Creators are always looking for ways to connect with their audiences, starting with producing and sharing content that resonates with them. But how do you take these interactions to the next level and build a stronger sense of connection with your followers? We asked creators who cover a wide range of topics how they turned their followings into active, engaged communities.

Use multiple platforms to build your audience

Most creators have a favorite platform they post on, but there are benefits to being active on more than one. For example, posting on multiple platforms can help with discovery, boost engagement and drive traffic to your website. Lindsey Bomgren, a fitness trainer and blogger who posts at Nourish Move Love, says, “I use Instagram for building audience engagement, Pinterest for driving traffic to my website and YouTube for sharing full-length workout videos. No matter where you post, you can always link back to a common destination, like your website. Our most loyal readers are our email subscribers, but we love YouTube and Pinterest for their discoverability!”

Choose how you want to measure and define success

As a creator, how do you know whether you’re building community among your target audience? Should you focus on how big your audience is, how well your topics resonate with them or both? Two important tools to measure success are analytics and direct feedback, including using direct messaging through platforms, comments or emails.

Lindsey uses analytics to understand “which posts are driving the most traffic, and where that traffic is coming from.” She adds, “We create content for different audiences. Some of our content is designed for search engine optimization; whereas other content, like full body high intensity interval training (HITT) and pyramid workouts, is geared toward our Instagram followers.”

Other creators rely more on community feedback to find out what content is resonating. Payton Cavin, who built the media brand Mellow Yellow Media to inspire women to explore the world and their passions while working remotely, shares, “Analytics help us understand what our audience is craving more of. That being said, direct feedback is always more beneficial. There's nothing like having a conversation with a follower who found value in what you shared.”

Find ways to engage

Interacting directly with your audience can not only help you figure out what's working, it can build community and bring your brand to life. Many creators shared that they interact with followers in comments or direct messages on social platforms, or via email. Beauty blogger Kendall Alfred says, “I try to respond to as many YouTube comments as I can, and my direct messages are always open on Instagram. I go live on my platforms and answer questions in real time. I also try to do giveaways and donations as often as possible.”

And Lindsey hosts “live workouts on YouTube and Instagram, sharing weekly seven-day workout plans and daily #WOD's [workouts of the day] that we follow together as a community.”

Partner up

Eager to grow your brand’s reputation and think outside the box? Partnering with other creators can be an effective way to mix things up while bringing your communities together. It can also help you get creative by exploring more topics related to your brand.

Shylah May, a lifestyle and wellness blogger, says, “I’ve made friends with a lot of other creators throughout the years. We travel, take photos and attend events together, and they even help promote my clothing line, Shop Shylah May. Teaming up with other creators helps your brand so much — it creates awareness, better defines your brand and allows you to grow your audience.”

Life is never completely smooth sailing, and challenges can strike even with the best-laid plans in place. We asked creators how they handle challenges and how these obstacles — while often difficult in the moment — can serve as opportunities to learn, grow and build resilience.

Learn from your mistakes, and do better next time

Take Monique Elise, an author, financial analyst and lifestyle influencer passionate about empowering women. After her first brand collaboration failed, Monique realized these campaigns require more work than they appear to on the surface, and that being an influencer means much more than taking pretty photos. “I underestimated just how much work, preparation and organization goes into creating content that I’m truly proud of,” she shares. While initially disappointed in her results, she quickly shifted her mindset and learned what to do differently in the future. “Truthfully, that experience was so necessary,” she says, “because it made me understand how important it is to be prepared, especially if I want to represent my business in a meaningful way.”

Be prepared for the unexpected

As Monique shared, being prepared is key — and that includes being prepared for the unexpected. Rae Allen learned this as she was building her brand as a fitness and style creator. Rae’s goal was to run a mile every day, and just as she was getting started, she found out she needed a series of back-to-back surgeries. She quickly turned this setback into an opportunity to grow her platform in an authentic way.

“At first, I felt like a failure because I couldn’t technically run,” Rae shares. “But I realized I set the rules.” After her surgeries, she started walking, jogging, then finally running again — regularly posting about her recovery, and her favorite workout outfits, on Instagram. “If it weren’t for this setback, I never would have found my true passion for creating,” she says. “My platform changed immensely, as did my fitness journey as an athlete. Today people look to me for inspiration, motivation and empowerment.”

Lean on your support group

When a challenge inevitably arises, it can feel like you need to solve it on your own. But that doesn't have to be the case. Monique depends on her support group of “friends, fellow creators and my boyfriend.” She shares, “Having a support system really helps when you’re suffering from self-doubt. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’d be surprised at how many people want to help you and see you succeed.” Having a peer group to share your experiences with can be especially comforting, because they can empathize with the nature of your work and offer actionable suggestions.

