Naturally, Vintner's Daughter founder and CEO, April Gargiulo, didn't want to launch over ten products that confused the customer. Instead, she wanted to share one with the world that delivered exceptional results, yet was easily understood. When she revealed her cult-like Active Botanical Serum in 2014, she said, "That's it. This is all you need." And she was right. Customers everywhere can't live without this hardworking serum that delivers enviable skin. Four years later, Gargiulo launched her Active Treatment Essence, a product that provides optimal nutrition, micro-exfoliation, brightening, firming, and multi-level hydration. And we're anxiously awaiting her next.Here, Gargiulo shares her brand's Instagram strategy, the tools (PLANOLY, of course) she utilizes, and why proofreading is a necessary evil.

When it comes to Instagram, what is most important to Vintner's Daughter?

We stress brand and storytelling over everything else, and our brand and products are substantive and complex. We tend to do more in-depth copy, and our images are not always "Instagrammy." Each Vintner's Daughter product takes between 21 and 35 days to produce, and the performance characteristics of each are incredibly multi correctional. This adds up to a complex and multi-dimensional story to tell, which doesn't lend itself to sound bites. So, we take our time and do not worry about how long a post is. We worry about whether it is truly describing our incredible products and their transformational performance.

How has PLANOLY been an asset to Vintner's Daughter?

We have used PLANOLY for several years now. It has been everything to us and allows Vintner's Daughter to have a platform that we can collaborate on and plan ahead. We plan about a week in advance and try to create posts that educate and inspire our community about our products, our ingredients, our brand, our philosophy, and things that inspire us.

What is the most significant learning from PLANOLY? How has that impacted Vintner's Daughter's Instagram?

Make sure the post is approved before you schedule it. We have learned this lesson more than once.

What are the biggest challenges for Vintner's Daughter's Instagram?

We think of Instagram as one enormous storytelling opportunity. It has meant so much to our brand, but we approach it from an old school way. We do not pay for marketing because we want to grow by authentic word-of-mouth. This means that we will have slower growth, but we believe more enduring growth.

What is your average engagement, and how did you initially grow on Instagram?

The engagement rate for us ranges from 5 to 10 percent. We have grown very organically, and by what I call girlfriend to girlfriend or G to G. Instagram has meant everything to our G to G growth because when a person falls in love with Vintner's Daughter, they have this incredible platform to tell all their friends about it. With that said, people have also been stopped on the street and asked what they are using on their skin. Word about Vintner's Daughter travels through workplaces pretty fast as well. We are very grateful for the generosity of our community. Thankfully, every person has a platform like Instagram to spread the love.

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