448: How Faith Christensen Grew Her TikTok and Instagram Platforms to 2.5 Million Followers

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Hey there, this is Emily from the Food Blogger Pro team and you are listening to the Food Blogger Pro podcast. This week on the podcast, Bjork is interviewing Faith Christiansen from the social media accounts Faiths Fresh. Faith first started her social media accounts in 2019 when she was still in college, and since that time she has grown her accounts to have over two and a half million followers and it's her full time career. In this interview, Faith shares more about her strategy for creating content on TikTok and Instagram, including how she uses trending audio, how she films the videos and edits her content, and how she navigates the the algorithms on both platforms. Bjork and Faith also chat about how she uses analytics to shape her strategy on TikTok and Instagram, and why she decided to work with a management agency to help her manage her brand partnerships and sponsored content. If you are looking to up your strategy on TikTok or Instagram this year, this is a can't miss interview. It's really inspiring to hear how much thought and intention Faith puts into all the content she creates and just how strategic she is about sharing content on these platforms. So I'll just let Bjork take it away.

Faith, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Yeah. We're going to be talking about your journey of growing your social accounts to, like, collectively over two and a half million followers in what I'd consider to be a relatively short amount of time. Four or five years. And you started in college. So this is kind of like, this is your career now. This is what you're doing, this is your job. And at what point in that journey, in the past four to five years were you like, hey, actually, I can do this as my job because you were in college, and usually as we're in college, we're thinking about our career. And for you, being. This was kind of introduced at the same time that you were in the middle of that. So what did that decision making process look like for you?

There was never like a day that I was like, okay, this is what I'm gonna do. I feel like I started my account. So I started on Instagram in 2019, and I started just posting recipes every single day, Just static photos. This is like before reels and everything. So I was just posting static photos with the recipe, and I really enjoyed it. And the reason that I started it was because I am intolerant to gluten and dairy. I don't know if you knew that, but I am intolerant to both of those. And believe it or not, cooking without gluten and dairy can be really hard. So when I found out that I was intolerant to both of those, I started just experimenting for myself. And then I started to really like the things that I was making. And I just wanted to post them just in case anybody else was in my position or if anyone else just wanted recipes, like, healthy, easy recipes. Because I like to cook, but I don't like to spend hours in the kitchen. So I like to make things that are really fast and easy. So I started doing that, and it kind of just grew from there. I. I started in 2019, but I didn't really start making it my job until the end of 2020. I was, like, consistent, but not. Like, I would go like a month with posting every day, and then I would go like six months without posting. And then in the beginning of 2020, I had just recently quit my job. So before that, I was. I was in school and I was also working full time. And so Face Fresh was like just a side project. It Wasn't really anything that I was like, oh, I'm going to make this a job. It was kind of just like a. A passion project, I guess, just something for fun for me to do on the side. So during 2020, in the beginning of the year before COVID happened, I was like, okay, you know what? I'm gonna stick to this. I'm gonna post every single day. Because I saw a lot of other creators at that time, especially, starting to blow up, especially on TikTok. I feel like this is, like, kind of the beginning of the TikTok era, and I saw a lot of other creators blowing up on TikTok, especially with food. And I was like, wait, like, they're getting paid to do this? Like, they're posting pretty similar things to what I could do. So I was like, I can do this too. And so in the beginning of the year, I started posting every single day on Instagram. And then I started posting, not consistently, but just like when I would remember on TikTok, like, every now and then. And then I did that for a few months. And at this point, too, I had quit my job. I wasn't working. I was applying to a ton of places. And because Covid had happened, nothing was getting back to me. So, like everyone else, I was just sitting in my house and. And this was just something that I put pretty much all of my focus into because I had literally nothing else to do. And so I did that for almost a year. And then at the very end of 2020, I had a video blow up on TikTok, and it was just a compilation of a ton of my recipes. Like, it's like the end product of all my recipes. It's like a satis satisfying video just of a ton of different food that I had made. And it blew up like crazy. I had like 500 followers on TikTok at the time, and I had maybe like five or six videos posted. They had like, maybe like 500 views, too. Like, there was nothing crazy. And then this video got 14 million views, and I went from 500 followers to 500,000 followers literally, like, within the next 24 hours.

Wow.

