Gone are the days when fans would glue themselves to television screens just to get the slightest glimpse of their favorite celebrity’s personal life. God bless Instagram for ensuring that we all are a click away from stalking our favorite celebrities, giving birth to our own online identities, participating in influential social media movements, and being the Emilys in our own virtual Paris.
However, such accessibility comes with heavy responsibility which intensifies in the case of celebrities. From being an average application for posting pictures to becoming a social media giant, Instagram, and its management is now an art. So, let’s dive in and analyze how well our Pakistani celebrities have succeeded in influencing fans through their Instagram feeds. The analysis will take place through the Current ranking edition where you can find an exclusively ranked scorecard highlighting the top and the bottom three Instagram feeds of Pakistani celebrities.
The magic formula for Instagrammy perfection combines just the right proportion of posts featuring everyday adventures, western and eastern dressing styles, catchy captions, precise bios, a classy overall outlook, adequate interactivity with the followers through comments or live sessions, and lastly, a unique special strategy which sets your feed apart from all the others. The perfect score sums up to a total of 16 points with 2 points per category.
If you’re done taking notes, scroll down to see which three best and worst Instagram feeds have made it to the Scorecard. Remember, you are what your Insta feed is!
Disclaimer: Nothing Personal
Mahira Khan: 12 / 16
Although Mahira doesn’t post frequently about her everyday adventures and uses lengthy and boring letters involving her emotional experiences as captions, the girl checks all other boxes for a perfect Instagram account. Her work, individualism and nature-oriented posts give a nostalgic outlook to the feed. Popular instances of interactivity include 2018’s incident when Mahira ended up gifting her Eid outfit to a fan who expressed a desire to wear that dress in the comment section of Mahira’s Eid post. Mahira may reply to your comments as well, you never know! This feed neutralizes its western dimension which stems from a preference for western clothing by a traditional aspect added by her bio titled ‘Funkaar’.
Besides, who could not like the post featuring her incredibly hot gown for Cannes 2018? Everything aside, the point winner for Mahira’s Instagram feed is her special strategy which never lets the glory of her old characters die as fans are constantly reminded of her signature roles like Khirad (Humsafar) or Falak (Shehr-e-Zaat) via her posts. You go, girl!
Aiman Muneeb: 9.5 / 16
Acknowledging the fact that Aiman does not have a striking bio and she rarely replies to comments, her frequent highlights about travelling (Florence, Dubai, Lahore etc.), diet plans and lunch dates really capture the interest of the followers. Her feed maintains a traditional outlook with family-oriented posts about sister dates, her daughter, husband, and mother. Aiman doesn’t shy away from influencing fashion trends by posing in stunning trench coats and desi kurta shalwar. The most captivating part about this feed is its brief, catchy and impactful captions like, “Be your own muse”. All the aforementioned qualities help Aiman skillfully market her special strategy which revolves around the ‘keeping it real’ vibe of a young girl getting the best of both worlds. This strategy does a remarkable job in attracting all those Pakistani girls who dream of making it big, just like our Aiman did.
Ayeza Khan: 3.0 / 16
Jeez, that score’s pretty low but what could we do. The raw bio and majorly sponsored posts and highlights make this feed seem more like a wedding photo album than a celebrity’s feed. Don’t believe us? Try stalking this diva and all you’ll find are some breathtaking but clichéd and glossed up pictures of Ayeza in designer clothes. Her audience interactivity was pretty low until she dedicated a video post to her fans on October 3, 2020, just to let them know that she does read all their messages and comments but is unable to reply due to her busy schedule. This actor does get a decent score for her special strategy through which induced temporary curiosity among her fans. What was it?
On May 3, 2019, Ayeza made headlines by turning her Instagram private after reaching 3.1 million followers. In her own words she “wanted fans not followers” …for a short while though. This move did get her Instagram account under the spotlight. Master stroke, indeed.
