Influencer
Content Creator Kimberley Valentine Okwuasaba’s On Starting Over Again, Internet Trolls, And Growth
She points out that her favorite aspect of content creation is the passion and the greatness it can bring out of one’s self and how it can affect other people in a positive way.
What will you do when you wake up one day and find out your YouTube Channel got deleted? For Kimberley Valentine Okwuasaba, that experience inspired her to try again and become a better content creator. Join us as Kimberley shares her story on how she started as a content creator, how she wants to grow in the industry, and everything else in between.
About Kimberley Valentine Okwuasaba
Kimberley Valentine Okwuasaba is a digital creator with over 4,000 and 81,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, respectively. She uses her platform to share different types of content: from commentaries to get-ready-with-me videos.
“What inspired me most is the art of creating in general. For me, I’d say it’s been quite of a rocky start considering a couple of months ago, I used to have 25,000 subscribers on YouTube, but it got deleted.”
Kimberley’s experience is a content creator’s worst nightmare, but that didn’t stop her. Instead, she used that experience to fuel her drive to stay dedicated to her craft.
What Inspired Kimberley to Move Forward
Despite waking up to a deleted YouTube channel without explanation, Kimberley moves on and strives to get something positive out of her experience. She had no choice but to start over again, but the process allowed her to discover her love for content.
She adds, “I feel like my dedication has been tested in a sense, but it made my love of content and creating content more apparent. I’m not letting that get to me, and I’ve been able to create a bigger audience despite that happening.”
She points out that her favorite aspect of content creation is the passion and the greatness it can bring out of one’s self and how it can affect other people in a positive way.
Trolls and Negativities Online
Kimberley has a very specific mindset on how she deals with trolls and negative online.
“When it comes to trolls, I remember that it is just through the screen; nothing they say can affect you as a person as long as you know who you are at the end of the day.”
Kimberley sees strolls as individuals who are insecure enough to attack another person online. When she thinks about trolls, she feels pity and sorry for them as she believes they’re uncomfortable with themselves that they bring someone else down to that level.
Growth as a Content Creator
One thing Kimberley learned through her journey as a content creator is patience. She also encourages aspiring content creators to practice the same.
She explains, “Nowadays, with loads of people wanting to become content creators, they expect results to happen overnight, in an instant. Patience, understanding your craft and being happy with taking it slow, and being able to make mistakes are crucial and imperative to understanding your own content and bettering yourself for your viewers.”
Kimberley wants to correct a common misconception that content creators get everything instantly overnight. According to her, taking everything step by step, falling in love with your craft, and knowing what your niche is, drive better results for content creators.
Kimberley’s Niches and Best Type of Content
The type of content Kimberley makes depends on the platform.
She gives more details by sharing with us, “On YouTube, it’s more commentary or reactive reaction, type of comment content. But on TikTok, it’s more relatable, like get-ready-with-me or sit-down-with-me content. On Instagram, more brand deals where I would do IT girl content and dress up.”
Kimberley says that her content is a big mix but kind of integrated in a sense.
When asked what type of niche and content best works for her, Kimberley states that her choice depends on the platform. She explains her point further by sharing to us her experience.
“I’ve tried to go aesthetic on my TikTok, but I found that my supporters on TikTok prefer me to do sit-down videos and other similar videos. So I’ve just learned.”
But despite going through trials and errors in the past, Kimberley is always grateful for the appreciation her supporters give. She adds, “I feel like my supporters appreciate my contribution towards certain topics that people wouldn’t want to talk about.”
Maintaining Her Creative Drive
Kimberley trusts herself and her love for content creation to maintain that creative drive.
“At the end of the day, how I inspire or keep that creative drive is just a matter of me, being able to look within myself and love what it is that I do. I understand loads of people make different types of content on YouTube and TikTok, but with my type of content, I’m very confident in what I do.”
Statistics and studies can back up Kimberley’s claims on the number of content creators today. According to Statista, there were over 200 million digital content creators in 2021. Additionally, a study from Adobe shows that the creator economy has grown by over 165 million people globally in two years — an increase of 119%.
Balancing Content Creation and Staying True to Her Personal Brand
Kimberley uses her desire to create a positive outcome and have a positive reach on people to ensure that she creates high-quality content while staying true to her brand. She strives to stay true to herself and keep her own values and the things that she finds important.
“I try to integrate that into what my followers see. If I have certain morals or if I hold certain principles that I deem important, I make sure that that translates into what I’m giving out to my viewers. I think it’s very important in the way that we teach people.”
Most Successful Post
Kimberley shares that her most successful post on TikTok is a relatable subject — mental health. She explains how she uses her platform to highlight common mental health issues, like depression, and show people, especially the young, that she understands and that it’s okay to deal with such problems.
Kimberley continues by talking about her old YouTube channel and her most popular post on that platform. She cites, “I focused more on pop culture and how the cancel culture affects different people.”
Favorite Brand Collabs
Kimberley does brand collaborations on her Instagram. She had several, but the one with Shein x Glowmode is her favorite. She loves the clothes from the collection as they match her active lifestyle.
“I really love the type of fabric because I love going to the gym and hiking. So being able to receive and use that product as someone who goes to the gym, I would find good use of that product.”
And Kimberley’s supporters seem to love her more after that collab. She mentions that the content she posted with Shein x Glowmode helped increase her engagement online.
She adds, “My supporters also reacted to it because I know quite a few of them engaged with that post and bought from that product, as well. I’m glad that I was able to help them enjoy that collab with me.”
Scintillate Talent’s Role in Kimberley’s Journey
Scintillate Talent, a multi-awarded international influencer agency, manages Kimberley. She shares with us how her management team helped her develop as a content creator.
“I feel like Sintillate Talent helped me develop my skills, in the sense of being more open and not being afraid. In the beginning, when I first started, I was very shy and quite closed off, especially when it comes to going to events. But as I started to be with my agency, they’ve helped me develop and grow as an individual and come out of that shell to be more outspoken.”
Kimberley says that she’s now completely open to talking to everybody at parties and has become completely more open. She credits her agency and the individuals she worked with for her change. “They’re very welcoming and very positive.”
Challenges as an Influencer of Color
Fortunately for Kimberley, she hasn’t experienced any challenges or disadvantages because of her color. But she points out how she struggles to keep her momentum as a content creator, especially with her deleted YouTube channel.
“With my YouTube channel in the past, I focused on uplifting people of color, especially during 2020 with the popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement. I helped uplift voices, but unfortunately, my channel got deleted, and I couldn’t continue that.”
She also considers trolls and people who don’t want to see persons of color to shine as challenges. Thankfully, Kimberley has the right mindset to conquer these challenges by “not letting it get to me.”
What’s Next for Kimberley
For Kimberley, the sky is the limit for her career as a content creator. Although she considers herself a small content creator, she plans to touch people’s lives by creating different types of content in the future.
She shares, “I feel like right now, despite my YouTube channel getting deleted, I can still get that same momentum and engagement. I will definitely want to continue to speak on social media and help people, whether it’s with mental health or giving them a positive light through having a fun time or publishing relatable content.”
Kimberley sees herself growing her content and making a positive impact on people — regardless if the process will require her to make commentary or beauty content.
What’s Missing in the Content Creator Space
Kimberley shares with us what she wants to happen differently in the content creator space in the future. For her, it’s about diversity.
“I do believe it’s getting better in terms of inclusivity with people, genders, races, and body shapes. A little bit more diversity would always be appreciated. Not saying that it hasn’t already been amazing in terms of the progress we’ve made, but I feel certain industries, like modeling, should continue to embrace diversity more.”