Which was crazy. And when that happened too, I was like, wait a minute. Like, I can make this a job. Like, I. I had been, you know, applying to so many places, and nobody was getting back to me because of COVID And I was like, I feel like I don't need to be doing that anymore. Like, I'm seeing all these other creators with similar followings doing this and making money. From it. So I was like, I'm just going to try it. So I ended up doing that, and then I got, like, my first brand deal. And at the time, I was like, you want to pay me to do this? And it was like, it's. It's so funny.

That first deal is always like, yeah, yeah.

Even though it's, like, so low. Like, the money. The money was so low. But I was like, wait, like, you're even gonna pay me to pose for you? Like, yeah, I will do that. And so, yeah, yeah. I got my first brand deal, and I was like, okay, I'm gonna do this. And then it's just taken off from there.

Yeah. So often I think it's, you know, it's comparable to any other profession where you kind of have to pay your dues until you have something that catches. I talk about songwriting occasionally, but it's like you have to write hundreds of songs before you have a hit song or a song that, like, resonates with people, you know, paint 100 paintings. And I think sometimes we expect it to happen sooner than it should. And the nice thing about starting when you started is, like, you're coming out of a phase where you. You haven't had, like, lifestyle creep. Like, you're able to operate with really low margins and just, like, commit to the thing for a long period of time. And then eventually, you do find that thing. If you stick with it long enough, find ways that you can improve. That does hit and that does land. So at that point. Well, a quick question about that. To what degree did you look at that piece of content and say, like, oh, my gosh, this got, you know, 14 million views. This piece of content gained me hundreds of thousands of followers. I'm going to try and replicate this and create something kind of similar. Like, was it replicatable in terms of the content itself?

I think so, yeah. Because I've done it a few times since then. Just, like, over the years, whenever I'm like, oh, I haven't posted a video, just of a ton of my recipes in a while, you know? And so I'll make, like, a compilation, usually with, like, a trending audio. And sometimes I'll say something. In the beginning, the audio that I had used on this video, the reason that I think it got everyone's attention was it was like, it was another creator's audio. And she was saying basically, like, kind of like dogging on eating fast food and about how fast food is so expensive and, like, it's unhealthy and how you can make really easy, clean meals at home. And I saw another creator do it with like just a ton of the recipes and so I was like, I'm going to do that. So, so I, I did it, but I, I've, I've recreated it before. Not in the same way, more of. So just like, with like trending audio and like just a few clips of like the final product. And so when I first like posted it and it blew up, I didn't think about re, like replicating it for a while. I immediately was just like, okay, well people want my recipes. Because I had also gained a following on Instagram at the time too, because my Instagram was on my. Or it was connected to my TikTok, you know, so I had gone from like, I mean, it wasn't as big of a jump as Tick Tock, but it was like 3,000 to like 30,000. So it was still like a really big jump.

Especially for instance through that video on TikTok that went viral because on your TikTok account you linked out to your Instagram.

Yeah. And I also had put in the caption, I said something like, follow me for more recipes. And then I had put in the comments that all the recipes to everything were on my Instagram. And so because of that, a ton of people had went over to my Instagram and so many people were commenting for the recipes and I was like, okay, well, I do recipes anyway. So I just started creating videos of myself making recipes. Not recipe compilations anymore, just kind of similar to what I do now, but a little bit of a different style. But yeah, just like recipes.

Yep. Can you talk about the trending audio piece? Like how you think about that and strategically approach that? You know, it's like all of these different variables that exist and I feel like each one is a multiplier on the potential for virality. Obviously, we never know how something is. There's no predictable formula where it's like, if you do this every time, it's going to go viral. But you do know that there are these variables that you can look at and say, okay, what is the audio going to be? What is, Am I going to be in the content or not? Like, what is the content actually going to be about? What is the first image like? So talk a little bit about trending audio in how you look at that and approach that and then maybe let's talk about some of the variables that exist.

Yeah, of course. I love trending audios. I think it's a tool that's right there for you to use. And I do think it really does affect the virality of a lot of videos, not just for me, but for a lot of other creators as well. What I like to do is I will go through TikTok and I mean there's always the trending audios that you hear every single person using and you're like, okay, this is a trending audio. I've heard it 10 times in the past, like 20 scrolls. And so whenever I hear an audio like that, I always save it. And then other times I'll look for trending audios kind of I go to other people's pages who I know use trending audios and I'll usually go through their most recent videos and if I'm not seeing anything on the for you page that I'm like, oh, this is a trending audio, I'll go through other creators pages who I know use trending audios and, and I'll always press on the audio and then see how many times it's been used. You know how like at the top on TikTok it'll say like 30k views or whatever and so. Or not views used.

