How A Hate Comment Helped Launch this Creators TikTok Account

Episode 34 Show Notes

What you will learn in this episode:

COMING SOON!

DUSTIN GETZLAF
Social Media Pop Culture Consultant

TikTok: badsofficial
Instagram: badsofficial
YouTube: Bads
LinkedIn: Dustin Getzlaf

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Transcript

Dustin Getzlaf: 0:00

One of my fans actually commented on one of my videos, he's like, dude, your accounts died. My initial reaction was, wow is it? I replied to his comment. And I said, I'm gonna make you a 1 million view video tonight.

BizTok Intro: 0:17

Welcome to BizTok where we talk to entrepreneurs, business owners and brands who are using TikTok for business and together, we bring you the top tips, insights and secrets to skyrocket your TikTok account. So buckle up and get ready to become the next biz talker. here's your host, Kyle Kaplanis.

Kyle Kaplanis: 0:41

Hey Everyone, it is Kyle Kaplanis and welcome to BizTok. Today in the studio, I have one of the most creative creators that I've ever had on the show. His name is Dustin Getzlaf, aka Bads you probably know him on TikTok with his 629,000 followers. Under@badsofficial, he's got so much insight and knowledge to share with us. Dustin, welcome to the show. Why TikTok? What got you started there?

Dustin Getzlaf: 1:11

Originally, I wanted to be a YouTuber. So that was my that was my goal. And so after I did that for about a year and a half, 40 hours a week, growing Not at all. It was a really tough struggle on there. In a year and a half. I posted probably every week for a year and a half. And I ended up I had 137 total subscribers. And I was just like, I don't know about this grind. This is tough. And then it was around that time when TikTok came out. I was I was a very early adopter at TikTok. So I was on there, October of 2018. So it was right when Bytedance had bought musical.ly it was right at that transition period. Yeah, I got on there. I just I heard that might be the next big thing. I heard that it you get way better exposure on there. And so I started making TikTok videos, and I fell in love with the app and I stopped posting YouTube videos and TikTok, TikTok life till now.

Kyle Kaplanis: 2:09

You know what I love too, that you kind of didn't listen to any of the misconceptions, especially during that early day I was on there as well during that time, is so many people were saying, Oh, it's just kids. It's just dancing, where you were like, no, it's early like this is early days. Are you kidding me? I'm gonna take advantage of this opportunity.

Dustin Getzlaf: 2:27

Yeah, absolutely. And I got I got that. And there was pushback that comes with that right? Being an adult on it. kids out there, as your friends are like, what are you doing? Everyone on here is 15. Like, this is such a cringy app. And at the time, that's all it was right? Yeah, it was lip sync, it was dancing. And honestly, when I first started, I didn't really know what to make on there, either. I just knew that I wanted to make content. So in the beginning, the stuff I was making wasn't really much less cringy than anything else that was on the app. And as a result, I didn't grow that fast either. So right, it was something that I kind of saw potential in, you know, I knew even on those first few videos, the fact that TikTok it gives everybody a chance. And and that's what I realized really quick on the app, I would post a video about nothing, and it would get 50 or a couple 100 views, right. And for a YouTuber that had been on YouTube for a year and a half. That's a lot of views. I was seeing numbers of like five or 10 views on one of my YouTube videos. Yeah. And here I am out of the blue on TikTok getting a couple 100. And I was like, Okay, okay, this could be something right?

Kyle Kaplanis: 3:30

I feel that on a deep level, I have a YouTube channel, I only post some of my podcast content on there. I don't really work it. But sometimes I only get one view and it's just me, right? So it's like, it does not get pushed at all. Like, you literally have to just be on that grind. I love that you say, you know, some of your videos just got 50 to 102 people having these, this mindset that TikTok is you come there and you just get famous. And yes, that happens to some rate. But I think people are they take the vanity metrics a little too far. They think they're gonna come in and just get 1000s and 1000s of views. What do you do have the opportunity, everyone has that equal opportunity, which is so exciting. But even then your very first video with zero followers, you could still generate 100 to 200 views, which to me is so good. Like, that's great. Huge. It's Yeah.

Dustin Getzlaf: 4:23

And especially if, like, yeah, you're exactly right. I think one of the issues or one of the misconceptions where it comes in is the for you is so accessible. And that's the thing that lures you in about the app too, because you see videos on the for you. And you think I could do that. Like if that can get a million views. Why can't I get a million views, right? And so it's the thing that inspires you. It's a thing that you know, can happen. But it's also I think the reason that people go into it with maybe higher expectations whether it's like well what I'm making is every bit as good as what's on the for you. So why aren't Why am I not famous yet, right? It's definitely more of a grind than people think. It's definitely not just show up and you're huge.

