

6. Personal Branding vs. Corporate Presence

A crucial aspect of the discussion is the deliberate separation of personal and business identities on social media. My Therapist Says maintains a corporate presence, focusing on group content rather than individual personalities, which allows for scaling and avoids personal conflicts affecting the brand.

• Gina Tosh [15:27]:
  “We wanted to be more of a company, more of a space for everyone. And we didn't want people to necessarily only be relating to us on a personal level.”

This strategy not only streamlines content creation but also safeguards the business from potential personal controversies, ensuring stability and continuity.

7. The Influence and Responsibilities of Being an Influencer

Gina discusses the significant impact influencers have on businesses, particularly in the restaurant industry. Positive reviews and viral posts can substantially boost a restaurant's reputation and customer base.

• Gina Tosh [22:46]:
  “It's a beautiful power and a huge responsibility to be able to make a place or product go viral.”

However, this influence comes with ethical considerations. Gina chooses to avoid negative reviews publicly to maintain good relationships with brands and ensure sustained partnerships.

• Gina Tosh [23:06]:
  “If I don't like it, I just won't. If I don't like it, I'm just not going to do damaging now.”

8. Personal Insights and Lifestyle Integration

Beyond professional insights, Gina shares personal anecdotes about her favorite cities for food, reflecting her passion for culinary experiences. Her favorites include Chicago for its diverse culinary scene and Vienna for its underrated yet excellent non-traditional restaurants.

• Gina Tosh [24:42]:
  “Honestly, my favorite is Chicago. I love the food in Chicago. It’s been incredible.”

She also touches on her experiences with anxiety, linking it to her preference for organized environments and the challenges of managing multiple social media accounts.

• Gina Tosh [30:09]:
  “Yeah. Not because... It kind of gives me anxiety the way the whole app is set up.”

9. Building and Maintaining a Personal Brand

Gina emphasizes the significance of personal branding in today's digital age. She advocates for authenticity and consistency, encouraging influencers to share relatable content that resonates with their audience.

• Scott Clary [28:19]:
  “Personal brand is so important and I know a lot of people are scared of starting it, of being judged or how many likes you get, but it's the best move I've ever made.”

She also discusses the challenges and intimidation associated with transitioning from anonymous content creation to a more personal online presence.

---

Conclusion

Episode #981 of Digital Social Hour provides a comprehensive look into the intricacies of managing a large Instagram following amidst algorithm changes, monetization strategies, and the delicate balance between personal and corporate branding. Gina Tosh’s experiences and insights offer valuable lessons for aspiring influencers and seasoned content creators navigating the dynamic world of social media.

Notable Quotes:

• Gina Tosh [02:03]:
  “I personally miss the chronological order. The timeline was... I don’t see them, they don’t show up.”

• Scott Clary [03:20]:
  “My reach is down 70% in the past 60 days. It’s nuts.”

• Gina Tosh [10:32]:
  “We monetize by creating viral marketing content for big brands... we provide the 8.2 million people to view the content.”

• Gina Tosh [15:27]:
  “We wanted to be more of a company, more of a space for everyone. And we didn't want people to necessarily only be relating to us on a personal level.”

• Gina Tosh [22:46]:
  “It's a beautiful power and a huge responsibility to be able to make a place or product go viral.”

• Scott Clary [28:19]:
  “Personal brand is so important and I know a lot of people are scared of starting it, of being judged or how many likes you get, but it's the best move I've ever made.”

Listeners can gain practical insights into adapting to platform changes, leveraging personal and corporate identities, and the profound impact of influencer marketing in today's digital ecosystem.

---

Connect with Gina Tosh and My Therapist Says:

• Instagram: @mytherapistsays
• Personal Brand: @gina_tash

Transcript

[Gina Tosh]

This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. There's nothing sweeter than baking cookies during the holidays. With Prime, I get all my ingredients delivered right to my door, fast and free. No last minute store trips needed. And of course, I blast my favorite holiday playlist on Amazon Music. It's the ultimate soundtrack for creating unforgettable memories. From streaming to shopping, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into.

[United Airlines]

This episode is brought to you by United Airlines. When you want to make the most of your vacation, book with United. They're an airline that cares about your travels as much as you do. United is transforming the flying experience with Bluetooth connectivity, screens, power at every seat, and bigger overhead bins to help fit everyone's bag. And with their app, you can skip the bag check line, get live updates and more. Change the way you fly. Book your next trip [e-mail] people keep.

[Scott Clary]

Asking me how to get views and stuff. I really don't have a formula for that.

[Gina Tosh]

And you never know when something's gonna hit. The formula used to be like, a few months ago or like a year ago, I guess since they introduced reels. It was like, as long as you keep making reels, you'll grow. Especially for smaller creators, that's a great way to go viral. Like, you'll see someone with like, you know, 3,000 followers, and then they'll have a reel that made like, 2 million. But for bigger creators like us, it's hard. You never know anymore.

[Scott Clary]

All right, guys, Gina Tosh here. Today we're going to talk social media growth, personal branding, and being an influencer in the travel and fashion space. Thanks for coming on.

[Gina Tosh]

Thank you. Happy to be here.

