DeMarcus Shawn has the formula for building a strong following across social platforms.

Shawn is an online creator known for sharing humorous skits on TikTok and Instagram. His sense of humor has always been evident among his family since growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, IL. He also draws inspiration from them still today.

“I was able to experience all different facets of life growing up through school, through family and just everyday nuances,” he mentioned on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast.

Today, Shawn is a full-time content creator, but his journey began in 2017 with a 9-to-5 role as a Starbucks barista. While there he decided to turn more of his attention towards content creation in 2021. It was then that he was able to sustain himself through earnings via TikTok and his photography business, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.

“When I quit Starbucks, I already had money saved up,” he said, per the “Black Tech Green Money podcast.” “It was 2021, so I had money saved up from Starbucks, and a little bit from TikTok. So I was like, ‘You know what? I’m cool.’ I wanted to take a break from working. I was a shift lead and was working hardcore… I would come in at five o’clock, four o’clock in the morning. Sometimes I didn’t leave until 6, 7 at night. So I was like, ‘I’m taking a break. I don’t want to work for at least about a month.’ I gave myself a month and a half off. But I saw that I was making a little more money on TikTok, so I thought, ‘OK, I don’t have to go back so soon. Let me just stretch it a little longer’… and I just never went back.”

@artbydemarcusshawn

#fyp

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Key To Building A Loyal Following

To date, Shawn has amassed an impressive 6.6 million followers on TikTok, along with 534.6 million likes and 1 million followers on Instagram. He revealed on the podcast, that his ability to build a community on TikTok sparked the realization that it could be more than just a hobby.

“I started seeing that there were so many other different races… I’m like, ‘I don’t even know that my stuff can stretch that far or that people can relate to something like that.’ I would think that’s just a U.S. thing,” he said. “People around the world can relate as well. So that’s when I knew not only can I make money off this, but I think, in a sense, it helps bring people together from different walks of life.”

He also shared his formula for success in building a loyal following, citing the importance of authenticity and focusing less on followers and more on the content itself.

“So I would say focus on the length, focus on what you want to record, and I would say try to film your videos in a way that’s for you. Don’t try to focus on so much of the audience or a fan base or a supporter base first… You literally record. If you were recording yourself just for you, you’ll be natural,” he noted. “So if you are doing that, it’s going to come across better on screen when somebody’s watching it, and that’s going to make them gravitate towards you to just start following. That’s how you build a community. People are going to be like, ‘Oh, he’s just super natural with it. I feel like I’m actually talking to him. I feel like we’re on FaceTime together, feel like my online cousin, online brother.’ So do that. And then after that you’ll gain success from that and then you’ll be able to monetize it.”

To check out the full interview, click here.

While it’s unclear how Shawn’s online presence has impacted his net worth, he earns a portion of his income through the TikTok Creator Fund and is supported by a team — including a manager, an accountant, and his parents — as he secures brand deals with major names like Hyundai and 7-Eleven.

@artbydemarcusshawn

I live and breathe a good Pumpkin Spice Latte! @7-ELEVEn #Onlyat7Eleven #7elevenpartner

♬ original sound – DemarcusShawn

As for the next move for the creator, it could include a coffee shop, he says.