Creators Terrell and Jarius use humor and heartfelt storytelling to attract a growing audience

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How did you get started on Facebook?

In 2016, we started getting into social by sharing our journey to becoming fathers. We were expecting our first daughter and shared videos from the ultrasound appointments, pregnancy updates, we did polls for the gender reveal. We suffered a miscarriage and that forced us to take a break.

We didn’t initially grasp the potential Facebook had in reaching an audience that we wanted to reach. We didn’t see Facebook as a video platform but once we realized Facebook prioritizes video, we decided to give it a chance. In 2020, we started experimenting, we started testing out content and saw our audience grow. We’ve been consistent ever since.

These days, you post to Facebook pretty much daily. How do you stay consistent?

We don’t feel pressure to post on Facebook. But Facebook makes it easy. If it’s not a video, it’s a photo or a soundbite. There’s a range of content that makes it so you can post daily.

We feel valued for the work we put in. When we create for Facebook specifically, we see a spike in shares, views, engagement and as a result, more followers. Facebook is perfectly set up to allow creators who are trying to get their foot in the door, Facebook is the platform to do it because it’s so easy to share and easy to communicate with your audience.

What is your video strategy when it comes to Facebook?

We stay true to our brand, we keep it short and sweet and we look at the data.

Being part of We The Culture [Facebook’s program to support Black creators], we produce content consistently each month and look at what’s working. We try to keep every video under four minutes: short, sweet and to the point. Quick, bitesize content. We keep our content engaging and catered to the brand: we’re a family, and we have fun.

In a world where so many people are trying to become creators, we try not to be like everyone else. We found our niche and we’re sticking to it. We educate on our family make-up, we post about our everyday life.

Meta Creator Studio has been our go-to for uploading and scheduling content, looking at pre-published and published videos, analyzing watch time and seeing what helps people watch a video all the way through. We learned, for example, that if we have our kids in the first couple of seconds, that helps people stay watching. Without Meta Creator Studio, we’d be in the dark about what people want to see, beyond Likes and views.

Your audience is very active and engaged. Does their feedback help inform your content strategy?

Our audience is very vocal, they tell us what they want to see more of, what they didn’t care for. Facebook has been good about showing us who our top fans are, the little badges that highlight who always comments and shows us love.

Our audience is an extended family unit, that’s how we view them. They’re our online family. That means when we go live, they tune in–like hanging with family. That also translates to them feeling comfortable enough to comment with honesty. They feel like their voice is valued. If we don’t see or acknowledge their comments, they reach us through direct messages.

And Facebook has also brought in a totally different audience that we haven’t seen on other platforms. Many people who’ve never heard of us before, people who weren’t necessarily looking for our content and who may find two dads raising children controversial, they learn through our parenting content. They say to us, “You help me understand my child.” It’s truly been a blessing to see how the different audiences are coming together, not just the people who support us but the other side too, people with a different point of view.

You often add hashtags to your posts, how do you decide which hashtags to use?

We use hashtags to bring in the audience that wants to consume our content. We always stick to our niche, we don’t hop on trending hashtags that may bring in a different audience. Being intentional helps us drive up watch time, shares and follows, and that elevates our videos. We keep them specialized, relevant to the video and to our brand.

Your follower base has exploded in the last year. To what do you attribute this tremendous trajectory?

Terrell has done a good job creating conversations in a very non-traditional way. With some of the videos, we try our best to educate our fan base on what it’s like for two dads to have children. We teach the message in a whimsical, engaging way, and that’s worked well for us. We prioritize what’s unique to us, to our voice and brand.

Instead of hopping on the latest viral dance, we always adapt what’s trending to make it our own, and only if it works for us. It needs to relate to us and to our mission as two dads who want to educate their fan base.

How do you strike that balance between hilarious parenting content and more heartfelt posts?

The content is a representation of both of us. Terrell is comedic so the content is funny and educational. I [Jarius] am more emotional, I love storytelling, I love educating people in a way that brings out emotions. We’ve seen success with both.

In terms of strategy, more consistently we post whimsical, funny videos, but we’ve also seen huge success come from telling our story, from having raw and honest conversations. Those are usually our big videos–when things organically happen, when I can tell an authentic story from an emotional perspective.

You’ve also experimented with different tools, like audio. What’s been your takeaway?

Live Audio Rooms** has been amazing. Sometimes people don’t want to watch a video, or they’re on the go. Live Audio Rooms is like a live podcast, you’re chatting with someone and getting a response in real time. You can have more than one speaker at a time, and have people chime in. We’ve had great speakers, great topics. You get to see what topics people want to hear about.

What advice would you give emerging creators who want to leverage video to grow their Facebook presence?

The best thing you can do is be honest. When you stick to what is unique and true about you, you will never find that this is a job because you have the love and the passion for it. When you find your niche, make sure you like it and can stick with it or you’re going to run out of ideas. The people who really want to consume your content, they’ll find you.

Second, Facebook has a lot of resources for creators. There are programs that not everyone knows about, but as a creator, you can apply to be a part of them. There are newsletters. There’s the [Meta for Creators] blog. This interview! It can be helpful to a lot of people who don’t have access to programs, to see what’s successful for other creators. It’s a missed opportunity because people don’t know about all the products they can use, like audio. Be diligent about learning about all the products Facebook has to offer and test them out. Apply, join a community, collaborate.

Third, some creators, they expect to go viral overnight. They’re trapped in this cycle of Likes and views. We’ve been there, we obsessively watched how every video performed. Stop doing that. We’ve had videos take off after three months. Sometimes, you just don’t know what’s going to take off. So don’t get discouraged if a video doesn’t meet your expectations right away.

What monetization opportunities have presented themselves once you established yourselves on Facebook?

In Meta Creator Studio [via Brand Collab Manager], we see an influx of requests from brands who want to collaborate and partner. Cool brands. People are starting to take notice of our growing presence on Facebook and they want to be a part of it. There’s opportunity for additional revenue and more visibility, brands want to boost our content and reach a wider audience.

If you could summarize your Facebook Page to someone who doesn’t follow you in three words, what would those be?

Terrell: modern, family, fun.

Jarius: dads taking over. I’ll elaborate: I had no experience with kids before I had kids, and I had no experience doing hair. But I wanted to be able to be everything for my daughter and for her not to feel like she’s missing out on anything. I made it my mission to have her do any hairstyle she wants to have at home. So I learned, and that is why hair videos are so important to me. I saw that when I share those, so many people say how refreshing it is to see a dad doing his daughter’s hair. Dads who told us they were inspired to do the same. Dads don’t get enough credit. Dads are superheroes too.

Review our best practices for more tips on optimizing video content on Facebook.

*According to publicly available CrowdTangle data, 11/01/20 - 11/08/21
**Live Audio Rooms is not available for classic Pages at this time. Hosting and speaking is limited to the Facebook mobile app. Now available globally. The content must comply with Facebook’s Live Policies, Community Standards, and Terms of Use.