How Sofia and Ronnie engage followers, bashers in social media

Sofia Andres

Sofia Andres is well aware of the importance of social media to teenagers like her.

“I realized long ago that social media is a big thing to millennials,” Sofia, 18, tells the Inquirer. “That’s when I started organizing my Instagram feed.”

Sofia says she often “studies” what her 2.2 million followers want to see. “It all depends on the likes. There was a time when my feeds were all dark-colored. They didn’t like that, so I changed them—now, they’re mostly white or light blue,” Sofia explains. “That’s how it works. Social media is important to people who work in show biz.”

In fact, Sofia recently bagged an endorsement deal with Penshoppe on the strength of her 3,400 posts on Instagram. “Captions matter a lot,” she observes. “I post what I do every day and which products I use. I gain a lot of fans that way. It’s amazing!”

Simple stuff

Unlike Sofia, fellow #ClubPenshoppe endorser Ronnie Alonte says he isn’t very conscious about what he posts on his social media accounts. He says he simply uses them to share with his 35,000-plus Instagram followers what he’s like as a person.

Ronnie Alonte

“I post about simple stuff, and things that interest me. I let them know what I do when I’m not taping,” says the cast member of the romantic series, “A Love to Last.” “I also enjoy playing basketball in my free time. I want my supporters to see that.”

The 20-year-old adds: “I didn’t think much about social media before this interview. Now, I realize that show biz personalities like Sofia and I are influencers. A lot of people look up to us, so we should be careful and responsible with what we put out there.”

How maturely one reacts to bashers also matters, says Ronnie: “I read their posts, but I don’t engage them. I show them that I’m not at all affected by trash talk.”