Kyle Kaplanis: 5:03

Exactly. Yeah. No, you do you have to be consistent. You still do. I mean, even, you know, my daughter's got 2 million, but some people say, Oh, you just blew up overnight, but it's like No, not really. She was actually creating for several months. Then finally had a good video. She made a video finally of dancing. Like even though the app was about dancing at the time. She didn't dance. But she's been a dancer her whole life, right? Which was only did it that's even before she does. But

Dustin Getzlaf: 5:33

Jaydecandance, And then she started dancing after

Kyle Kaplanis: 5:35

she's been a dancer. Yes. since she was a little kid. Oh, my wife and I owned a dance school actually, in the UK. Okay, yeah. And so she's been dancing her whole life. But really, she was one of the first dancers to develop on there. But she listened to her audience because people were like, you can dance you should dance. So she was like, Okay, try that out. And that was what was accessible. When I read one of your, you know, the interview that you've done in the past to you kind of said, Listen to the audience, be engaged with them. And that's really key, I think, to a lot of success, too. In the beginning, it might be a little bit slow. Even right now I'm starting a brand new TikTok, BizTok, account, I just started it a month ago. And I'm getting a lot of comments and feedback already. So it's pretty cool that you do get that engagement, and be sure to continue to engage back with those.

Dustin Getzlaf: 6:20

Absolutely, that's, that's, it's so key. And that's the tips that I have. So I'm a part of a couple discord channels, where I kind of help people out newer tech talkers, and give them tips and kind of help them through their struggles, because it is a struggle, and it is, a lot of people think that, you know, maybe have your first video that pops off, people have the assumption that that's the new standard on TikTok. That now this is how many views I can expect to see from now on, right, and I got X amount of new followers, and then they post a new video, and that it does with the one before the good video did. And none of those people that just liked your last video come back. So there's a lot of trial and error that goes on there, you definitely need to be open, even with my videos early on, you never really know what people like about it, the thing that you like about your video or your content, or you think people like about you, you're actually usually wrong. And people like you for a different reason. You do get that feedback, and you have to follow it. And that's why I've always told people, like when you're starting out unless you know what your skill, your talent, your unique offering is, you got to do everything in the beginning and just listen, and the app will tell you the algorithm is smart enough. It'll show you where you're supposed to go if you're paying attention.

Kyle Kaplanis: 7:36

Exactly.

Dustin Getzlaf: 7:37

And so that's what happened to me. And that's why I like you know, after a year and a half of stubbornly, thinking I knew everything or knowing that what I was making was going to work, you know, just muddling through, is there actually have a really interesting story about why I blew up. And I wish I took a screenshot of it. What had happened was, I was kind of doing a mix of edits, and skits and dancing, I was doing everything. At one point, I kind of took on a certain a new channel where I was doing a really unique kind of edit, and I kind of put my main channel on the back burner. And at this point I had, this was the beginning of this year, and I had 66,000 followers after a year and a half. So I had some growth, but it was mostly my edits that popped off to get me to those levels. I didn't have a strong threshold of views that I was getting. And so I've kind of started just posting whatever to my main account, like I started just kind of abusing and I'm like, I'm just gonna say whatever I want, do whatever I want, right? The reaction wasn't great. Like my views are steadily going down. And one of my fans actually commented on one of my videos, he's like, dude, your accounts dying. And it's like one of those trolling comments that everybody gets, right. Everybody who gets to a point gets those comments at some point. I'd never seen that comment before. My initial reaction was, wow, is it? And then my second was, am I letting down my fans, like the people who came here to see a certain thing? And now I'm not giving them that value anymore? Am I even offering anything valuable to this app at this point? And so I replied to his comment, and I said, I'm gonna make you a 1 million view video tonight. And at that point, I'd never made a 1 million view video. That never happened. And I just committed to it. And I was just like, I knew which of my video types really worked. But I was just stubbornly not making it. And I don't know why I just, I didn't want to be known for certain things. I wanted to be in control of what I make. I didn't want to tell me what to make. And I was just like, kid, I'm gonna do this. And so I made my first video of this style that I do right now I've done like, three or four smaller versions that weren't as well done just for fun. Yeah, the first one got like 2000 views and the second one had like 30,000 and the next one had 250,000. So I knew that it was doing better than the rest of Great, great. And in my mind, I'm just like, I think I could make one of these that could pop, it's for sure my best content, people love it. I think I can get a million views. And 24 hours later, that video hit a million views, though. And it was that moment in my mind where I was like, I can do this, like, I have a formula that works. If I really truly want to grow, if that's my goal on this app, I got to make more of this. And so from that moment on, I was just like, I'm gonna make one of these a day. I think it was 60 days and see what happens. And yeah, it was that whirlwind after that. It just kept snowballing my my new norm became a half a million views that was to be expected in every video, a flop for me became what 10 times my old best used to be, you know, flop is now 40,000 50,000 views, yet two of them hit 13 million like it just it started just getting wild after that, and exponential growth. For sure, man,

Kyle Kaplanis: 11:01

I was gonna say your views are awesome. You do bring such a unique flavor to the app. Like I've never seen anybody doing what you do, you know, you could have missed that opportunity. It's really cool that somebody said, hey, look, your account thing, and it's some people could looked at it as two different ways. Somebody could have just been like, screw this, like, I'm done then like, I'm dying. It's over. But you were like, Hey, you know what? You're right. I do have more value I can bring let me let me bring it.