[Scott Clary]

Absolutely. When I saw your page, I was like, I didn't even know you ran that page, first of all. But 8 million followers is really impressive.

[Gina Tosh]

Thank you. It's been a long time.

[Scott Clary]

A long time. Yeah. People don't realize that they see my page. I've been doing it for eight years.

[Gina Tosh]

Wow, really?

[Scott Clary]

How'd you grow so quick? You probably get that all the time.

[Gina Tosh]

Exactly. Yeah. We've been doing it for 10 years.

[Scott Clary]

Exactly. And it's gotten a lot harder to grow recently.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, tell me about it.

[Scott Clary]

The new updates are terrible. I'd love for you to explain what's going on there.

[Gina Tosh]

Well, you know, Instagram makes things very difficult, so you would think that they would want their creators or their best creators to stay on their platform and not migrate to things like TikTok or YouTube shorts. Or whatever. So. But they keep changing the algorithm and with every change there is a new challenge and people trying to figure it out and see what works. Like one, like, few months they're pushing reels, the next few months they're pushing stories. And then like, you know, it just like a lot of people are complaining so much and especially smaller creators. Like, nobody's content's being seen the way it's meant to be seen. I mean, I personally miss the chronological order. The timeline was. Tell me about it. I don't know why they would get rid of it. You know, like, I love Instagram. That's my favorite platform and that's the reason why we started on Instagram. So to me now, it's so confusing. Like, I follow even the people that I follow, like, personally, like influencers or whoever, I want to see whose content I want to see. I don't see them, they don't show up. And I interact with their content all the time and I don't see their content. I have to go in my search bar and search for that person every day if I want to see their content.

[Scott Clary]

Wow.

[Gina Tosh]

And that makes things significantly more difficult. And as a creator, it's very frustrating. I think, especially if you're a smaller creator. It's so much harder now to get that reach 100%.

[Scott Clary]

My reach is down 70% in the past 60 days. It's nuts. Like every week I'll just drop 5, 10%.

[Gina Tosh]

Right. It's crazy. It's not how it used to be. I was just like talking about it earlier today to someone like a brand reached out and they were always like, reach out to ask for your updated stats. And I just saw the last email we sent them and like, where the stats were and it's just a little crazy.

[Scott Clary]

Like the drop off are crazy.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

And I'm wondering if it's partially because of the. All the politics. Oh, well, they're pushing that everywhere.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

And maybe they're just filtering out other content.

[Gina Tosh]

Well, I think Instagram really has become a more. People have become less patient and more angry on all social media accounts. Like in the recent, like last like nine to 10 months since all these, like, political issues have started and it's election year and this and that. So I do feel like a lot of people are staying off social media maybe and not engaging as much or only being shown certain type of content and not being shown, like, unrelated content.

[Scott Clary]

Right.

[Gina Tosh]

So I could definitely see there is, there is a different.

[Scott Clary]

There's a change, there's a shift yeah, it's weird time. People keep asking me how to get views and stuff. I really don't have a formula for that other than like, make good content.

[Gina Tosh]

Right. And you never know when something's going to hit. Like, before the formula used to be like a few months ago or like a year ago, I guess when they. Since they introduced reels, it was like, as long as you keep making reels, you'll grow. That's kind of still the case, I think, especially for smaller creators. That's a great way to go viral to be seen. Like, you'll see someone with like, you know, 3,000 followers and then they'll have a reel that made like 2 million, had 2 million views. So that's still a great way to do it. But for bigger creators like us, it's hard. You never know anymore. Like, we'll create reels and the content will be the same. Or sometimes we'll post like the same content that we posted like 5 months ago did exceptionally well, will bring it back again with like a, you know, similar caption or whatever. It won't be significantly different, but it'll do very different.

[Scott Clary]

Right.

[Gina Tosh]

So there's no way to tell anymore? No, it's really hard to tell. But, you know, that's kind of what we specialize in, being able to tell if something's going to do well within the first few seconds of posting. Right. I'm sure you can tell when you post something. You're like, oh, this is going to do well right away. Like, that's how we are. So it makes it easier to edit. But now it's like more effort.

[Scott Clary]

Right. What was the origin of the page you made? What's it called, and talk to everyone about the story.

[Gina Tosh]

So I'm the co founder of my therapist SES and my therapist says is an online, I guess, digital media company at this point. We have 11 media properties. It started out, if you're like me.

[Masterclass]

You'Re looking for an edge for sports betting. So when I heard Masterclass had a new class on beating the odds, taught by the pros who have made millions, I had to check it out. With Masterclass, you can learn from the best to become your best. Masterclass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200 of the world's best for just $10 a month. An annual membership with Masterclass gets you unlimited access to every instructor. And you can access Masterclass on your phone, computer, smart tv, or even in audio mode. Novice bettors are at a huge disadvantage with most Losing early and fast. Before, the knowledge needed to level up was hard to come by. Now there's Masterclass and the classes really make a difference. 88% of members feel that Masterclass has made a positive impact on their lives. I use it and you should too. Plus, every new membership comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. So don't wait another moment to start your learning journey with Masterclass. And Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com bluewire for their current offer. That's up to 50% [e-mail] bluewire that's masterclass.com bluewire and remember, all sports betting involves risk and you're responsible for complying with all sports betting laws in your jurisdiction.