Used.

Um, yeah. And so I'll look at that and then if it's like 20,000 plus, I'm like, okay, this is probably a trending video. And then I'll look at the most recent trending audio. Yeah, trending audio. Sorry, um, and then I'll look at the most recent videos just using that audio and if they're posted within like the timeline of a week, almost every single one of them, I'm like, okay, this is a trending audio and pretty much all these videos I'm looking at have like at least a million views. So yeah, I, that's how I find my trending audios. And then I really like to utilize them because I think that, I think that when you have content like mine, especially like a lot of my really fast paced recipe videos, it's like you kind of need a trending audio to help push it so that people can see. Because I'm like, I think people really like this video. I just need the algorithm to do me a favor and push it for me so that more people can see it. And then yeah, I'll use the trending audio. And I think it really helps to start with on the algorithm because I think it helps push it out to people. And then usually if like I'm getting a really good response on the video, people will find it anyway and it'll just get pushed Anyway, because of the engagement. But yeah, I think it's an amazing tool to use just to help. Like, why would you not want to help?

Yeah. And in that being one of those variables, like, okay, let's find something that is going to kind of boost it. Let's say if the variable could exist from like 1 to 10, 10 is like this great multiplier. Whereas, like, if it would normally get a hundred thousand views, maybe if you use a great trending audio, it gets a million.

Exactly.

But when you go, when you find that, are you creating the content that matches that trending audio or are you finding audio that overlaps with a specific piece of content that you've already created and overlapping over that content?

I always create the content first. And so usually my process is like, I'll video or I'll video myself, I'll edit it, and then I'll have the piece of content done and finished, and then I'll find the trending audio probably like an hour or two before I'm posting it on TikTok. And then depend. There are some videos where if the trending audio has, like, a specific beat and I'm like, watching it over my video. If I'm like, okay, wait, this would look really, like, good and satisfying if, like, the clips aligned with the beat, you know, like pouring ingredients at the same time that, like, the beat drops or something sometimes then I'll go back and edit it, but most of the time, no, I just pick the trending audio after.

And how often is it a trending audio that's like, I'm not a proficient TikTok user, but, like, occasionally we'll see content. And for me, it's optimized around, like, life with toddlers. And it's like one of them is a Jordan Peterson clip of, like, trending audio around, like, how quickly, you know, kids grow up essentially makes you feel so guilty about any time that you're working. It's one of those clips, but it's just him talking and maybe with some, like, audio in the background versus, like a song that's trending.

Yeah.

And you kind of referenced both of those, like a beat. So that would be a song, but also like, somebody talking about how fast food isn't good and you should make food at home. So what does that look like when you're overlapping the audio?

I mean, I usually don't go for audios that have people talking on it. Like the one with the fast food. That's really the only video I feel like I have in like a long time that I can remember, especially with the recipe compilation that has someone actually talking over a video or over the audio. But I just do music most of the time, especially because I like watching videos with music that are like fast paced. And so it keeps my attention. And I'm like, if it's going to keep my attention, I'm hoping it'll keep my audience's attention because I have a very short attention span.

Sure. And do you use that same audio then on Instagram or do you have an original piece of audio for that piece of content, post that on Instagram and then use trending audio on TikTok?

So in the past, I did used to do that. Like I would just, I posted on TikTok first and I would use the trending audio and then I would save the TikTok from TikTok with that audio and then I would just post it straight to Instagram. And so the audio would technically be my original audio because it was on my video. But, you know, but nowadays I don't do that. I. I've noticed that re. I don't know if this is recent, but I noticed it recently that on Instagram reels, they, when you're picking an audio, if you're going through the music library, a lot of them will have like a little arrow, which means that it's trending. And so nowadays I just use Instagram's trending audios because what's trending on TikTok might not be trending on Instagram. And since I've done that in the past, where instead of just using my original audio, which is just my saved TikTok with the trending audio on it, and just posting the raw file with one of Instagram reels trending songs on it, it does a lot better.