Dustin Getzlaf: 11:30

Yeah. You know, or, or the other reaction, which is, they're just a hater. Screw that first. Yeah, exactly. They would just not engage with that comment. And just leave it at that. Because people get those comments, and they usually just get defensive over it. Yeah. I'm just I was just trying to listen, I was just trying to do the right thing. And I guess I really wish I screenshotted it because I ended up with the video that he said that on. Once I started making all of my new content, I went and cleaned up all of my, like cringy content, right. And that was part of the one of the videos that got the chopping block. Gotcha. And I never really realized until you know, a few weeks few months later, that that one interaction I had with him was like this turning point for me in my entire TikTok career. So I wish I had it. I wish I had calm that comment so I could put it on my wall.

Kyle Kaplanis: 12:23

I think that is cool that we should use like constructive criticism and not look at it as like negative people are saying that then that means they were watching you in the past. And now they're feeling a lack of value. So I think it is true that what you said just kind of reengage and say, hey, what can I bring? What would what would you like to see then? If you think it's dying? How could I you know, relive this and maybe the fans might step back in and be like, hey, you should do those videos. Again. I love it. And you know, it's interesting, because you said you didn't want to be controlled by the content that people kind of wanted to see you wanted to make your own. But at the end of the day, the truth like the biggest creators are controlled by their followers. They like you know, they tell you what they want to see. And and you are an entertainer in a way to an audience. So you kind of you do need to listen. And I mean, it does become fun, though. I'm sure you really enjoy this type of content you're making? And you're Yes,

Dustin Getzlaf: 13:20

absolutely. I'm a person who really gets joy out of the editing process. Like I really like the editing. So that's where my that's why I get so much joy out of it. Because it's cool taking an idea from your head and then making it happen digitally, right. And I made a whole lot of mistakes, getting to where I am now where I would, you know, I call it stamping with like my friends and fans, I call it stamping when I lift my objects up and put it on the screen. Right. But like, you miss it sometimes or the lighting isn't right, or something messes up. And it was really, really common. And I'd have to scrap the whole video. So it wasn't, it was there was definitely hard to get to that point. But it was always, always fun to make those types of videos. But like to your point about how, you know, you kind of have to make what people want. And you know, not everyone loves what they make. It's like, I think that that's that's true for everybody. Like if you look at Charlie, right? It's like, does Charlie really want to make three dance videos a day? Probably not. Yeah, and she has to rehearse them. And you know, she probably spends 810 hours a day just in front of her camera doing this stuff. And she's been doing it for years now. And I'm sure she It's not her favorite thing to do anymore, but it's what her fans wants, and she knows that it works. And that's the biggest thing you got to let your ego go and make sure that you're making that you are an entertainer. And at the end of the day you're not you're not there to show off or you know, tell people while you're great or anything like that. It's the same reason I don't complain in any of my videos and say this views are down or nobody liking this. I know my place as an entertainer on the app where people come for a very Specific, interesting kind of videos.

Kyle Kaplanis: 15:02

I love that you said you know about like Charlie and stuff because I think some people, they crave the fame, but they have to remember at the end of the day, everything has a price, right? So if you do want that you do have to kind of think of yourself as an entertainer, you're like a movie, like even like a movie actor, you know, you can't just make one movie and think you're going to be a star, you have to continue to make them and go out there. So there's a lot of people that that crave that virality. But it's true. You you do kind of live now to that standard. And a lot of people think oh creators are they're making all this money. That's not fair, I'm doing this job. But they work frickin hard. There's a lot of things and they have a lot of pressure to because now they're a public either not just a character in a movie, they're their actual self. So wherever they are in the world, they always have to watch what they say watch what they post, you know, for pretty much ever if they want to continue.

Dustin Getzlaf: 15:56

Yeah, Sir, my comments sensor, what I say to people, ages, people, especially as an adult, right, there's a lot of extra eyes on an adult on an app where there's a lot of young people definitely, and depending on what type of video I'm making, again, I don't know if your listeners will know or seen the videos that I make. But it's one of those things where I'll make something that appeals to a different audience. So I'm always turning into an image, an iconic character, a scene something funny, whatever it is, some of those characters are requests from younger fans, right? So I have a chunk of my fan base is like 12 years old, right? Because I will have made you know, a sonic.xc video, which was from scary pasto, which was a huge deal four years ago, when kids were like, seven, right? The people who will be lured into that video, when the video gets tagged by TikTok is going to be inherently a younger audience. Yeah. So it's like, you just have to be really careful about the most simple reactions and comments to people that you don't say anything that could be perceived out of line when you are mixing adults with children.

Kyle Kaplanis: 17:03

Definitely 100% No, I agree with that.

Dustin Getzlaf: 17:06

The nice thing is, is the biggest key like you were saying about you know, Charlie, and you know, making sure that you make something that your fans like, like one thing that happens with me is I get stagnant periods where I'm just like, Oh, I don't know what video to make today. I don't know what it's supposed to be. But then I have these other creative editing ideas, right? And those flop every single time. I'm still trying to find another type of content to pair with my existing content, right? sort of get out there with something kind of fresh, but yeah, once TikTok and your audience and the algorithm and your tags and your authority establish who you are. Mm hmm. Hard to get out of that, right. And so that's the pain a lot of people are feeling. And that's why I made the point earlier about a lot of people don't actually realize what people like about them. Because the mistake I see made all the time on the for you page is someone will have a video pop, and then I'll check out their channel. And I can see the videos they made after that I can see that they're trying to replicate what they made in that viral video. But they don't know how they're missing a key piece and you can tell that they just they don't really know. And then that's the point where you know, you have to listen to people and I'm read all those comments of that video that popped off. Like, why did they like it? Right?

