Welcome to Creators on the Rise, where we find and profile breakout creators who are in the midst of extraordinary growth.
Gianna Christine has always wanted to make content.
So, when the social media class she took in college required her to make a TikTok account for a project, she was stoked. But despite being excited to start posting videos, she wasn’t really expecting anything to come of them. Maybe her classmates would watch them. Maybe a few friends.
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Or maybe millions of people.
“I was actually going to try to do an American Idol audition as a joke and film it, but I could never get into the Zoom audition, so I just figured I’ll post TikTok because I still thought it was funny,” she says. “It was a challenge of singing Madison Beer’s song, I think it was “Selfish,” that was trending at the time. I just sang it really badly as a joke.”
She posted the video–which was still just for her class–and the next thing she knew, it had racked up 5 million views.
Christine was ecstatic. She’d tried her hand at posting long-form videos on YouTube when she was younger, but they never took off. Short-form was a whole new world, and one where Christine saw her content be instantly embraced. She began posting lifestyle content regularly on TikTok, where she now has nearly 3 million followers, then brought her content over to YouTube Shorts, which boosted her channel to almost half a million subscribers.
Where she’s really growing her audience, though, is Snapchat.
She posts on Snapchat “[f]rom the second I wake up, pretty much until I go to bed,” she says. “I just like to bring people along with me.”
That equals out to at least 200 posts per day. It’s a major project, and a major investment of Christine’s time–but one that’s worth it, she says.
“If I meet anyone who subscribes to me in Snapchat out in public, I know exactly that they’re from Snapchat because they just know me so much better,” she says. “It feels like I’m meeting a friend.”
Check out our chat with her below.
@giannachristiine the most iconic shopping spree😍 @gigihadid ♬ Sex and the City (Main Theme) – TV Sounds Unlimited
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tubefilter: Let’s jump right in! I’m familiar with you and your videos, but pretend someone’s reading this and they’ve never seen your stuff. Give me a little introduction about you and where you’re from and how you got started making videos.
Gianna Christine: I’m from South Florida. I was born and grew up there. I started making videos when I was 16 on YouTube, but they never really took off. It was a really good experience because I learned how to edit really well, so I ended up getting hired by some YouTubers to work for them.
I learned so much from them about just the behind-the-scenes process of making content and storytelling. Then I kept making videos on and off. I wasn’t really consistent. Then I moved to New York City for college in 2017. My junior year of college, I took a social media class and I made a TikTok account for a school project. It ended up that one of my first few videos blew up. Then I started posting every day and it just took off from there.
Tubefilter: What did you go to college for?
Gianna Christine: I studied global business and then we could pick a concentration, so I did digital media and tech. A lot of my classes end up helping me now.
Tubefilter: Yes, clearly. Do you remember what video went viral?
Gianna Christine: Yes! I was actually going to try to do an American Idol audition as a joke and film it, but I could never get into the Zoom audition, so I just figured I’ll post TikTok because I still thought it was funny. It was a challenge of singing Madison Beer’s song, I think it was “Selfish,” that was trending at the time. I just sang it really badly as a joke. It got like 5 million views.
Tubefilter: By the time you graduated, was this a full-time thing for you, or did you go into another job? How did that work?
Gianna Christine: It wasn’t full-time yet, but I had built a pretty big following at that point. I decided after I graduated to move to New York, and I had a few part-time jobs and was still working on social media. I worked at a gym, because I really like fitness, and then I would have the membership there so I could film videos. I was still editing for other creators. I was also running a business’s TikTok account on the side. Just all the side hustles. Then I decided in February last year that I was going to try to do social media full-time, so I quit everything.
Tubefilter: Seems like it worked out.
Gianna Christine: Yes. I’m really glad I did that.
@giannachristiine the most iconic shopping spree😍 @gigihadid ♬ Sex and the City (Main Theme) – TV Sounds Unlimited
Tubefilter: How did things change for you when you went full-time? What was the difference in time and work that you were putting into it?
Gianna Christine: It was the biggest change. I’m really glad I made that move because before, I was spreading myself thin and I didn’t have as much time to post as consistently as I wanted or make as good quality videos. I definitely learned a lot over the past year. I just had so much more time to post on different platforms, too. I started doing Snapchat an YouTube more instead of just TikTok. I was able to build an audience on the other platforms as well.
Tubefilter: What made you go back to YouTube? Was it Shorts?