And here comes the #ouch part. Below are the ranks and scores of three of Pakistan’s least followed celeb accounts on Instagram according to The Current Scorecard. The grading criteria remains the same, however, there’s a twist. Here, we have graded every category out of -2 with 0 being the highest (which means no damage done) and -2 being the lowest. The maximum score obtainable is -16. By the way, to compensate for the brutal critical analysis, The Current has given #free suggestions to help improve the feeds. So scroll down to discover who has done the most irrecoverable damage (it’s predictable though).
Meera Jee: -15.5 / -16
This feed seems outdated as videos that could have sufficed well as highlights can be seen featuring everyone but herself. Where to begin! Absolute lack of audience interactivity, lack of defined styling preferences in the very few solos posted, and a bio that seems more like a nice and concise resume are just a few of the Instagram blunders we have identified. The whole concept of public engagement seems to have been turned upside down. You’ll see plenty of posts featuring people without adequate description. For instance, did you see the post regarding a gentleman who “is a very creative man in the world of educational”?
Also, dedicating a video post to Zulfi Bukhari without having him or herself in either of them is nothing but awkward. The Current’s Instagram feed takes inspiration from this people-oriented feed to improve as news media because you shall find random posts regarding celebrities’ birthdays, deaths, marriage anniversaries, award nominations, COVID-19 test results, and makeup reviews. Moreover, we all know the major issue with captions. In the broader picture, let us ponder over the unreasonable motivation to be who we aren’t meant to be.
Free suggestion for improvement: Be Yourself
Embracing yourself and being comfortable in your skin can make you a stronger personality to be marketed on Instagram. Instead of promoting others in a language that is not exactly your expertise, why not try writing captions in Roman Urdu or Urdu? Also, we recommend using your amazing solos from your highlights as posts. After all, your fans want to see the iconic celebrity in you!
Sanam Jung: -9.5/16
Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Jaago Pakistan Jaago feed. Although Sanam’s Instagram feed seems to have a balanced mix of work-oriented posts with a tinge of everyday adventures, it lacks maintenance. You’ll see plenty of grid photos highlighting workout routines, travelling experiences, notable literature preferences and many more, but the absence of relevant captions seem to confuse the followers between sponsored and non-sponsored content. Almost all posts uniformly follow Eastern styling trends only. Additionally, choosing a list-like format for a lengthy bio is never a good option as self-descriptions should be different from grocery lists, don’t you think? Despite zero audience interactivity, this feed might capture the attention of female fans of morning shows with its content about family adventures; however, it fails to properly grip the admiration of other genders. We expect more from you, Sanam!
Free suggestion for improvement: Get Out of the Box
Instagram can be your best resort to help separate the real you from the “the stereotyped Pakistani beti/bahu” identity of yours, thanks to the morning show fandom. We suggest you to start promoting individualism in your feed because we are sure that there’s another amazing side of the ever-empowered Sanam, which the world is yet to see.
Mira Sethi: -2.0/-16
This feed has a soothing outlook as is laden with life-oriented posts appreciating humanity, family, poetry, music, art and culture. Seeing Mira play sports or hug her pets in vividly colored sarees and some classic tank gives us an exotic feel. With brief and multi-lingual captions and a perfect bio, this lady does a considerably good job of interacting with the audience as she asks them for their reviews on her drama episodes (Yeh Dil Mera) and more. However, all these plus-points dim in comparison with a major flaw related to mass appeal. This feed does an outstanding job in luring elite Urdu/English literature enthusiasts and Pakistanis settled abroad. Unfortunately, that makes up the narrowest segment of the Pakistani population. While posts about Californian parks or #BlackLivesMatter are immensely appreciated, sadly, they will fail to interest a regular Pakistani, who can barely relate with them.
Free suggestion for improvement: Go more desi
Your Instagram displays the progressive mentality that we all hope to see among the Pakistani population one day. However, today isn’t that day and the best you can do is make your target audience inclusive of all Pakistani population segments because we all deserve to discover the charismatic international face of our country.