Kyle Kaplanis: 18:29

I do like that you're still continuing to try other things, because I do think that's really important for creators is to continuously still trying even if they flop, you never know one of them one day might go off. And now you have another second piece. You know, my daughter, she's been on the app the same amount of time as us since the very beginning. But just recently, literally within the last month. She did a funny video that she didn't even expect it to do anything was just like a joke. And it was basically she does a series called It's that easy now so it's like her and her mom, they just take something that are very sarcastic. So for instance, somebody who's like if you have asthma, just breathe.

Dustin Getzlaf: 19:09

Oh, yes. You know, something? Something like that. Like, dude, that joke kind of in the comment section. Lots on TikTok.

Kyle Kaplanis: 19:14

Yeah, exactly. Like just stupid things like that. So she started making it into a funny series. She wasn't expecting it to do well. It wasn't even intentional, but it popped off. And it's like anytime she does one of those videos now it just goes crazy and her fans love it. But she wouldn't have known to do that if she didn't try other things in between. and trust me most of her little 20% of what she's trying on the side. Also flops. Finally this one did well and now it's like her top views are just that style of content and people are loving it and they want Mert listen to your audience and see what they like and if a video does well and they're like we want more we want more, then you definitely got to you know, do that.

Dustin Getzlaf: 19:55

You need to give people what they want while still trying to evolve as a creative theater and the you don't want to stagnate. And if you stagnate for too long, you'll become obsolete. The art moves way too fast to do one thing one way forever, even if it's working, because it will eventually die. And when that I always referred to as a clamshell, it's like your authority on the app is a clamshell, and you're prying it open, and you're prying it open, and it's trying to close on you at all times. And if you if you hesitate, if you don't pay attention, and it closes on you, it's very hard to open that clamshell again and get that authority back. You need to keep experimenting, that's the biggest thing. Like you got to hold on to your niche while experimenting, because the numbers you get might seem amazing now comparatively to what you used to get. But you still haven't seen your most viral video, you still don't know what it could be

Kyle Kaplanis: 20:54

great.

Dustin Getzlaf: 20:55

That's the thing that I was keeping the back of my mind. It's like, you know what I was going for 2000 3000 4000 followers a day. And I was just like, you kind of get this perception of this is the fastest anyone can grow on this app, I'm pretty sure. And then you make something one day and you grow 20,000 or more in a day. And you're like, oh, there is another level to this. Right? One thing to know is that there's always another level, and the thing you're making right now might not be the best thing that you ever made. And that's what your daughter's finding out right now.

Kyle Kaplanis: 21:24

Exactly.

Dustin Getzlaf: 21:25

I know there's another kind of content, I haven't figured out yet. That's gonna be my biggest video ever.

Kyle Kaplanis: 21:31

Even Gary Vee says it, the 8020 rule, you know, 20% of your time and energy should be focused on something else. So that way, because you never know what opportunities could come out of there. And that's what your content to your content should always be have a different side, key, you know, stick with your niche that you know, and you're really good at, but always be looking for other things. What other strategies do you think work best, particularly like

Dustin Getzlaf: 21:57

to grow? Yeah, I'm a big algorithm guy. And so that's one of the reasons that I kind of, I'm just an analytical techie kind of person. So I always want to know, like, Why are videos doing well, and others aren't? Right? What What do what do people want to see? Like, what are the How does the algorithm work? And so that was one of my first missions on TikTok was digging down to figure out what does the TikTok algorithm Want to see? How does it wait a like versus a comment? How much is a share worth? How much is watch time worth? How long should a video be to be optimal for the for you? You know, all those sorts of things. And so I went down a lot of different avenues to figure that stuff out. I even ended up talking to I met a Chinese guy on Discord. And we ended up doing 10 hours of phone calls. He was like a developer and helped with TikTok and stuff like that. And so I just picked his brain and got so much information. So the biggest thing on TikTok, the number one is stopping the scroll. Because the thing is because watch time is so key. If you want your watch time to get crushed, it's have people skip you in the first second. And that happens a lot. Yeah. And so the biggest thing you can do is stop that scroll people are addicted to it, they're just looking for, you know, a face a color, they don't even know what they're looking for. They're just scrolling. Yep. And so you need to shock them right away. And for me, that number is a second and a half. If I can't provide some reason in the first second and a half to watch the rest, then I've already lost them. And so that's when I brought in my the green suit, I start with a lot of my basic green suit. And I usually start off by changing the green suits color by touching it and I become the character's armor or body or whatever the character is going to be. And that effect right off the bat gives me that scroll stopping moment. So that's something that I would recommend for everybody is, you know, is your video interesting right off the bat. And that can mean anything. That could mean you're an attractive person, it's probably easier for you. That's why you know, the attractive person pretty face TikTok does so well. Because you're already providing value from the millisecond someone scrolls to you, right? People who aren't just attractive as their trait. They don't have that cheat code. So they need to find another way to stop the scroll. You know, for the scantily clad girls, they go that option, right? For an editor. I like to provide that edit in the first second. If you have a skit, maybe start with, you know, the most hilarious or offensive part of your skit in the first word. Yeah, right, get that scroll stop, then and then it's just continued sales. You need to make sure after you get that first second and a half, you're giving them a reason to watch the next eight seconds. And then when they get to that you have to give them a reason to watch the end. That's the biggest because if you can get 100% watch time That video is going to go viral. Yeah. So that's what your focus needs to be. And so for me and my content, that's one of the reasons that it goes as well, I have that second, I'm doing all this weird stuff I'm drawing on the screen. People are curious, they're confused. They're enjoying the process of basically a live art performance. And then there's that reward at the very last second. Yeah, so you have a reason to watch to the end. And my followers are trained to understand that there's always a payoff. And so the psychology of the payoff plays in as well, my followers know to watch it. That's kind of my my system. And even though I'm at I'm technically in, like the VFX space, that applies to no matter what your content is, everything you said, right, there is just massive insight for everybody listening.

