Influencer
Grace Dirig: Net Influencer Interviews Grace Dirig
Grace Dirig, a meteorologist by training, is now the beloved host of the popular YouTube channel, ‘The King of Random.’ Her infectious curiosity and knack for translating complex science into engaging content have captured the attention of 12.5 million subscribers.
Grace Dirig, a meteorologist by training, is now the beloved host of the popular YouTube channel, ‘The King of Random.’ Her infectious curiosity and knack for translating complex science into engaging content have captured the attention of 12.5 million subscribers.
In an exclusive interview, Grace shares her remarkable journey from scientific exploration to digital influence, with a keen focus on making science accessible for all.
Who is Grace Dirig?
Grace Dirig‘s background in meteorology opened countless opportunities for her. She discovered her love of science when she was young. She received a microscope for her 10th birthday, and her whole world just blew up. She recalls, “I was like, “What do you mean there are microorganisms living in the water?'”
Her dad taught her how to put together a slide and looked at pond water for the first time. These experiences opened her eyes to her being a tiny microorganism in a very deep and vast world. And from there, her love for science continued to grow.
She was always passionate about science and frequently asked her parents questions all the time, which drove them crazy at some point. But Grace admits that her love for science helped her continue to grow.
She went to school and studied meteorology in college and ended up with a degree. “And now, here I am, posting a YouTube channel all about science and asking why,” she adds.
How was the transition to becoming an influencer or content creator? What was the time that you realized you could do this?
“Honestly, I don’t think I ever realized it. I think it was always something in the back of my mind that I was like, ‘I could do this,’ but it was crazy,” Grace tells us.
She is now the hose of The King of Random or TKOR. Grant Thompson originally founded the channel, and since he passed away years ago, Grace has become the full-time creative host for the channel. It now has 12.5 million subscribers.
She shares her story of how she became the host of this YouTube channel. She tells us, “The King of Random was looking for a new host, and I got an Instagram DM, and normally, I would never ever answer those. I would be like, ‘What is this?’ but something in my heart told me to answer it like it could be something great.”
When Grace received that message on Instagram, she was already wrapping up her studies at the University of North Carolina and was looking for a job out of school. She followed what her heart told her and replied to that Instagram message. The next thing she knew, she was already in Utah filming with the TKOR cast.
“It was definitely one of those things that I kind of fell into it, which I feel like a lot of creators do. And it’s really cool when you just let your life go the way that it’s supposed to go and meander and change your shift and grow,” Grace adds.
Congratulations on joining Additive Creative Partners! How does it feel to be represented by such a prominent talent management group?
“This is an amazing talent management group. Being represented by Additive Creative is amazing. They are so on top of everything; they’re constantly advocating and putting us in new spaces and front of people,” Grace says.
One thing Grace particularly loves about working with Additive Creative Partners is that the agency sees her potential. For Grace, having someone who believes in her as a creator means so much because, at the end of the day, she’s on her own.
Additive Creative helps creators develop, produce, and monetize their content. What are your goals in terms of content development, and how do you plan to collaborate with Additive Creative to achieve them?
“I feel like the sky is the limit,” Grace states. She shared how she loved working with Michael from Additive Creative and how they have brainstorming sessions together where they talk about what they can do for the channel and how they can take the brand to new heights.
The King of Random has been around for 13 years, with its main host passing away. Now, it’s in the hands of a younger host, which is why they had to do a lot of rebranding and sending out messages to the channel’s existing communities.
You’ve signed with Additive Creative for representation. What opportunities do you see for collaboration with other creators within the Additive Creative network, and are there any specific creators you’re excited to potentially work with?
“I can’t think of any off the top of my head. I’m just excited about the whole experience. That’s the thing about Additive Creative — you can reach out to anyone within the network and work with them, and I think that’s what’s so exciting for me,” Grace shares.
Partnership-wise, she’s looking forward to working with anyone and everyone who’s also willing to work with her. “I’m just like a little eager puppy over here where it’s like; I’ll work with anyone and do anything. I just want to create and do science and make it accessible for everyone,” she adds.
“And that’s what’s so great about TKOR is there is science in everything. So whatever someone is doing, I can hop and explain the science in it because there’s science in everything that everyone is doing.”
How do you approach translating complex scientific concepts into engaging and accessible content for your audience?
When Grace was still in school taking up meteorology, she was taught how to take complex data and communicate that information to the public. They were discouraged from talking over people’s heads. Her academic background gave her an advantage when communicating science to people through her YouTube channel.
“The way I like to do it and the way I think about it is as if I’m sitting down with someone. How can I get to relate to them?” Grace says.
For example, they recently filmed a video about tectonic plates, and people will probably question why they should care about the topic because that’s literally the earth and the crust they’re living on. When Grace tells someone that these plates move three centimeters a year, that would probably mean nothing to them.
“But three centimeters would be significant if you didn’t cut your fingernails for the whole entire year like that’s a Guinness world record. That’s how long and how big these rocks move in here. It doesn’t seem that big but rocks aren’t bendy, so they snap and crack because they have so much tension in them,” Grace explains.
Grace believes providing people a visual representation of how long their fingernails will grow if they didn’t cut them for an entire year versus the movement in the earth will help them understand the latter easier. She also uses common objects to visualize the concept better — and in the case of tectonic plates, she used Oreos to show how the plates move.
The press release highlights the significant reach and impact of TKOR, with over 12.5 million subscribers and billions of views on YouTube. How do you maintain the momentum and continue to captivate your audience with new and exciting content?