[United Airlines]

This episode is brought to you by United Airlines. When you want to make the most of your vacation, book with United. They're an airline that cares about your travels as much as you do. United is transforming the flying experience with Bluetooth connectivity, screens, power at every seat, and bigger overhead bins to help fit everyone's bag. And with their app, you can skip the bag check line, get live updates and more. Change the way you fly. Book your next trip [e-mail] as a.

[Gina Tosh]

Really big Instagram account. And like the very beginning of Instagram, like 10 years ago, and I own that with my sisters and our best friend. And we kind of just started very organically. We thought we were really funny, so we just wanted to, you know, our group chat was really fun. So eventually we were like, why don't we just put this stuff anonymously on Instagram and see if it does well, because there were like a couple of meme accounts on Instagram at that time. And we were like, we're just as funny if not funnier. And there wasn't a lot of like, stuff kind of pertaining to young women and relatable to young women. So we just kind of wanted to put stuff out there that we ourselves wanted to see. So we just started putting stuff on and it went viral within like a month.

[Scott Clary]

Wow.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

Quick.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, no, we grew really quickly. Like, we grow like a million followers a year.

[Scott Clary]

Holy crap. Yeah, that's really quick.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

No paid ads on that. Just all organic.

[Gina Tosh]

No. Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

Now I feel like you have to run paid ads. You know what I mean?

[Gina Tosh]

I've never tried. Really. Like, we'll have brands who are like, you know, hey, can you create this content for us? Can we like, you know, obviously buy sponsorship on your page and Then we. They will put like the paid ads behind this certain ad. Yeah, but it's like, you know, it's an ad, so we've never done it on our own actual stuff.

[Scott Clary]

Interesting. Yeah. I feel like especially on YouTube now. It's so hard to get views on YouTube. If you're not running paid, it's just like you're going to be stagnant.

[Gina Tosh]

Didn't they just introduce paid app?

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, they've gotten way more expensive to. They already doubled in price since I started. Yeah, it's crazy.

[Gina Tosh]

I heard that was a way to go now on YouTube.

[Scott Clary]

I mean, it's helped me gain a lot of subscribers and views.

[Gina Tosh]

That's what we've been doing. Me and my boyfriend recently launched a vlog channel and we were playing around with the advertisement on YouTube.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, I saw that channel.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, it's doing really well because of the advertisements.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. You guys are at 100k, almost 30.

[Gina Tosh]

Subscribers, and it's very new. And that's because Scott was just playing around with like the advertisement. I was like, what's happening, babe? He's like, YouTube advertising, let's go. Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

And you guys just moved to Miami. Congrats.

[Gina Tosh]

Yes, thank you.

[Scott Clary]

That's a big move.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Well, no, we moved from Fort Lauderdale just now and that's not a huge move, but we did move from Canada to Miami three years ago.

[Scott Clary]

Okay. That's a big move.

[Gina Tosh]

That was a big move.

[Scott Clary]

I didn't know Scott was from Canada. Shout out to Scott Clary. He was just on the pod yesterday. Where were you in Canada? Toronto.

[Gina Tosh]

Toronto.

[Scott Clary]

Big Toronto. I haven't been up there yet.

[Gina Tosh]

Really? Yeah, I mean, like, that's. It's like a little New York. It's super fun. But I mean, there's not enough there to do, I think for people in the creative space. And it's just better for business to be in the U.S. yeah. And you know, 99% of our business in the U.S. right.

[Scott Clary]

And let's talk about monetizing the account with the following. Because that's something people. Actually, a lot of people I know with followers don't make money.

[Gina Tosh]

Right?

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

Really?

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, they don't. They're either broke or they struggle to make money. But you've been able to turn this into a real business.

[Gina Tosh]

Well, that's because Instagram is probably the only platform that doesn't actually pay you to post.

[Scott Clary]

Right.

[Gina Tosh]

So not only are they killing our reach, they're also not paying us to post. So. Yeah, I mean, obviously we monetize by creating viral Marketing content for big brands. And we have obviously 11 media properties. So a lot of them are smaller, more niche. So there'll be different campaigns for different kind of brands. But for our main page, my therapist says we create like the biggest. I guess that's our biggest clients.

[Scott Clary]

Got it. So a company will approach you wanting to promote a product or service.

[Gina Tosh]

So, you know, like Netflix will be launching a new TV show or a movie or, you know, Hulu or whatever. And then they'll be like, hey, we want to promote this. This is coming out. This is our budget. This is when it's coming out. Like, you know, create some content. Get like early access to view the movie or show whatever or test out a product. It could anything, right? And then we take some time to create the content. So it's unique because we are now acting as a creative agency. We're creating the content and the creative and everything. And we also provide the 8.2 million people to view the content. Right. So that's exciting. So we know what works for our audience. We know what content is going to do well. We know the best way to advertise something for a big brand. So that's been working very well for us. And we have. All our clients are returning customers. We've been working on it for a very long time with most of our people.

[Scott Clary]

That means you have a good product.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Scott Clary]

As well, these movies, I noticed, are being more and more promoted by social media people because when the new Bad Boys movie came out, Will Smith and the other guy, I forget his name, kept going on podcasts and big Instagram pages and stuff.

