Before being a content creator, McKenna Stephens studied public relations for her undergraduate degree and worked in marketing and social media for four years. She decided to take the plunge and go to law school. Around the same time, TikTok started to take off, and she began watching another law school TikToker, which inspired her to create her own account. 

At first, McKenna Stephens didn’t take her TikTok account too seriously and didn’t put a lot of effort into it. However, around November 2021, she started focusing heavily on her content and posting more frequently, garnering a positive response. 

“Once I started to see the positive feedback and started to see the effect that TikTok was having on some people’s lives… I realized that I had the opportunity to go for that [earning money as a content creator] with what I was getting in return, so then I made the switch to try and make it more of a part-time job while I”m in school.”

McKenna’s Content Strategy

During the school year, McKenna Stephens primarily posts content centering around study tips and tricks and her day in the life. In contrast, her summer content focuses on preparing for the next semester and working as a law clerk. 

“The day-in-the-life videos, I think are what most people follow me for. Those always seem to perform the best.”

McKenna Stephens shares that the day-in-the-life videos are also her favorite to make, along with aesthetic, quick routine videos. 

@lawschoolvlogs First day of 2L is tomorrow so naturally I am already behind 🤪 #lawschool #lawstudent #lawtok #casebrief #asmr #asmrsounds #asmrstudy #studytok #deskaesthetic ♬ original sound – McKenna

“I prefer the day-in-the-life vlogs where I get to do a voiceover. I just feel like it’s more personal, and it shows a little bit more of my personality, and that’s kind of where I connect with the most people, and I think connecting with people is my favorite part of this, so that’s definitely my favorite video to film.”

McKenna Stephens’s typical viewer is female and a student, which can range from students in middle school to college students. Many students who follow her are in other fields, such as med school. 

Her Creative Process & Viral Content

“I think there are so many different creators on TikTok and so many different styles of videos, so that’s kind of what inspires me is just flipping through the for you page and seeing what’s out there.”

For example, McKenna Stephens shares that she’s drawn inspiration from morning routine videos and then personalized it to a law student morning routine. 

McKenna’s most viral content is a TikTok with over 700,000 views focusing on a day in her life at law school. She explains that this post was the first time she got very personal on her social media and shared about struggles she was having. 

@lawschoolvlogs first gen law student who majored in PR, worked in social media for 4 years, had a low undergrad gpa, & had to apply twice. Don’t let people convince you not to try!!! #lawschool #lawstudent #lawtok #studytok #lawschooltips #fyp ♬ Ah ah ah – kriptozavr

“That’s when I started showing more of my personality after that because I realized that’s what people were connecting with.”

Another popular TikTok for her was an ASMR video of her studying in a law school classroom. 

McKenna’s Biggest Challenges

When McKenna started posting on TikTok, it was easier to stand out because few creators were posting about law school. 

“I think right now is probably the most challenging time in making sure that I can maintain my growth while the community as a whole grows, so it should be interesting to see how things kind of shift in the next couple of months.”

However, McKenna shares that she has a strong following and is continuing to see growth. She notes that it’s also helpful that she has been on the platform and in law school longer than other creators because she can share more tips about law school. 

McKenna explains that her personality and aesthetic workspace also help her stand out on the platform. 

“I like an aesthetic workspace, and I think that’s what definitely makes me stand out and what a lot of my followers enjoy. They’re always wanting to see what new highlighters I bought or what computer monitor I’m using and items like that. So, I think just the overall aesthetic of my page is what makes me stand out.”

Brand Partnerships

In the past, McKenna has done several gifted partnerships where she was sent products to test out. 

“I try to keep it [partnerships] minimal because I want my content to remain organic, so I really do try to just work with brands that I’m actually very interested in the product, or I’ve used the product before and I love it. I’m working on my first paid partnership right now.”

One brand she especially enjoyed working with was Highline Wellness, a company that sells CBD gummies. McKenna shares that she was so excited about this partnership because she was already using their product. 

For that partnership, McKenna created a day in the life vlog where she showed herself taking the CBD gummies to help with her anxiety throughout the day. 

Her dream collab? Amazon or a large technology company like Microsoft.

The Creator Marketplace

In the future, McKenna would love to see more authenticity among creators. 

“I think we’re moving to the right spot, and people are becoming more open, especially on TikTok versus Instagram. I think TikTok seems to be a lot more authentic, but just with the state of younger kids growing up with these social media channels now, and sometimes the content can seem a bit ingenuine because it’s so focused on whatever brand they’re working with.”

Future Plans

McKenna shares that she has an exciting project in the works currently. 

“My followers all know that I’m very big in the iPad digital planning life. I absolutely love the iPad, and I’ve noticed that there are not many planners that I’ve found that have kind of ticked all the boxes for an academic planner and what I look for in that.”

As a result, McKenna has been working on creating an academic digital planner, which will be coming out in the near future. She plans to share the behind-the-scenes of this process with her followers on TikTok soon.