I didn’t choose a niche, the niche chose me

 

I began creating content on social media just before the pandemic, but gained traction while everyone was locked in their homes all across the world. Social media managers will often preach that content creators and influencers need to “niche down” - I respectfully disagree. While finding and religiously sticking to a niche works for some, their content often feels like a continuous ad or sales pitch. As a viewer, I prefer to swipe through content that makes me feel like I am making a friend or getting to know someone new.

    My first batch of popular content began in March 2020 when I created videos on the job as a police officer. I quickly recognized the potential to monetize my platform so I switched to more personal content. This lead me to a series my followers have dubbed “yeet the duck”. While I don’t necessarily profit off this series, it showcases my home life and my relationship with my pet duck, Jerry.

    I have raised Jerry since he was a few days old. We adopted him from a local feed store as a duo, but his sister disappeared one day. My fiancé and I agreed to bring Jerry with us to Baton Rouge, where we lived in a small apartment for 3 years. Due to the nature of ducks, Jerry imprinted on us quickly. He followed us around the apartment, had a favorite spot to perch, and even cuddled with us in bed some nights. We used puppy pads around the house in case you were worried about any messes!

    Jerry would fly from time to time. Either down from the back of the couch or onto my bed. When we would visit family, he would often fly across the yard or flap his wings while running to keep up while chasing us. Tidbit - If you search for “ankle biter” in the dictionary I am certain you will find Jerry listed, and he bites hard when he wants to. So, knowing Jerry was capable of flying on his own, I needed to put some intentional space between us one day when he would not stop attacking my ankles. I had done this a few times before filming it for a TikTok, but when I did it went slightly viral.

    I have explored different types of content creation. From telling stories, cosplay, get ready with me, daily vlogs, shopping hauls - no matter what I post I always get at least one comment asking about Jerry. My favorite comments are “I respectfully request a yeet”, because I know the commenters have been around a while and understand that I cannot always throw Jerry. Sometimes he is simply recovering from a slight injury.. but the spring time is an important time for reproduction, and Jerry’s “boy parts” will grow triple their usual size! This causes him to be about double his normal weight and his wings cannot keep up with the change, so we take a break from yeeting during this time.

    This is where creating a variety of content comes in handy! I have changed my “niche” about 6 times, but I always come back to everyone’s favorite duck when I can. Recently reaching my highest viral views through a series of 5 videos, one reaching over 12.3M and another hitting 15.4M. Through a revolving door of niches, I have built a ragtag community of followers who reach out to me when they are having a bad day or got their girlfriend a nice gift and have to spill the beans to someone. My followers are as interested in my personal life as I am in theirs.