Influencer
Ni Nigel Kabvina: Developing A Successful Style as an Influencer
Who is Ni Nigel Kabvina?
After beginning his journey as a full-time influencer back in August 2021, Ni Nigel Kabvina has captured the hearts of his 2 million TikTok followers. Kabvina, better known to his followers as Simply Ni, creates idyllic cooking content that shows off his impressive skills as well as the superb views from his stylish apartment.
Ni Nigel Kabvina originally wanted to work in consultancy, helping small bars and other venues get back on their feet after the pandemic. Yet, his swift popularity on TikTok has enabled him to begin a new career. Kabvina explains how he first embarked on his journey as a content creator.
‘I knew that the future of marketing, or a portfolio, it’s not just going to be a business card or a website. It’s going to be actually watching what I’m doing and that was when I first joined TikTok. I think when the first video went viral, I still didn’t post for a while and it was in August last year that’s when I decided actually this is going really well and gaining a following.’
Although Ni Nigel Kabvina first started out on TikTok, he has seen incredible reach on other social media platforms.
@sxmplyni I surprised my roommate with Japanese pancakes but failed miserably at making them (plus edible butterflies) #brunchtok #foodreview #contentcreator ♬ move at your own pace anania – The Favourites.
‘I guess you could say I have 1.8 million followers. On Instagram I have 41,000 followers, on YouTube I have 3,000. I am mainly active on TikTok but then again, actually, it’s quite weird, even though I have the biggest following on TikTok, I’m actually very active on Instagram and it’s a great base for me to kind of connect.’
[Ante Up Photography: Digital Photographer in Manchester, Bolton]
Customizing Content For Each Platform
Ni Nigel Kabvina is truly devoted to his craft and is constantly looking to improve the expressive quality of his content. He also experiments with various short and long-form content, trying to find what is most appealing to his growing audience. He goes on to describe the various styles that he adheres to when creating content.
‘On TikTok, there are different styles of cooking videos. So for instance music is a big part but then also ASMR is a big part of the cooking videos. On top of that, I like to do it in a way that’s entertaining. I’d also try not to just speak, not to have a lot of dialogue because I want everyone to feel included. I have a lot of followers who actually don’t speak English so I think they appreciate just being able to watch a video and listen to the music.’
@sxmplyni Making my roommate a super quick and simple egg on toast recipe. Bread Butter Puddin + mango yolk #aroundtheworld #brunchtok #foodreview ♬ Solas Jamie Duffy – Jamie Duffy
Ni Nigel Kabivna also describes his content strategy for Instagram.
‘I’m constantly posting stories. That’s a great way for me to connect and not worry about metrics and analytics. Sometimes you’ll see me post my most creative things on my story and It’s just a moment and I think people really value that.’
Using Past Experiences To Create Immersive Content
TikTok is known for hosting a plethora of content across a wide range of genres and niches. However, Simply Ni has managed to go above and beyond what people usually expect from traditional cooking content. Kabvina believes that his past background has helped him to become a more successful influencer.
‘My background is learning and development. I was always teaching people and how to develop and teach young leaders. You can always improve. If you’ve got this movement that you want to start, then start it, take a step back, take some feedback, develop it, see the flaws, and keep going.’
Ni Nigel Kabvina also mentions how he used his background in education to help others find engagement and prospects on TikTok.
‘I’m part of the TikTik Creator Partnership so I got to go to these meetings and eventually one of the creators realized all the stuff that I was saying and eventually they got me on a project where I started teaching other creators how to improve their content through understanding their analytics.’
Overcoming Perfectionism on Social Media
Despite his charming demeanor and the elegant atmosphere he is able to create in his videos, Ni Nigel Kabvina still has issues with creating content, just like any other full-time influencer. But, he seems to overcome these issues by still posting on a consistent basis. He further explains why he continues to post videos, even if they are not quite what he was expecting.
‘There will be a lot of imperfections or things that go wrong and I’ll still post it. It took me a while to get used to that because my most viral videos always have something that’s gone wrong in them. People really relate to that and I think that sometimes maybe they don’t even know. But if it’s really imperfect, people go, oh, this is cool, I could do that at home.’
Ni Nigel Kabvina also recognizes how his eccentric style and content have helped him better define himself as an influencer.
‘For instance, I did this excessive cereal bowl and for me, it was a great moment which encapsulated my TikTok and my brunchtok idea because it was so excessive, it was over the top and needless. But it was just nice to look at it as a cool video idea.’
Kabivna’s Expanding Vision For Future Content
As the Simply Ni brand continues to grow and diversify, Nigel Kabvina is still looking to produce more food-related content for this fanbase to enjoy. He goes on to explain his plans for a new website in the future.
‘It’s going to have my recipes on there and it’s going to showcase a bit like a portfolio of some of the stuff that I’ve done and some of the things that I’m going to be doing. I’ve constantly got loads of amazing things and projects going on. People will also be able to access some coaching.’
Ni Nigel Kabvina also describes how he hopes to use this new website in accordance with some of his older TikTok content.
‘I plan to revisit a lot of my old recipes with not the exact same video but a different style or revisiting the concept and just adding a bit of something extra. Then hopefully at that point, people will want to see the recipe.’
Nigel Ni Kabvina has been a full-time influencer for less than a year but can still see how the influencer marketing industry is growing and developing at an exponential rate.
‘I think we can’t even fully perceive how far it can go because it’s so powerful. I think that on some level, we all think it’s a bubble that’s going to burst but for me, it’s the idea of no matter what, you know, as a person now, I am more likely to listen to my friend on the street who makes YouTube videos than I am to some celebrity in Hollywood telling me to buy this milkshake. There’s almost a weird sense of community and accessibility and I think that will keep rising and going forward.’
Nigel Ni Kabvina has shown how quickly one can develop and seek out profitable opportunities in the world of influencer marketing. He ends by mentioning a few projects that will be occurring in the near future.
‘I have some amazing projects coming with the BBC. It’s going to be some educational projects. I’m going to be going to schools, talking about food and also the career path and just educating them on different things.’ — Ni Nigel Kabvina