[Gina Tosh]

Well, because no one's watching TV anymore, right? Like you're not watching commercials anymore. How are you going to be shown like an ad for something if you're not like partaking in the old school media or like, you know, you're not reading newspapers or looking at magazines. That's how we used to see things, right? That's how things used to be advertised. But now if I see if I'm scrolling whatever social media and I'm like, oh, this person's wearing this. Where'd they get this from? Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. You know, one of the perks about having four kids that you know about is actually getting a direct line to.

[Scott Clary]

The big man up north.

[Gina Tosh]

And this year he wants you to know the best gift that you can give someone is the gift of Mint Mobile's unlimited wireless for $15 a month. Now, you don't even need to wrap.

[United Airlines]

It, give it a [e-mail] Switch $45 upfront payment required. Equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first 3 month plan only. Taxes and fees. Extra Speed slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited. See mintmobile.com for details.

[Gina Tosh]

Is it tagged? I immediately go by it like, we're all so easily influenced and that's the only way to kind of access your consumer now through social media. So I feel like brands that are not actually using social media are very much behind and I think doing it wrong 100%.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. I've never bought off a billboard. I bought off TikTok shop.

[Gina Tosh]

Exactly.

[Scott Clary]

Which is crazy. They're so good at advertising there.

[Gina Tosh]

If like a superstar, a lister is advertising something, I'm not going to be like, oh, let me buy it because she's wearing it. I'll be like, no, she can probably afford something better, like. Or if she like, you know, like, it doesn't seem as relatable. But if it's someone like me who just has some followers and I'm like, oh, she's like, you know, my size or like my aesthetic, like, whatever. Or like I'm more likely to buy. Right. I want to engage with that person because I'm like, you are a lot like me, so if you like it, I might like it too.

[Scott Clary]

Agreed.

[Gina Tosh]

Or if previous recommendations worked out, then I will just trust all of your recommendations.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, it's more relatable.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

How much fashion stuff do you get?

[Gina Tosh]

Honestly, not a lot.

[Scott Clary]

Really?

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, mostly like makeup, skincare, stuff like that. No, that's because we don't put ourselves on our page as much. So I have my personal brand, like I have my personal page and for that I'm doing a lot more of that. But for like our actual media company, we don't really put ourselves on there. It's very like, it's more corporate, kind of.

[Scott Clary]

Was that by choice?

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, it was very intentional.

[Scott Clary]

You wanted to separate the personal brand.

[Gina Tosh]

Yes. So it's very intentional because having a personal brand, being relatable, being a personality, it does really, really well. Right. So obviously we know like all these big influencers by name. Like, you know, Logan Paul, you might not know all the businesses he owns, but you know him and whatever he touches, like, does well. Right. Or like big people like that. But we kind of wanted to be more of like a company, more of a space for everyone. And we didn't want people to necessarily only be relating to us on a personal level. We wanted people to relate to our content and our message. So we Kind of just. And it's because it's been easier for us to kind of do those big sponsorships and big advertisements because we're not necessarily like talking about stuff. We're not promoting it ourselves. Right. Whether we use it or not, it's more about just like the experience.

[Scott Clary]

That's a good point. Yeah. Your personal brand's not on the line, so it's like you get canceled, whatever.

[Gina Tosh]

Like your opinions don't really reflect on the main company. Right. That's why we don't really, like, we don't go on stories a lot or talk. Like we don't really do that. That's why we have our separate kind of pages for that kind of stuff. But we've just found that it's worked best for us for the kind of content we post.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, that makes sense. Because what you post is basically a lot of mental health self help. Right?

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

So they just want it to be like more anonymous, right?

[Gina Tosh]

Exactly. And also it can be like, I guess, triggering for a lot of people that want to see that kind of content to just like keep seeing like certain faces or certain people, you know, And I like, you know, we want to make it a very, like, inclusive place and we want to make it a very positive place. So, like, you don't want to go on our story and do a rant because, like, you know, like this many people are going to see it. It just like it's much easier and more comfortable doing it on our own personal pages because that's. We know people are there for us. We know that's what people want to see on our regular, on our work pages. That's not what people want to see necessarily. We don't know that. Even if they do like, you know, it's kind of like a risk to do that.

[Scott Clary]

Absolutely. What type of content is your most viral? Is it photos, Videos?

[Gina Tosh]

Certain, actually lately, like, it used to be real a while ago. Now lately we find that static images do really, really well.

[Scott Clary]

Really?

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Like text, like short texts do really well. Yeah, stories have been doing really well. It's like, you know, like stories come and go. Like the reach changes. But recently it's been really good. And I mean, we're pretty consistent. So our benchmarks are usually like, you know, we always give people our lowest benchmarks. Like the content can get like, you know, 20 million views. We're not gonna promise that that's a, that, you know, that's a special case. And even though it happens all the time with our content, because it's so like heavily shared and relatable. We really just like think in terms of like the lowest benchmark.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

What's the lowest? We do.

[Scott Clary]

Wow. You've hit 20 million.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, way more than that.

[Scott Clary]

Dang. I think my most is 20 something million. Yeah. I haven't hit 20 that often though.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, yeah, no, no, no. Some of our like, posts do like, way more than that.

