Ep 141: How To Get Millions of Followers on TikTok with Maggie Thurmon | Recap Episode
well, I think that was our first teenager experience with a guest on the influential personal brand. Although she may technically not be anymore Maggie Thurman, but I was blown away. This girl is sharp and intelligent and compassionate and, uh, just really wise and clearly entertaining millions of followers, a hundred million likes on her videos. That’s amazing. Uh, so we’re breaking down. Welcome to the recap edition. We’re breaking down the interview that we did with Maggie Thurman and Tik TOK on millions of followers. And, uh, gosh, I just, I was just thought it was fun. A different perspective for me. So what were, what were your age? And I will break down our top three and three takeaways for you.
Yeah. You know, one of my biggest takeaways is something that we actually talk a lot about at brand builders group, which is you are your own media channel. Like we always say, it’s like, you are your own media channel. And we live in a day and time where individuals with their social media platforms, podcast, blogs, um, YouTube channels, that you can be your own media channel, like a network, each person like your own network. And I thought this was an amazing Testament, real life case study of what it means and what it looks like to be your own media channel. And in this specific, and this specific medium on Tik TOK, right? And she was talking about, she’s got friends in college who are 19 year years old, getting six figure brand deals for doing videos on Tik TOK. And here’s what I love about this.
This isn’t about the platform paying you. These are true brand deals based on your viewership, right? So this is like, you know, I was an advertising major for a hot minute in college. Like this is like the Nielsen ratings, right? It’s like how many people are watching and how much is each commercial worth. And that’s, that’s what the that’s what dictated commercial spend. And the exact same thing is happening now on all of these social platforms with brands going, you align with our brand. And we think that your audience meets our audience demographics. So let me pay you to do videos. Doesn’t matter if they succeed or fail, but it’s you or ship, same thing as a commercial
Literally are your own
Own media channel. And I just thought she was such a great real life case study of someone who’s doing it and figuring it out. And she’s completely supporting herself right now through her Tik TOK brand deals.
Not every gen Z ears could live in at home with the parents. Some of them are rolling in Lamborghinis and Ferraris from videos they’re making
Well, I, I, that was my first and biggest was like, yeah, it’s like, this is a great case study Testament of you are your own media channel. And in this case, if you think about it, you got to think about it that way you put it that way. And, uh, so I have, I have
All right, well, I’ll, dovetail on that. Cause so for me, I, one of the things that I was left with was that there’s basically like, uh, there’s four ways, you know, to monetize as a, as just a sh as a pure creator. And, um, you know, what you were just talking about our brand deals, right? It’s like you get a company to pay you that’s number one. The other is that there is ad revenue that comes from the platform. So a Tik TOK launched the creator fund. Facebook watch does it. And now, uh, and then YouTube does that, right? And so more and more that’s becoming like an additional source of income. And one of our friend’s clients Lewis’ Howes, has been sharing pretty publicly that he turned on ads on his YouTube channel for the first time ever. And it’s a massive flow of money that’s coming in.
That’s like, wow. Um, so you’ve got brand deals and ad revenue. And then of course, you’ve got your direct revenue, which is mostly what we specialize in is helping you convert your audience into becoming your own paying customer for something. And then you also have affiliate revenue, which is where you, you know, promote other people’s stuff. Uh, you know, like Lewis is an affiliate of ours and, and, and, and he gets paid when we meet people through him. We all, all of our clients, uh, for the most part are referral partners of ours. But, you know, that was just a quick takeaway for me was going, you know, people go, how do you make money from YouTube? And like, how do you make money from this? That’s it, there you go. Brand deals, ad revenue, direct revenue and affiliate revenue.
Yeah, that’s good. So, um, I started, okay. My big second takeaway was just listening to how many takes that they do to get video that they think will go viral. And she said that on their dance videos, that they would do a hundred
Takes. That’s crazy.
That’s crazy. He was like, say what? Like, and that is treating it like a real business, right? That this isn’t a hobby. This isn’t some side gig. This is like, no, this is my business. This is my brand. This is how I want to be represented. This is the quality of content that I put out in her case. It’s entertainment, uh, you know, the former part of it she was doing, but I just was like, that is no beginner, right? That is expert. Like, I’m taking this seriously. I’m going to make this a business. I’m going to make money doing this. Like, I don’t even know that many professionals who will make a hundred. Right. So it’s like, yeah, girl, you should be getting six figures. If you’re doing a hundred takes to get one, you know, 10 seconds, ten second video, you dang straight. Like you need to be getting like, but that’s what it takes. And I just was like, girl, what?
You don’t see? You don’t see that part of it. You just like, Whoa, a 62nd video with millions of views.
And she said, yeah, it’s like, we would, you know, and I love that she does it with her dad because that’s so much of her brand. Yeah.
Plus he’s cool. We interviewed him a few weeks ago.
I think that that would, to me, it was just like, that is you taking this seriously? This isn’t something that you’re just slapping some content up. This is, this is scheduled. This is planned. This is practice. And this is perfectly curated for your audience.
