Connecting Through Content

Curl-tok Stardom

I was TikTok famous.

My TikTok account sits at 17k. I was lucky enough to get a viral video. Before the viral video, I posted on my account just for fun⁠, hoping one day I would make it big. Then February 29th, 2024, came around, and there it was⁠—my account was nonstop all day, and every time I refreshed it, the followers, views, likes, and comments kept increasing. 

With this, I took advantage of posting every single day and twice a day for a month straight. Creating short and long-form content, utilizing trending sounds, and engaging with my followers were the key 3 factors that I believe helped me succeed. I was able to get my account to 10k by the end of March. It was all surreal. Something that I wanted for so long, was now the reality. 

My direct messages were getting filled with brands coming in and out. Some scams and others were legitimate⁠— this was another “OMG” moment. Posting product reviews helped me engage with my viewers and hear what they wanted to say and see from my account. Staying on top of trends was something I never missed out on. The algorithm on TikTok is known to be different from other social media platforms. If you want your content to get pushed out, you need to stay relevant in all ways. 

Defy the Norms 

One thing I noticed was that the big creators were different and loud. As their accounts grew, so did their content. This is one thing that I lacked. I also lacked an “image” and consistency throughout my content. I was posting just to post and hoping to go viral again so that my follower count could grow. Thinking this way allowed an unwanted audience to enter. What I mean by this is that my desired target audience was not viewing my content because of my inconsistency.

All creators on social platforms know that to succeed you need to be consistent. It came to a point that I was not putting out content as often because I lost the desire to keep posting and creating. It felt like a job rather than a hobby that I enjoyed. I still utilize the account biweekly and post randomly with the same content. Although the foundation of it isn’t. The foundation of a plan you create needs to be stable enough to take off and potentially succeed. 

The Final Cut

The key takeaway I took from this experience is to keep going. Keep going til the wheels fall off. 

To make it in the curly content in the social media world you need to be different. Just as different as curly hair is to others. It's not common, so neither should you. Keeping up with your branded image will 100% help you be remembered on the feed and will draw viewers back to your account. Stay relevant by participating in trends and adding your spin to them. Make the content unique in your way but also make it relatable so that you can build that form of community on your platform. Lastly, have fun with it. Digital footprints are everything⁠— and if you’re going to leave a footprint then at least make it a big one.