Influencer
Influencer & Creative Director Megan Heaton On Pursuing Multiple Passions In The Creator Industry
Megan Heaton is a content creator, model, and Creative Director for a golf brand. Recently, she launched a jewelry collaboration with her best friend, Jade Lily, in partnership with Drae Collection. Today, she shares how she became a Creative Director, her tips for growing online, and how you can balance it all.
About Megan Heaton
Megan Heaton is an Indiana native born and raised in the small town of Brazil, Indiana.
She shares, “I love that upbringing for myself because it pushed me to always want more. So, I ended up going to Arizona State across the country for college, and my mom was always taking photos of me growing up, and I had always carried that with me.”
After joining a sorority at Arizona State University, Megan began sharing photos of herself online in her sorority colors and chic outfits. At this time, Instagram was just taking off, making it easier to go viral.
She also started blogging but quickly realized that Los Angeles was the place to be to pursue her modeling and content creation aspirations. So, Megan packed up her apartment in Arizona and moved to Los Angeles full-time to pursue blogging, content creation, and modeling.
Working as a Creative Director
Megan Heaton shares, “I was a full-time blogger, but now I’m a Creative Director for a brand, which I think is a really cool translation into what I started when I first moved to LA and where it has really progressed. For me, being a Creative Director for a brand and getting that space to constantly create, but on a professional, bigger scale, as opposed to just on my iPhone, is a really cool path that I never really saw for myself.”
After working with them on a creative photoshoot, Megan stumbled into a Creative Director role at a golf brand. Her photoshoot outperformed similar photoshoots, and the brand reached out to her a year later, interviewing her for a Creative Director position.
Megan Heaton enjoyed working in multiple roles at once and was concerned about being restricted by working in an office five days a week. She spoke to the company about working with them on a contract basis, which they readily agreed to.
Soon after, Megan realized she loved being the Creative Director and stepped into a more full-time role where she now goes into the office twice a week.
She adds, “It’s so fun because it’s a sport that isn’t super known for being hip and cutting edge. So, getting to bring that flavor that I feel like I’ve surrounded myself with here in LA and bring that to the golf space for not only men but for women because it is a more of a male-dominated sport, I think that brings me a lot of joy and fulfillment.”
Creating Content for Her Personal Brand
In addition to working as a Creative Director, Megan Heaton has a thriving social media presence of nearly 100,000 Instagram followers. Her content centers around fashion and lifestyle topics.
So, how does she keep on top of everything with her busy schedule?
Megan explains, “I like to take one day of the week and shoot all of the brand deals that I have, and that helps me, having a day that I’m focusing and organizing and getting everything scheduled and laid out, and I can create a story behind the different campaigns that I’m doing.”
For example, she recently filmed a Nasty Gal try-on haul and experimented with funny transitions between outfits. She also filmed a hair tutorial with a beach waver on the same day and took some fashion photos.
Generally, her sexier content performs best in engagement, which Megan believes is due to the large male following she grew while at ASU.
She notes, “I’ve taken a lot of time to really hone in on what I want my branding to be and who I want to attract to my page, so it’s been a transition period. I am trying to attract females because that is who I want to be selling to and helping, and I want to be a role model for.”
In the last year, Megan Heaton has been posting more skincare, cosmetic procedure, and beauty tutorials to gain a larger female audience.
Challenges in the Influencer Space
One of the challenges Megan has faced recently is a significant drop in engagement over the last year on Instagram.
She shares, “It’s maybe half of what it used to be, and it’s very discouraging because I feel like the content that I’m putting out now has so much more thought and time spent on it. There’s a story behind it, as opposed to what I was doing before.”
She adds that it’s hard to see other Instagram pages perform well when she isn’t receiving the same return on her page. However, she is taking this experience as a learning opportunity and investing more time into her TikTok account.
Collaborating with Nasty Gal
One of Megan’s favorite brand collaborations is Nasty Gal.
She shares, “I really love shooting for them because I feel like they align so well with what I am, where we’re the cute, trendy girl, but we also have a little bit of edge to us, and I think that really embodies what I want to present… I think Nasty Gal does a really good job of empowering women to do that and to be that.”
Brand collaborations have different metrics to determine success. Megan shares that as long as the brand she is working with is happy with the metrics, she is also happy. Regarding her own content, she analyzes engagement with the post and the clicks on any links she shares.
Megan’s Advice for Creators
Megan has over six years of experience working in content creation.
When asked about her number one tip for individuals wanting to build a career in this field, she shares, “It used to be find your niche, but what I would say now is create your own niche. Be exactly who you are and constantly push that every single day. Stop looking at what everybody else is doing and do what feels good, and what if you were on the other side you would want to see. Always offer something that’s going to help.”
In short, always make it clear to viewers what they will gain from following your content, and present yourself in an authentic, genuine way so that you can build a real community online.
In the future, Megan would love to see Instagram return to some of its old ways.
“I feel like a lot of people have dropped off Instagram because it’s pushing the money and sales, and they want their money, and I totally get it. We all have to make a living, but I do wish there was more of that personal, authentic aspect to Instagram.”
The WILD HEAT by Drae Collection
Megan recently launched a jewelry collaboration with DRAE Collection and her best friend, Jade Lily, called WILD HEAT. The line features mixed metal pieces for ‘besties, lovers, secret admirers, or just you.’