Kyle Kaplanis: 25:52

And I think a lot of people do, you know, that might be listening to this show, or, you know, older demographics, who might be looking to use it as an educational space. And I think it is true what you said, you need to catch him right away. So I know videos who do talking, sometimes people would be like storytime like that. They'll just like, say a word. So then people are like, Oh, what is that I need to hear this story. Those videos that I see if people talking it's very critical, the first word, they say something crazy. Sometimes it can be just something really dramatic. From your story,

Dustin Getzlaf: 26:24

didn't you start doesn't even have to be dramatic, but just a word that catches somebody's attention. That's why the format, the talking head format sort of became a little less interesting, where people were just like, holding the camera start talking. And then you saw TikTok has sort of a niche for that, which is that the bathroom mirror, right. So what people will do, instead of just talking to their camera, is you swoop into the frame, and you've got your camera on the mirror looking at you, and then you're telling your story, your joke, whatever the thing is, you want to say you're not saying it to the mirror. And that's the reason that works is because you're walking, you're like oh, and or whatever people's thing is, you know, one of my friends on their DAN DAN bomb, he's pretty big. And that's a lot of what he does. He comes in and he just, he has a unique voice and tons of energy. And he slides into frame. And he says this thing with tons of energy. And then he has sort of an exit phrase that he says, Yeah, I love that. Right?

Kyle Kaplanis: 27:23

Exactly. They want it. They're like, it's a consistent thing they know about it, and it gets their attention throughout the whole thing. And I love what you said too. And I think it's important in the beginning, you have no idea what's going to work for you. So I think if you're just starting even within your first six months, it's okay to that you might not have all the success you're going to learn. And to make sure that you continue to look at your analytics, because I just went through mine yesterday, on all my videos, and I was like, ooh, people are watching my videos, which is good for about 15 seconds. But my problem is, is I'm making them way too long. So what I'm going to do is now that I'm doing these educational videos, I'm going to break them down into smaller videos. So that way people watch it through the all the way through, because I'm like, Hey, 15 seconds, not bad for an average for a talking video, like I was actually happy with that a lot of times, it could be less, maybe like three seconds, four seconds. So people are interested in what I'm saying it's just a little bit too long. So now I'm going to break down those videos, make figure out a way to make them shorter, or provide a little bit more value in something like a little bit interesting if it's going to be longer to drive that attention. So if it's just my face for 30 seconds, people might not be that interested. I think a lot of people actually don't go through their analytics that much. They just think, oh, it didn't do well. But why? Like, go through it. See? See what happened? read your comments. And also see how long did somebody watch it for? Maybe that's your problem, because it's true. Watch time is the key critical component

Dustin Getzlaf: 28:50

to TikTok's. Absolutely. And TikTok breaks it down in really simple format, overly simplified in a lot of ways, especially for technologically advanced people like me, and I want to see every single way that it works. But you can just take you can take so much information from the few numbers they do show you and you know right away like,