Sure, that makes sense. So audio being one of those variables different on Instagram and TikTok being strategic about finding one that fits within kind of the vibe of what you're producing, maybe doing a little bit of tweaking after you do an edit to see if you can line it up, but for the most part just looking at it and saying like, okay, how can I be strategic about finding a piece of content that's trending to give a little bit of a boost to this piece of content, what do you think are the other variables? Like, as you think of on your TikTok account, you have 2.2 million followers and it's like you scroll through and it's like 2 million views and 300,001.3 and 500,000. 1.1 million. Like it's obvious that you, you know, 14 million, I see one recently like that you've kind of figured out some of the elements of creating a piece of content that does well, trending audio being one of the considerations. Are there other things that you would say like, hey, I've kind of distilled it down to this being an important element of a video that does really well.

So it's interesting that you say that because I feel like it switched recently in like the last six months on TikTok. So in the past, like, yeah, before six months ago, I feel like for the last like two years I had a very, I like, I had it down like I knew how long a video should be in order for it to get people's attention and to keep their attention. It would usually be around like seven to like 12 seconds. And that was it. If it was like more than 12 seconds, I was like, okay, they're gonna be bored, I'm gonna be bored, they're gonna be bored. And so if you like scroll down my page, a lot of pretty much almost every single one of my videos is like 12 seconds max. And so when I was doing that, it was just really fast paced videos of me just making a recipe and it was, it was like different transitions with like the camera angles because I do think that that really helps and I still utilize that with different camera angles because I think that when you're constantly moving the angles, it keeps it new, it keeps it fresh and it helps keep people's attention. Because when I personally am watching a video, I'm, I'm an avid TikTok user so I'm like, if I'm not going to be entertained, they're not going to be entertained. So when I'm watching a video, if it's just somebod, somebody who has the camera straight on, unless it's a really great video, I will get bored after like 10 seconds depending on what the content is. But especially with like food content, I feel like I do get really bored. I'm like, okay, come on, next please. Yeah, so a lot of my old videos were like that. But recently in like the last few months I've tried to utilize making them longer one because I did kind of get bored with that old content. I feel like it was really great for me in the time and the place. And now I feel like as I'm growing my page and I'm growing just my brand in general, I have really wanted to try something different Because I filmed those videos every single day for like two years. And so now I'm like, I want to try something different. I want to challenge myself. I also want to help grow my audience and try different ways to do that. And so now a lot of my videos are. I still do like those short videos on occasion, but most of them now are around like 45 to 60 seconds. And which is a big change. It's a massive change. And so like that, that was like really scary too, because I was like, okay, I'm getting one plus million views on every single video I'm posting that's, you know, below 12 seconds long. And most trending audios too are maybe 20 seconds. So a lot of the trending audios that I would use I can't really use anymore with these longer form videos. So it was really scary to be like, okay, I'm gonna try something new and just see how it works. And I feel like it's actually working really well. Especially with TikTok. I think they've changed their algorithm. And that was one of the reasons why I wanted to try something new and one of the variables that I wanted to try out because every time I would post a short video in the last months, I would get like a notification that would be like 90% of users are engaging with like 60 plus second videos.

And I was like, oh, interesting.

Okay. And so I kept saying, it's obviously.

A nudge that TikTok is doing to try to get you to create longer content.

Yeah. So I, I kept getting that notification. I was like, okay, like, I'll try it out. And so I tried it out like a few months ago and the first video that I tried it out on got like a few million views. So I was like, okay, like, they weren't lying. And so I've tried a lot of that recently and it's been really fun too, to switch that. But I'm still kind of trying to figure out what variables work and what don't with this new kind of content, because it is so new for me. But I do think that trending audios, it still helps. But I don't use as many trending audios because there's not as many 60 second audios.

Sure.

And they're a lot harder to find. But yeah, I do think that changing different camera angles, that's one thing that has stuck with me and that I think really, really helps with my videos, is that it's constantly like, I'll be chopping this way and then you'll See me chopping from the side and then it'll be like zoomed in and then like over, over top, you know. And so I think that's one of the biggest things that I have liked to implement in my videos.

Yeah, it's amazing. Like, whenever you get into video editing, I don't do a lot of video editing, but maybe like 10 years ago did. And I remember editing early on and thinking, oh, this is like good editing. Like I've. I'm clipping it well, but then you watch it back and you're like, actually it's really slow. And that was 10 years ago. And now it's just like the pace of things is so different and it really has to be a new angle or a new view, like every second or half second. Like, do you feel like there's. There's a beat for changing that you have internally? And it's probably hard to know what that is. People could go and watch your content to get a feel for it, but it's almost like every half second, every second.

