How Katie Fang Mastered The TikTok Algorithm And Built A Following Of 7 Million

I think a lot of people say fake it till you make it. And I feel like that's kind of true in some way, you know, like you don't have to have it all to start something. Work your way up towards it.

something. Work your way up towards it.

[music] >> Katie, [music] thanks for joining us.

>> Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

>> So, you're a top beauty lifestyle creator. Tell me what is happening right

creator. Tell me what is happening right now in the Katie Fang [music] business.

Um, so I like to think that the Katy Fang brand is all about being unapologetically yourself and not being afraid to show the raw emotions and it's bits and pieces everywhere. It's my

lifestyle. It's beauty and it's a little bit of fashion, too.

>> Love it. Let's go back to the beginning.

How did you first become an influencer?

How did you build your, you know, almost 10 million fan following?

>> It was actually a total accident. I

didn't plan it at all. It was my senior year of high school. I was working as a hostess at this restaurant and we would have on call shifts and I got called into work suddenly this one day that I really didn't want to work and I was

super upset. So as I was getting ready I

super upset. So as I was getting ready I recorded myself getting ready like balling my eyes out and I posted that video after my shift I checked my phone that video had about one and a half

million views I want to say and ever since then I started posting consistently get ready me videos every single day and that's basically it. What

made you want to record that emotional moment?

>> Um, I don't know. I felt like whenever I would watch other people make get ready with me, it was always so perfect and they would always be getting ready for something big like a fancy event or something and I never really saw anyone

get ready for just like a basic everyday thing like going to work and I didn't really see anyone show like that much emotion either. So, I thought I just

emotion either. So, I thought I just recorded. I thought it'd be funny. I

recorded. I thought it'd be funny. I

didn't think it would take off like that. It's interesting when you so you

that. It's interesting when you so you were where were you hostessing when you first >> um so it was in Vancouver. It was a really big restaurant chain called Cactus Club Cafe.

>> Okay. And you were you going you were in college or in high school then in >> um senior year in high school.

>> Senior high school. Hostess is saying you do this video and it goes crazy.

Like did you go back to work the next day?

>> Oh yeah, for sure. And it was it was a little weird. Everyone was asking me

little weird. Everyone was asking me questions about it. But I went back to work and I stayed there for I think two or three more months before I quit and like took social media seriously and made it a full-time job.

>> Was it was like your manager upset? He's

like, "Oh, you're crying. What am I doing? Is it so bad here?"

doing? Is it so bad here?"

>> Not really. I mean, it was funny. They a

lot of people made jokes about it. Um

but it wasn't anything too serious.

>> Okay. What was the next So suddenly you get this viral moment, >> right?

>> What is the next part of the game plan?

What do you do next after that? Um, I

guess the next thing was signing with my team and starting to take it seriously.

I feel like that's one mistake I made when I first started. Um, I didn't take it seriously. It was just kind of like a

it seriously. It was just kind of like a little fun thing. And because it was happening so fast, I had so many people reaching out wanting to join my team or just manage stuff for me. And I felt like I wanted to be in full control of

everything. So, I rejected a lot of that

everything. So, I rejected a lot of that help. But now I've learned that it's

help. But now I've learned that it's okay to have someone that's experienced in this field because when I was first starting off I didn't know anything about social media and when brands would ask for my rate I didn't even know what

to say. So it was good to let someone

to say. So it was good to let someone else take take control with that and help me grow my business further.

>> So you had this one viral video >> and then as soon as that hit were people reaching out to you and then how did you decide what to post next? Yeah, I had a few brands reach out to me, but I didn't really pay attention to that because

like I said in the beginning, it was just for fun. And I think I decided to just post get ready with me every single day because I don't know, it was just something that I liked to do and it got

me up early in the morning and motivated me to go to school.

>> Wow. And fast forward today, what is the business like right now?

>> Um, today I've expanded into so I still make everything mess every single day, but I've expanded into more a lifestyle content. So, I do a little bit of

content. So, I do a little bit of everything. I also just moved to New

everything. I also just moved to New York last September. So, my content has changed a lot. It's a lot of lifestyle, a lot of fashion, a lot of like cooking videos, and I feel like my audience have really grown with me as well.

