Social media might get a bad rap but this Ballarat business owner is using it to her advantage.
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Updates to social media platform Instagram have stirred up multiple headlines over the past few weeks but Erika Browne, owner of Mrs Browne Bakes, is rolling with the punches.
Over the past month she has seen more than 2000 new followers on the platform.
Mrs Browne said most new people had found her profile through her short videos or "reels" which showed her baking cookies or packing orders.
"Recently my videos started getting traction, some of them were getting over 50,000, then 90,000 views and I was pretty happy with that," Mrs Browne said.
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"But then I posted a video of me putting cookies in a box, which was a bit weird. It was really just that and it started getting lots of interest.
"At the moment I think it has about 440,000 views, it is crazy."
Mrs Browne first moved to Ballarat from the Philippines in 2006.
"I have always loved baking ever since I was a kid and I have always wanted to start my business," she said.
Six years ago, while seven months' pregnant and in her last year of her food science degree, Mrs Browne took the first step to open Mrs Browne Bakes.
"It might sound a bit crazy ... but the opportunity came and I just had to jump on it," she said.
Although she has run her Instagram and Facebook page for her business since she opened, Mrs Browne said she had been paying more attention to Instagram over the past three years.
"The growth has been quite slow until recently when I started doing reels," she said.
Instagram has been making room on the platform for more vertical short-form video content in a similar fashion to rival platform TikTok.
The changes have sparked controversy, with Instagram's chief executive Adam Mosseri making a video statement explaining the updates were not perfect or final.
Mrs Browne said she had also experienced many changes on the platform.
"I do not really mind them, I like keeping up with the times and try to use them to my advantage, because really that is all you can do," she said.
Despite the new attention, Mrs Browne admits it was not all smooth sailing.
"As much as it helps a business, it is nearly a full-time job trying to run your social media," she said.
"I have to post every day pretty much otherwise my engagement drops significantly, so I think if you do not enjoy it, it is going to be a struggle."
Mrs Browne said she had learnt a lot over the past few years creating different types of content for her brand.
"People like seeing the rawness behind the brand and not everything needs to be perfect," she said.
"I just keep posting until I find what works and I do not try for my videos to go viral; I just post because I love the process of taking videos (and) putting them all together."
The traction has brought people to her brand from a variety of different countries.
"Lots of people are following me from America for some reason, I am not quite sure why," Mrs Browne said.
"They are asking me if I can ship to America and asking for my recipes or if I do online courses."
The growing audience has given Mrs Browne an opportunity to think big with her business goals.
"One of my ultimate dreams is to one day write a cookbook, so that will be something that can be available not just to Ballarat, but the rest of the world."
Right now Mrs Browne's goodies can be found at Little Square Garage, The Hobbyist Coffee, 3350 Coffee Bar and Sturty Coffee.
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