Kyle Kaplanis: 29:10

Oh,

Dustin Getzlaf: 29:11

this video has 3000 likes, but one share, right? And so you can see like when that is skewed TikTok doesn't just want huge performance in one area of the video that there needs to be a balance right there. Everything should be in like a ratio, like a harmony. Because the thing is, if you have a ton of comments, but not at all, not a lot of likes, and not a lot of shares. It might mean you hack the system, it might mean just simply asked a question. Yeah, it might mean you your description was put a green heart in the comments. And everyone just spams green heart doesn't mean they like your video. Exactly. So you need to make sure that all those numbers are sort of in line and you can you can extrapolate a lot of information from that. So if your shares are really low, then you got to think why did no one want to share this video. Wasn't not interesting enough our shares disabled, which is something that's happening a whole lot right now with music issues, the violations, like they just changed all the rules, right. And part of that is original sounds are getting crushed, like you'll find that TikTok is really trying to push their licensed music. Yeah, as soon as you're using a modified song and edited song or using someone's voice from some video, you kind of have this extra layer of, I guess, probation on that video from TikTok. And sometimes don't, those don't free up. And so that's just something to watch, like, I've had a lot of videos failed, where I'm like, I don't get it. This was an amazing video, I put in a lot of effort. I know it's good. So why did it do a 10th as good as I'm used to, and I do some digging, and I find out it's a yellow dot audio in the States, right. And if someone doesn't know what it yellow dot audio is, essentially, music licenses are region locked. So just because a song is available in the song library in wherever you live, it doesn't necessarily mean that song is allowed to be in other countries. Yep. And the problem being Canadian is our market is small, we've got 30 million people, there's 330 million south of the border. Exactly. So if your videos as a Canadian aren't being shown in the States, that's a big problem. It is. And you don't always know and you think you're doing all the right things, you're following best practices, you didn't upload your own audios, you know, you think you're just you're totally in the clear. And then a fan sends to you a screenshot showing that you know, they weren't delivered your videos, because that's a yellow dot where they're from, that's what the analytics can tell you. Those are the types of things you can learn. So you don't say scrap a fantastic idea for the Rockley,

Kyle Kaplanis: 31:49

the yellow dot thing is becoming way more prevalent before, like just even a year ago, you could pretty much just put whatever you wanted out there, you could just share your own music, you can make your own clips and our intern for a company. He goes to USC down in in Southern California. And he goes to business school, and he's doing a music major. And they were talking about TikTok and the infringement the copyright laws. And he said that they just constantly are getting like fines and fines and fines. Like he said, it's just insane. So they're probably trying to clean that up now because it's just Madhouse for the last year of all these copyright infringement, you know, fines and policies and stuff. So that's really a big deal. Right now, the library is a good source. If you're from a region, it does typically say the sound is not available in your region. I know you've probably seen that pop up.

Dustin Getzlaf: 32:41

Yeah, yeah. So

Kyle Kaplanis: 32:43

don't use those sounds. You know, if you're from a different country, don't use those sounds that say that, make sure it's something that's pretty popular, or if you aren't speaking, just use your own voice and things like that. But I do, what I'm trying to do is definitely use sounds that are within the app that I know have been working and that are definitely on the TikTok list. So I don't get stuck, because it does, it does screw up your your content. If if that yellow dot goes up, it's done. The video is not going to be

Dustin Getzlaf: 33:16

TikTok's not going to share it with anybody is just going to be this this thorn, this weak link on your on your page, and it's going to screw up the flow. And yet no good comes from doing that. A step above that would be using tic tocs blue check tracks. So like the ones that they recommend that you use, because there's music that's licensed, like there's the music that TikTok is allowed to use. Yeah. And then there's music that TikTok wants you to use. And there's actually a big difference in that as far as TikTok is concerned. Because on one they're essentially paying to use it on the other term. On the other one, they're getting

Kyle Kaplanis: 33:53

a copyright that

Dustin Getzlaf: 33:54

Yeah, so they, they want you to use those songs. And generally they're going to have a more wide open sort of like area that they're going to get pushed to you don't have those same issues where it's, you know, maybe not allowed in any country in the world except for your country. Typically, those, those blue marked ones are a little safer and TikTok will push them for you without, with a little less probation.

Kyle Kaplanis: 34:18

Yeah, yes, they're not as catchy or fun. But they do still work though. They do still work though, because brands now have to only use songs from those lists. So if you're, you know, if you're a brand and you're running an ad, you cannot use copyrighted fun songs. You can't do that. Oh, no. Oh, no, you know, you can't use things like that because or the brand would have to pay for that own copyright and prove it to TikTok that they own rights to use that for their brand deal. And we'll be seeing a lot more of those songs on the app.

Dustin Getzlaf: 34:51

I think a lot of it has to do too with the like the political landscape, how they're shutting down channels that aren't family friendly, that aren't advertiser friendly, that are polluted. charges that are viewed as bullying that are frustrating seen all over the for you right now. So many people getting kicked off the creator fund. Yes, so many different reasons I view TikTok as my boss, I got into this so that I could not have a boss so that I could do whatever I wanted, right? TikTok is your boss and you've got to keep them happy. Because if you're breaking too many rules and doing things their own way, and those violations stack up, they can ultimately delete all of your work in a heartbeat. Yeah. So I play ball, I play ball with TikTok.

Kyle Kaplanis: 35:34

Yeah, exactly. And it is true family content, if you can appeal to a PG 13 really PG style content, as much as you might not like that. But that's Unfortunately, that's how the app is it's very, it's not Twitter, it you know, if you want, if you want explicit content, go somewhere like that. TikTok really loves family friendly. That's the kind of creators actually I look for all my brand, you know, my brand agency side, somebody that would fit those kind of brands, because that's what TikTok likes to see, too. They like it wholesome is a wholesome app. So yeah, if you're out there,