My second takeaway too was, I don’t know if you caught this. She said three hours of editing for every one minute of video. So you’ve got the hundred takes. And then you got three hours of editing, right? This, this is a business. It is a, it’s an art form. It’s a science like excellence. This is a, from a great book called take the stairs back in the day, like amazing. One of the best books ever. You should read this book by Rory Vaden. And he talks about in this book, excellence is never an accident. And here it is three hours of editing for every one minute of video. There’s no easy road, but you could do it. It just takes time and work and talent and talent. Yeah, that’s my problem. I don’t have the entertainment talent to do it. Although you keep posting these weird pictures of me and my pajamas, which are not supposed to make it onto the internet Baden
All the time. I know exactly how to make viral. He just refuses to take my advice. He doesn’t want it.
Nobody wants to be seeing my pajama, my pajamas online. Anyways, what’s your third takeaway? What’s your say? Focus. Third takeaway.
Okay. So my third takeaway was actually an internal thought that I had, because I am not tick talks demographic,
Except for Trump impersonations, AIG, Trump, Sidney.
Weird. Uh, they’re hilarious. But you know, it’s funny cause I really loved dance. I was a ballerina for 18 years. I like love dance. So you think I would really be into Tiktaalik it’s just not my platform. Not your demographic. That’s okay. Um, but I was asking myself if I were to be on Tik TOK. Okay,
Here we go. What would it
Be that I would want to make videos about? And I’ve been thinking about this ever since,
Wait to hear this. I don’t know what you’re about to say.
So that listened to Maggie’s interview. I was like, Hmm, what would I make videos about? And I’ve got two ideas. Um, so maybe, maybe I will get into the tech talk if, uh, if one, if you can give me some feedback on which one of these you think would be the best. So my first thought was I would love to do, um, kid interviews.
That would be awesome
To interview all the kids that I know specifically my kids, but not just my kids. Um, our friends, kids, just all the kids that I know of. Like professionally sound crest.
I love this. This is, yes. This is like that show. Are you smarter than a sixth grade? Kids say the darndest things, but this is the Tik TOK version, short version.
Hilariousness I love it because I think that would be this really the other one. So yeah. My other one would be to, um, do behind the scenes, um, where no one knows I’m filming you embarrassing moments.
I think you already started that. Haven’t you with husband?
I’m just testing out, testing out my concept. But I think that would be hilarious. I’m like behind the scenes, funny videos of like, nobody,
Like people say get in their car, like at the stoplight and they don’t know anyone’s watching them. Yeah. That’s good.
Is that people like yelling at the barista for no reason. I’m just like, what are you doing? Like why? Like, why are you, so
I want videos of people yelling at like Fox or CNN, like when they watched the, in the news of the other of the TV. Like, no,
No, these are my two ideas. And so I need feedback. Any comments I need you to tell me, uh, are either of these viable for a successful talk account and don’t we still an ideas.
I think what she’s saying is we need you to purchase services from brand builders group so that we’re not forced to head in this direction because this is not what we’re designed to do. I would probably do the kid interview. I think the kid one is legit because they’re hilarious. Oh my gosh, our kids, they say funny stuff. All the kids do.
They’re so funny. So those are ads. What I’ve been, I’ve been like, Oh, what would my Tik TOK channel be about?
That’s good. Um, mine. So my third takeaway all was, was a little, was it a little more? It was so fun, but it was a little more on the serious side, I guess, which was just something that I thought was just so profound and wise from such a young woman with so many haters.
I love this. She answered this so well.
And she said, just, you got to realize that people are hurting everywhere. And it’s easy to take that out on people everywhere. And, and for her to realize it has more to do with them than it does with you. I mean, I think most 40 five-year-olds putting content on social, do not get that. Right. And it’s so good.
Immature statement, realization, self realization. And I want to add something to it. You said since I already use my third one, I’ll just do
You’re intervening on my okay. Three, three.
Um, she also said on this exact same subject matter, she said, here’s what I have to realize is that I’m less of a real person online.
Like to them. They don’t really, they think of you as just a fake a character.
Um, I, I don’t have a family, right? You don’t know me. You don’t know my background. You don’t my backstory. You don’t know the struggles or the successes. Like I’m not as real online. So it’s easier to be mean to someone that you don’t actually know. You forget that I’m a real human being with real feelings and real issues and real things going on. And when I’m just a face behind a dance video, people forget that. Oh yeah, that’s our real human being. And I thought that was just such a mature insight of any age. I’ve just, yeah. It’s like when you don’t know someone it’s easy to talk smack and be mean and, and hate on them. Cause you forget, Oh yeah. Like this impacts them. This is a real person with real feelings. I thought it was just really, really well.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well there you have it. Go listen to the interview with Maggie Thurman, uh, YouTube maybe can have millions of followers on Tik TOK. We’ll have a couple more of these come in. Cause it’s, it’s, it’s exploding as a platform. Of course now there’s clubhouse and all these other, you know, always emerging things, but we want to help you stay in the loop on what’s going on with those and see how you may or may not be able to use them to build and monetize your personal brand. So keep coming back. We’re so glad you here, that’s it for this week’s edition of the influential personal brand.