The last time I sat down with Penn State Senior Chelsea Leftkowitz, her Instagram foodie account @tasteofstate was just taking off. In late August, the account had around 800 followers, and Leftkowitz had just announced her first giveaway with McLanahan's Deli.
Now, @tasteofstate is becoming a household name. With over 2,664 followers, Lefkowitz has touched the hearts (and stomachs) of so many Penn State community members through her engaging and aesthetically-pleasing account. She has made and maintained strong relationships with local eateries, and has grown her brand throughout State College.
Being on campus for the fall semester has brought new opportunities for Lefkowitz. And despite her busier schedule due to the school year starting, Lefkowitz "still tr[ies] to engage [her] followers on [IG] Stories and comments." She continues to encourage her followers to send in their own Penn State food pictures, as this has always helped add to the community aspect of her account. Running the account from State College has also given Lefkowitz the chance to meet with local restaurant owners in store and grow their bonds. "A lot of it is me going into restaurants, taking photos, and handing out my business cards that I made," Lefkowitz said. These in store interactions have led to more content and giveaways on the account.
A big part of her account's growth has been the interactive giveaways on her page. For one of these giveaways, Are U Hungry offered free pizzas to the first 400 commenters on @tasteofstate's post. "I actually went during the time they were giving away these free pizzas and spoke with some of the people that were there and got to know them," Lefkowitz said. When meeting them, she gave her followers tips and tricks on how to take the most Insta-worthy shots of their pizzas to submit to @tasteofstate.
More recently, upon hitting 2,000 followers, Lefkowitz held a huge celebratory giveaway featuring nine restaurants. She explained the process behind organizing such a production: "For a month I would message and email these restaurants non-stop to work with them, to see what they were comfortable giving away, and what days worked for them [to meet]." The giveaway ended up being a huge success, as she gained abou 600 followers from it and got to offer some really cool prizes. None of these giveaways, however, could have happened without Lefkowitz's ability to establish relationships with local restaurants.
@TasteofState 2K Giveaway@TasteofState Instagram
"My goal is to spread the word about the best eats in Happy Valley," said Lefkowitz, "and I think it's working really well." Over the past few months, @tasteofstate has grown into a Penn State fan favorite on Instagram, and Lefkowitz is working to continue with her success in bringing the community together through food.
Make sure to keep an eye out for new giveaways and posts, and stay hungry, Happy Valley.
