Sheffield students have connected with thousands of people over social media throughout lockdown, which is allowing them to start their dream job.
This past year, hundreds of people have unfortunately lost their jobs due to the outbreak of COVID-19, however, there have been cases where these disastrous few months have brought opportunities for people to start their dream career.
TikTok’s Creator Fund is a way for TikTokers (meeting a certain criteria) to earn money based on their views and engagement levels when they post a video. Those who are successful on the platform will also be opened up to the opportunities to work with brands and companies for paid advertisements.
Chloe Ellen Jackson, 21, who studies at Sheffield Hallam University, amounted a total of 43,000 followers and half a million likes on TikTok (@chloeellenxo), since posting consistently in March 2020, around the time the UK entered the first national lockdown.
Chloe said: “Pre-lockdown, I wouldn’t have had the time to even watch other people on social media, never mind start my own.
“If it wasn’t for lockdown, I definitely wouldn’t have done it.”
Josh Garside, 17, who lives in Sheffield, also started creating on TikTok during his time at home (@joshgarsidee) and has managed to build a following of over 13,000 people.
Social media has been many peoples saving grace throughout the pandemic, as it’s provided a distraction or even provided a hobby to people at home.
The time at home has allowed people like Josh and Chloe to grow a platform from a hobby, that they can use in the future as a potential work avenue.
Because of his age, Josh is unable to earn money directly from TikTok’s Creator Fund at the moment, but it opens up opportunities for him in the future.
Josh said: “I definitely want to carry social media on in the future and hopefully it will bring me more opportunities to reach a larger audience and gain a bigger following.
Chloe’s advice for anyone wanting to start a career in social media is: “Try not to copy someone else’s style of video or style of talking and fashion.
“A lot of people see certain influencers and think that’s what they need to do, when really you just need to be yourself, be authentic and have fun with it.”
