The millennial cofounders of a phone-case startup reveal how they contact and work with 'micro-influencers' on Instagram to hype their products and boost annual sales to $10 million

Courtesy of Casely

Emily and Mark Stallings are siblings and cofounders of Casely, a brand that makes fashionable phone cases.

• The millennial cofounders of phone-case startup Casely started their Instagram account three months before launching any products.
• This gave them a chance to gain followers, build relationships with influencers, and get feedback on their designs.
• Casely made just over $10 million in sales in 2019 and currently has 109,000 followers on Instagram.
• Emily and Mark Stallings explain how micro-influencers and photographers have been a more cost-effective marketing strategy than throwing their products at larger influencers and hoping for traction.
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The days of major influencers dominating our Instagram feeds might be over.

That's according to brother and sister cofounders Emily and Mark Stallings, who created Casely, a phone-case brand that's amassed 109,000 followers on Instagram.

They said brands can no longer just throw products at influencers and expect to impact the e-commerce market. "In the past, companies were able to do that, but because Instagram is so saturated with brands, you have to just chip away," Emily told Business Insider.

In 2017, the year they launched the brand, they made $150,000 in sales. In 2019, they made just over $10 million. Emily and Mark attribute much of Casely's growth to promoting their brand through "micro-influencers," which is generally anyone with 1,000 to 10,000 followers.

"We focused on keeping that loyalty and customer satisfaction in our product quality at a high," Mark said. "Then we just leverage social media and paid social ads to scale us up from where we were."

Mark, 23, is the CEO and Emily, 26, leads creative direction and web development. They explained how they surpassed 100,000 Instagram followers and boosted sales through micro-influencers, photographers, and brand ambassadors.

If you've used social media or influencers to grow your brand, Business Insider wants to hear from you. Please email your story to jortakales@businessinsider.com.