>> I interview a lot of creators, and I always ask like what is the toughest part about being a creator? And I always think it maybe like be living in the public life or maybe haters, but everyone always says it is that pressure

to create kind of that treadmill of like every day, every other day. How do you deal with that? Because you said you post every day. Tell me how that works.

And do you kind of prepare a topic or you just hit the lights, hit the camera lights and you just kind of open up with what's on your mind?

>> I actually don't like to plan my content. I feel like if I think too much

content. I feel like if I think too much about it and plan too early ahead, it just doesn't feel as authentic to me and it just feels too curated. So, I

actually like to film when I'm in the moment, when I feel like it's something that I want to share. All my get ready with me, I only film if I feel like if I feel like I have something that I want to share or just like talk about for the day, but if not, I try not to force

myself or it just doesn't come across authentic.

>> Oh, and you said before, you're you're NYU right now. You're a sophomore at NYU at Gallatton. Go NYU, [laughter]

at Gallatton. Go NYU, [laughter] >> NYU grad. Um, tell me, how do you balance this creator career with a rigorous undergrad career? Um, I think just reminding myself to stay grounded

and surrounding myself with people that support me through the good and bad times like my family and my friends and also just realizing um what I want to prioritize. So, I chose to go back in

prioritize. So, I chose to go back in school and just learning how to say no because I feel like when I first started social media, I was trying to I felt like I had to say yes to everything because everything was so new and so

exciting. But now I've learned that it's

exciting. But now I've learned that it's okay to say no and doesn't make me look like a bad person. And yeah,

>> what was your first brand deal that kind of like made you realize, wait a minute, this is not for fun. This could actually be a career.

>> So, one of my biggest collaborations um when I first started was with Glow Recipe. We came out with a limited kit

Recipe. We came out with a limited kit that was sold in Sephora. And in that kit, there was a um toner that I would use in every single one of my videos in all my get ready with me. So, my

audience had already known that I was a longtime fan of the brand. And so when that kit um launched, it was a huge success because it it just came across so authentic.

>> Wow. And tell me, how do you tell me your current brand partnerships right now?

>> Yeah. So um last fall I was named as the face of Cedapul's gentle exfoliating line, which is so crazy. And recently I just came out with a little bundle with Summer Fridays. I'm coming out with a

Summer Fridays. I'm coming out with a phone case with Wildflower and I have a few really exciting um campaigns for next year as well.

>> What is the best way for a brand and a creator to work together? How does like a healthy and also like high return partnership look like?

>> I think um the brand has to align with the creator's content and their audience and their product has to just make sense. If it's just random and out of

sense. If it's just random and out of the blue, it's not going to make sense at all. And the audience can also

at all. And the audience can also definitely detect that it's inauthentic and it just doesn't feel real.

>> Do they when you make a do a brand deal, do they kind of say, "Katie, just like we love what you do, do it with our stuff." Or are there kind of

stuff." Or are there kind of requirements or they give you scripts?

How does that work? Yeah, there's some brands that are super strict that I actually don't really love to work with when they give me a full curated script and say you have to say exactly this, do exactly that. That's when I turn those

exactly that. That's when I turn those down because I just feel like it's just too curated. But brands that give you

too curated. But brands that give you like really um a lot of creative freedom, they let you make the creative concept and they let they allow you to say kind of I guess just word how you

would want to promote the product and I guess that just comes across more authentic. I I read that you have like a

authentic. I I read that you have like a very you have a wide audience, but you also have a very powerful younger audience, Gen younger gen Z, even Gen Alpha, which I can't even think about.

What is Gen Tell me about like what the Gen Alpha audience is and like what do they resonate with and how might that be different than a Gen Z audience? I mean,

I feel like Jenna, Jenz, and Jenna A, we all grew up with social media and I feel like we're very aware with everything and we care a lot about a brand's um

background, their ethics, their values, and we're also super um we notice a lot if they're diverse or not. And I feel like that is really important. If you

could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice the minute before you're going to post your crying video that made you internet famous, what would that advice be about being a

creator and about the business?

>> I would probably say to not wait for the perfect time and to just do it because with social media, it's really often that you can post the most random video that you feel like will definitely not do well, but that will always end up

being the video that blows up the most and gets millions and millions of views.

kind of on that on the back of that, millions of folks want to be, if you ask Gen Z, Gen Alpha, what do you want to be? They say want to be a creator. What

be? They say want to be a creator. What

advice would you have for somebody who wants to dive into this world?

