In April 2022, hundreds of influencers and social creators gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah for two days to experience the first ever Social Icon Conference. Social Icon, the industry event for creators and Icons has a focus on inspiring and educating up and coming social media creators. The featured keynote speakers at the 2022 event were Kristy Sarah Scott (@kristy.sarah), Tezza Barton (@tezza.barton), Christine Andrew (@christineandrew), and Sarah Nicole Landry (@thebirdspapaya).

Hosted by Indy Blue (@indyblue_), founder of the brand Lonely Ghost, the conference featured some of the most Iconic creators in the social media space. Indy kicked off the weekend interviewing Tezza Barton, the creator of the lifestyle brand “Tezza”, the Tezza App, and Lello the Label, a luxury eyewear brand inspired by vintage fashion. Tezza shared her journey as an artist, navigating through life pursuing her passions in photography, music, design, and entrepreneurship. Tezza inspires creators to make everything about your life art. In her keynote Tezza said, “I really think that as an artist, or a creator in any way – the more you share, the more you grow”.

Following Tezza’s keynote, we heard from lifestyle creators Fatima & Ben Dedrickson (@stylefitfatty), Bethanie & Anthony Garcia (@thegarciadiaries), and Myley & Tre Johnson (@thejfamily), getting candid about a range of topics from working with brands and negotiating rates to creating daily content and working with your spouse. 

A recurring message both days at Social Icon was the importance of being authentic with your brand on social media. Christine Andrew, founder of Hello Fashion Blog, said, “I think if you get caught up in doing what everybody else is doing, you’re always a step behind”. Jaci and Chelsey of What We Said Podcast shared a similar message, with Jaci encouraging people to find their individuality and talk about something that they are into, stating that “you will find that more people than you think are into it too”.

Opening day 2, everyone in the audience was captivated as Sarah Nicole Landry shared her inspiring story about navigating life as a divorced mom of four, remarried, and her journey for body acceptance. There were definitely some tears shed from the audience hearing Sarah’s story. During the Q&A, an attendee told Sarah that “You have changed my life… I know you have changed millions of lives… I was expecting a lot from you in person, and what you just talked about exceeded my expectations”. 

Following Sarah’s keynote were two incredible panels, one featuring KayCee Stroh, Whitney Leavitt, Lexie Byers, and Allie Harding, and the other featuring Paige Arminta, Alexis Therese, Chelsea Henriquez, and Jessica Janae. 

The final keynote of the 2022 conference is someone who continues to grow at a rapid pace and has a loyal community of over 10 millions followers. Kristy Sarah Scott, known as @kristy.sarah across her social platforms, shared invaluable insight into what strategies she uses and the intentionality around her growth as an influencer. Kristy shared, “When you bring your organic self to social media, you are like no one else. So you can create content that’s not like anybody else’s”.

In between sessions and at the end of each day, attendees had the chance to meet and connect with their favorite speakers, shop the sponsor marketplace, and create content with their new friends.