TFS#236 - Kylie Woon on Growing to 91K Followers at 16, Photography & Short-Form Strategy

Kylie Woon (@kluesz) is a 16-year-old creator and photographer who grew her Instagram to over 91K followers through her unique blend of surreal photography and viral short-form content. Known for turning creative ideas into visually striking posts, she shares how she balances school, brand deals, and community building while inspiring young creators to grow authentically online.Connect with Kylie!https://www.instagram.com/klueszCHAPTERS:0:00 – Introduction1:34 – Meet Kylie Woon2:19 – Kylie shares how she grew her Instagram following from 0 to 85k+ at 16 years old3:13 – Kylie's short-form content strategy that helped her grow her socials4:15 – Kylie shares advice for others who want to grow on social media4:47 – Kylie explains how she personalizes viral trends5:40 – Are Kylie’s classmates aware of her 85k followers?6:51 – Kylie shares how she started doing photography8:14 – What led Kylie from photography to short-form content?8:57 – Kylie talks about her siblings and family background10:07 – Has Kylie’s photography Instagram account led to paid gigs?10:52 – Kylie shares that her dad teaches her business skills11:15 – Kylie shares that her parents didn’t know about her Instagram account12:42 – Kylie talks about pricing for her photo shoots and short-form content13:21 – Kylie talks about her first brand sponsorship: Filmora13:35 – Kylie shares how she reached out to a local band for a shoot15:00 – Kylie shares how she balances school with social media and gigs16:13 – Kylie talks about a community of creators her age17:40 – Kylie shares how she plans and organizes her social media content18:15 – Kylie explains her video structure and hooks19:04 – What’s Kylie’s plan after finishing high school?19:51 – Kylie’s advice for someone struggling to grow with 200 followers20:48 – Do high-effort videos sometimes perform worse?21:13 – Kylie’s casual approach to 3-second hooks22:51 – Do encouraging captions increase retention?23:35 – How Kylie gets more comments and saves on her videos24:14 – Kylie shares how she manages notifications, DMs, and comments25:34 – Kylie shares why she hides likes on her Instagram posts26:11 – How Kylie got her first loyal commenters26:45 – Kylie shares how she uses Instagram Broadcast Channels for her weekly photo competitions30:24 – Kylie shares how she uses Instagram Stories31:02 – Kylie shares her thoughts on AI as a photographer32:19 – Kylie talks about why story and meaning matter in photography33:19 – Why talented small creators struggle to grow their social media accounts34:39 – Kylie shares how her sister grew 24k followers with art content35:14 – Kylie shares how she reached out to a music festival to do photography37:31 – Kylie’s recent life discoveries39:08 – Kylie talks about proactively finding filmmakers to work with40:53 – Kylie keeps her Instagram success private from her school42:10 – Kylie’s personal goal for the next six months43:54 – Kylie shares her lifelong goals44:21 – Connect with Kylie46:10 – Kylie talks about the games she used to play and the recent shows and movies she's been watching48:10 – Outro