Dustin Getzlaf: 36:10

and like me, you can't forget that, you know, as much as TikTok has matured, and the content quality has gone way up. And now, you know, there's every age group on there, you know, I follow a guy who's 80, everybody is on there. It's still something like 80%, minors, like it's still a huge piece of who's on that app, you want to make sure that that can be your market too. And because as soon as you start getting flagged, and you're not getting shown, like that's a reason that Charlie was able to blow up like she was, is she was one of those accounts that was approved for family friendly content. So you know, there's the parental version of the app where basically, you know, TikTok is hand selecting content, that's okay, for a 12 year old, right? And, you know, you can put those parental controls kind of in place. And Charlie is one of those few really large creators that is allowed to be played for any age. Yeah. And it's the reason why, you know, she she covers her mouth, when there's a swear in a song, you know, she's very, very particular, you know, she wouldn't put out her walk dance. That's partially because her parents didn't want her to as well. But she keeps her content super clean, and you get that extra push, you're out there saying what you want and swearing a ton. And that's, that's why like, you're not totally

Kyle Kaplanis: 37:25

exactly, I'm actually running a like a little series on that scene on my TikTok. Because I talked to a ton of creators, and they want to make the most money, they want these big brand deals, they want this, you know, this great success. And I'm like, Well, first of all, you need to change up your content, then to fit family friendly, you know, you can't just be explicit and think you're gonna grow brands are all about safety, safety's the number one concern. So if you want to be big, then if you're brand safe, you'll do great. If not, it's going to be a little bit of a struggle, you're probably still make some money and all these things. But it will be more of a struggle. And I think a lot of creators that are young, don't get that. So that's why I want to show them and say look, be smart, because if you want the long game, you can do this, especially big brands, because brick big brands are insanely protective of their image very well. They're not going to attach their name to a loose cannon.

Dustin Getzlaf: 38:24

Now that might say some racially charged thing tomorrow. Exactly. Now, all of a sudden, apples name is connected to this person. Like it's not worth it to them. No. So you have to be really trustworthy person to get a brand deal that's larger than just, you know, a local clothing company sending you a T shirt. Exactly. Oh, if

Kyle Kaplanis: 38:44

you want to make money, you have to be brand you have to be very you have to 100% it's crazy that when I'm going through creators, they might be huge. But unlike I can't work with them just because their content there's it would be pointless for me almost like they're great. They might be great people, but their content brands would be like No thank you. And yeah, so

Dustin Getzlaf: 39:06

close friends, you know, they're just constantly battling videos getting taken down pushing the boundaries, right they want to do that next sharp thing. And it makes for good entertainment but he's in he's in hot water right now. You know he's gonna start watching what he does and says

Kyle Kaplanis: 39:23

what kind of content is found on your for you page?

Dustin Getzlaf: 39:27

Yeah, cuz that's one thing a lot of people don't realize that everybody's free page is different. Like everyone just thinks I made the for you. But there is no the for you. Everybody's for you is different skits are getting a little old. For me. I think I've seen every joke but at this point, but I do gravitate to really quirky skits. There's a guy named PD USA. I don't know if you've ever heard him. This long haired guy. He's super, super quirky. And he makes a very, very random style skit. I think I'm just one of those people were sitting Like, there's so much content all the time, his is so off the wall and bizarre, like his storylines don't really have any set path. It's just a series of random events. And it's just like, it's just unique. And so right now I'm seeing a lot of sort of quirky, unique stuff coming back. You know, you go through phases, and you don't know you're going through phases. TikTok shows you you're going through phases, because it knows more about what you want to see than you do. But right now, I'm getting delivered a lot of that, and some music stuff. I've been into some, like musicians lately, people who are, you know, doing live mixes or you know, like live sampling of tracks and stuff like that. So those are probably the ones No, that's cool.

Kyle Kaplanis: 40:45

I love to ask that. That's what's great about the 40 pages for you, not for everybody else for you.

Dustin Getzlaf: 40:51

So that's why all of our pages will be completely different. Where because the, the for us so unique, I don't want to be just pander to by them for you, which it does a very good job of keeping me interested in. I want to know the broader trends too, that maybe aren't directly something that would appeal to me. Because that's part of being a TikTok as being relevant. You need to know what songs and what trends are popping off. And if you're always seeing the same stuff you might not be exposed to right. And so luckily, now, you know, I have some friends and Mutual's on TikTok and fans that reach out to me on like a consistent basis. And they kind of keep me in the loop on trends. I might not know about something that maybe popped up yesterday. And you know, you have that small window, if you really want to get in there. Yeah, it's so nice to essentially expose yourself to more for us than your own, if that's possible. 100%.

Kyle Kaplanis: 41:42

That's why I love that TikTok allows you to have three accounts, so you can switch between them. So I have a I have an account that's solely just for me scrolling, I don't really engage or anything because I too need to look and see who's who's trending right now. For my own business side. And, and I have to remind myself to not like engage with some of the things I actually enjoy. So it doesn't alter it.

Dustin Getzlaf: 42:04

Yes, it does. turn into a repeat of Yeah, exactly.

Kyle Kaplanis: 42:08

It's really difficult, actually very hard. But it's like, it's my job. Like, I consider it my job. I'm like, Hey, this is my job is really hard, but I can't I gotta stay focused.

Dustin Getzlaf: 42:17

Yeah. And then you find yourself you're like, Oh, I really want to see that. So you're screenshotting. And so you can go watch it on your others.

