On the path toward becoming a full-time content creator, building trust with a potential future audience is so crucial. Gaining relevant information on how to build an audience can be extremely fatiguing these days. One person says be casual and candid (think Lil Nas X), another person says be aloof and exclusive (think Kali Uchis). One says just “give it a go, organic growth will just happen with luck” while another convinces you that “strategy is key especially for somebody as busy as you”. Who do you listen to? We’ll help you hone it in.
Having a Niche is Helpful
Joy Ofodu, a comedy content creator who recently left a full-time job at Instagram, discovered that landing on a specific niche of content helped propel her career as a creator. Her niche? Dating content. “That’s all I posted about for about two years,” Ofodu told Insider. “And that exploded my audience.” Ofodu now has 114,000 Instagram followers — when she started posting more regularly, in 2020, she had about 5,000.
On the other hand, I recently spoke to a friend who works for Models 1 and takes on many freelance photography and social media jobs. She specifically is focusing on TikTok growth for music artists. Her take was so interesting and I decided to listen since she managed to grow an artist’s TikTok following from 0 to 80,000 in about 8 months. She said that, despite contrary belief, she said that an independent music artist’s TikTok shouldn’t be too promotional. They should use trending sounds, show off their personality and process rather than their actual music.
Instagram
Jaden Versluis, a talent manager and travel creator managed to grow his Instagram from 4,000 to 140,000 in four months. We’re not joking. He found that search-engine optimization (SEO) can influence how discoverable content is. Versluis told Insider that whichever platform you use, “your caption should be full of keywords.”
YouTube
Platforms like YouTube are more challenging however with YouTube’s introduction of Shorts — the platform’s TikTok competitor — growth has looked easier of late.
TikTok
TikTok on the other hand has a reputation for being one of the best platforms for creators to explode, although the algorithm has very recently started experiencing growing pains. According to TikTok’s head of music Corey Sheridan, livestreams and engaging with comments can help drive growth. For some influencers on TikTok, like Victoria Paris, a lifestyle influencer, growth is steady. Victoria built her audience by posting several TikToks each day and responding or liking comments on her videos. She has more than 1.5 million followers on the app today.
For others, all it takes is one viral moment. However, once that moment blows, engagement must be consistent and creators should further capitalize on the boom. For instance, Nate White, a New York City-based fashion designer, posted his first TikTok in March 2020. His “stank walk challenge” video went viral two months later.