[Scott Clary]

What have you hit a 50 million?

[Gina Tosh]

I think so if I have my phone, I would show you.

[Scott Clary]

Wow. It's impressive.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

What was the video for? Like the high viewing ones?

[Gina Tosh]

Honestly, I don't remember.

[Scott Clary]

Every month post like three times a day, Right?

[Gina Tosh]

We post like six times a day.

[Scott Clary]

Six times a day. Damn. I got to step it up.

[Gina Tosh]

I mean. So, yeah, the more we post, the better it does. So that's another key to it.

[Scott Clary]

Well, you got four you guys, so that's.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, each.

[Scott Clary]

Each one of you post one a day. You're good.

[Gina Tosh]

No, no, we don't do that. So we have each person responsible for different parts of the business. Yeah. So we have someone responsible for posting and she's incredible. And that's our partner, Nicole. And you know, she's very like has her finger on the pulse of what's trending, what's good, what's going to do well. And it's, it's rare that we, the rest of us, only if someone else can't do it, then we'll do it. But. But it is four of us.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

So it makes it easier. Like if I'm on vacation, I know that they've got it covered and vice versa.

[Scott Clary]

That's a great feeling because a lot of people take a vacation. It's hard and they're worrying about the business.

[Gina Tosh]

Exactly.

[Scott Clary]

But, you know, nothing will change.

[Gina Tosh]

No, no, I know that someone will run it.

[Scott Clary]

Right.

[Gina Tosh]

So that's why I love working with my sisters.

[Scott Clary]

That's cool. Oh, all four of your sisters?

[Gina Tosh]

Well, three of us are. The fourth is our best friend.

[Scott Clary]

I love it. What's your role in the company?

[Gina Tosh]

So I do mostly operations and finance and just like, you know, business development.

[Scott Clary]

Okay.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

All the boring stuff.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, exactly. All the adulting stuff.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. Are you the oldest?

[Gina Tosh]

Yes, I am.

[Scott Clary]

That makes sense. You got to be the responsible.

[Gina Tosh]

Well, I also have the most business, real life business experience because, you know, we were also young when this started.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

So it kind of just grew into a business accidentally and it got so serious, so big. And like eventually, like people started wanting to pay us and this and that. And my sisters were younger and they were just like, whoa, what? Like, you know, you're fresh out of college and brands are throwing money at you and you're like, don't know what to do with it. You don't know how to sign a contract.

[Scott Clary]

Right.

[Gina Tosh]

There's all these things that had to go into it.

[Scott Clary]

What do you major in college?

[Gina Tosh]

Psychology.

[Scott Clary]

Oh, okay. That's actually really good for business.

[Gina Tosh]

But I've always been very heavily into, like, media and Internet culture. Like, I guess I grew up in the age of, like, when Internet first came around and, like, you know, I had like, the first email address. Like, my Gmail is my first name.

[Scott Clary]

What?

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. I was like a beta tester on gmail.com. yeah. Like my first real name.

[Scott Clary]

Do you still have that one?

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, I do. That's what I use every day for like 100k probably. But because I was literally, I got Gmail before anyone else had access to it. I was a beta tester.

[Scott Clary]

Wow.

[Gina Tosh]

I was really nerdy.

[Scott Clary]

If I could have Sean at Gmail, that'd be the biggest flex, right? Possibly.

[Gina Tosh]

Exactly.

[Scott Clary]

Wow.

[Gina Tosh]

So. So I've been, like, super into it. I've had a blog since I was like, I don't know, in like, 10th grade, which was like, back then, like, no one had blogs. Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

Dance. You've always been kind of.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, I've always been into it.

[Scott Clary]

You're on my space.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Yeah. I had, like, you know, I had a bit of following on things. Like, I had a following back then.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

So I always say I wish I kept the blog. It would have been like, I would have been one of the first fashion bloggers or female bloggers or whatever.

[Scott Clary]

Fashion blogging took off.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Yeah. And then I stopped when it did. Exactly.

[Scott Clary]

Travel blogging is an amazing lifestyle because they pay for your hotel and flights and food. You just show up.

[Gina Tosh]

But it's actually so much harder than it looks. I mean, still amazing. It's still the best job in the world. But every time, like, we travel for work and every time we're invited to stay somewhere and do something, you still have to, like, you can't just relax. You have to film everything you do. You have to edit, you have to post. There's deliverables. It's still a real job. You're not just getting paid to vacation. But I think the biggest perk of that is versus, like, actually paying to go on vacation is that you can have a different experience. Influencers will get, like, you know, surprises in their rooms, flowers, balloons, like, all these things that look super Cool. And you want to show off to your friends, and you're like, oh, my God. Like, it feels like your birthday every day because everyone's treating you special and trying to give you the best experience possible. So that's, I think, the best difference. It's not just getting paid to travel. It's, like, the perks.

[Scott Clary]

You know what? I feel that, though, because I used to go to restaurants and I used to get the meals comp.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

But it was so much. This sounds kind of entitled, but, like, I would have to take photos every meal, and it got annoying.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

So I stopped, like, even telling the restaurant I'm coming because I'd rather just pay because I was spending, like, 30 minutes to an hour posting the photo.