I, yeah, I do feel like, I feel like since doing it for so long, I really do have it down where if I'm filming something and I'm like, as I'm filming it, filming it, I'm like, okay, the last clip is this angle. I'm not going to say I have the same clip or I'm not going to have the same angle for like four clips in a row. So if I'm like cutting a tomato and it's from this direction, I will be like, okay, I'm going to make the onion be from in front of me or zoomed in or over top, you know. And so, yeah, I do feel like since editing so many videos, I do think I have it down to where I know when to switch the angle and when to do what, depending on what I'm cutting and or what kind of recipe I'm making. And also, like I said, I am an avid TikTok user and I feel like most people who are their attention spans are shot, but myself included. And so I get really bored. And if I'm watching my own content when I'm editing it and I'm like, okay, this is so boring. Like, this is so slow. I spent too long on this or this specific angle, then like, I'll know to switch it.

Yeah. So are you editing on a computer then, or is it on your phone?

I do everything on my phone.

Yeah. Which is crazy. So probably the majority of your business, you run from your phone.

Oh, yeah. I Rarely.

On a given day. How much? Say it again.

I rarely use my laptop.

Yeah. Which is crazy. So like on a given day, let's say you have a eight hour work day. This is just a curiosity. Are you touching the laptop or not at all?

No, I literally my laptop.

Is this interview the first time you've touched it? Touched a laptop in 2020.

I had to find the charger. I had to find the charger because I had to.

In a closet.

It's been dead. Yeah, literally. And my laptop too. I mean me specifically. It's kind of hard to use my laptop because I've had this laptop since I was like 18 years old, which was in 2017. And so it's definitely deteriorating. And I've tried editing on my laptop before, like a long time ago when I had first started, especially because I saw a lot of other creators doing it on their laptop. So I was like, oh, that's what I'm supposed to be doing.

Yeah.

And so I would try doing it on here and it just sort of, it just doesn't work for me. I feel like with my phone because it's such like a smaller screen, I guess it's not so wide I can see the video so much better. And I think also using my hands to adjust the clips and everything, it just, it's just so much easier for me than using a mouse. And I feel like I can get it a lot more precise. And also the video is on my phone anyway, so I'm too lazy to switch it to my laptop.

Well, and I think there's something, you know, we talk about this often on a, on the website or like blog side of things, like the importance of consuming the content on the device that somebody's going to be watching it like for you as the creator. And I think a lot of people who are publishing content to a website view it on their desktop, whereas 80% of people who are actually consuming it are consuming it from a mobile device. And so it makes sense in your case like you're just doing as much as you can from a phone. So this is, I have a couple of follow up questions on that, but before we get too far away from it, so those variables that you surfaced, trending audio, if you can find some, that it works in a case where you can't, are you then just going and pulling like royalty free audio that you use or like what are you doing in a scenario where you're not using trending audio or is it just audio that isn't trending? That's available on the platform that you use.

So if I can't find a trending audio, usually what the first thing I do is I'll think of an audio that I have used depending on how long my video is. So if my, if my video is 60 seconds and I posted a video last week, that's 60 seconds with the different audio and say it did well, I will usually reuse that audio and then just kind of see where it goes. Sometimes it does still do well and sometimes it doesn't do as well as the previous video. And I think it does differ depending on the type of content too, depending on what the video is about. But yeah, I'll first do that and then if I use that audio and I'm like, this does not look good with my video at all, I would usually just try and think of songs that I like and then I'll look them up on the TikTok search bar. Whenever I'm. Whenever you're editing the video, you can. When you're pressing like the audios, you can look up certain audios on TikTok. So I'll do that and then sometimes it'll come up with a little symbol at the bottom that says popular. And I don't necessarily think that means it's trending. I think because a lot of the videos that are A lot of the audios that I see on TikTok that are popular in TikTok's opinion are videos that are. Sorry, audios. They're audios that I heard months ago, but they have a lot of views.

Are a lot of videos like total views versus it's kind of like on Spotify, if you listen to a song, it's like top hits right now versus like a classic song that people still listen to all the time. Yeah, but it's not going to be necessarily trending.

Exactly. And so that's one thing with TikTok. I do think that a lot of their popular edit are popular audios. They are popular view wise, but not necessarily trending on the for you page right now. But I do prefer to use those other than ones that just don't have a lot of views anyway. And I do think it has worked out pretty well.

That's great.

