Get inspired by three of our BBTV team members’ favorite creators right now! While they share extremely different content, these members of the #BBTVFam all have one important thing in comment: they’ve successfully expanded their content to different platforms. Our expert staff are shining a light on how these creators are growing their audiences and creating successful, multi-dimensional brands.

T-Pain: Connie Heo, Music Partnership Manager, Opposition

The Opposition team’s pick this month is the one and only T-Pain. He’s a Grammy award-winning hip hop artist, producer, actor, Twitch streamer, winner of “Masked Singer”, and just about every other title under the sun.

Opposition began working with T-Pain in early 2018 under indie label Cinematic Music Group. Since then, T-Pain has launched his own company & label Nappy Boy Entertainment, also branching off into Nappy Boy Gaming, Nappy Boy Radio, and Nappy Boy Drifting.

A master of leveraging digital platforms like YouTube and Twitch, and savvy collaborations with new era influencers and artists like Ninja and Tory Lanez, T-Pain is a multi-generational talent and internet personality that resonates with both Gen X & Millennial old heads who still bump the classics (“Buy U A Drank”, “Im Sprung”), as well as the Gen Z Fortnite gamers.

T-Pain’s most recent and notable moves includes launching an official partnership with Twitch, timed with a single release made in collaboration with his Twitch followers during a live stream (doesn’t get more new era than that). He also just announced his “The Road To Wiscansin Tour“, planning to hit 18 cities before a final stop at an inaugural “Wiscansin Festival” in Milwaukee on June 11.

This month, we’ve got a special, exciting collaboration with T-Pain, as the award-winning artist will be headlining our Opposition SXSW showcase, Oppo Expo, on March 16. Look out for updates and recaps from the event on Opposition’s Instagram!

Kailin Chase: Daniela Vargas, Digital Graphic and Motion Designer

Surprise, it’s already March and the sun seems like it’s beginning to warm us up. To greet the Spring season, I wanted to highlight a creator whose Instagram manages to give spring vibes all year long, even though she is based in Seattle… It’s Kailin Chase! 

Kailin is a makeup guru, blogger, Instagram influencer, artist and a cute dog owner. You might know her from James Charles’ competition show, “Instant Influencer”, where she won the first challenge in the series. Since then, she’s really honed in on her brand and amassed over 252k followers on Instagram and over 371K subscribers on YouTube. 

I got to deep dive into Kailin’s world when BBTV’s Design team had the opportunity to collaborate with her for our first Instagram rebrand project. I am a big fan of makeup and skincare tutorials, so when I found out we were working with her, I was excited.

As a creator, what Kailin does really well is give you the whole package of lifestyle content, from self care and makeup, skin care, to fashion and travel. Plus, she’s not afraid to talk about her mental health. A multi-dimensional content strategy often struggles to find consistency because of all the different formats, however, she manages to do it in a seamless way across themes and platforms. 

While working with Kaitlin, I really enjoyed seeing a young woman confidently planning out and crafting her next steps for a future version of herself, and not conforming to the first thing that was pitched to her. She was deeply involved during the process, showing her commitment, professionalism and care for her content, and ultimately her audience. We provided her with tools, insight and designs that could help her evolve. It was refreshing that while she already had a cohesive, visually-appealing brand, Kailin wanted to go beyond for her fans. She knew exactly where to pivot and adjust to be closer to her goals and values, without losing sight of what her fans originally came to know and love.

Kailin has really learned how to position herself and grow her brand from young and chic to the realm of luxury in an effortless way. She created an effective strategy with small, incremental adjustments, and the payoff has been huge.

A valuable lesson that could be learned from Kailin is that you don’t always have to conform to popular content trends. Instead, look at the big picture, focus on what you are actually passionate about, and create a roadmap that will help you create authentic content that reflects your personality and interests. Kailin is a great role model for creators of all sizes; focus on creating content that makes you happy, learn from past mistakes, and constantly look for new ways to evolve while staying true to your core values.

Sam The Cooking Guy: Paul Telner, Creative Director

Gordon Ramsay. Guy Fieri.  David Chang. Sam the Cooking Guy?

Just when you thought the food space was so crowded and there was nothing left to add, Sam the Cooking Guy comes along and changes the food game for the better. As the Creative Director at BBTV, I’m always looking for the next big opportunity to work with a variety of unique personalities and creators that stand out, are memorable, relatable, and real—Sam the Cooking Guy is all of that and more.

Sam has been making YouTube food videos for years and his simple, slightly sarcastic and authentic approach to food avoids a lot of the gimmicks that many food personalities use on YouTube to get attention. Most YouTube chefs and creators are not professionally trained, however, they are talented filmmakers who have learned the tricks to beautifully capture food. 

The father-son duo of Sam and Max create amazing videos without going overboard. Their authenticity as a family production shines on-screen, too. In fact, the audience loves their father-son banter, and they often incorporate the real-time, on-set communication like their hilarious arguments and back-and-forth discussions. This is the stuff most YouTube food channels or TV series cut out because they want to feel polished and shiny. Sam’s personality is as sharp as the cheese he uses and his sense of humor is refreshing. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, but he really knows what he’s doing in the kitchen. From burgers and steaks, to pizza and classic family recipes for chicken soup, this is comfort food done brilliantly and it’s the type of content the world needs.

For a quick example, check out this video: the perfect risotto!

Sam isn’t just a guy who started a food channel and got lucky with millions of fans. He has a background in food and even owns multiple restaurants in San Diego. Howard Stern has even talked about him. The recipes Sam uses are totally accessible and things we can all cook at home—they aren’t too fancy and unattainable. 

BBTV is currently co-developing an original and engaging project with Sam and a top Vancouver production company. Sam the Cooking Guy is a natural host because he has such confidence in the kitchen and lots of bite to stand alongside some of the greatest TV chefs and creators today. If you haven’t checked him out, please do. The channel will make you hungry and I guarantee you will be hooked.

Fun Fact: Sam is originally from Vancouver, B.C – home to BBTV’s headquarters!

Focusing on the content that you are truly passionate about, making a commitment to sharing your core values, and extending your content beyond your current strategy keeps viewers engaged, deepening the connection you have with your audience while reaching a new group of fans. T-Pain, Kailin Chase, and Sam the Cooking Guy are creators that go above and beyond what they’re known for, and create impactful content without losing sight of what allowed them to find success. Whether it’s being open to sharing your family dynamic, extending content beyond YouTube, being receptive to change, or repurposing existing content and music to modern-day platforms, long-time fans and new followers will stick around and build a craving for more content and projects from you.

Building an authentic, multi-dimensional content strategy takes time, patience, resources, and a whole lot of trial-and-error, though. Need help taking a new step forward in your own strategy? Partner with BBTV to get the support of industry experts who will provide you with valuable insights into the pros and cons of your content, keep you focused on your core values, while giving you access to creator tools and services that’ll help you reach the next level.