DA on TikTok: @oliviajlopez
This semester for BCM206, I decided to venture out into the world of TikTok. As a devoted user of the platform, I thought it would be best to test out the platform and for once be the creator rather than the viewer. I began to think about what I hoped to do in the future and I’ve always known that makeup and the beauty industry was where my dream lay and so I decided it would be best to begin my journey in content creation in this industry.
I set out my goal as outlined in my pitch with the intention of encouraging and teaching my audience how to do their makeup. Someone who may not feel confident with a makeup brush or has no idea where to start was where my thought process evolved from. Makeup can be intimidating and something my friends and family always ask me about is providing advice on how to do their own makeup and so my DA makeup reviews and tutorials began. I never set out to become an influencer but rather to help others feel confident and beautiful.
I discovered early on that there are a bunch of people who teach makeup applications but not as many who are honest when reviewing products. Many of these “influencers” were being paid or gifted the products for their reviews or you can tell from their online persona that they’re trying to get those paid jobs. As someone who was buying the products, I decided it would be best to give honest reviews and my opinions to educate my TikTok audience on what they should avoid purchasing.
Below are my 2 DA audience starter packs. The first is based on the people I wanted to reach in my updated version of my DA and therefore the type of girls I was hoping to have my content help. My second was the audience I had initially in mind who wanted to up their makeup game and improve their skills through my tutorials. Unfortunately with TikTok, it is difficult to see 100% who my audience was and is.
I first set out with reviewing 2 products that I had recently purchased but not used and thought it would be the best option to give a live review with minimal cuts or edits to be the most genuine version of myself. Genuine reviews have always been my mission and I feel like I have been able to consistently show through in my videos.
The video did very well in its initial week officially live and has now become the only video that still consistently receives views. Currently, it has over 700 views, 72 likes and 2 shares! These statistics were really exciting to me as I had never expected people to share my content with others. This was extremely exciting to see especially on my first video. This video is also my only video with a comment I added with extra hashtags which could be the key to the continued growth of the video. Although this was my only comment, the 2 shares are indicative of some small success.
I found the content creation process to get easier and feel less awkward as I continued to find my place in this niche. Talking to a camera or your phone on your own although I have been exposed to the concept for years, is still an unusual situation to be a part of but of course, I persevered and pushed through that awkward stage and continued creating content.
My next few posts were also received in a reasonably well manner but have not experienced consistent and continuous growth like my first video although the hashtags used are very similar with the difference being the product or brand name hashtags that changed. Neither of my next 5 videos had any shares but all experienced similarly likes and views as seen below.
Although I had not received shares, I did receive my first comment which indicated and made me feel like I was on the right path.
After my pitch and before my beta, I decided to play around with the concept of multiple videos with 3 parts as the maximum amount, reviewing a product/s to see if this had any impact in increasing views, likes or shares. Through conducting this mini-experiment, I predicted to have one video outperform the other 2 which is exactly what occurred. The pattern was that either the 1st or the 3rd video performed the best with more likes, views or shares, or a combination.
Throughout the semester the utility was always to educate my audience on what to buy if they’re interested in makeup although my initial idea was to have a combination of reviews and tutorials, I feel I found my little niche on the platform. I hadn’t had a viral video but I’ve seen steady and consistent growth with my views, likes, shares, followers and even comments started to appear on some of my videos.
Whilst checking my analytics, I noticed that my views by regions started to feature the United States indicating my videos were reaching Americans more than Australians meaning a potentially larger audience. I even started to notice European countries were viewing my content which to me feels like a significant breakthrough since starting out my views were only reaching Australian TikTok audiences.
I truly believe with my continuation on this DA, I have the ability to grow my platform and continue to help my audience. I have felt in my element creating content this semester for BCM206. It never felt like a hassle or like it took too much of my time and because of this I enjoyed the process even more than any other DA I’ve developed in the past and I believe it has to do with the platform. TikTok is new to me and so it was exciting to learn about all its editing features and editing techniques. Prior to this semester, I hardly ever used the platform other than as a viewer which made my time fun.
Olivia Lopez 