[Gina Tosh]

So I actually make the. I film everything I do regardless, even if I don't get paid. I just, like, do it for my own lifestyle, like blogging. So, like, now I vlog, so I'll film it regardless. But we do get invited by restaurants, like, weekly in Miami to, you know, test things out. And I also. It's funny you don't know this. I'm actually a trained chef.

[Scott Clary]

Oh, really?

[Gina Tosh]

So I'm very passionate about going to restaurants and trying things out.

[Scott Clary]

Critique.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Food critic probably would be my dream job.

[Scott Clary]

Female Gordon Ramsay.

[Gina Tosh]

Exactly.

[Scott Clary]

Damn. Restaurants are a tough business.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. I would never actually want to own one or work on one.

[Scott Clary]

I'm very picky with where I eat.

[Gina Tosh]

Super picky. So that's why I actually, like, try to go on my own and, like, give as much of an honest review as possible.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. Keith Lee does that. You know him?

[Gina Tosh]

Yes. Yeah, yeah.

[Scott Clary]

He changed the game for the food restaurant.

[Gina Tosh]

I heard that. I just recently discovered him because I just recently discovered TikTok.

[Scott Clary]

Oh, okay. That makes sense. Yeah. He's, like, impossible to miss if you're on TikTok.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, yeah. Everyone's talking about him. He just recently went to Toronto and went like, a. Made a bunch of, like, small businesses just, like, do so well, bro.

[Scott Clary]

If he shows up.

[Gina Tosh]

Ye.

[Scott Clary]

And it's a good review there.

[Gina Tosh]

Isn't that power amazing for the next week?

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, that's an amazing feeling. Being and similar with your page, I'm sure you've changed the business owners.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, yeah. I mean, it's. It's a beautiful power and a huge responsibility to be able to make a place or product go viral. Right. That's why we don't even, like, post a lot of pr. We don't post things that people send us for free. We're very Very like selective with what we post.

[Scott Clary]

That's cool. Yeah, I used to, I used to post like negative reviews, but now I've realized that I just, if I don't like it, I won't.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, exactly. If I don't like it, I'm just not going to do damaging now.

[Scott Clary]

Like it'll, it'll actually lose some thousands of dollars.

[Gina Tosh]

It's hard cuz if someone's living and you're just like had a bad off experience, whether it's like, you know, bad or not, like maybe I'll leave like anonymous Yelp review.

[Scott Clary]

You're that person.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

Yelp reviews, I read those when I eat.

[Gina Tosh]

I read those all the time.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, Yelp is very honest.

[Gina Tosh]

When you travel, don't you go buy reviews for.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, I used to read Google, but I feel like a lot of those are fake.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, I guess people can buy them.

[Scott Clary]

I don't know. But Yelp and Reddit.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, especially.

[Scott Clary]

Oh my God.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

When I'm in a new city. First thing I do, when I get.

[Gina Tosh]

Their top 10 restaurants on Reddit, that's what we do. First thing we do is like even like bars to go out. Like best place. Like every time we used to travel before, like, you know, now Instagram has all these. Or like TikTok, I guess all these travel influencers have all these like lists. Top 10 must place it to go in Rome.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

And it's like a fun like list for you to hit. But before that it used to be us just going on Yelp finding those top 10 places and being like, oh wow, this is actually amazing.

[Scott Clary]

Well, those top 10 lists, a lot of those guys pay to be there.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, I didn't know.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

So if you Google like on influencers list or.

[Scott Clary]

No, just on like Google, if you search like top 10 restaurants, like a lot of those lists are paid for.

[Gina Tosh]

No, no, I meant like the actual Yelp reviews. Like the top like highest rated places in the city.

[Scott Clary]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, that'd be harder to fit.

[Gina Tosh]

No, no, those. I know. Yes. Because I've been to some of those. Like it'll be like a magazine or like, you know, a blog. And they'll be like top 10 best places in Miami. And I'm like, these are not great places.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. Since you're such a foodie, what's the best city in America for eating out?

[Gina Tosh]

Honestly, my favorite is Chicago.

[Scott Clary]

Really?

[Gina Tosh]

I love the food in Chicago. It's been incredible. Like culinary scene is incredible.

[Scott Clary]

Okay.

[Gina Tosh]

And I love LA and New York.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, I've heard LA and New York for different reasons.

[Gina Tosh]

And that's kind of what I miss here so much. Like, we don't have much like, like a Chinatown or Koreatown. Like there's not as much like ethnic food in Miami. Like, like Asian ethnic food or like other ethnicities. It's very like Latin American theme.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

So Miami is now getting a lot of good food. So all those like big restaurants from Miami and la. I'm from. Sorry, LA and New la. New York. I was going to say Toronto because Toronto is the best food are coming here now.

[Scott Clary]

Okay.

[Gina Tosh]

So it's getting more exciting now.

[Scott Clary]

I need me in Chinatown.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh yeah, I miss that.

[Scott Clary]

Chinatown. Little Italy.

[Gina Tosh]

So they have a lot of good Italian food here. But I am missing the Asian food because Toronto has the best Koreatown and Chinatown.

[Scott Clary]

Okay. I might want to go there.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, actually, I don't know why I didn't mention Toronto. Toronto?

