Oh, the joys of the internet! It's fun typing in “fried donuts recipe” (or even speaking it into your smart speaker) – and voila, an easy-to-use recipe appears!
Today's TikTok cooking videos take a fast, no-nonsense approach. Gone are the days of going through long adverts for recipes with pretty photos and finally (fingers crossed the page doesn't crash, or a million clicks) finds the recipe. There are more TikTok feed influencers than you can count, and most of them make us wonder how they got here. And do you really know what you're doing?
We thought we'd see one particular TikToker "should look like this" grab the attention of her 2.9 million followers.
Dana Hassan, 25, a social media personality based in New York, added her signature snap.
We caught up with Hassan to find out more about what it's like to be a social media personality, how he got involved and what his plans are for the future.
how it all started
Hassan was born and raised in Israel but moved to Long Island at the age of 13 without speaking English. She always loved cooking but really blossomed when she moved to America and found a therapeutic way to get away from it all.
"It's not a good feeling to be a freshman in general," he said. "But after learning English (it only took six months) I think anything is possible." However, he has no work experience in the food industry.
Eventually, Hassan went to college to study Chiara Ferragni, a beauty and makeup blogger at the time. Hassan has an “it worked” moment. And the idea of becoming a professional social media personality started to emerge.
"When I came to Instagram, it wasn't easy growing up," she says. "So I said to myself and everyone around me, 'Whenever you see or hear of a new platform, let me know because I want to be the first to discover it and I really want to own it.'
This approach is paying off. While Instagram didn't immediately agree, she quickly found a place to blow thanks to her 11-year-old brother.
"I saw him and his friends making videos with this application called TikTok, like weird videos," said Hasan. "I was so confused. My parents were so confused, but usually my parents pushed me aside and pushed me to download the app."
Initially, Hassan focused on beauty and fashion, but his parents encouraged him to pursue food. The rest is history.
In 2019 , at the age of 22, it was Tik Tok for its fried donuts that made it famous.
“In the past, you couldn't upload videos to TikTok,” said Hassan. "You have to be filmed on the app, so I took a picture and posted it like, 'I didn't even think back,' and every step I took, I was like, 'Hey! I posted it and it got 4 million views.'
Hassan's hilarious posts seemed to resonate with his audience, and people started calling him, "I have to look like that girl."
“Initially: Is that what I want to be known for? But I said unique. "Wait a minute, it's great that something was born here."
How did he get this dough?
Running a TikTok page is a full-time job for Hassan, and the money doesn't come easy.
"I think that's probably the most important piece of advice I can give anyone. You can't do it for the money," he said, "really give your whole life to it." Creating content is like saying, 'Okay, I'm done for today!' Actually, they always share .
And Hassan isn't afraid to admit that most of his money comes from referrals and brand relationships.
"I really think I'm lucky to have a sponsor with a brand that I really like and they want me to talk about their product and this is an organic way to put that in my videos," he says. ( A 2017 market study found that 71 percent of social media influencers' revenue comes from endorsement deals.)
Calling It Must Look Like , Hasan offers a variety of baked goods with the ingredients he uses in his videos.
What do Tik Tok fans consider to be "professional"?
Despite his success with Toktok Food, Hasan has a professional background in the fashion industry. She taught herself to cook and plans to take courses at a culinary institute.
“I want to develop my skills because I always want to learn and get better,” he said. "That's important."
Hasan previously worked at clothing brands Alice & Olivia and Jimmy Choo and in visual merchandising, which he translates into making great food on TikTok.
"For me, it's all about beauty," she says. "It's like I do a glossy canvas as a base. When I do makeup, I like to put glitter on my face. And even with clothes. It's really interesting to do it through dessert and I've never seen anyone do it. Glitter is my domain. It is my love language."
The challenge of becoming a social media personality
Hasan had indeed dealt with trolls and was aware of the impact on mental health. But people want to encourage them to pick up the camera and create content.
"I think I was very conscious when I joined social media," he said. "I thought, 'Okay, some people like that, but some people don't.' But I think I'm very happy to say that my fans are very supportive and very happy."
Hasan has created this through open communication. "I hear what they're saying. Do you have any recipe ideas? It's just a very friendly place. And I love it."
Aware that changes will always occur, he plans to continue his support. Whatever the next application, it will introduce itself to people and bring people with it.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment