How can you become a TikTok influencer?
What is it like being a Tik Tok creator?
Steven McKell is a Scottish TikTok online influencer with 2.3 million Tik Tok followers, 53 million TikTok video likes and around 400 million views.
Steven also runs @Steven Mckell YouTube channel, so he is the best influencer and TikToker I know to learn about TikTok versus YouTube.
PART 1 OF OUR CHAT IS HERE: https://youtu.be/zybwzbgLpgc
PART 2 WITH STEVEN MCKELL IS HERE: https://youtu.be/oC8WLSevyWk
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TRANSCRIPT: (CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE)
THIS IS THE TRANSCRIPT - CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE!
Hello I think I know what you're thinking: how can I start a TikTok career?
Don't get swept up in the things - this is from personal experience - but don't get swept up in this, you know, looking at everyone else's accounts for the views... comparing yourself to other people to erm thinking you've got to be like someone else.
I’ve done all those things and it honestly what it does it just ruins your whole entire vibe.
It's not something you want to get involved in.
You've got to be able to be yourself, so don't-- don't compare yourself to anyone else ever.
Just don't do it. Believe me it's the best thing, just don't do it.
This is the Great British YouTubers podcast with me Neil Mossey
Hello it's awesome to have you here.
This is a place where we share advice, experience and tips with high achieving creators and performers just like you - and in this episode Steven Mckell.
Steven has over 2.3 million followers on TikTok clocking up over 500 million views.
He also has a YouTube channel, so is absolutely the best person to talk about YouTube versus TikTok.
This is part three of our chat and all the other episodes are in the description.
Steven Mckell, what advice would you have for anyone starting out on TikTok?
There's a lot.
Oh, some really cool advice would be stay authentic and do the trending hashtags, and do the content that's trending erm... and you know don't be discouraged by not getting you know loads of views whatever really quickly, and don't be discouraged if you do get the views or if it kind of plateaus a bit - that happens to everyone... and but really stay authentic to what you like, what you do.
If there's a niche content that you love doing whether it be point of view content, meme content, makeup, dancing... hone in on that craft and do that.
TikTok loves people that um can have like some sort of niche that they're really good at and if you consistently... be consistent.
Post-- I post every day where I think TikTok you know they advise to post like maybe between three and five times a week, but most creators post every day um or every few days.
So it's like really... just depends on like what you're kind of in-- like what your schedule would be.
But yeah stay authentic be consistent do the trending hashtags and have fun!
Have like the best time you can.
That's what I do.
Sorry I just let my cat in.
And how do you cope with that Steven?
Do you have um so if you post every day some some days presumably you post more than once a day? Do you have times where you feel I’m absolutely killing it and and other times where you think “oh i'm falling behind”.
That I’m not outputting as much as I would like to?
Yeah yeah absolutely right now actually I’m in that kind of zone where I’m not outputting as much as I want to because my views aren't great.
And it should never be about the views and I think that's something people have to understand that it should never be about like your views, likes and stuff.
However if it's part of your job you then worry about it.
So I do worry about that because sometimes you have big, big times you have low times...
Everyone has it.
It's just any social media so at the moment I’m kind of like that, like I'm not going to put out like videos every day.
Sometimes I put out three videos to five.
Some people-- sometimes I’ll put one video.
Back in the day years ago I put out like 15... 20, because it was mostly like dancing, you know lip synching, or acting videos which are very easy to do.
I think kind of what I’ve done is... I kind of set a bar really high for myself in terms of my content, so that I can't revert back to that now to kind of do that for an easy win.
It doesn't work on my page - the algorithm doesn't pick up - so it kind of... you have to you know some days are going to be bad.
So sometimes I have bad days I’m like oh my gosh like I’ve worked for four years, it's um it's slipping through my hands and with-- my accounts dying and which I say that a lot and and sometimes I just I have to kind of just have a rant to myself or to my friend and then just get on with it.
