Multi-IMRO award-winning radio presenter Dave Duke took on a challenge over the month of December to create social media content every day, in an experiment to see if he can become an "influencer."
The radio star has been uploading to TikTok tirelessly, and says that his constant content creation has given himself a new respect for the work of social media stars.
He shared that his biggest surprise and takeaway from the project is how supportive the community has been on TikTok.
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"It's caught me by surprise how quickly people bought into what I'm doing. I knew this series wouldn't be for everyone but I didn't know how many would really enjoy it either," he said.
"Also, I have a newfound respect for full-time content creators who do everything themselves. They have no social team, it's just them with a phone and a mic and ideas. It's no small task to create something new every single day or in the case of some creators, several videos a day."
"I might have given the impression that I am totally anti-influencer but I am not immune from following some of them too," he told TikTok's Creator Spotlight Series.
Coming up with enough ideas to make videos every single day for a month is a feat that would get the better of most people, but the Glenade, North Leitrim native did some extensive research ahead of the challenge.
"For the past couple of months, I have been observing full-time influencers in their natural habitat. What are they doing? Where are they going? What are they selling? What are they trying to get for free? My notes app has never been busier," he said.
"I have held informal consultancy sessions with friends and work colleagues who are obsessed with these personalities to learn what patterns they have noticed. For a month like this, you have to draw inspiration from several places."
"Even though it came as a surprise, I should have known how forthcoming my followers would be, they have been amazing with pitching ideas. They even pushed me into my first ever Get Ready With Me."
Inspiration for the series initially came from the idea of creating more content than he consumed. After enjoying being a casual poster to TikTok, Dave had the idea of creating a character that was a full time influencer, and took that idea to action for December.
He said: "Since short-form video has been a thing I have been interested in but compared to other platforms, TikTok has been a revelation. It gives you the best possibility of building a like-minded tribe. It rewards creativity, it has birthed countless memes and it has personally provided me with hours upon hours of entertainment."
"For the month of December, I wanted to challenge myself to create more than I consumed. I love making TikToks but I was so inconsistent at posting. I could post solidly for a week and then disappear for a month."
"In the summer, I flirted with the idea of playing the character of a full-time influencer. It's an idea that I kept coming back to. I thought it would be fun to examine their lifestyle, what content they are posting and what camera trickery they use."
"It's an idea that wouldn't leave me alone so I made a commitment for the month of December to post every single day, no matter what. So far, the streak is unbroken."
English (US) ·