Founder of EN FLIQUE CREATIVE and social media expert, Katarina Mogus is a leader in social media presence and online aesthetics. Mogus began her social media marketing agency in 2020, championing platforms like Tiktok and Instagram while providing comprehensive branding and consulting services for organizations around the world. Since launching, Mogus has emphasized helping small businesses struggling during COVID-19 and grown a large and dedicated following online.
Managing Editor Hannah Chew sat down with Katarina Mogus to discuss her journey and current work.
Can you tell me a little bit about your background and how you came to create EN FLIQUE CREATIVE?
I have been working for almost the past year as the founder of EN FLIQUE CREATIVE digital marketing agency, where we help brands and influencers elevate their social media presence. It kind of sparked at the beginning of COVID-19 because I was no longer working at my job at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment at a full capacity, and I started posting on Tiktok for fun and creating content to help all of those businesses who went out of business and really need to shift towards the digital marketing world. I was posting a lot of content like these tips and tricks to elevate your Instagram with just using your iPhone or how you can grow your social media platform as a small business.
When I was posting all of these tips and tricks, my video started gaining a lot of attention around the world and, mind you, I was doing this for fun. The goal was to really help those who were struggling during the pandemic and needed some guidance on their social media platforms on how they could reach a more global audience. My work started getting noticed by brands and influencers around the world who started reaching out saying things like “Hey Kat can you run our social media? Can you do our content creation?” Within a week, I created a website, business number, came up with EN FLIQUE CREATIVE, made an Instagram page, and started my first client basically before I even had a business name!
It all happened really quickly, but since then I've been doing a lot of exciting work, both as a creator and helping other people elevate their social media platforms. I manage social media accounts, do product packaging, design, corporate consulting, coaching sessions, and influencer work as well. I started last year in April so we're almost at a year now!
EN FLIQUE focuses a lot on this kind of social media digital marketing, why are these skills and services really important in today’s world?
I mean it's really important because this is the new world, this is the new way to market your products, if you want to get a million eyeballs on your app, for example. You should get on Tiktok and promote it there, and you can really target your specific niche and gain that global recognition. For anyone, whether you have an Etsy shop where you're selling handmade goods or you’re a global business, I really think it's important to push your social media presence and you never know where that's going to take you.
Social media was how I was able to build my business, and now I employ people in other countries and work with clients around the world. You don't know what could come of it so it's important to focus on creating good content that people will want to see that will give them value. I think that's most important, and you can really narrow down on a specific niche.
Why is it important for artists and creatives to build a personal brand and develop that type of online presence that you're talking about?
I think to have a personal brand, you need to remember people want to work with you for you. That's what I always tell my clients and myself, as well. Really put yourself out there on social media so people know what they're getting into. You can see so many traits about people through their social media presence, so I think that you have to be authentic, and really showcase who you are and what you bring to the table on social media.
For myself, it helped me gain a global audience, so I have a very specific look and aesthetic to mine, so I think that social media is important to really showcase your own personal style and also connect with other people around the world and work with them. I've worked with people all the way in Australia, because we have similar taste in our aesthetic on social media and get along through the content we post.
You mentioned previously you, as a creator, were using social media to create these tips and spread information in general. What's unique and helpful about using the format of social media to do this?
I think with Tiktok specifically, my content was able to kind of snowball and gain more attention and also gain a conversation around something I was posting. One of my videos was a small business hack: if you have a small business, this is a photo hack you can do, all you need is to have a phone, a mirror, and your laptop and I showed people this really cool trick. So what's so important about having a global platform like Tiktok or Instagram, where I posted this video, is that people were commenting “Hey you know what I used this for my business and I got X amount of sales, people were so excited to see my new product because of that!”
The communication and the conversation not only inspire me as the creator to continuously create more content, but other people as well who will see that and play off it or even create trends that will play off my work, which is really exciting to see. As a creator it's awesome and as a business owner or whoever's seeing that kind of content, it's great for them to be a part of a community of other people who have tried it out as well and saw how much as they have been able to grow.