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So that being an important one moving quickly, like I think that's super important, like captivating people's attention, different camera angles, short clips. I would also assume that part of it is like what you're actually creating content about. Like yeah, the content subject matter. Do you have anything that you could share about that in terms of being strategic about things that you would imagine working well or not working well when it comes to like the actual food content or in sometimes lifestyle content and how you approach what to post.

So with food content I, I mean there's so many different types of recipes to make and whenever I'm looking for a different recipe I will usually look on Pinterest for inspiration. And I feel like now since doing it for so long, I feel like I kind of know which kind of recipes are going to do well and which ones won't and I don't, I don't know what it is. I think that recipes that use either like ingredients that you don't usually see or ingredients that are really easy to catch people's attention in the beginning. Like, if I'm cutting a massive head of cauliflower rather than just like putting a cup of flour into a bowl to start out with, I do think that, like, the cauliflower will catch people's attention because I think it also using ingredients that I am like, having an action with, like cutting or doing something like that or like chopping really fast. For some reason, those videos always do so much better because I think that it immediately grabs people's attention rather than if I'm just like dumping a cup of flour into a bowl. It's like, okay. Like, it's not. It's not that entertaining to see at first, you know, and so I don't know, it's hard to say because I do think also I think that a lot of the recipes that I see and then I'm like, oh, I want to recreate that or ideas that I have. I just, like, it's hard to explain, but I feel like I just know if it's going to do well or not, depending on the type. I think also with all the content that I have created, I feel like recipes where it's like if I'm baking something and yeah, the first clip is me putting a cup of flour into a bowl, it doesn't do as well as like, like I said, when I'm like all of a sudden just cutting a cauliflower in half.

Yeah.

Because I don't think it grabs people's attention. And so I think just knowing depending on the ingredient, ingredients, if it's going to catch people's attention is like the biggest thing that I. I utilize. And I feel like it doesn't make any sense, but it makes sense in my brain and I feel like it's worked. So.

Yep. I. It almost is like part of what our job is as content creators is figuring out these. It's the art and the science and the art is like, what are the things that we. It's. It's that kind of like Sixth Sense, which gets developed over years using and creating. And like you said, you use the platform a lot and so you start to understand and you probably couldn't distill it down into like, these really specific things. Hey, this is exactly what it is. But you start to develop a little bit of this Sixth Sense around what works and what doesn't work. By creating a lot, but also consuming a lot. The other piece is looking into. Into analytics. To what degree do you kind of deep dive into analytics on, like, TikTok and Instagram to see what works versus just looking at, like, hey, this got 13 million views. What do I feel like were the different component parts of this that made that piece of content up in order to try and do something similar?

Yeah, with analytics, I feel like I don't look at them as much as I should, because I do think with Instagram or TikTok, especially Instagram, I do look at it a lot more, because I do think, at least right now, I think that I have figured out the Instagram algorithm, and I feel like with TikTok, I feel like I have it figured out to a degree, but I do feel like it's constantly changing. So one video that would do well might get, like, 13 million views, and then I could recreate that same video six months later and it could get 500,000 views, you know, and so I do like looking, though, at the analytics on it on TikTok and seeing when people drop off on the video, because it'll tell you what, like, the average retention rate was, how many seconds people watched it on average, when it'll have a graph as well that shows, like, when people usually left the video. And so I do really like using that and seeing, okay, at what. What was I doing when they left the video? You know, like, if it's 30 seconds into the video, what was I doing at 30 seconds? Or, like, what was I doing before that to like, not keep their attention? And so I like looking at that kind of stuff and then seeing that and then using it for videos in the future to be like, okay, say I was cutting this certain vegetable at this second. Like, I. I should probably rearrange it. Or like, maybe I had this camera angle at this second, or maybe I was focusing too long on this certain ingredient. Like, I need to switch it up. And so just using that to know when people are staying interested and when they're not, I think helps a lot. And it's really interesting to see, too, just, like, from another person's point of view, what keeps them engaged and what does.

Yeah, yep, that makes sense. So to go back to working off your phone, do you edit within the apps themselves or do you have a video editing app that you. So you shoot everything. My guess is you just natively shoot that or do you shoot within the app, applications, respective applications, and then where do you edit?

