How this microinfluencer rules Instagram with stillness
Yoga is one of the ways many of us at M.T. Deco turn to for help managing stress. There is perhaps no one who can virtually calm our minds and quiet our inner voices like Taoist & yogi Jenn Tardif. Her energy seems to physically filter through the fiber optic cable waves, reaching us wherever we might be. But beyond our yoga fangirling, we’re obsessed with Jenn’s company 3rd Ritual, which offers everything from lotions to workshops to guides for, well, rituals – like palm inhalation and accupressure. The company defines itself as “a mindful collective founded on the notion that when you move half as fast you notice twice as much.” It’s an intention that seems opposite most entrepreneurs and start-ups in our faster, faster, faster digital world. So, how does Jenn do it?
One word: intention. Jenn’s ability to digitally embody her slow-down philosophy has enabled her to build an engaged micro-community that shows up online and IRL. She often sells out of her ritual product launches (like THE EGG), and we’d consider her follower count of 60k a good metric of micro-influencer success.
Let’s break down Jenn’s success in more detail. To start, “moving half as fast you notice twice as much” may seem like a backwards mission statement for the always-on, always-in-motion generations Jenn targets. Social media and ancient techniques seem like they’re on polar opposite sides of an activity spectrum. But in an interview with Gossamer, Jenn explains how her trademark intention plays out in her Instagram strategy: “Anything is fair game, from art and architecture to poetry and religious philosophy. We are trying to, by way of the tools or even something as simple as a post shared on Instagram, help people slow down and make sense of what comes up in that stillness. In a society where we’re so conditioned to have this constant stream of stimulation and information, stillness is a pretty intense juxtaposition. It can almost feel like you’re being confronted with the silence of yourself, and the mind then tries to fill it.”
In just three sentences, we learn so much about the social strategy for Ritual. Though highly curated, the 3rd Ritual feed is aesthetically mixed because “anything is fair game.” Despite the range of image quality and varied sources, the content does deliver on its thumb-stopping promise; we want to like every post, read every caption and leave comments of gratitude. Take the ubiquitous quote card, for example. One of the only branded pieces of content on the account, its visual subtly screams sophistication and intention; crinkled yet pristine, stark and direct. Doesn’t it feel borderline silent?
Even the 3rd Ritual website is designed in that same stillness. Instead of the footers housing all the brand’s social accounts, it clearly defines the intentionality behind the design and its ongoing changes. “The lines in the background of our site are the culmination of visitors’ cursors, and the slate is wiped clean with each new moon in honor of the new beginning it represents. Over time, frequently traveled pathways will become more noticeable – inspired by the timeworn effect that’s usually reserved for physical spaces. Our color palette was plucked from nature and changes with each season, of which, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are five.” Seriously intentional, and transparent about it. We’re here for it!
3rd Ritual’s approach to community is –unsurprisingly– just as intentional as all other aspects of the business. The primary focus is on Instagram, which beyond just being a great match for its aesthetic approach, is also a great match for an audience that upholds the brand mission. For example, if you consider yourself aligned with the brand’s slow & intentional promise, why would you want to follow them on fast-moving (and sometimes volatile) platforms like Twitter and TikTok? Instagram allows for a slower consumption, that just happens to also be gorgeous.
Leaning into that slow vibe for the audience also allows 3rd Ritual to capitalize on its community. It may not be a millions-of-followers account, but that’s not the point. Remember, intention is everything here. 3rd Ritual offers retreats & workshops meant to enrich “mental, physical and emotional wellbeing,” which only works in a smaller environment. [Could you imagine trying to be still and calm at, say, Coachella?] Jenn committed to going deep on what makes sense for her community, and from the looks of the comments section, her audience is getting it.
Jenn upholds the same intentionality across her personal account. She keeps the audience updated on her life, often with mixed media carousels for an intimate understanding of where she finds herself in a moment in time. You’ll find honest admissions of “updated for typos,” along with strong signals that she pays close attention to her followers’ feelings, like this post that apologizes for a sarcastic meme. Jenn is a quality over quantity creator, which you know we absolutely love. Yet her vibe is both effortless and effortful, and we can certainly appreciate the emotional investment it takes to strive for the balance.
Beyond 3rd Ritual’s immediate publishing strategy, the brand is surrounded by today’s “it girls” of niche entrepreneurship, like DIMEPIECE, Gossamer and the founders of Sky Ting (Krissy Jones and Chloe Kernaghan). It may be a coastal coincidence, but this small congregation of microinfluencers demonstrates the power of a cross-pollinated community. By following 3rd Ritual, DIMEPIECE –an account that chronicles the intersection of luxury watches and pop culture in an ironically low-fi way – is basically giving a digital proxy brand endorsement. Authenticity attracts and breeds more of the same, right?
So, whether you’re looking to slow down, make your own digital consumption more mindful or develop a social strategy for your passion project, here’s what you can learn from Jenn Tardif’s mindful digital ecosystem:
Visual intention: Every design choice upholds this principle of stillness. Meant to be an artistic digital project that makes you stop and think, the 3rd Ritual feed accomplishes this through exacting curation. This same curation extends to Jenn’s personal feed. With her posts spread out over weeks rather than days, Jenn chooses to curate life’s moments on the fly and in batches, like Instagram carousels. Even in the slowness of posting, each image or video fits into the overall vibe.
Prioritization: Instead of popping up on every social platform to capitalize on the popularity of generalized wellness, Jenn focused on Instagram to build a community. This materializes as literal social community management, or making UI design choices inspired by 3rd Ritual site visitors and the moon phases. She’s locked in and dedicated.
Transparency: There’s nothing like an honest admission of “Hey, I took this down because you didn’t like it!” Or “this is the very specific reason our color palette changes.” Refreshingly real, Jenn slows down to explain both content and brand decisions alike to her interested audience.
Honestly, we have a hard time enjoying stillness. It’s hard to detach from doing something, whether that be reading an article that’s been bookmarked for weeks or finally getting around to washing the linen jumpsuit we wore 3 weeks ago. But then Jenn or 3rd Ritual pops up in our feeds and we’re reminded that moments of intangibility are sometimes the richest. If that’s not a branding success, we’re not sure what is.