“That’s the question of the century because the TKOR library is so deep like if there is a project that has been on YouTube, we probably pioneered it. There are so many videos on our channel about anything and everything. I call it my own personal library because I can go on the YouTube backend that we have access to, and if I have a question about anything, I can search it,” Grace says.
She shares that everything on TKOR is factual. People can go to the channel and get information on just about anything — and this is one thing Grace loves about the channel and being its host.
At this moment, they’re pivoting their content, and as they’re doing it, they received some backlash. But Grace constantly reminds their audience that growth and change are good.
“What we were doing in filming those videos and building those projects wasn’t sustainable. Grant would spend three to four weeks turning TKOR into several chapters. We were cranking out three projects in a week and posting thrice on YouTube, and then we went to these bigger and longer projects that took us a month to do, and then we weren’t seeing any progress on that either,” Grace tells us.
Because of this, she now hones in on what makes her happy and what is her passion. Grant was passionate about getting his hands on things, building things, and doing things in a different way. Conversely, Grace was more passionate about making science accessible to anyone and making everyone feel like they could take about it.
“I keep reminding the audience, ‘We grow, change, and evolve, but the videos are still there that you guys can go watch,'” Grace says. They have to learn a new form and type of content in order to continually provide the best to their original and new audience.
Brand partnerships are a vital aspect of being an influencer. Are there any particular brands or industries you’re excited to work with, and why?
“I would love to have more hands-on contact with partnerships doing things for schools. I’m not trying to be a teacher out there, but I want to ignite that passion. So for me, it’s like learning in a partnership with a school that would be willing to push the boundaries and take kids away from a textbook,” Grace shares.
Although she recognizes the importance and benefits of learning from textbooks, she wants to encourage schools and children that they can’t learn anything simply by sitting inside a classroom and reading a book. Children learn better when they’re hands-on or engaging in an activity.
She also wants to partner with tech companies, like Lenovo and Dell, and give back to schools and individuals who have limited resources. She also shared that her dream partner would be Toyota.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a content creator in the science niche, and how have you overcome them?
It was challenging for Grace to join TKOR because she had giant shoes to fill, causing her to develop imposter syndrome. This carried over when she was making content for the channel.
“For a long time, I tried to be them. I tried to do projects like Grant used to, and then I was like, ‘Hold on. That’s not who I am. I’m more of a physics girl,'” Grace recalls. She later realized that she loves to get her hands dirty to better explain concepts.
The other challenge Grace had in her journey as a content creator was trying to catch up with creators who have years of experience in the industry. This was something that was impossible for her to do, but she failed to realize that back when she was still young and new in the industry.
With the rise of the creator economy, there are various revenue streams available to content creators. Can you talk about how you monetize your content and the strategies you employ to maximize your earnings?
As of the moment, TKOR is making passive income from their library, filled with 13 years’ worth of content. YouTube has been constantly feeding these videos out, which continue to gain traction even if it has been in the library for a decade.
Besides having a massive library on its backend, TKOR also repurposes its content to earn. They have their content on YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. “We’re really working on shorts and trying new content for our shorts, which is fantastic,” she adds.
Since TKOR is still new in terms of repurposing content on various social media platforms, they’re still experimenting with different links and videos and everything else along those lines. And now, they’re getting ready to learn various monetization strategies. For instance, the channel is now considering leasing out its content and assessing what that will look like.
TKOR is also leaning into a TikTok and podcast series.
Additive Creative helps creators with content distribution. Are there any plans in the works for expanding the reach of TKOR beyond YouTube and collaborating with other platforms or media outlets?
“I would love to start working with TV networks. A personal goal of mine is pushing this to the next level, which is working with TV networks and exploring science in that vicinity, in that world,” Grace says.
What are your predictions for the rest of the year or the next two to three years in the creator economy?
“With YouTube lowering their requirement, I think it just goes to speak to how saturated the YouTube market space or the YouTube creator space is. And I think it’s harder now than ever to get your platform into and create a space on YouTube or wherever because we all have access to everything now,” Grace states.
Because of this, Grace feels that the number of creators will continue to increase. Everyone now has access to all the resources they need to make content, like cameras. Plus, having a fancy studio is no longer a necessity to create high-quality content.
Today and in the future, content creation will be more about connecting with the person on the other side of the screen and not about having the latest and most expensive equipment.
“I see a new platform coming up and taking over [TikTok], and I think that platform will be like an original Instagram, where it’s like we go back to that phase of everything is linear, and it’s not this giant algorithm. Because honestly, these algorithms are a little scary, especially in the world of AI,” she adds.
Is there any exciting news you want to share with us? Any projects that you have on the works that you can talk about?
“We have so many pieces moving right now. So TKOR actually sold the house that it used to film. We lived and filmed in this house that Grant lived and his family, and we just recently sold that, which is a really big thing for us,” Grace says.
Another big news from their end is they’re now exploring science on a new horizon. Their channel feels brand new, and they have these amazing subscribers, but they’ll change it up. They’re still seeing what can be done and just rolling with it at this point.
Can you share any insights or advice for aspiring content creators who are interested in delving into the world of science communication and creating educational content?
“Do not be afraid to make a mistake. Science makes mistakes; you can make mistakes. It doesn’t have to be perfect,” Grace advises.
She also encourages aspiring content creators to go back to the comment sections of their videos to see how they can improve. She has been using the same strategy for years — she looks at the comments of her viewers, takes them as learning, and uses them in their next videos.
“And the other thing that I would say is don’t be the smartest person in the room because if you are the smartest person in the room, you have outgrown that room. So, continue to learn, broaden your horizons, step into rooms that you know nothing about, and be the person that’s just sitting there, absorbing as much as you possibly can,” she concludes.
