If you think you’re seeing double when scrolling on your Instagram Explore feed, your eyes aren’t fooling you.
Identical twins like Alicia and Alexa Montes, known as “Twinfluencers,” have exploded in popularity in recent years on social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram.
“People love twins,” Alicia, 18, told “Good Morning America.” “It’s something you don’t see all the time and people love to get to know them."
@themontestwins the green is our favorite what’s yours ?💚 ##stayhomestaystrong
♬ Laxed (Siren Beat) - Jawsh 685
The Montes twins have 2.5 million followers on TikTok and began posting their videos on the platform in October 2019. But they're not alone.
On TikTok, the hashtags #twin, #twins and #twinsisters each have billions of views.
"We speak our own twin language," Alexa said, noting that they have collaborated with other Twinfluencers, like the Shogo Twins, who have 2.9 million TikTok followers.
@themontestwins @shogotwins @miantwins @clubhousebh
♬ Oh My Gawd frostydasnowmann - i_have_no_b00bz
You can often find Alexa and Alicia posting daily vlogs, synchronized dances and showing off their fashion looks on the short-form video platform, as well as YouTube.
"If we're not actually taking them through our day then we're planning something for the next day ... we do trends for fun but the videos we're most known for is just vlogging, whether we're just going out for lunch or just going shopping," Alexa explained, adding that they dedicate hours every day to planning and creating content.
The 18-year-olds are also well aware of the negative sides of social media, but they help each other rise above it.
"I think we're really lucky with that," Alicia said. "Social media can become a really harsh place, but I feel like just because we have each other, that it hasn't really affected us."
Ami McClure also knows a thing about “Twinfluencers.”
The mom-of-three began posting videos of her 7-year-old twin daughters, Ava and Alexis, on YouTube for friends and family because “social media is where people keep their memories.”
In 2016, the girls went viral as 3-year-olds with their YouTube video “Twins Realize They Look the Same,” which even landed the family on “GMA.”
“We took some time after that to decide if we wanted to continue because it was kind of scary,” McClure said of her daughters’ internet fame.
Eventually she and her husband, Justin, decided the family would continue building the twins’ social presence “so long as they were enjoying it.”
The McClure twins now have 2.1 million followers on Instagram and over 1 million on the family’s YouTube channel. Both Ami and Justin work full-time managing their brands, while still trying to maintain a somewhat normal family life for their children in Atlanta.
McClure said she has definitely seen a rise in twin influencers in recent years and has encountered more parents of twins asking her for advice. She cautions though that it’s not as easy as it looks.
“We just happen to have twins, but they also happen to have personalities that are made for this,” McClure said.
The Montes twins also believe the key to their success lies in letting their different personalities and styles shine in their content.
“We definitely know that’s our greatest strength,” Alexa said on playing to their strengths and personalities. “It’s like two brains working on the same idea.”
Still, these “forever collaborators,” admit they disagree often. When that happens, they just film the same video concept two different ways and see which one looks better.
One of their most popular TikTok videos, with 26 million views, is of them switching places in school.
@themontestwins WE SWITCHED PLACES AGAIN ##foryou ##twins
♬ original sound - themontestwins
Beyond the millions of fans, their content has also caught the attention of brands.
Highly-coveted partnerships with companies like Aerie and Neutrogena have given the 18-year-old identical twins the confidence to move to Los Angeles and try their hands at being full-time content creators and "create something beyond social media."
“We didn’t expect this to become a career,” Alicia admitted.
Similar deals with family brands have allowed Ami and Justin McClure to provide their children with opportunities that they say would “enrich” their childhood, like traveling and networking.
Although their twin girls are starting to understand their massive social media reach, Ami still makes sure they stay humble and grounded.
“We never say ‘fame,’” Ami explained. “If they ask, we say, ‘You are popular,’ but we don’t let it become a point to where they think they are above anyone … that’s what we focus on with them right now.”