Because at the end of the day I make content for um myself and other people and if someone watches it and goes “oh he inspired me”
Someone watching it goes “that made me laugh”
Then my job's done like that's my day done, like you know, in the grand scheme of things to... to make someone's day or to make someone feel comfortable in themselves as a gift that... that's you know priceless really.
So yeah I just get through my bad days by just having a day off.
Posting one video and being like if it does bad it does bad, or if I am-- I really post a video that I don't enjoy, I think if I’m not I’m not gonna post if I don't enjoy the video.
You know what I mean - I have to have fun doing it.
That was probably a long answer to the question - very broad but yeah!
Steven Mckell what shouldn't I do on tik tok?
Don't get swept up in the things - this is from personal experience - but don't get swept up in this, you know, looking at everyone else's accounts for the views... comparing yourself to other people to erm thinking you've got to be like someone else.
I’ve done all those things and it honestly what it does it just ruins your whole entire vibe.
It's not something you want to get involved in.
You've got to be able to be yourself, so don't-- don't compare yourself to anyone else ever.
Just don't do it. Believe me it's the best thing, just don't do it.
And, and it's it's almost as if you almost found your medium because you were posting on YouTube but this one it just it just kind of unleashed something different?
I think TikTok is just more easier for me to make content.
I think it was more easy for me to like have fun and like connect with fans.
So it was very much easier for me to make this, the short form media, and have... and work around like the 15 to a minute, 15 seconds to a minute videos, whereas YouTube is like long... long... like longer videos and it was fun.
I can't say YouTube wasn't fun - it was great - and it's not that YouTube is bad I’d love to go back to it and plan to go back to it soon - and do videos but like I...
It's the idea of like having to post like every single like week or every few days whereas TikTok is just so much easier to post.
It is hard for someone like me.
I can't just post, you know, a lip syncing thing or dancing thing - it does well.
I have to really put effort into it, so um and that's you know I mean... because I think someone like me on Tik Tok, or any platform: I don't look like the natural beauty standard as people would have it.
I'm still beautiful but you know I think I don't have like what the... you know, our society nowadays deems is beautiful and like what you should watch.
So I kind of look out of place a little bit.
I act a bit out of place, which I love that.
I love being like the alternative kind of influencer or creator whatever you want to call it, but I’m all... I’m on the outside looking in at a lot of stuff when it comes to being in on the in-things.
My cat's just jumping around my room right now so I do apologize, but yeah, and YouTube was just a bit long.
It was just long videos and it was filming it, editing it. and I just think TikTok just... just took off over that and I thought: I just need to focus on TikTok now and that's what I did.
I thought - I’ve had focus on both of them now.
I don't think I’d be as successful or as big on TikTok as I am now, because I am... I just ditched YouTube and I don't have the-- I don't have time for it!
I’ve got to just do something else and then that's what I did so...
And it sounds like there's something driving you behind that then because it's... it's one thing to post a lot, but to keep going there--
It seems like there's something behind it Steven, something that--
Yeah
Um, there's something you want to express.
I want to be the person that I didn't have growing up, watching on TV or... or social media.
So I-- I’m 26 so I... I didn't really... social media was a thing in the mid-noughties, but it wasn't as big when I was the ages of like you know... 10 to 16.
You know you were outside all the time.
That's what exactly-- that's what I explain to people.
You weren't on social media all the time.
It wasn't massive then, um and especially in like Scotland or anything.
So I wanted to be the person I didn't see in like TV shows or I didn't see in like social media.
Wwhen I first started it was all very much the same people, brands or companies were only focusing on the same people... whereas um I’m not you know...
I’m fat.
I'm someone that's asexual and someone that's looks a bit out of place and that's all positive for me.
Fat - it's not a negative word that for me I-- I use it as a positive because I’m fat but I’m flawless.
You know what I mean?
