It was a big week for LA-based, Christina Najjar.
Najjar, the creator of the uber-popular social media persona @itsmetinx, surprised her fans and followers with an unlikely (but somehow nonchalant) guest appearance by the one and only Gwyneth Paltrow.
Within 72 hours of the @itsmetinx x @gwynethpaltrow “Rich Mom – Brentwood Edition” IG collab (10.18.21), Tinx’s following increased by 1.6% – or 5.7K followers, her highest audience growth week in the last two months. While the uptick in follower count is not necessarily shocking, the virality behind this post inspired us to take a deeper look into the account over the last 12 months, which has grown from a respectable micro-influencer level of 28.6K in October 2020 to an impressive following of 333K today with no signs of slowing down.
Her content borders on the obsessively mundane yet relatable across the social strata: posting an Erewhon turkey wrap, having a signature ice cream sundae on the menu at A-List hollywood mega-hangout Craig’s, and is known for giving her followers the best friend-style dating advice (i.e. Box Theory) to survive living in any populous city as we open our hearts (and apps) again.
One could argue that the @itsmetinx account is one of the most relevant in the post-COVID(ish) era of Instagram especially as its territory is being threatened by TikTok, which grew to 1B active users in only 5 years, 38% faster than Instagram previously achieved in 8. While most over the past 18 months have been leveraging success on Instagram to build their presence and stake their claim on TikTok, Tinx capitalized on an opportunity to go the opposite direction, bringing her ultra-millennial persona to the comfy confines of the Instagram audience at what now seems like the perfect time.
Our POV: if “@LACoolGirl” were still an available social handle, she would be the embodiment of it. In the same breath she is a triple threat simultaneously epitomizing the upper echelons she moves through, documenting their nonchalant absurdity, and outwardly mocking what it means to be an ‘influencer’. Yet her influence comes from a carefully curated and thoughtfully articulated persona. Until her conscious coupling with Queen G herself skyrocketed her social cred, her last self-aware social summer “treatise” ‘I am not an influencer pt. 2’ (08.20.21) mocked the very idea of her influencer designation; reiterating her narrative that she is just a real girl being celebrated (and elevated) by an authentic and enthusiastic audience that genuinely wishes her well. This personal yet highly-public connection with her audience/followers/fans (choose your preferred noun) sets her apart from the world of celebrity she floats in and out of.
With a growth trajectory on Instagram of 1,060% YOY (or an audience of 305K) and her unique – not to mention convincingly authentic – style of content that has proven to be responsible for her account’s impressive growth akin to that of an already established celebrity, Tinx bucks the obsession with the all powerful “algorithm” that has taken over the social landscape and replaces it with the next evolution of influence. Simply put: she is giving her fans exactly what they’ve been scrolling for.
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