So I shoot everything in the Instagram app. I use the Instagram reels shooting thing because I. I don't know what it is, but I feel like it is so easy to use. And I also, I've just been using it for so long and I do really like that it doesn't invert the video when I'm doing it with the front camera. Where, like, if I'm filming with my normal phone and I'm just using the regular camera app, when I'm using the front camera, when I go to rewatch it, my face will be flipped. And I hate that because I'm like, oh, don't like that. I don't look good like that. Yeah. And so I like using the Instagram app because it doesn't do that. And I also do feel like the Instagram app is really, really easy to use. And when I was doing all of my videos like 7 to 12 seconds long, I edited every single one of them in the Instagram app because it is just so easy to use. And I didn't really, I don't really need very many different types of editing tools really for my videos because I think they're pretty simple and so that's what I would always do. But I did just recently start using Cap Cut, especially for my longer form videos, because the flaw with Instagram is that it does have a 90 second window. Like you can't go above 90 seconds of content. And so when I'm filming my videos now that are like 45 to 60 seconds long total, it's really hard to film it and then keep it within the 90 second range because, you know, when I'm, when I'm filming it, not every clip's a second long. It's like each clip will probably be like 10 to 15 seconds long. And then I have to go down and edit it down. And sometimes I will do that on the Instagram app. But then if I'm like short for time or I'm just getting lazy, I will, I'll still record it in the Instagram app, which probably sounds dumb, but I do. And then I'll just do like, I'll, I'll get like 90 seconds of footage save as a draft and then I'll start a new video with like 90 seconds. Seconds of footage and so on until the video is done. And then I'll usually transfer all of those videos into Cap Cut. And I did start recently using a little bit more editing tools for my longer videos. And it's been really fun too to try new editing things, especially on capcut because I'm not familiar with a lot of the tools, but like extracting the audio and like putting audio of myself talking over video or over footage. Where I'm like, same like dumping oatmeal into a bowl.

Yep.

I'm like telling people what I'm doing while doing the action. And so I did start recently using that editing tool and I think it's really fun. But yeah, those are the Instagram reels and cap cut are.

Yep, that's great.

Saving graces.

Awesome.

And then how about from a business perspective? So even like for scheduling the podcast interview I saw, you know, it's the agent that you work with who's helping to facilitate it, but the brand architect, what has that been like to work with an agent to find an agent? How have you kind of navigated the world of sponsor content? Would be interested to hear your thoughts on that.

Yeah, so I started working with the digital Brand Architects, also known as dba, last October. So it's been a little bit over a year now. Before that, I was doing everything on my own and I was basically just my own agent, own manager, which I do think. I think when you're in the beginning of your social media career, I do think you can do it by yourself because I don't think it's. It's not that hard, especially because I. I did really like talking to the businesses and I liked being a part of the business end of it. And so that was like a hard thing for me to kind of give up, to be the one talking. Because I felt like when you're talking with the business, you do have like more of a relationship because, you know you're not talking about.

Which is valuable to have that connection. Yeah, right.

And so I really did like having that connection with a lot of brands. But I feel like as my account grew, having a management agency has helped a ton because I think that when you're with somebody who knows how to or already has these relationship with brands, you don't have to wait for brands to reach out to you, which is what I would do. I would just kind of wait and be like, well, I hope somebody reaches.

Out to me and wants to work with me.

Yeah. And so. And it was working for the time, but it's not very consistent. And I just kept. Yeah, it's just like I'm kind of crossing my fingers and hoping that somebody wants to reach out to me. And so that was a lot of what it was. But now I don't have to do that. And I have somebody who reaches out for me and is constantly like cold or cold calling and just. Yeah, exactly. Constantly pitching me to a ton of brands that I probably wouldn't be able to work with if it wasn't for this agency. Because I feel like a lot of these brands, too, like, they might not even know who I am. And then when they're getting pitched about me, they're like, they might look at my content and be like, oh, wait, yeah, she's perfect for, like, what. Whatever our campaign is about. And so I've really, really enjoyed having an agency and also with other business ventures, such as, like, writing a cookbook, doing, like, product collabs, or coming out with my own product in the future. I think having an agency helps a ton because they already have a ton of connections that can make those kind of things happen, such as, like, a cookbook. Like, they already have connections with editors, publishing agencies, and stuff like that. Where I. If I was doing it by myself, I'd be like, I don't even know where to start. Like, who do I? Do I just. Google Publishing Agency. Just reach out.

Reach out to a bunch of them. Did they reach out to you or did you reach out to them? What was that process like?

They reached out to me.

Yeah. So it was. And it probably came at a time where, like, you were doing a lot of the sponsor content stuff back and forth, like, and then realize, oh, there's actually an opportunity here to work with somebody who can help, like, take that off your plate, which is great, but also to do more intentional outreach, which. Which is great.