>> I would say to not be afraid because I feel like a lot of people um shy away from this industry because they're afraid of the negativity or feedback that they might get. But that is just kind of the cons that come with this

job. But yeah,

job. But yeah, >> in a world where anyone can post and anyone can publish, what are your secrets about standing out and getting a community?

>> Staying consistent for sure and making sure that your videos are engaging throughout the whole entire time and just not being afraid to show your personality.

>> You know, you're in school now, but you're also a big creator, brand deals, big business. Where do you see this

big business. Where do you see this going? like if we're talking in four

going? like if we're talking in four years after you've graduated, like what do you what what would you hope to be doing?

>> As of right now, I do want to just continue building my brand and, you know, graduate. But in the [laughter] in

know, graduate. But in the [laughter] in the future, um I have thought about making my own um product or coming out of my own line of some sorts.

>> What kind of what would the the first product be? There's so many

product be? There's so many possibilities, but I probably I guess what would make most sense for me is a beauty line, but I've also been really into like fashion and jewelry especially.

>> Everyone talks about, you know, analytics because you get so much information about your users. How do you use data and numbers when to kind of build your brand, reach your audience?

Some people study it like it's, you know, an exam. Other people just ignore it and just kind of do their natural thing. What how do you where do you

thing. What how do you where do you fall? I don't really pay too much

fall? I don't really pay too much attention to my analytics, but I would say if I'm posting a video and it doesn't do very well, I like to look back at the video and see what I did differently for my compared to my other

videos that do super well. You know,

maybe the hook wasn't strong enough.

Maybe I was talking too slow or maybe it just wasn't engaging enough and then I I'll just pivot from that.

>> What What is your social media diet like? Are you are you constantly online

like? Are you are you constantly online like looking for trends, following people? Are you in your comment section

people? Are you in your comment section all the time? Like tell me how what does that work?

>> For sure. I definitely I consume a lot of content because that's where I get my inspiration from from other creators.

And I also really love engaging with my community. When I post a video, I'm I

community. When I post a video, I'm I feel like I'm on on my phone for the next like 3 hours just checking the comments and seeing the feedback that I'm getting and just engaging with them.

>> What's like a day in the life for you?

>> Oo, >> cuz you're balancing all these things.

>> Yes. Um day in my life, typically I would wake up and as I'm getting ready, I'll usually film a get ready with me.

So then that would be one video for for the day. That's good to get content out

the day. That's good to get content out of the way first.

>> Right. Exactly. First thing in the morning and it's it feels so organic and natural to me because feel like every time I get ready now I'm always recording and it's just fun. It's like a FaceTime video almost. Um I get ready

and then I'll go to my first class, come back, grab something and eat and I like to get all my work done in the morning.

So I'll do either school work or just emails, any of that. And then I'll go to the last classes of the day and then at the end of the night I like to meet up with my friends. to just keep keeps my social life going. [laughter]

>> You said you you know you're like you're online all the time obviously as part of your job but also your generation as well. Like how do you turn off from it?

well. Like how do you turn off from it?

Like do you feel like you need to like escape from that you know from the community?

>> For sure. I feel like sometimes it can get to be a little much. So I've been trying to set more boundaries like you know putting my not putting my phone away but just turning off social media

at a certain time and just I guess spending it with my family and my friends instead.

>> Yeah. You put so much of your yourself online, like you said, your first viral moment was you upset and like really crying about that. How do you kind of balance sharing so much of your emotions

with the fan base, but then also like keeping your own personal stuff, you know, being your own person, >> right? I like to show a lot of raw

>> right? I like to show a lot of raw emotions online. Um, and it could be a

emotions online. Um, and it could be a good thing, it could be a bad thing, too. Um, I like to also protect my

too. Um, I like to also protect my mental health because I think the more you share online, the more people can take that information and twist it up in some way. Um, but yeah, I've started to

some way. Um, but yeah, I've started to learn that there are some things that just need to be kept private and doesn't need to be shared to the whole internet because I feel like in the beginning I felt pressured to kind of share everything because I felt like that was

what people wanted.

>> Okay. How do you deal with kind of like mean comments and haters?

