JessR1des and ActuallyItsAxel Talk About Being Content Creators on “Only the Strong Survive”
In this episode of “Only the Strong Survive,” Kahn Media President & CEO Dan Kahn talks with two motorcycle influencers and content creators who come from different worlds. Jessica is well known in the sportbike community as JessR1des on TikTok and Instagram, with almost 2 million followers on both platforms. Becky has also built a strong social media following and is the first woman to complete a motorcycle as an Invited Builder on the Born Free Show. She also built her own brand using her ActuallyItsAxel username as the URL for her website.
Both were early adopters of social media and crafted their followings through lots of hard work. They also did it by staying true to themselves and not taking easy routes. Through it all, they learned plenty about what it takes to make a living as content creators and the current state of the creator economy. Give this episode of Only the Strong Survive podcast a listen as Jessica, Becky and Dan discuss what being a content creator is like in 2024. Here are our top five takeaways from their discussion:
Technology like automated content moderation can throw constant curveballs
Authenticity is extremely important.
All content creators can struggle with burnout.
Staying ahead of the competition requires a sound strategy.
You are going to need thick skin.
Mistaken Content Moderation is Making Life Hard
Algorithms have never made life easy for content creators. Long-form videos were once preferred before they were dumped by the algorithm in favor of much shorter ones. However, automated content moderation is making life seriously difficult for some content creators. Surprisingly, both Jessica and Becky have a hard time posting almost any motorcycle riding videos to TikTok. They are instantly flagged as being unsafe even when they are not.
“I get violations like crazy, so my reach on TikTok has just plummeted. It is my biggest platform, but it is almost my least performing in that sense because they have docked all of the motorcycle-type content,” said Jessica. “I can’t post any riding. I get docked for anything. I get a little warning if I am riding and take my hands off the bar or fix my visor.”
Authenticity and Trust Are Critical to Creators
Many large-scale influencers are considered fake, and sometimes rightfully so. For Jessica and Becky, being authentic is critical to their success. After all, it is hard to fake a love of riding and an interest in motorcycles. Being in an enthusiast space, authenticity is crucial to having followers trust you know what you are talking about. Increasingly, it is also what brands are looking for when they partner with content creators.
“For me, if I am not authentic, my stuff doesn’t do good,” said Becky. “So brands only hire me because they know who I am and what I do. I do like to tell people and other women who are getting into this to totally just be yourself. You cannot fake it, and being authentic is the best way to do it. You are not going to have a lot of followers if people don’t like you anyways, so just be yourself.”
Burnout is a Real Struggle
Burnout can be a struggle in any job, but even more so with creators. Having to constantly deal with an ever-changing algorithm, always coming up with new ideas and always being “on” when in front of the camera can all take their toll. Sometimes, the creative process can be as fun as pulling teeth, but finding ways to avoid burnout is key.
“It is finding that balance,” said Jessica. “I wake up sometimes and am like, I am not getting behind a camera; you can’t pay me enough. You got to have that mental break because the creator burnout is real. Last year, I took three months off of Instagram. I was still reposting content on other platforms, but I wasn’t making any new content. I just hit that burnout and said I am done for now. I just needed to reset, relax and restructure some things. I hit the ground running again, and now I am trying to find ways to avoid that burnout.”
Have a Strategy
Creating content can seem like a haphazard process, and for some influencers, it probably is. Sometimes, that approach can work to capture spontaneous happenings and make quick videos. However, to be successful as a content creator, you must develop a content strategy. And to stay ahead of the competition, it better be a good one.
“I have applied the strategy recently of having different content buckets,” said Jessica. “So I will tackle trends, I want knowledge posts, I want my brand relationships and then what I call onboard footage which is basically me riding around and interacting with my friends or people on the street because that does well on social too. I try to hit one of those four buckets when I am creating content. Then, if I have an idea that sparks interest, I will just do it because it is my page, and I can do what I want. Sometimes, you have to throw things at the wall and see what works.”
Thick Skin is Essential
Let’s face it: the internet is becoming an increasingly hostile place. That negativity seems even more prevalent on social media, with algorithms boosting posts with the most engagement, often consisting of negative comments. If you want to be a content creator, you will need some thick skin. And if you are a female influencer in a male-dominated space like motorcycles, that skin needs to be extra thick.
“In person, they are so cool, nice and supportive. Any biker community I have been involved with at the track or around is supportive, great and awesome,” said Jessica. “It is online that they are nasty, misogynistic, tearing down, jealous and toxic. I think that is true for all creators in general, but especially if you are a woman in a male-dominated type of space.”
Click the play button at the top of this page to listen to the full episode of the “Only the Strong Survive” podcast with Jessica and Becky.
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