Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Shafer.
Hi Jessica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My husband and I love to explore, and we knew we did not want that to change when we had children. We started our family with twins, then another son came less than two years later, then another son two years after that. We were a big family, but adventuring was still a priority for us. We took a lot of family trips, visiting places like New York, Chicago, the beach, the mountains, Mexico, and Walt Disney World.
In addition to travel, we were constantly exploring in and around our hometown. As I posted pictures of these family adventures, I started getting more and more questions about how we managed to stay so active with four kids in tow. These questions led me to start an Instagram account, @raising_explorers, which focuses on encouraging families to get out and make memories with their kids, whether that is in their own backyard or an ocean away.
I believe that shared experiences build stronger families, and I try to use social media in a way that focuses on that belief. We can buy all the toys and things in the world, but what truly shapes our children are the people and places to which they are exposed. We want to raise our children to value experiences over things, and I started @raising_explorers hoping to foster that message in other families as well.
Since I started that account, our family grew with another son and we moved back to Knoxville (our original marital home). As I found myself sharing more and more East Tennessee content, I decided to start a new account specific to helping Knoxville parents easily find fun activities in which to engage with their families. This past summer I created the @knoxvilleparent Instagram account, and growing it has been an absolute blast!
In just a few short months, I have connected with so many local parents and watched my idea for this community grow. I am thrilled to see how it continues, as I join my passion for encouraging families to create experience-based memories with my love for Knoxville and East Tennessee.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As any business knows, growing on social media is a challenge. The algorithms are constantly changing, suddenly no one is seeing your posts, and likes and follower counts can be discouraging.
While I will never have a million followers, I believe that if I help one family make a lasting memory, my time is worthwhile. I enjoy sharing, and I hope that I make a positive impact on a few lives along the way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think I am most proud of my authenticity. My life is not perfect, my family is not perfect, and I try to convey myself in an authentic way on social media. I never want another mom to see my posts and feel “less than.” I try not to force my content–it is never planned months in advance, but instead is more affected by what we are actually doing in real life.
I am also very proud of the community we are building through @knoxvilleparent. My hope is to create a space where families can quickly and easily find ideas for local adventures, as well as information about local businesses and venues, and I am very excited about the growth I have already seen in this space.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Succeeding in the social media world looks different to everyone, so that is a hard question to answer. For me, I believe success looks like staying true to who you are and what message you want to spread and making sure your real life is always more important and more interesting than your online life. Success requires dedication, organization, and the ability to not take yourself too seriously.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knoxvilleparent/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/raising_explorers/