Gianna Christine: Yes, Shorts was the main thing. I am going to start doing long-form videos again just because I feel like I can be more creative with my editing in longer-form content. I actually just started vlogging again and filming for that. Shorts was definitely the main thing because, at first, I could just repurpose TikToks and other content on there. Now I make videos just for Shorts as well and I post them every day. You can reach a different audience on there. I like to just post on as many platforms as possible. I feel like I have different people on each one. Some other people I could reach.
Tubefilter: Can you talk a little bit about that? Because you’re not the first person that I’ve spoken to who says they have distinctly different audiences on TikTok and Shorts.
Gianna Christine: It’s also really great living in New York. I think a lot of my audience lives here, so I get to meet a lot of people who watch my videos, and they’ll usually tell me what platform they’re from. It’s a different experience depending on what they watch me on. For example, Snapchat, I try to post over 200 posts a day.
Tubefilter: Wait, really?
Gianna Christine: Yes.
Tubefilter: Wait, hold on. Pause. That’s insane. What is the content of these? Is these text posts and video posts or…?
Gianna Christine: It’s photos and videos.
Tubefilter: Photos and videos. 200 a day. I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard from anybody.
Gianna Christine: I try to do a lot. At first, it was 100 a day. Now that I have more time, I just post all day.
Tubefilter: Are you basically throughout the day just constantly taking snapshots from your life?
Gianna Christine: From the second I wake up, pretty much until I go to bed. I just like to bring people along with me, especially now that I’m living alone. I never really feel like I’m by myself because I can just share the experience on there. I really love it because when I first started making videos, they were more scripted, and I just wanted to get more comfortable in front of the camera and feel more authentic. Snapchat, just posting everything directly right away, has really helped me with that and connect with my audience a lot better.
Tubefilter: Do you see a high level of engagement and response from people on Snapchat, then?
Gianna Christine: Definitely. It’s not my biggest platform. I have the most on TikTok and then YouTube. Snapchat, the fans are a lot more engaged. If I meet anyone who subscribes to me in Snapchat out in public, I know exactly that they’re from Snapchat because they just know me so much better. It feels like I’m meeting a friend.
Tubefilter: I’ve spoken to other people who do Snapchat, but not like this.
Gianna Christine: I really love the platform. I feel like it’s the closest you could get to actually being with me in person.
Tubefilter: Other than Snapchat, what does your average day of creation look like? Because obviously, you’re out and about a lot, doing a lot of filming in public, and a lot of traveling to different locations in New York City. What does the average day look like for you?
Gianna Christine: I try to keep on a schedule. When I wake up and get ready, actually, I like to go to the gym because people like when I post my workouts too. I do my emails from the gym, and my editing, and I also film my workout, and that just keeps me on a structured schedule. Then after that, I like to go out and do my filming. I’ll usually have a list of video ideas in my phone, so I’m never just like, “Oh, what should I film?” I pick something from there. I like to just explore around the city and try new places that are opening or events happening, and I’ll film there. Usually, that’s for short-form video. Sometimes I’ll come back to my apartment and film if I want to do a fashion video or things like that. Then the rest of the day is just doing different activities for Snapchat, usually.
Tubefilter: Was there a tipping point that made you decide to do this full-time? I know you said you committed early last year, but was there a specific follower account or income out or were you just done trying to do everything?
Gianna Christine: I always wanted to do this. Even when I was in college, I would look at other job things, job fairs, and I was like, “I just want to make content.” If there was ever an opportunity to do it, I wanted to do it. I just got to the point where it had been a few months where I was making enough to cover my expenses, so I said, “You know what? I’ll just take the leap and try it and see if it works out.” Luckily it did, so I’m just going to keep up with it.
Tubefilter: Do you feel like short-form has made it more accessible for people to be able to get into content? Would you have become a content creator without TikTok and short-form?
Gianna Christine: Probably not. I would’ve tried, but YouTube videos take…Long-form content takes so much longer to film and edit. Before, when I was in school or I had all these jobs, I don’t know if I would’ve had enough time to make enough content or good enough content that it would’ve taken off. Short-form definitely is part of the reason that helped me take off.
Tubefilter: Then that being said, you’re getting back into long-form now that you have this experience and this audience built up. What’s your approach to long-form like?
Gianna Christine: I am trying to make it feel like my Snapchat, how I show my whole day, but it’s in a one long video. That way, I can be more creative with the editing. What I’ve been doing now is just taking my vlog camera with me everywhere and film while I go to different places or explore things with my friends. I’ll see how it ends up turning out, but I just love being able to use different editing tools and being creative and coming up with different concepts.
