The most effective content creators rely on the human factor to stand out, not just the algorithm
It almost feels inevitable that an email check-in these days wont turn into a TikTok triathlon. Social video platforms are designed to keep us happy with an excess of content, delivered without end. But getting lost in the scroll more often than I’d like to admit, snared by an algorithm serving endless things to consume, it all raises the question of how content creators can best stand out. How best can they balance their approaches to ensure better content creation as well as consumption?
As aspiring content creators, regardless of niche, anchoring a loyal following despite the algorithm's churn means leveraging the personal, human factor. A brave and honest, authentic vulnerability. This earns an engaged audience with genuine long-term attachment, allowing creators’ skills and talents to achieve commercial success, bolstered by unique, personal recognition and respect.
Honing in on three creators in the fields of skateboarding, parkour, and 3D digital art, I’ve observed consistent patterns where this rings true, despite their different disciplines and backgrounds. While I’m not planning on jumping across buildings any time soon, there’s a lot to learn here about how embracing our adventurous sides without pretence or reservation can win huge loyalty, and blend content creation with a real sense of community.
Image by Chris Johnson @cj_photo
Bristol-based Rianne Evans is a skater who very evidently loves what she does. Skateboarding is a thriving community, and despite the male-dominated scene, Rianne excels at holding her own. The beauty of Rianne’s content is in the constant glimpses into her day-to-day lifestyle as well as her skating successes and failures. Like most of us, balancing our day jobs with our passions and interests, Rianne colourfully transitions between family, work, and play, almost always clad in Nike when not in her work attire.
Amidst her videos of street skating and sways on vert ramps, we see an everyday human being who’s simply excited at being able to skate with her crew, the Long Island Cartel. Her gratitude and down-to-earthness regarding her personal experiences and successes resonate with tenured skaters, newbies, and non-skaters alike. Her comments section wilfully reflects this on each post Rianne sets live. Skating is a highly skilled scene that champions seeing its members rise together, and the personalising openness of Rianne’s content encourages that response throughout.
“Who would have thought riding a piece of wood would shape people’s lives so much” - Rianne Evans
With over a decade of skating experience, Rianne’s has taken the time to hone her craft over the long term, on all streets and ramps available to her. The drive she instils in her community comes from the way her content reflects that ongoing journey, not just the polished final product. It’s in the way we see her getting back up after the falls scattered throughout her feed, amidst all the incredible lands. Being authentic isn't always about showing off your good side. Nobody is perfect, but embracing that makes people relatable. Rianne’s openness and public engagement with her support structures and community make that very clear, even as she now avails herself of sponsorships from the likes of Nike SB, Polar Skate Co & Spitfire Wheels.
For burgeoning new creators, just getting the basics of one’s craft down can feel like a long slog. But a great thought to bear in mind is that the process is just as valuable as the end product. In fact, as Rianne’s content proves, in the authenticity-driven world of great content creators, sometimes the process is the end product, or at least part of it. it may not always appear that way in the moment, but an openness to building some sort of support network along the way can help your growth, and grow your reputation.
3D artist and filmmaker Ze Zima is another creator who reflects this very well. His unique stylistic approach to 3D art - alongside collaborations with the likes of Eric Andre and musician Thundercat - may give him the appearance of a veteran of the craft, but Ze tells me he is only about 3 years deep. He doesn’t hide his lack of expertise in his output either. His 30-second Instagram stories deliver plentiful, open and frank Q&As with his audience.
Losing myself down the rabbit hole of Ze Zima’s inspiringly weird and informative Instagram feed delivers insights on how to create a particular effect, or the latest NFT craze, or his thoughts on the creative power of alternate headspaces and lucid dream states. There’s no flourishing of ‘industry secrets’, or sales pitch of his unique prowess. Just an openness to discuss and learn from others, and grow alongside them.
His social media posts give us a glimpse into his creative practices, detailing the thinking and processes behind the building of these jaw-dropping 3D worlds. The engagement rates he earns reflect the inspiring love and awe his audience have for his creations. Amid a feed mingling his personal experience of astral projection with an openness to all kinds of ideas, it’s not hard to see why his created worlds and personal sense of originality turn heads.
Something that really stands out with Ze Zima, echoing Rianne’s journey, is the proclivity to use communication and network-building around a unique skill set. Not all relationships happen at first sight. People sometimes need to get to know you, before they care about what you’re doing.
The patterns that stand out between these creators sit within their openness to share their experiences. Not to make the point that theirs better than anyone else's, but to express that they feel the same as the majority of us, just experienced in different ways. We’re all still learning as we go, and embracing that message creates a great deal of empathy.
Not many represent this like Dom Tomato. A parkour veteran of over 10 years, with a 1 million strong Instagram following, he’s built his career off his integrity, and the tenacity to stick to something he enjoys while lifting others in the process.
Mainstream entertainment platforms such as major film companies now seek his expertise in stunt training, and sponsorships roll in from Red Bull and Farang. But in between these glossy trappings and the electrifying jumps Dom makes on his Instagram Stories and posts, we see smaller, upcoming movement artists being given their fair share of exposure. Despite his talent and success, Dom’s content is about more than what he can do. It’s a collage of where his artform’s community is internationally. From Brazil to England to Greece, we see Dom and other, local parkour athletes dominate their environments and land the gnarliest tricks they can. Smiles ripple across faces even as tricks don’t quite stick, because the shared advocacy of growing together raises them all up.
Dom’s penchant for never being in the same place for too long, and his openness to spontaneous collaboration on his travels, give parkour enthusiasts around the world the opportunity to learn from him and to teach him. A community that flips together, grows together. A motivating and important axiom that shows that no matter what level you’re at in your craft, or where you are, there is always room to share and improve.
By being such amazing advocates of a more adventurous and creatively engaged lifestyle, while creating content that rings true on a broader human canvas, all of these creators stand out from the algorithms of the often numbers-driven online realm. They’ve built their communities through honing their craft, not just by showing off the craft itself. Their openness to sharing that marks them out as genuine creators and true influencers.
These creators’ audiences didn’t appear overnight, nor did their skills. They’ve each taken the time to learn the techniques that have helped shape their own, unique approach to their content, and the thriving community homes that have grown from it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the journey to making anything is what makes the whole pursuit all the more worthwhile and enjoyable. Embracing that truth is a big part of what separates the worth of a creator - and their connection to their audience - from the shallow sheen of quick-fix wannabe social media ‘stars’ so often given the influencer label.
