Who is Uptin Saiidi?

Known best for his work as an acclaimed journalist, Uptin Saiidi creates a plethora of content that is designed to educate his growing audience. Alongside his catchphrase, Up Your Knowledge, Saiidi embarks on worldly travels to document how the modern world is adapting to advancements in technology, culture, and money. After seeing a lot of success, Uptin Saiidi is very excited about his continuing journey as a content creator.

‘I am a video creator and journalist. I make videos about tech, money, and culture and I’ve built up my audience to about 1.2 million followers over the past year and a half through TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. It’s been a very exciting journey.’

As Uptin continues to create content across many major platforms, it seems that his reach and ambitions are ever-growing.

Building a Personal Brand in the Lucrative World of Tech

Uptin’s content allows him to travel around the world, giving him the opportunity to experience many rich cultures and customs first-hand. However, this tremendous opportunity seemed to fall perfectly into place. He goes on to describe his initial starting point as a content creator.

‘I was in a unique position where I was a reporter for CNBC, one of the largest TV channels in the world. I lived in New York, Singapore and Hong Kong, all for CNBC. I was doing live TV, I was writing articles but then they asked me to start making videos.’

Despite his working relationship with one of the largest news corporations in the world, Uptin Saiidi wanted to expand his content and focus on creating an attractive personal brand. 

‘I realized that people don’t want to connect with a company or a brand, they want to connect with a face. So I realized that there’s actually more power in being my own brand.’ 

Alongside his determination to create an independent creative force behind his work, this content creator is also looking to deconstruct an overly western narrative within contemporary education. After traveling to places such as Dubai and Vietnam, Saiidi understands the importance of seeing the world from a variety of perspectives. He goes on to mention that 

‘One of the ethos of my missions as a storyteller is to break the stereotypes of cultures outside the US.’ 

Overcoming Work Challenges as a Full-Time Influencer

Being an influencer has many perks and for Uptin Saiidi, it has allowed him to explore untapped locations and topics within his content. He is also very frank about the financial benefits of creating content online full-time, yet still understands the uncertainty of self-employment.

‘The money can be really crazy and amazing but it’s like the stock market, or even more volatile than the stock market. So the range is huge but for me, it’s been between $2000 and $130,000 per month.’

Saiidi also mentions the personal struggles he faces as a full-time influencer, particularly concerning working by himself.

‘I think my challenges were isolation. I think most people in a career, whether it’s content or not, are used to a team, a boss, a coworker, and getting feedback. All of a sudden, I’m creating for myself. I don’t have anyone to give me notes, or feedback, or any deadlines.’ 

However, he also mentions the processes he takes in order to remain motivated in this profession. Saiidi explains that he is

‘Learning to manage myself, learning to hold myself accountable and to produce a certain amount of content every week.’ 

Uptin Saiidi still maintains an extremely regular content schedule, uploading three times a week to his YouTube channel for his 62.4K followers to enjoy.

Creating Engagement Across Social Media

Saiidi has been experimenting with a variety of long-form and short-form content, building a devoted fan following across many different platforms. With such a rich content calendar, he believes that consistency is the key to his success.

‘I post three videos a day on TikTok, which is a lot. It’s like, don’t think too much. Done is better than perfect.’

Although he continues to post a plethora of content on TikTok, Uptin Saiidi first found viral fame on Facebook back in 2021.

‘The most viral video was at the Dubai Air Show and it got 19 million views on Facebook.’ 

He continues to describe a simple process for gaining views and traction on social media.

‘The recipe for virality is from the intersection of familiar and unfamiliar. So, most people know Emirates but what is unfamiliar is the first class of Emirates.’

Uptin Saiidi has also worked in El Salvador to discuss the rising prevalence of Bitcoin across the nation.

‘I stayed there for like a week and did a documentary actually. It was almost 30-minutes and was about how they’re using Bitcoin and how some people like it and others hate it. So we got a lot of interviews and spent a lot of time there. That was a really fun video and it gained traction. It got over a million views on Facebook, and about 200,000 on YouTube.’

There is no doubt that this content creator knows how to draw in a wide audience, but he also values the human experience he shares with his fan base. He mentions that 

‘I’m just more excited about sharing that little piece of information or that moment of my travels, something like that.’

Uptin’s Hopes For The Future of Influencer Marketing

With his success growing at an exponential rate, Uptin Saiidi sees a bright future ahead of him. He also believes that more businesses will rely on influencers to play integral roles in their marketing strategies. 

‘I think that we’re going to see a surge in companies coming to creators and influencers. I mean we already are but I think the one thing I’m seeing this year is that they pay me for one piece of content or two pieces of content and pay me extra to use that as their ad.’ 

Saiidi is also seeing advancements in his own career as an influencer, partnering with platforms to create a series of intriguing content. He explains that 

‘I do have a new show on Snapchat. It’s a partnership with Snapchat. It’s called Luxury Living. So I take audiences into private yachts and into first-class.’ 

With an assortment of exciting opportunities on the way, Uptin Saiidi summarizes his journey as an influencer by saying 

‘I think it’s a very exciting time to be a storyteller and create stories.’