Tubefilter: Do you have an editor or do you self-edit everything?
Gianna Christine: I self-edit everything. At some point, I would maybe look into having an editor just because I like to put a lot of time and effort into it but I don’t want that to take away from the amount that I’m posting on everything. Right now, I do it all myself.
Tubefilter: You mentioned that you filmed some content only for YouTube. Is that the long-form, or do you film some Shorts only too?
Gianna Christine: Some of my Shorts are only for YouTube too.
Tubefilter: What makes you decide if a video is for YouTube versus TikTok? What’s the difference there between that and TikTok content?
Gianna Christine: I feel like I try to tailor it to the audience. The TikTok ones are a little bit more planned out and it will be more of a story, almost, like I pick a full event or a full day of filming. Versus on YouTube, I notice a lot of times simple ones do well. For example, on TikTok, I might do a full get ready with me for an event. On YouTube, even if I’m just showing a hairstyle or something easy like that or tutorial type of content, people like it a lot on there.
Tubefilter: Are you working on any cool projects? Do you have any upcoming plans for the rest of the year?
Gianna Christine: Right now, I’m mostly focusing on just making more content. Before, I lived with roommates and so I wasn’t able to have as much freedom with filming because we all worked from home and I had to work around their schedule. Now that I’m here, I just want to go full into making videos. One thing I have been looking into that I want to work on is some type of clothing line because I’m really into fashion. I’ve come up with some designs already, but I just want to make sure I do it right. I want to spend a lot of time finding the right people to help me with it.
Tubefilter: Perfect. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about? Anything else you feel like readers should know about you?
Gianna Christine: I think that was mostly everything. I’m just excited. My next thing I’m really working on is decorating my new apartment because I love styling and all that. I want to do a lot of videos documenting that whole process. I’m really excited about that.
Tubefilter: I can see why! Also, honestly, I’m still really fascinated by your Snapchat presence.
Gianna Christine: Oh, yes. I love Snapchat. That’s my main thing I’m focusing on. I also just really like how, I guess, it makes it really easy for people to reply to each specific panel. That’s the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning, is read everyone’s replies.
Tubefilter: Do you feel like Snapchat drives audiences to your videos on TikTok and YouTube, or do you feel like it’s separate?
Gianna Christine: It’s a little separate, but I think that the audience on Snapchat is the most loyal and the people I feel closest to.
Tubefilter: In terms of your content, how do you strategize for what you post there, what you don’t post there?
Gianna Christine: For that, I just started posting more and more. In the beginning. I didn’t know what people wanted to see, or sometimes I thought things were too boring. They actually like seeing my real life and me talking about things. I also feel more comfortable posting on there because I don’t have my family and stuff, or as many people that I know in real life who they see, obviously, my stuff on Instagram or YouTube. On there, I can talk about things.
Even yesterday, I was getting ready for a party, and normally I just post a get-ready-with-me [on TikTok, YouTube, etc]. On Snapchat, I was posting how I was nervous because it’s my new building. I was showing up and didn’t know anyone. Everyone was like, they were giving me ideas of conversation starters, stuff like that. Then they really get to see the real me and everything behind the scenes too.
Tubefilter: It feels like a very group chat vibe.
Gianna Christine: Yes. That’s it.
Tubefilter: It’s interesting that you create a place to be insecure or–not to be cliche, but–to be real with people. I feel like when creators have this audience, they feel like there’s expectations and they can’t be honest or vulnerable.
Gianna Christine: I was afraid of it at first, but then I just got more and more comfortable and I realized that’s really how you build a connection with people, and that’s the type of creators I like to watch. The ones who you can tell they’re being real and authentic and just sharing real life and not just this perfect aesthetic video. That’s the type of content that I want to make.
Tubefilter: Do you feel like your experience on Snapchat is helping carry you forward into your long-form vlogs? Like a kind of rehearsing?
Gianna Christine: Definitely. It’s just made me a lot more comfortable sharing everything about my life. Also, just even more comfortable talking to the camera and including things that I maybe would’ve left out before. It’s usually the stuff that maybe I’m a little nervous to talk about that ends up resonating with people the most. If I ever talk about a difficult experience I’m having, that’s when I get the most super long, heartfelt messages from my subscribers saying they’re so happy I talked about this because they felt alone in that experience. That’s when I feel like I am actually really doing something to help people.