[Scott Clary]

Well, I said America to be fair.

[Gina Tosh]

But yeah, but Toronto food is incredible. Like it's known for its food.

[Scott Clary]

Nice. What about internationally?

[Gina Tosh]

Honestly? Vienna.

[Scott Clary]

Vienna, yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

Surprising. Yeah.

[Scott Clary]

Never heard that answer too.

[Gina Tosh]

I go to Vienna like every summer because my family lives there and it is so underrated.

[Scott Clary]

Wow.

[Gina Tosh]

It has like, I've never had a bad meal in Vienna.

[Scott Clary]

Holy crap.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Like, honestly, Viennese, like traditional cuisine. Austrian cuisine is not great. So if you go to non traditional restaurants, like not the little beer pubs or whatever, like the food is incredible. The best sushi. I've had the best, like, you know, Asian, Italian, like everything. They just have the best of everything. Because Vienna is so small and there's like not a lot of like, I guess a shitty restaurant can do well, it doesn't last long. So everything that they do have is like, excellent.

[Scott Clary]

Wow. Noted. I will go there one day. It hasn't been on my list, to.

[Gina Tosh]

Be honest, but it's a must.

[Scott Clary]

I'm a huge foodie. The main reason I travel is probably for food.

[Gina Tosh]

Same.

[Scott Clary]

To be honest.

[Gina Tosh]

Before we go anywhere, I send Scott like a million reels of all the foods to eat and he's like, what are you talking about? We're not going to be able to walk out of this place.

[Scott Clary]

I'm a little nervous for Egypt. I heard the food's not that good there.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, I haven't been yet.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. So I'm a little nervous. But food is super.

[Gina Tosh]

I guess people don't go there for food.

[Scott Clary]

No.

[Gina Tosh]

Though I do love Middle Eastern food. That's. I'm like, I really miss here too, but I haven't had a Lot of Egyptian food.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. I can't even think of what that would look like.

[Gina Tosh]

I guess like a different variation of this. Like shawarma rice.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, probably.

[Gina Tosh]

It's all kind of similar, but, like, different. A little different.

[Scott Clary]

If you had to eat the same cuisine the rest of your life every day. What are you picking?

[Gina Tosh]

So either Mexican or Korean.

[Scott Clary]

Okay. I'm going Japanese.

[Gina Tosh]

Japanese.

[Scott Clary]

Because you got sushi.

[Gina Tosh]

Yes.

[Scott Clary]

Which would be hard to give up. And then you got the Japanese steakhouse.

[Gina Tosh]

And then you have the actual steakhouses. Oh, you're smart. And then you have all the curries and stuff. Like, they have everything.

[Scott Clary]

They do.

[Gina Tosh]

I love Thai food, too.

[Scott Clary]

Thai food's good, but I feel like I'd get kind of heavy, you know? Yeah, Japanese.

[Gina Tosh]

Japanese is good.

[Scott Clary]

It's a good move. But Mexican's a safe play, too.

[Gina Tosh]

Mexican is good.

[Scott Clary]

A lot of different ways.

[Gina Tosh]

Have to have it at least once a week, so.

[Scott Clary]

Wow. Is it good out here? Because it sucks in Vegas.

[Gina Tosh]

Really? I assumed Vegas would be good.

[Scott Clary]

I know, right?

[Gina Tosh]

Because LA and Arizona are amazing.

[Scott Clary]

I know. It's weird.

[Gina Tosh]

And it's really good here. There's some really, really good spots. I've started, like, a series on TikTok of trying the best tacos in Miami.

[Scott Clary]

Oh, I love that. What other things are you doing? Outside of. My therapist says.

[Gina Tosh]

So, yes, I'm heavily focused on my personal brand now and, you know, the vlog channel and just kind of like sharing more of myself because I'm sure you can relate. It's kind of intimidating to go behind, like, your, you know, behind the scenes. Like, first. Putting yourself online in the first place is hard and scary. Like, start putting your first post out there.

[Scott Clary]

You're like, oh, my God, I was freaking out.

[Gina Tosh]

My friends are going to make fun of me. Everyone's going to make fun of me. People going to think I'm crazy. Like, you know, you feel. Which is why we started anonymously at first. So after that, now we have this whole audience, and now it's still scary to put ourselves personally out there. So. Not because we feel like the reception won't be good, just because it's just intimidating. So it's much easier for me and much more safe. It's kind of my safe space, my personal page where I have all my friends following me. And then, like, you know, you have like 100,000 other people that are on my friends following it. It's like, it's much easier to kind of cultivate that and grow that into something. I'm just trying to figure out where I want to take my own career next.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. Yeah. Personal brand is so important and I know a lot of people are scared of starting it, of being judged or how many likes you get, but it's the best move I've ever made.

[Gina Tosh]

I think it is. Because I don't Google people. I just look them up on Instagram.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, Instagram's your resume now.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Like, I don't even look at businesses on Google. I literally, if a page. If a business doesn't have Instagram, I'm not interested.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah, no. Social media has changed the game. My girl watches like videos on Tik Tok on how to cook.

[Gina Tosh]

Right.

[Scott Clary]

And she just follows the recipe there. She doesn't even look up recipes.

