Neil Shibata is also known as Japanesegrandpa on TikTok and Instagram. He is a multi-talented social media star. He is originally from Canada but travels around the world creating content for his TikTok audience of 1.4 million. Neil was an early adopter of TikTok and knows his way around the platform pretty well. Today we spoke with him about his advice for other creators.
What kind of content do you make?
“My content varies between putting my own spin on trends and creating fully original content. I tend to stick to the comedy side of TikTok as I think that’s where more personality is shown. I have never been one to take things too seriously, and I believe TikTok is a great place to share comedic content. I also believe that TikTok has a large percentage of content that supports physical standard and influences self hate, so I try to stay away from content that may put others down or feel less than, and instead spike interest with comedy.”
How can someone make great content?
“Being yourself and creating content that reflects your personality will go a long way. I know that users watching TikToks including myself, can spot ingenuity from a mile away. Although videos that are staged and planed out may get lots of engagement, in the end, creators need to try and make a brand out of themselves. To do so, content that you produce needs to reflect who you are as a person, and I think that is best shown through transparency. I also think that creating content needs to be fun. The moment you’re no longer having fun with the content your’e making, not only does it show in your videos, but it also becomes much harder to keep producing videos for a long period of time.”
If you were to give someone advice who is thinking about getting into social media and the world of influencing, what would it be?
“Quality quality quality. Whether its through angles, lighting, video quality, make sure you’re doing everything you can to make your videos or photos clean. It’s easy to create content, it’s easy to post on TikTok, and it’s easy to post on Instagram. What’s not easy is making good quality content that’s worth watching. While filming, I make sure that lighting is the best it can be at that moment, and when I upload a video, whether its to TikTok or YouTube, I make sure that the quality of the video wasn’t altered.”
