Film soups, Fortnite, dad jokes: Local TikTok creators rack up views with niche content

By Dave Berman, for Pigeon605

It might require a 4 a.m. wakeup call, but if that’s when a new update has been installed for the online game Fortnite, that’s when Sam Clark will be hopping on to play.

For Clark, this is about more than being the first to experience the updated version.

His TikTok followers are counting on him.

Known on the social media platform as NOLIFESAM, Clark posts multiple videos per day — almost all centered around Fortnite. His determination seems to be paying off, as his account has racked up 1.4 million followers. 

@nolifesam_Reposting Because Juice Is Too Good Not To Blow Up❤️ ##fortnite ##gaming ##fup ##OREOFORSANTA ##season5 ##juicewrld♬ Robbery – Juice WRLD

Clark, a senior at the University of South Dakota studying sports marketing in media and running for USD’s track team, is proof that you can find success on the uber-popular app while creating content in South Dakota.

TikTok was launched in 2017, eventually arriving in the United States later that year when it merged with social media and music video app Musical.ly for $1 billion. The app exploded in popularity last year and was the most downloaded app of 2020 with over 850 million downloads. 

From Charli D’Amelio to Addison Rae, TikTok has become synonymous with massively popular influencers who drive much of the app’s viewership. But TikTok also features countless creators making an impact in specific content niches — such as Clark finding success covering Fortnite in his content.

Other South Dakotans are developing large follower bases by filling their own specific niches. Patrick Sayler, general manager of the Sioux Falls Food Co+op, describes his lane as the “unproblematic average dad” side of TikTok. 

@peppeptalksWelcome to average, non-problematic dad TikTok! Do you need me to take a look at your car or co-sign a loan? ##dad ##fyp ##daddy ##verygoodhastag ##Boo♬ Up Beat (Married Life) – Kenyi

Sayler’s videos consist of positive tips, small sketches and “dad” jokes that he said some might cringe or roll their eyes at but hopefully will at least generate an indulgent chuckle.

“There has been this proliferation of just meanness in the world and on social media where it’s become in vogue to be a troll or to be mean — just basically spread hate and negativity,” Sayler said. “And that was my area — this is what I’m going to do, and it’s not going to involve any of that.”

Sayler has always enjoyed film and audio editing as a hobby, so TikTok became the perfect place for him to display those skills while creating positive content for his more than 30,000 followers. He has taken a casual approach with posting his content, making some videos more polished while others he’ll just record and immediately upload. 

“The funny part is every video that I put a lot of time into, and it’s edited nicely and it’s like slick looking, fails, just completely flops,” he said. “And then the ones where you’re just authentic, you know, I’ll tell a dad joke just off the cuff, film it in 60 seconds, hit post and walk away, those are the ones that have ended up going viral or whatever. So it’s weird. The internet’s a weird place.”

Another Sioux Falls-based TikTok creator, Merecedes Nelson, specializes in heating canisters of film in different types of liquids. For example, she’ll “cook” a roll of film in ramen or mac and cheese to see how it warps and distorts the photos in creative ways — concoctions she calls “film soups.”

@filmfawnNew year, same me ##filmsoup ##RareAesthetic ##Welcome2021 ##fyp ##filmphotography♬ Blue Blood – Heinz Kiessling & Various Artists

Nelson, the head barista at The Breaks Coffee Roasting Co., practices film photography as a hobby that she hopes eventually will turn into a full-time career. With more time at home because of the pandemic, she looked into creating more video content and turned to TikTok at the recommendation of friends.

Through her account, which has more than 10,000 followers, she has received interest from viewers in developing their film. If others want to try “souping” their film like Nelson, they can’t send it to a typical film lab because most won’t accept the damaged film. Nelson develops all of her film at home in her bathroom, so she can safely develop any “souped” film. 

Nelson is hoping to launch her own homemade film lab soon and incorporate the local photography group she founded, The Silver Grain Collective, into her content down the road to help provide a platform for Sioux Falls artists. 

“I don’t think a lot of people think of South Dakota as being a place where a lot of creative artists are, and so I always like to kind of showcase,” Nelson said.

All the creators said they enjoy the ease TikTok provides in shooting, editing and uploading videos. They said it’s fairly simple to create content that looks professional, but they also can post mostly unedited videos that will still do fairly well. 

Clark prefers the simplicity and brevity of TikTok to other video platforms such as YouTube, where many other gaming content creators post much of their work. On videos where he breaks down what’s new in Fortnite, he can churn out content much faster than YouTubers who have to spend hours editing videos that only run 15 to 20 minutes. 

“Part of TikTok’s algorithm is originality, so if you have original content or something that people haven’t seen before, that’s almost guaranteed to hit people’s For You pages,” he said in reference to users’ content feeds. 

TikTok also provides its creators with ways to monetize their content through their creator fund, which is available to creators with over 10,000 followers and 10,000 video views in the past 30 days. Clark said he receives 4 cents per every thousand views. This might not seem like a lot, but for creators like Clark who are churning out multiple videos that receive hundreds of thousands of views per day, it can provide a financial boost while he finishes up college. 

TikTok means something different for each of these creators. Clark is racking up millions of views with his Fortnite content and is looking to have a career around media in the future. Nelson is showing off her film-developing talents and is hoping to turn photography from a hobby to a career. Sayler is just having fun by not taking himself too seriously and by putting positive messages out into the world. 

All said they hope their content gives viewers a little escape and leaves them happier than before they clicked.

“I hope that it provides just that little 60-second respite from their day,” Sayler said. “It’s not easy being a human being right now anywhere on planet Earth, and that can be especially true for a lot of my followers that are in hot spots for COVID. If I can make someone just take a 60-second break from some of those bummers in their life, that’s all I need.”