Continuing with the theme of top ten tips, I asked fellow Melbourne-based burlesque performer, Marilyn Mocktail, to shed some light on how she creates her online content. If you've seen Marilyn's TikTok videos, her creativity during 'Rona 2020 has skyrocketed and her content is, as the kids say, lit! Make sure you check her out on socials too - links are at the end of this post.
Marilyn Mocktail is a Melbourne based burlesque performer and producer who has been in the industry for just over 7 years. At the beginning of 2020, Marilyn started to explore the world of online content creation which then became a new artistic outlet for her to focus on during the Melbourne lockdowns. Over the past 12 months she has created around 80 unique makeup looks and grown a following on the popular video app “TikTok”.
Here are her top 10 tips for creating engaging online content:
1. Choose your content style - is it makeup artistry, Cosplay, comedy etc? What do you enjoy doing and feel would be interesting to other people? Try and stick to the one style as much as possible so your audience feels engaged and wants to follow your content for more.
2. When you are taking photos or filming it is a good idea to try and squeeze as much content out of that look/day as much as possible. You can then delete anything you feel is not up to the standard you want to put out. This will help to ensure you have regular content to post which will often be rewarded by the social media algorithms.
3. Stuck for inspiration? Head to the Instagram explore page or Pinterest! Even just a scroll on the For You page on TikTok may inspire a video idea or you might find an audio you’d like to use for future content. When inspiration randomly strikes, write it down and you can come back to it later.
4. In the days leading up to a Content day, have a think about what videos/photos you’d like to create from that concept. Make notes, save inspo images to your Pinterest or Instagram, search through audios (it’s always a good idea to save ones you like to your favourites on TikTok so you can easily find them). This way you’ll be ready to go on the day and can get straight into creating!
5. Take a note of any current trends, this is especially useful for TikTok as trends are a big part of the app. If a certain trend falls within your content type, give it a go! This can help to bring new eyeballs to your page.
6. Engage with your audience by responding to as many comments as possible. This will not only help to boost the post in the algorithm but will also make your audience feel more connected to you and appreciated.
7. If a piece of content doesn’t get much engagement, don’t feel disheartened! It may be due to the algorithm or maybe that particular post just wasn’t as engaging as others. Try to learn from what your audience responds to and what they don’t to help shape your future content.
8. If you feel like your content is getting a bit stale and repetitive, you can try and mix it up a bit with things like using different lighting or locations, incorporating other people into your content as well as collaborations with other content creators.
9. Practice, practice, practice! Whatever your style is, if you put in the extra time and work it will pay off and your followers will appreciate your efforts. If your style is makeup, practice lots of different techniques and watch tutorials. If you like fancy transitions in your videos, practice trying to get them as smooth and seamless as possible. If you want to be a lip sync assassin, get those facial expressions going!
10. Most importantly, look out for your mental health. If you’re feeling burnt out from constant creating or you are feeling down about views/likes it might be a good idea to take a break. As much as we want recognition and acknowledgement of our art, we can’t all be superstars with 100 million followers! Be prepared for Trolling or nasty comments as unfortunately that is part in parcel with using social media, just remember that they don’t know you and what they think is none of your business!
Follow Marilyn on socials on the links below: Facebook
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