This past week, I had the opportunity to sit down with ICO’s very own “@_eyedealistic,” a.k.a. Jackie Nguyen. Jackie is a second-year student that started her Instagram “eye” account slightly before her first year. She has since garnered nearly 1,500 Instagram followers. I also believe she was on the forefront of this recent trend among optometry students of creating catchy Instagram accounts with "eye" in the username. Prior to my arrival at ICO, I relied on ICO’s blog and YouTube channel to understand what life in optometry school would be like. At this time, I also came across Jackie’s page, which helped in providing another first-hand perspective. With the lasting impact she's had on people like myself, I figured it would be interesting to sit down with her and understand what led to her success so that other students could implement it for themselves.
The first thing I realized was that Jackie has a clear intention of helping other students. Her content is motivating, yet also displays the challenges she has experienced through her journey in optometry school so far. Oftentimes, Instagram is used as a platform to highlight an individual’s highs, but Jackie has managed to bring light to her lows, as well. I believe her ability to be vulnerable through her posts has allowed her to connect with her audience at a different level and reach many more people. During our conversation, she emphasized that helping other students through her page was more important to her than the commercial aspect of sponsorships and self-branding.
The second component Jackie attests her success to is her consistency. Amidst the hectic schedule of an optometry student, she still makes time to create engaging and aesthetically-pleasing posts that all tie back to her intention for the page. With a busy schedule, it can be easy to lose the motivation to create posts and stay up to date with your account, but Jackie manages to do so. She mentioned that creating content for her page isn't really a chore, but something she looks forward to doing whenever she gets the time. I believe the positive responses she has had from students like myself have given her the drive to continue posting and making a difference.
The last and most important realization I had after this meeting was that there is no cookie-cutter formula for creating an “eye” account. As long as you have genuine intentions for your page with consistent posts, there is potential to gain traction. The rest is based on your ability to create captivating content that is interactive and relatable.
For all those that have been thinking about creating an account, or have been needing an extra push to create more content, I hope reading this has given you the motivation to do so! Also, go ahead and give Jackie (@_eyedealistic) a follow on Instagram to get some great insight on life in optometry school!