[Gina Tosh]

That's what I'm saying. I don't do that either. Like, I'll see something on Tik Tok. I mean, obviously TikTok, viral recipes, like, those are the most highest performing videos on YouTube, I think.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

All those things. And it's amazing to me because at this point I feel like there's no excuse for someone to not be able how to cook or not have a few things they can make. Like people used to be like, oh, I don't cook, I don't know how to. And I'm like, really? There's TikTok. Like you spend so many hours on TikTok, you can learn. Or there's YouTube. There's like step by step guides. Like, it's so easy that even if you're not into it, it makes you into it because it looks so good.

[Scott Clary]

I used to suck at cooking. I mean, I still do, but TikTok makes it easy because it's so visual and step by step instructions.

[Gina Tosh]

Exactly. It makes you want to like be. Everyone is now a foodie because of Tick Tock, I think.

[Scott Clary]

No, I love it TikTok. It got a lot of hate at first, but it's grown on people. I think.

[Gina Tosh]

I hate TikTok.

[Scott Clary]

You hated it?

[Gina Tosh]

I still do.

[Scott Clary]

It was. Are you still do?

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah. Not because. Mainly because of. It kind of gives me anxiety the way the whole app is set up. I just feel like everything just always yelling at you. It's jumping up. Like the user experience for me, for my personality. I don't like. I like how organized and clean like YouTube or Instagram are. Like there's a button for everything. Like if you don't want to hear something, you can like turn it off. Like you don't have to just like scroll. It's not just one button. Thing. It's kind of the same issue I had when we switched from Blackberries to iPhones and there was only one button. And I was like, what am I supposed to do with this one button? I need more buttons.

[Scott Clary]

Sounds like you have anxiety.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, I do.

[Scott Clary]

Wow.

[Gina Tosh]

That's why my therapist says, yeah, that makes sense.

[Scott Clary]

I had terrible anxiety growing up.

[Gina Tosh]

Really?

[Scott Clary]

Yeah.

[Gina Tosh]

I never had any growing up.

[Scott Clary]

Really.

[Gina Tosh]

I really just have it now in specific, like, instances of, like, things that trigger me, and that's like, disorganization. Or, like, things yelling at me and jumping up at me. Like, I want things to be quiet, like, loud sounds annoy me.

[Scott Clary]

You must have the neatest bedroom of all time.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, yeah. You would think that. I don't.

[Scott Clary]

Oh, really?

[Gina Tosh]

Scott will be the first to tell you who he wishes.

[Scott Clary]

I thought you were super organized.

[Gina Tosh]

No, I'm not. But I. So I am. But I'm not the one doing it. Like, I don't want. I'm not the person who, like, sits there and like, authoritizes things for fun. Like, I'll do it once and I'll just set it there and I'll maintain it. Or I'll have someone else come and do it. Like, I love hiring an organizer. I love watching those organizing videos, but I don't have the skills to do it myself.

[Scott Clary]

I didn't even know that was a job organizer.

[Gina Tosh]

Oh, my God. Those videos do. So what? Well, you could just hire someone. Yeah, it's like a real job now. It's a whole career.

[Scott Clary]

No way.

[Gina Tosh]

People restocking videos. That's what they're called. Literally. It's like, restock my guest bathroom with me. And it's just like the craziest shit. So personal organizers do really well because now because of social media, everyone can see inside everyone's house. Right before used to come over. No one's gonna go through your cupboards or your fridge. No one's gonna, like, it's rude. People are not gonna do that. Now that's a selling point. You show people, oh, look at my fridge. Look how I organized. There's organizers in it. Or like, oh, look at my closet. It's like color coded. If. Now if your house. If every inch of your house is not organized, you're like, not cool.

[Scott Clary]

Wow. I'm gonna look into that. I know. Being organized actually lessens your anxiety because of the mental stress on your eyes.

[Gina Tosh]

I think maybe because social media and like so many other things in our daily lives now make people so anxious. And there's like so many things to stress about. That having a very organized, clean space I think does really well. The reason why does it such a trend, and I think is because people need it.

[Scott Clary]

Yeah. I am probably the messiest person you've ever met. Oh, my God.

[Gina Tosh]

I'm pretty messy.

[Scott Clary]

We should have a mess off because I'll send you pictures of my bedroom.

[Gina Tosh]

It's nuts. You can ask Scott. He'll send you some.

[Scott Clary]

We'll have to compare because I think I got you beat.

[Gina Tosh]

Because he's super neat. Is your girlfriend Messi?

[Scott Clary]

No, she hates it.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, she's so clean. Like, he's so neat.

[Scott Clary]

Wow.

[Gina Tosh]

And he, like. It's the only thing about me, I think, that really bothers him.

[Scott Clary]

Usually the guy's a messy one.

[Gina Tosh]

Yeah, you would think.

[Scott Clary]

That's crazy. Well, it's been fun. Where can people find you? Find your personal brand and your business.

[Gina Tosh]

So we are at. My therapist says that's our main thing. And I'm at Gina Tash.

[Scott Clary]

Awesome. We'll link below. Thanks for coming on, Gina.

[Gina Tosh]

Thank you.

[Scott Clary]

Thanks for watching, guys. Check out the links below. See you tomorrow.