As social media outlets continue to rise, so does junior Jada Robison’s follower count on the new platform, TikTok. With an impressive 48.3K followers, Robison has totaled 1.8 million likes by producing content once a week.
Robison started creating content on YouTube when she was 16 years old but quickly turned to TikTok this past summer when she saw it was something that could provide another creative outlet.
“Social media platforms and making videos and stuff like that is my passion,” Robison said. “I figured, maybe I can do like something miniature with TikTok and make a little community of people who will all flock to my YouTube channel, and then I can make money that way.”
Robison has had multiple videos go viral on TikTok, her first one climbing to 327,000 likes, and her most famous one to date generating 980,000 likes with over 5 million views.
Senior Noah McCool [Turner], a friend of Robison’s, said the only reason he downloaded TikTok was to watch her videos. Now, he is completely hooked.
“She was definitely the first person that I knew that made me think of TikTok as a legitimate form of media and not just something a 12 year old did to overdub a song,” McCool said.
Robison credited a lot of her knowledge of social media influence to her major, public relations, and the classes she has taken so far.
“Public relations helped me realize what a marketing brand is and how to brand myself in a professional way,” Robison said.
TikTok requires more than clicking record and uploading, which was common of the older social media platform, Vine. Creating quality content that people enjoy watching requires a lot of thought and consideration for someone who is trying to make a business out of it. Junior Jessica Rydl, friend of Robison emphasized Robison’s commitment to the app.
“I have seen her videos, and she has to seriously edit them and insert transitions that flow smoothly,” Rydl said. “It’s a lot more work than just making a video.”
Now that Robison has created a following, she said she feels a sense of urgency to keep her followers satisfied.
“I feel a lot of pressure,” Robison said. “My followers ask me for stuff all the time, and if I go a week without posting, and then I post a video, they’re like, ‘Where have you been?’”
Although Robison said she can feel overwhelmed by keeping up with the app, she also said it’s something she loves, and the community she’s found in it is what keeps her wanting to produce content.
Robison’s account can be found @jadareneee on the TikTok app.
For tips on how to create your own TikTok following, read Kyle’s TikTok tips and tricks.
