HFC student amasses 1.8 million followers on TikTok with his funny videos
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, when everyone was on lockdown, HFC student and basketball player Julian Savoury discovered TikTok – the social media platform used to make short-form videos from various genres.
“I was bored,” admitted Savoury, of Grosse Ile, a Belleville High School graduate studying business at HFC, who was a member of last year's Hawk basketball team.
Today, Savoury has more than 1.8 million followers on TikTok, including actress Talia Jackson (Family Reunion).
“It’s pretty cool that people like my videos enough to follow me. That’s a good feeling. I have so many followers that I can’t see everybody who follows me,” said Savoury.
2 million followers in his sights
He hopes to break the 2 million mark by the end of 2021.
“Honestly, it’s crazy. I can’t imagine more than 1 million people in front of me. I can’t believe I’ve connected with 1.8 million people just by creating videos on my phone. I don’t know many people in my circle doing this. It’s honestly a blessing and feels pretty good,” said Savoury.
Alongside fellow BHS alumnus Jalen Robinson, Savoury was recently featured in HometownLife.com. He has been making relevant yet funny 30-second videos on TikTok. Having a sense of humor is essential and goes a long way, stated Savoury, who’s posted a video of getting small portions at high prices when dining at a national restaurant chain, as well as a video of things that parents do that are annoying.
“I post 2-3 times per day,” he said. “My videos are relatable comedy videos.”
Making money from his TikTok videos
Savoury says he’s making more money uploading TikTok videos than he would at a part-time job.
“TikTok will pay you if your video generates a certain number of views,” he explained. “If you’re really good, people will pay you to make promotional TikTok videos for them.”
One such video Savoury created is a promotional spot about the recent action movie Snake Eyes, starring Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) as the main character and the most popular character of the G.I. Joe franchise.
“I made the TikTok promotional video for Snake Eyes to create enough traffic to generate ticket sales,” he said.
TikTok has also given him the opportunity to work with Hollister Co., a retail brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch.
“TikTok has given me the opportunity to get involved in these big brands. I’m recognized locally in public, which is a pretty good feeling,” he said.
Pro tip for success? Solid time management
For Savoury, the challenging part of this endeavor is staying relevant and consistent and posting good content several times per day. In order to keep up, he plans to take the Fall 2021 semester off and return to HFC in early 2022.
“I plan on seeing where I can go with TikTok,” he said. “Social media can be a bit much. You’re always trying to make sure you’re good and that you’re giving people what they want. You need to keep yourself healthy, both mentally and physically, or else you can fall down the wrong path.”
Savoury did offer some advice for aspiring TikTok content creators.
“What helped me be successful with TikTok and being at HFC was learning how to manage my time and knowing what I wanted to do,” he said. “You have to prioritize. HFC is important, so is TikTok. I would do my school work first, then TikTok. Being consistent and managing my time wisely helped me to get where I am now. It took a lot of practice and a lot of discipline. I never gave up and kept going with it.”