TikTok Influencer Interview with @jennastreich
This is my interview with TikTok influencer, @jennastreich.
[TikTok] is a place that can birth major creativity, but can also bleed a lot of negativity.
Q1: Can you explain what TikTok is for those who don’t know what it is?
A: Alright—so TikTok is an app that people cause use to make videos that vary in length, as short as 15 seconds to recently now as long as 3 minutes! There’s a variety of kinds of videos that can show up on you “for you page,” which is a curated page that TikTok makes for you and show you videos that are related to what you like! The videos can range for dancing, funny, serious and skit like TikToks. It’s a place that can birth major creativity, but can also bleed a lot of negativity.
Q2: What sparked your interest in TikTok?
A: So, I first downloaded TikTok in October of 2019 and that is where my journey began! I think what sparked my interest in it was because of Instagram. I used to follow a lot of accounts that would repost TikToks and I thought all of them were so funny, that I thought hey, why didn’t I download this app once and for all! As for POVs, I got into posting those around August of 2020!
Q3: Which communities on TikTok are you apart of?
A: My account is very multi-fandom and always has been since I started posting POVs! The first community I was a part of was actually Teen Wolf—because the first POVs I ever posted were about Teen Wolf! However, what got my account to what it is today and what most people would “know” me for is my Harry Potter POVs. I have since moved on from making Harry Potter content and now manly post edit/POVs videos that revolve around Stranger Things, The Maze Runner, Marvel, Hunger Games and really any other fandom I’m part of!
Q4: How long have you been an influencer?
A: Around the beginning of August 2020, I posted a series titled “Female Characters that taught me not to take sh*t from men,” and it spanned over 10 parts—each part getting around over 100k views and two (I believe) of them getting 1 million views—which was INSANE. They grew so fast and went viral in a way, and those were the videos that got me to over 10K followers! And then I started making POVs, starting with a Teen Wolf series, and when I entered HP TikTok, my account took off at an insane rate, and I reached 150k followers by November 2020. The rate at which my account grew was insane and it still so surreal to think about to this day! So—in short, I would say I became an “influencer” around September/October 2020.
Q5: What do you love most about being an influencer?
A: I think my favorite part/love about being an “influencer” is the AMAZING support from all my followers, which is probably a pretty cheesy answer, but it’s true! There have been times where TikTok gets to be so overwhelming and where posting seems very anxiety inducing, but my followers are always so understanding and kind to me when I take breaks and come back. And all the sweet comments people will leave, and being told that MY video of all videos have made some sort of impact on someone’s life—it’s such a crazy feeling.
Q6: Would you consider yourself an influencer? Why or why not?
A: I’m not sure I would go as far to say that I’m an influencer. I would defiantly say that I’ve inspired people, but I personally do not see myself with the title “influencer.” I feel as though the title of influencer is super heavy and bares a lot that comes with it, something that I have never felt matched with me or my content. As I said, I feel as though I’ve done more to inspire than to influence people. Like when people will comment something along the lines of “you inspired me to make POV videos!” or “you inspired me to read the Hunger Games,” those are the comments that make me the happiest. So, to make a long story short, I don’t consider myself an influencer, but rather someone that inspires.
Q7: What do you love most about TikTok?
A: I love how I can be as creative as I want to be on the app! When quarantine started in early 2020, it was difficult for me to find ways to be creative and to keep my interest, but in late August of 2020 the first POV that had fictional characters and universes edited into a video came onto my FYP and I was hit with the most inspiration ever. After that video I made my own POV, the first one ever that was Teen Wolf related, and from there on out, my account has been dedicated to making videos with my favorite fictional characters in their universes. The limits are endless on TikTok, and I think that is what I love most about it.
Q8: What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a TikTok influencer?
A: This is a cliché answer, but it’s to just be yourself. Before I started making POVs, I was the type of the person that tried so hard to make “relatable” content, but it never really landed or stuck. But the second I started posting POVs my account started to grow, and that’s because I was fully enjoying the content I was making, I was having fun while doing it! You should be making content that you know you’ll love and enjoy doing, because someone on TikTok will also most likely love it!
Follow @jennastreich on TikTok.