Kyle Kaplanis: 42:24

Totally, I've tagged myself. Yeah.

Dustin Getzlaf: 42:27

But the funny accounts thing, actually, I didn't know that that was a thing. Yeah. Because I tried to open one the other day, and it was asking for my email address and stuff. And then I put in my email address that said, I had tried to open another account on that email address, like a long time ago. And I wouldn't let you start another one. But

Kyle Kaplanis: 42:46

oh, yeah, I just created another email just for like, just some random one. And then I just did it so I can have it. So people ask me all the time, like, what would it what do I do? And I'm like, honestly, just be consistent. Right now. They don't know. So don't look at it as being verified or not, you're still an awesome account. This isn't Instagram yet. Still early, just

Dustin Getzlaf: 43:03

yeah, verification. I don't think it comes with the same metrics. It used to, like I know, the back end, there used to be in the way that the code worked in your authority, your pushes, that was one of the things that they were they would look at on your account to give you additional pushes with your videos. But I've just, I've definitely noticed a lot of the verified people. I know their views are going down and down and down. But yeah, they're they don't seem to be getting any sort of VIP treatment. Oh, definitely not the vanity metrics of having the blue checkmark and then potentially more brand deals more clogged. I guess, when you're trying to do deals when you're trying to talk me out? Is that even true? Like for those people do care.

Kyle Kaplanis: 43:42

They know we have a few creators that are not verified. They're just big on the app and popular brands could give a crap like they could care less, that doesn't mean because they're verified that they're brand safe either. So they're gonna do their own digging anyway. And so it doesn't matter if you're verified or not. They realize that's just, it's just something that looks cool to people. But it does not affect your deals. I've never had a brand say, oh, that person's not verified. I can't work with them. They didn't even care that I don't even think they care.

Dustin Getzlaf: 44:11

Yeah, that's not what they're looking at. They want to see numbers, they want to see engagement.

Kyle Kaplanis: 44:14

Exactly. That's one more thing. Are you brand safe? Do you have good engagement? And are your numbers good? And it's not even about the following. It's about your your engagement, like you said your views,

Dustin Getzlaf: 44:25

but the number on on Instagram is something like three and a half percent is your average engagement. And so engagement, it doesn't mean a lot because a lot of people have accumulated a lot of followers in the past doesn't mean their content is still relevant, or good. You know, there's people who were verified back in the musically day. Exactly. And they carried those verifications over. Yep. And that's when they got their million followers. And since then, they actually haven't grown and now their views have kind of clamshells closed on them and they're getting the same views as as someone with 100 followers

Kyle Kaplanis: 44:57

totally. Yeah, that follower count.

Dustin Getzlaf: 45:00

I assume doesn't matter as much. But yeah, that's one of the things that is good about my account the fact that I hit those high persona Yeah. To have used that are almost the equivalent on average of my of my actual following count huge.

Kyle Kaplanis: 45:14

It's all it's all about the views. At the end of the day, I've had craters with almost double the following of somebody else, but that the smaller crater had better engagement, and they got paid double the amount. So it's not about the followership. Yes, it's the meaning to it's a good thing. It does look good. It helps. But it's all about the engagement, because brands are not paying for your followers. They're paying for your the views that they're gonna get. Yeah, exactly. What

Dustin Getzlaf: 45:40

am I gonna get?

Kyle Kaplanis: 45:41

Yeah, yeah, exactly. They're like, cool, I'm cool that you have 20 million, but sorry, this guy's worth 4 million, triple the amount, we're gonna work with him, and I'll pay him because he's gonna bring me the best. How can people follow you? What's the best way. So the best place to find me

Dustin Getzlaf: 45:58

like my biggest platform is definitely TikTok. But my Instagram is super active, my Instagrams really fun because I post different screenshots of things. And I'm really active on my story. So you get to see things like, you know, tic tocs. I like and behind the scenes and different things that I'm working on, and more personal stuff. So that's where people kind of get to know me a little bit better is Instagram. And then I am back on YouTube after being on there for an hour for a year and a half. And then sort of putting it on the back shelf. I sort of changed my content on there. And now I just talked about, I do some like vlogs and tutorials behind the scenes trends, I talked about different kinds of interesting things. They're having an app maybe changes. So I'm sort of like, doing more TikTok related content on YouTube now. Cool, and I'm bad. I'm Bad's official on everything. So perfect. Whatever app that you use the most you can you can find me there as officials.

Kyle Kaplanis: 46:49

That's awesome. And anybody who's listening right now, definitely go check out the description of this show. You'll find all the links to Dustin's pages, and so you can go directly to them and easily find him. Doesn't I really appreciate you taking your time today and have a chat with me. I think this this episode has so much value in it. Tons of insights. People are going to learn a lot from this. So I really appreciate your time.

Dustin Getzlaf: 47:15

Thank you so much for having us. Yeah, super fun. Hopefully we can do something like in the future.

Kyle Kaplanis: 47:19

For sure.

Dustin Getzlaf: 47:20

Appreciate it. Thanks.

Kyle Kaplanis: 47:22

No problem.

BizTok Intro: 47:24

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