The social media platform TikTok is used by many to create content, learn, watch videos and more. Sophomore Skylar Lai uses it in these ways and others.
“I wanted to have an account where no one I knew followed me and could see my videos,” Lai said.
Her secret became not-so-secret after her most viral video hit 1.4 million views and 264.2k likes.
“Everybody found it,” Lai said. “I opened my closet for the video, then I was acting sad because I had no clothes in my closet.”
At first, Lai wished more people hadn’t discovered the account, but she believes this is a good opportunity to find what she wants to do.
“I would definitely like [to] keep posting videos,” Lai added. “I would try to [make] income from that.”
Lai has been posting since 2023 on her main account @skylai808 and started her new account @secretlyskylar in September.
Lai developed her expertise for the app from making YouTube videos when she was younger.
“I posted the trend ‘I Hopped Into [the Coffee Shop],” she said. “It got 900,000 views, [and] I got 6,000 followers from that video.”
Her videos were shadowbanned, and that was the end of her YouTube career. When Lai got the idea to make TikTok videos, she was inspired by her For You page, which included videos she related to.
“I’ll be scrolling on my For You page, and if I notice a specific trend, then I’ll do that,” Lai said.
This sparked the beginning of her passion for making relatable content. Lai is working to have new videos and more captivating content soon.
Lai’s video was noticed by a variety of brands and celebrities, including Pink Palm Puff, a teen girl clothing brand, who sent her a free hoodie, and one day she hopes to do a collab with influencer PresLee Faith.
She wants to experiment with “Get Ready With Me” videos or do an unboxing.
Over the last few months, she has posted a variety of relatable videos for girls and wants to continue making more.
Lai feels that to be successful in making content and gaining followers, you need to “find what you like and what you want to post about, then be consistent and post as if you already have a following, as if you’re already viral — get people intrigued.”