Theories of aesthetics and aesthetic value really champion EN FLIQUE’s services, how do you think the concept of aesthetic value fits into our modern world?
Well, I really portray on my accounts how everything I do, and my lifestyle, is all very aesthetic, whether it's the clothes I wear or the bedroom accessories I have.
I purposely will design things in my house or on my computer to be super aesthetic and one of the videos I created was how you can make your iPhone look very aesthetic. That video made an app go number one in the app store, and that video shifted the way other apps were creating their platform. I always talk about making everything aesthetic and a lot of apps have now created a different way and different usage, so that it looks aesthetic and appeals to a certain demographic.
All the people who follow me and like my stuff all have a specific minimalist aesthetic. They like the light pink, things like that, and apps and companies are really seeing that and marketing their products in a way that people want to buy it because it is in their specific aesthetic.
Your work ranges from smaller things like those iPhone homepages and very personal projects to these giant marketing campaigns with multinational companies. Do personal versus general work projects require different skill sets, different experiences, or different outlooks? Why is it important for you to have that range of really small personal tips versus giant national or international brands?
The tips and tricks I post all really tie together because I want to help those people with their iPhone– Hey here's a quick iPhone tip that you can use as a regular person on the day to day that can help with productivity, help with taking a photo for your brand if you're an influencer. Whereas when I do these larger campaigns of course it's on a bigger scale, but I really want to showcase to people that like you can do it too. You're able to build a brand and really elevate your brand from your office, in your bedroom, and grow it successfully. If you have just a phone and these quick tips and tricks, you can still do it.
I love having that integrated throughout my business and business profiles on social media as well because it's what I’m passionate about. I like showing people a little tidbits about my life and things I’m passionate about that can still help them and bring them value. I think it all definitely correlates.
For artists and creatives, their biggest concern regarding social media is that it's really daunting for someone who's not super familiar or isn't already super famous. They also think that people are just going to rip off their work. What advice do you have for these artists and creatives who are hesitant to expand into the online space?
I definitely understand that! It's stressful and social media can feel like its own job because you always have to stay relevant and keep posting. When people feel like they get ripped off, that's happened to me so much, and I can feel for them, it is a struggle, but I always remember that I have a creative mind that no one else has. Everyone is very unique in the way they think and come up with ideas, and if I come up with an idea today, tomorrow everyone is going to copy that, for example, but I’m always a day ahead. I like thinking of it in a positive way and taking it as they didn't give me credit, but I know I'm inspiring people, and I know I'm helping them and maybe sparking their creativity, so that's what really keeps me going. I just think to myself, you know I'm not doing to show this amazing idea I came up with, I really just want to help people. So if someone copies me, so be it, you know they have a platform that could inspire other people too. At the end of the day, you just have to keep posting for you, and stay motivated, and realize that you're helping people out and giving them value.
As an influencer you can speak on this, what role do you believe social justice and activism play into your work? Do influencers have a responsibility to use their platforms or their audiences for good causes?
I definitely think so. I mean you have the platform, you should be saying what you believe in, really showcasing positivity in everything you post. That could be as little as every morning telling people to have a good day and really inspiring others. You should be doing that and the whole foundation of my platform is built on helping small businesses grow and helping people shift their business to a more online world and showing them how they can reach a larger audience.
I like doing these things and it makes me proud and motivated every day to know that I'm helping other people out and helping people grow their online presence for the better, so that they can have a global voice as well.
Final words of advice?
I would just tell people you know to grow your online presence and grow your brand if you're an artist, or just any kind of creator. Think about the authenticity behind it and don't feel like you need to be narrowed down in a specific niche. People will want to work with you for you, and even your work could be absolutely amazing but people want to work with you because of your personality and what you bring out on social media. Focus on all of cultivating all of your great amazing skills and really showing people who you are and what you believe in on social media and that will take you really far.
For more information on EN FLIQUE CREATIVE visit https://enfliquecreative.ca/
To learn more about Katarina Mogus, follow her TikTok at @katamogz, Instagram @enfliquecreative/@katamogz, and her eBook at https://enfliquecreative.ca/shop