>> I mean, I feel like in the beginning I was super sensitive to it. So whenever

when I first started seeing videos speculate about me or I saw mean comments, I felt like such a strong urge to defend myself and like reply back to everything. But now I've just learned

everything. But now I've just learned that it's okay to chill out and take a step back and no matter what you say at the end of the day like people are going to hate no matter what. And as long as you and like the people around you know

who the real you are then that's all that matters.

>> Yeah. In terms of it's interesting on that note you said you have a lot of Gen Alpha followers and there's been a lot in the media and books written about kind of mental health and social media especially with young women, young

girls.

>> What do you see happening in that space and like what advice do you have for people out there?

>> Um I mean mental health is a big thing especially with the younger generation because we're on social media a lot. are

online so often. So, I think it's really important to protect yourself from it and just, you know, stay close to your friends and your family.

>> In social media, everyone knows the algorithm runs everything. Do you have any tips and secrets that you use to take advantage of the algorithm to get attention or do you just do your own thing and kind of just trust the the

machines?

>> I think it's a little bit of both, but my biggest tip would be staying consistent. I feel like if you go a

consistent. I feel like if you go a whole week posting every single day and then you randomly stop for five days, the algorithm kind of catches on and it's kind of like, oh, like where did this person go? And so then when you

post again after those five days, the content kind of the engagement slows down too a lot.

>> Do you post every on the weekends too every day?

>> Yeah, I try my best to post at least one video every single day.

>> Wow. Okay. Consistency wins.

>> Exactly. So like traditional media and Hollywood and TV are we want to work more and more with creators and people say like creators breaking into Hollywood. I think creators are the new

Hollywood. I think creators are the new Hollywood.

>> What advice do you have for like traditional media and traditional companies to work with with the creators in social media?

>> I mean I feel like creators are so important in marketing these days because they already have that trust with their community and that's something that traditional marketing can't grasp. So, I guess collaborating

can't grasp. So, I guess collaborating with these creators that already have these this big trusted communities, it helps more with engagement.

>> Gotcha. You've recently gone from video creator to writer. Yes.

>> You have a new column with the cut. Tell

me about what the columns about and how that came to be.

>> So, the column, it's a monthly beauty column. People can ask me questions

column. People can ask me questions every month and I answer them. And it's

actually such a full circle moment because I actually majored in journalism my first semester of university. So, it

kind of just paid off and it's super fun. It just launched this month in

fun. It just launched this month in September and we had like a little cafe meet and greet with some people where I got to connect with people in real life.

>> Wonderful. Your brand deals have gone beyond the phone. You do collaborations with brands. You're on billboards. You

with brands. You're on billboards. You

do photo shoots. How do all these multimedia marketing plays kind of play off each other?

>> I mean, it's super fun because, you know, obviously I started all my brand deals just through my phone posting ads on Tik Tok, Instagram, or YouTube. And

it's really nice to expand outside of that and do all these big things like being on a billboard which is insane, doing my my cut column, which I'm just writing articles every month and doing more of the traditional route. And I

think they both merged really well together.

>> Terrific. Is there a business philosophy or idea that you follow that's helped you succeed? I

you succeed? I >> think a lot of people say fake it till you make it. And I feel like that's kind of true in some way. You know, like you don't have to have it all to start

something. you can pretend like you do

something. you can pretend like you do and like, you know, just work your way up towards it.

>> Do you get recognized on the street?

>> Yeah.

>> How do you kind of deal with with that?

>> It's fun. It's really fun. It's nice to connect with people in real life and have an actual conversation with them rather than just behind a screen.

>> No. And you've done a lot of great collaborations with with with brands and beauty brands and lifestyle brands. What

is your one dream collaboration right now? I would probably say first person

now? I would probably say first person that comes to mind is Scarlett Johansson. She's such an amazing one of

Johansson. She's such an amazing one of the best and most caring celebrity makeup um founders out there and I don't know I think her work ethic is amazing.

>> And would you like interview her?

>> Oh yeah. [laughter]

>> How what would you ask Scarlett Johansson what was your your first question?

>> Oo probably how she came up with her beauty brand.

>> Very cool. What about kind of like uh other brands like luxury fashion? Is

there one dream?

>> Oh, yeah.

>> Collab.

>> Um, so I'm really into jewelry.

>> Okay.

>> So, I probably say Tiffany and Co.

>> All right. Well, put that out there in the universe. [laughter]

the universe. [laughter] Katie, thanks so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

[music] [music]