Erm, so I want to be the person I didn't have whilst watching social media, whilst watching TV and so I was like "I know I’m going to be that person then" and I think that I have-- I like to think that if tomorrow TikTok shut down or my account was deleted, or whatever happened... I like to think that you know what, ain't even set over social media in general,
I think - I like to think that I’ve done - I’ve done well and hopefully I've inspired people and I’ve been inspired by people.
So my legacy if you could call it one is - it's been positive - it's been fun.
I've stayed very authentic and... and that was one thing I just - that was it.
I just didn't really see anyone else like me and now there's a lot of people that are like me - not like me I think I’m quite a unique taste - but there's a lot of people that are - that have got my initiative really I think that are like "okay I’m just gonna be different" because different's okay and different's fun.
If you know, if everyone, if everyone was the same the - like the world would be such a boring place - so and yeah I just wanted that person that I never had online or on TV's and movies and stuff that I didn't have growing up.
Totally what we're seeing now is the death of "mass" isn't it.
Mass media, mass entertainment, mass... one size fits all.
It's so positive that you're inspiring people to, to... to share their voice.
Yeah that's it I think that, and for me it's never been like being big than anything because size is not part of my comedy.
You'll never see a video where I’m like "I’m so big!" that's never been part of my comedy because it's just it's not I’m-- I can you know, if that is part of someone's comedy then good on them and like that's how you can relate to people, then great.
It's never been part of mine so my thing's always been about, it's all about... be like be there for you is I’ve always had that - that and my sassy squad.
But 'Be the For You' is a slogan I always use to people because it really is the hardest thing in life and this is the truth is to really be your free authentic self, because you know when you are being free in yourself uh you know you put yourself up-- you open yourself up to ridicule and people opinionated about you people being awful because they might not agree with what you do and to that I say you know - I won't swear - but you know it - you just let, let them jog-on, because you know life's way too short to really worry about about what everyone else thinks of you.
And people think that oh he's like that on social media but I bet in real life and you'll meet me and I'll be like "I don't give"
I really don't care like if someone doesn't like me that's a them problem not me problem, and-- and they can deal with that to the side and it really is... I think especially nowadays - generation coming up you know - I think my generation's a bit soft.
We're the millennials so we're a bit soft but I was - in my family I was brought up really tough you know really like you've got to be tough and I think a lot of people don't have that kind of toughness to-- and so I try to teach people that you know if you're getting bullied this is a big rant now - if you're getting bullied like you know, or think people are saying something to you then like don't never let them see you sweat.
You never, you know, and call them out on stuff because people that are like that, hate getting called out.
No one loved-- bullies never like getting called a bully, you know what I mean?
So I try and teach people to love them-- the skin that you're in and if you don't love it, change it to a way that - to your standard not someone else's.
So it's just - I want to be that I just want to be that voice that people can listen to but it's about your size your mental health what about your sexuality and whether it be about um being inclusive and diverse...
I just hope people kind of watch my content and be like "oh like he's someone that gets it" and I learn every day.
I don't know everything about everything you know what I mean - that's the truth I don't know learn... I learn just as much as everyone else does so um people think that I’m - you know he must know or he thinks he knows - oh I don't.
That's the end of my TED talk.
[LAUGHS]
There's this one... should we take a little drink break?
Yes that'd be great actually.
Let's take a little drink break I’ve got some, I’ve got some juice here.
And you too at home, why don't you have a drink too?
I love oh yeah I love it - I love water.
Ahh, refreshing!
I love that it's a good segment I love it.
What's going to grab someone's attention in the first four seconds?
Because that's your window that you've got.
Sometimes it's shorter, depending on what kind of video it is but you've only only got your first few seconds to hit someone with what you need.
Because if you do it for the first few seconds they'll stay for 15.
If you're still good then they'll stay to 30.
And please hit the subscribe button below if you want to see more Great British YouTubers.
There's a playlist and a podcast. All the links are in the description below.
I'm Neil Mossey and I'll see you on the very next Great British YouTubers.
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