What We Can Learn About Storytelling, From “Who TF Did I Marry”
“Who TF Did I Marry” is a series taking the internet by storm, made by creator Reesa Teesa. Her 50-part TikTok series narrates the crazy story about her marriage with her ex-husband and each part is 10 minutes long, with little to no editing or content production. So, how come she’s going viral? All we’ve been told by social media experts is to edit out our pauses, improve our video quality and get the best lighting possible. Reesa’s series proves that storytelling trumps it all, so here’s everything we can learn from her success.
Teesa’s Results
TikTok often gets associated with short-form video content as well as getting a bad rap for lowering attention spans. Teesa breaks all these stereotypes with her 50-part story that is approximately 5 hours long (that’s longer than a Marvel movie BTW) and full of millennial pauses and “ums”. On top of this, all videos of this 50-part series are of Teesa sitting in her home or car, without any fancy lighting or background, simply telling the details of her crazy marriage. She has grown over 2.7M followers, has over 15M likes and 100M + views across all videos, in just over a week. It’s safe to say we have things to learn from her. The first thing we have to understand is how raw storytelling truly trumps everything else. Take Teesa as a prime example. When your story (aka, your content) is good — it WILL perform well. Keep reading to learn more.
First Things First, Giving CONTEXT
Something we can learn from Teesa is giving context. She gives a full backstory, gives tons of details and sets a dramatic tone. We see far too many "GRWM” (get ready with me) where creators simply begin talking, without giving any context. People are giving you THEIR precious time and it’s your job to captivate them. Why would they waste their time listening to what you did on a random Tuesday? If you’re Kim Kardashian - you can get away with it. But you’re not. So you’ve got to give context. Here’s an example…
Without Context: “I just like (pause) came home, after a long day at work (pause) and I’m just so tired of dealing with micro-managers. Today was so overwhelming and I could’ve done so much more work without my manager breathing down my neck.”
With Context (options below…)
“If you’re not a micro-manager, keep scrolling.”
“Tell me WHY my micro-manager does this every time I… (continue story)”
“To all of you dealing with micro-managers, here’s what you need to remember”
Which one sounds more compelling? Option 2, obviously. Teesa doesn’t do this in most of her videos, because she began a series, so people knew what to expect in coming videos; however, it’s important you do! Let’s be real, it’s not every day that we have a crazy story to pull out from our pockets about an insane marriage and a crazy ex-husband. As brands and creators, we’re creating content on a DAILY, so most of the time, we’re talking about “normal”, everyday things. Giving context is the key in not only hooking your audience in, but KEEPING them hooked throughout the video.
Content
The content of your posts, being, the information you are sharing, actually has to be good, just like Teesa’s story. Again, it’s not every day you have a story like hers to share, but either way, this still applies, because if it’s good — people will watch it! That’s the main takeaway from the “Who TF Did I Marry” series — content production, editing, lighting, etc., none of that mattered as much as the captivating information being shared.
If you’re a brand on TikTok, you’re most likely sharing value-driven content, and far too many times, we see people on TikTok share information that could’ve been googled, or sharing information that is well-known within their industry. The key to creating captivating content is going beyond the narrative of your current industry by finding the gap in the market and filling it! Try sharing information that your audience hasn’t heard before, to really stand out from the crowd.
Vulnerability
We can’t deny the fact that Teesa is extremely brave for being so vulnerable. Her vulnerability and natural humour captivated many and made her more relatable to a wider audience. People love real, raw and organic emotion and authenticity, so don’t shy away from it! This doesn’t mean you have to force emotions (don’t… cause people feel that), and it doesn’t mean you have to overshare either, but take your raw emotions and turn them into learning lessons for your audience. From a social media standpoint — you’re giving value to your audience. From a human standpoint — you’re helping so many people.
P.S. This applies to brands too! Founders — tell the origin story of your brand, how it started, where you were in life and why you created it. Maybe you suffered from ADHD which led you to create your organic matcha that helped you immensely. Let your audience in on your story, because chances are, they will (1) be able to relate to you more, (2) trust your brand more and as a result and lastly, (3), buy from you!
Long-Form Content & Series
There’s a reason TikTok is pushing long-form videos and it’s because their direct competitor is YouTube, and according to some experts, Netflix is another too, but we don’t have enough information to come to that conclusion yet (we’ll keep you posted). Both of TikTok’s competitors are platforms that are the queens of long-form content.
TikTok has been urging creators to create videos over 1 minute for at least a year, while even coming out with a 10-minute recording option, and testing a 30-minute option with some users! It’s clear they are coming for their competitors and Teesa definitely took advantage of this at the perfect time with her 10-minute-long videos. She is one of the few creators utilising TikTok’s 10-minute recording option, and TikTok rewarded her for that because she is helping TikTok reach THEIR goals! Our top tip with any platform, including TikTok is to conform to their preferences because it will favour YOU. If you are helping the platform you are on reach their goals, they will push your content out more.
For you, this means creating videos between 1-3 minutes to start, pushing up to 10 if you can (doesn’t need to be all the time), as well as playing around with series to aid in making multiple parts to one content piece, which automatically makes your content long-form.
You Don’t Need New Ideas All The Time
The last, and best takeaway, is that you don’t need a new content idea, topic, background or whatever else for every video. There is no need to constantly vary your content. You’re allowed to be repetitive, and in fact, it’s encouraged because it helps you establish consistency in your brand image. Every content piece posted by Reesa was in a very similar format and setting. If we want to compare her success to other influencers - the same goes for Alix Earle with the usual GRWM setup. So many newer creators and brands get worried about whether they are being too repetitive with what they are saying and/ or posting, so let this be your sign to not be afraid of repetition! You can film with the same setup, the same location, the same format and even talk about the same topic. One content idea can be turned into endless different pieces of content and spoken about from different angles. Get creative!
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