So it's been. It's been great.

When you look at kind of the arc of the last four to five years as you've built your accounts, what would you say have been the most important things that you've done to get to where you are today, I think.

Consistency is the most important thing that I've done. And anytime that anybody asks me for tips on how to grow on social media, and I feel like every person on social media says this, but consistency really is the biggest thing because when you're posting every single day or every other day, depending on how consistent you want to be, I think the more consistent the better. But when you're posting a ton, I think that the algorithm notices that and picks up on it and it starts to push your videos. At least from my experience. I do think that, like, when I'm posting, I usually also, I like to post. I post almost every single day on Instagram and TikTok. I Instagram, I do post a little bit less. I have found that posting, like two to three times a week, three ideally, is like, kind of like the key for me. But in the beginning, I was posting every single day on TikTok and Instagram. And I do think that that got me to where I am today. I think that now I'm. That I'm at a place where I'm at. I can kind of take a step back. And especially with recipes, it's hard to come up with a recipe every single day. So it is kind of nice to be like, okay, I'm gonna post every other day, or something like that. So on TikTok, I usually aim to post, if not every day, every other day. And I think it's really helped with the algorithm. I think the algorithm sees that and it, like, knows when you're gonna post. And I also post at the same time every time that I post. So depending on whatever day of the week it is, like, it differs on the day to be depending on what kind of day it is. So I think that, like, on a Friday and a Saturday, when I post around like, 8pm I'm thinking, okay, people are going to see this video at night. They're probably going to go lay in bed tonight and scroll TikTok, because that's what I do. And they'll see this video. And so depending on what day of the week it is, I have certain times that I will post. And so if I'm posting on a Monday, I know to post it this time, and if I'm posting on a Thursday, I know to post it this time. And I think being consistent with that has helped a ton of. And same same on Instagram. I do the same thing on Instagram. I try to post around the same time because I think that's. Even though it's kind of. It's interesting. Like, in my analytics, it shows that, like, people are on TikTok for. Or at least on TikTok for me, it shows like, 2pm is like the highest engagement. And. But I post at 7pm and every time that I posted at 2pm, it doesn't do as well as it does at 7pm I don't know what it is.

Yeah, interesting.

Yeah, it is really interesting. And I think also a lot of trial and error has come from that. And so kind of figuring out when my posting window is, when it works, when it doesn't has been really. It's been something I had to figure out. But I do think that in the long run, it's been worth it. And so I think that knowing when to post and also posting as much as you can is like the most important thing if you want to grow on Social media.

Yeah. That's great. That's awesome. Faith is incredible to hear your story, the success that you've had, continued success. You continue to publish new content and explore new areas of opportunity. I'd be curious to hear from you, like if people want to reach out, connect, like obviously TikTok and Instagram, other places that people could follow along, or would you point them to those platforms and then it's Face Fresh on each of those, Is that right?

Yeah, yeah. On Facebook it's Face Fresh on Instagram, face fresh on TikTok. And then I do also post YouTube shorts. I do a lot of original content on YouTube shorts and that's also Faith Fresh. And I am in the future wanting to do longer form content where just like cooking, I, I think I like, like the like the cooking show kind of style and I think that'd be really fun to explore. And so yeah, Face Fresh on all platforms. And thank you so much for having me. This has been so fun. I love talking about this kind of stuff.

Yeah, it's awesome. Thanks for coming on. Really appreciate it.

Foreign.

Hello Emily from the Food Blogger Pro team here. Before we sign off for the day, I wanted to pop in and chat a little bit about a resource that all Food Blogger Pro members have access to and it's called our Tools Page. The Tools Page is home to tons of different tools and downloadable resources that can help you stay organized and working towards your blogging goals. So a little sneak peek at some of the resources that are available to you on the Tools page. We have an amazing SEO checklist, a social media checklist. We have a brand email template for pitching yourself to companies for sponsored content and an email marketing workbook. We also have a great super handy image size checklist and even more resources available to you so you can download any of these resources right to your computer and reference them whenever you need them. If you're not yet a Food Blogger Pro member and you want to join to get immediate access to these resources, head to foodbloggerpro.com join to learn more about the membership and community and get started today. We hope you enjoyed this episode of the podcast and we can't wait to bring you another good one next week. But in the meantime, hope you have a great week.

Sam.