Saumirah McWoodson

Okay so I’m not sure how often I actually want to do these updates – I’d say my “goal” (if I truly had one) would probably be twice per week, as things on social media can change very quickly and because it seems that it takes about 48-72 hours for a video to reach its INITIAL views that are worth documenting. However, I’m trying to make myself document a bit more frequently than that simply because I want to make sure I have some records worth noting, in case I am able to actually use any of this for the future dissertation that I will write. Also, I know that once I get out of the habit of something, it’s usually extremely difficult for me to get back into it. And the more I do something, the more efficient I become with it.

Okay so here’s another update!

Two days ago, on the evening of Sunday, April 24, 2022, I documented the following:

As of today, Monday, April 18, 2022, the Dance Daze Dance Boards TikTok account has/is:
– 6,356 followers
– is following 7,785 accounts
– 10.8k likes
– 287 videos posted (and I plan to post another one this evening)

UPDATE: Evening of Sunday, April 24, 2022:

– 6,402 followers
– is following 7,141 accounts (I am working to unfollow accounts that are not following back)
– 11.6k likes
– 303 videos posted (and I plan to post 2 more this evening; I missed posting 1 video yesterday, as I was social for approximately the third time in two years yesterday)

TODAY, late morning on Tuesday, April 26th, here are updated numbers:

– 6,453 followers
– is following 6,875 accounts (I am working to unfollow accounts that are not following back)
– 11.8k likes
– 310 videos posted (and I intend to move into posting 4 times per day for the next week, and then we will see if that will be sustainable for the rest of the month of May; I think that 3 videos per day is actually comfortable for me and 4 seems like a stretch, but I would like to try it and see what happens!)

Updates for individual videos that have performed the best (over 1000 plays) over the past week (7 days):

1. “Tips for Développé à la Seconde” (6 seconds)
   • Posted Wednesday, April 20, 2022 @ 10:34 pm
   • 1636 plays since posting – UPDATE 4/24/22: 1789 plays + UPDATE 4/26/22: 2047 plays
   • Short ballet exercise
   • EDUCATE: Described 4 quick tips for improving this ballet movement; text flashed across screen for about 2 seconds; website also showed at end of video for about 1 second; no comments
2. Woman Owned Business” (6.55 seconds)
   • Posted Thursday, April 21, 2022 @ 7:59 pm
   • 1451 plays since posting – UPDATE 4/24/22: 1528 plays + UPDATE 4/26/22: 1638 plays
   • Warming up in pointe shoes
   • ENGAGE: Used original sound from a female music artist/entrepreneur and text described that I was feeling good after a virtual meeting with my women business owner support group; text invited other women business owners to comment and follow in exchange for a follow-back; 11 total comments so far (including my replies to each comment)
3. “Give Me New Tap Dance Steps to Try” (14.02 seconds)
   • Posted Monday, 4/18/22 @ 9:22 pm
   • 1200 plays since posting – UPDATE 4/24/22: 1232 plays + UPDATE 4/26/22: 1248 plays (not much growth, though it seemed to be doing well initially)
   • Short, beginning tap exercise
   • ENGAGE: Text asked audience for recommendations of tap combinations to learn; no comments
4. “10 Things” (13.21 seconds)
   • Posted Monday, 4/18/22 @ 7:32 pm
   • 1103 plays since posting – UPDATE 4/24/22: 1113 plays + UPDATE 4/26/22: 1125 plays (not much growth, though it seemed to be doing well initially)
   • Short ballet exercise
   • 59 likes since posting
   • PROMOTE: No text except website for last second of video; no comments
5. “Believe You Can” (10.72 seconds)
   • Posted Friday, 4/22/22 @ 8:37 pm (That’s last night! It’s now Saturday morning.)
   • 1082 plays since posting – UPDATE 4/24/22: 1166 plays + UPDATE 4/26/22: 1192 plays (not much growth, though it seemed to be doing well initially)
   • Short tap combo
   • INSPIRE: Text on screen for entire video, encouraging others to believe in themselves; 6 comments so far (including my responses); I should note that this post got some spam/negative comments (which I reply to because I absolutely don’t care when rude, horrible, loser humans comment things like laughing faces on my inspirational posts – I LOVE engagement on my posts, that’s just my truth with regard to this matter – It’s only business, never personal!)

Moving forward, I believe I will give a similar summary of all videos I post Monday through Sunday of the previous week (so next week on Sunday (5/1), Monday (5/2), or Tuesday (5/3), I’ll post data from the videos I post this week between Monday, April 25th and Sunday, May 1st. I don’t think I’ll track how the views change over the week because they’re likely to continue growing over the next several weeks and even to possibly have a boost in viewership in the future (because that is, I’ve heard) how the TikTok algorithm works, part of what makes it very different from all the other platforms out there. Though I know (from experience with my own videos) that Instagram has tried to produce something similar with a sort of “delayed virality.” I think it is, perhaps, more important to simply consider which KINDS of videos do the best each week. Doing this will also give me a bit less work to do in terms of blogging about my analytics each week.

FEELINGS: I want to make a point of documenting how I feel at least weekly as well. This is because I’d like to do some research around the positive mental health benefits of creating, teaching, and participating in/creating community on social media, looking specifically at short-form video sharing platforms (i.e., TikTok). I believe there is something special about how the TikTok platform/algorithm is designed that invites/encourages/welcomes/inspires people to be authentic, more experimental, more truthful, less judgmental, and more open. I have also seen research that states that people tend to feel BETTER about themselves after spending time on the platform. Which intrigues me. Because it seems that the general media often portrays all of the horrible things that can happen because of or through the use of social media. I want my research to show that using social media (or using short-form video) in specific ways can benefit mental health. Then, once I am certain about my research, what causes the positive mental health benefits, and the reasons why, I plan to create a digital course (which I’ve already–very loosely–started designing) so that I can teach others how to use social media for themselves, for creating, as educators, for business, in a way that benefits themselves and their audience.

Okay so how do I feel?

• I feel grateful to have a new project that gives me a sense of purpose and stability and allows me to create freely.
• I am enjoying documenting my progress and looking at my analytics with the intention of educating others in the future because it gives me a sense of purpose and responsibility. Typically, I have no interest in deep diving into my analytics.
• I am glad that this project/research of mine will likely help me build my current product-based business, support my future goal of creating and selling a digital course for creatives who are creating on social media, and probably help me write my dissertation as well.
• I typically feel overwhelmed BEFORE I create, and I hate setting up my lights and getting dressed and putting on makeup. But after all that is done, I feel like I don’t want to stop. I am focusing on using simple tap steps and ballet combinations that fit trending audio. That is the basis for my creation. It does not have to be perfect, but I try to show the best technique and rhythm possible and not allow myself to re-record anything more than about 5 times I would say. Occasionally I use videos that I record in one take, though I still prefer to have at least 2 options.
• I am becoming more skilled with what I am doing — I am finding that tap steps are coming to me very easily and that I am able to record about 7 videos in a row (different songs, so this includes re-recording multiple drafts for the same song) without stopping.
• I feel energized by the work that I am doing.
• I feel like my mood is improved (even if I feel fine, it feels BETTER) after I create.
• I feel attractive, capable, and like I’m developing my skills of dancing AS WELL AS video-creating, which is an interest of mine, as I want to teach others, in my future digital course, HOW to make video creation PART OF their daily creative practice.

Those are all the thoughts that poured out of me easily for now!

More later!

Saumirah