Channel resilience

No matter the endeavor, it’s important to keep moving forward and reaching for your goals. Monique and Rae both found strength in the face of disappointment, and the determination to press onward. It’s something that still inspires Rae today, and she wants to share that spirit of resilience with every creator: “Keep going! Whatever it is you’re facing — just keep going with one foot in front of the other. There will be highs and lows and it will be hard. No matter what we do in life, we will always face obstacles. So why not face obstacles doing something you love? The journey is worth it.”

Kahlil Greene is a self-described “Gen Z historian” who uses social media to advocate for change. He established himself as an influencer, educator and voice for justice with his thought-provoking videos, engaging oratory style and eye-catching graphics. He has more than 500,000 followers and 20 million views across his social media profiles — with 5.5 million likes on TikTok alone.

From influencer to entrepreneur

Kahlil first used social media to educate, activate and inform students while he was a sophomore at Yale. He was elected the college’s first Black student body president, and worked to represent student activists, whose voices were historically marginalized or suppressed. To help do so, he designed social media infographics for the Yale College Council, and their Instagram post on “Being the Change” lists over 70 advocacy projects that were completed under his leadership.

Off campus, Kahlil worked to develop an online presence as a racial justice advocate, usinghis TikTok andInstagram accounts to spark candid conversation about Black history and racism. HisJuneteenth slideshow on Instagram from July 2020 “went insanely viral,” with over 57,000 likes. Another post from a month earlier about how people talk aboutviolence against the Black community gained as much attention.

Today, Kahlil is an in-demand public speaker and consultant, educating schools, nonprofits and businesses on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. He also works with brands on their corporate social responsibility campaigns. “I share a Gen Z perspective on subjects related to history, culture and politics,” he explains. “I can amplify arguments that other Gen Zers might not be able to make. I'm forging a bridge between our generational ideas and large organizations and their leaders.”

Brands value the perspective and insights Kahlil brings, as they seek to reach Gen Z — a socially conscious, social-media savvy generation. “Society is trending towards the values that Gen Z holds,” Kahlil says. “Gen Zers are graduating college and choosing where to work. I wrote a Harvard Business Review article about how companies fail to meet those standards. Diversity and inclusion is not a 'nice to have' anymore. It's a 'need to have.'”

As Kahlil’s influence grew, businesses were reaching out to him via his email links on social media. “But those [profiles] didn’t tell people enough about me,” he says. “Other creators I admired had websites with blogs that looked very professional.” Kahlil decided he needed his own website to develop his voice as a writer, showcase his work and create a hub for his brand.

Creating a business website

Kahlil launched his Gen Z Historian website in March 2021, bringing together his ideas, experiences and media coverage. “I wanted my own space where I could document my journey and develop deeper connections with people,” Kahlil says. A website also gives Kahlil ownership over his content, he notes. In January 2022, he launched his blog, where he posts long-form articles such as “What Is DEI in the New Decade?,” a popular topic for his public speaking.

Kahlil keeps an editorial calendar and posts frequently, including around holidays, remembrances and other events, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. His ongoing Instagram series on “Hidden History” tells America’s untold stories, such as the link between racism and the Salem Witch Trials. He plans to reach an even wider audience through book, podcast and TV projects in the works.

Finding a voice

To creators seeking a platform for advocacy, Kahlil offers this advice: “Find out what is not being said clearly, and use your voice to clarify that. Also, find topics that haven’t been talked about to death. A lot of my niche and audience come from either ideas that I clarify with my communication style or ideas that exist but haven't been shared for mass audience engagement. Those are the ways that you grab an audience if you want to be an online educator.”

Google for Creators recently launched The Conversation, a new YouTube series spotlighting the experiences of women of color creators. This month, we’re featuring designer, photo stylist and donut aficionado Samantha Ushiro, the talent behind the successful online brand Aww Sam. Learn more about Sam below and check out the full interview.

Samantha Ushiro’s love for donuts, confetti, bright colors and vintage fashion led to an unexpected — and successful — career move. Today, her Aww Sam brand has nearly 300,000 followers across her web properties, including her Pinterest profile, which receives 2.4 million monthly views. She’s also partnered with brands like Refinery29, Bustle, HGTV and Brit + Co.

Sam made a leap of faith to get where she is today. She was studying industrial design at the Parsons School of Design in New York. For her final project, she created a photo book of handmade, colorful donuts decorated in her whimsical style. A blogger since high school, Sam decided to post some of the photos online. “People were asking me, ‘What’s the recipe? How do I make these?’” Sam recalls. “That’s how it all started.”

Sam began posting her work on Instagram. Brands took notice of Sam’s upbeat, retro style, and paid gigs started rolling in. “I realized, OK, I could make a career doing this,” Sam says. She left her job in 3D modeling to dive into online content creation full time.

In 2015, Sam launched Aww Sam, a creative lifestyle blog “with a focus on making every day fun.” She expanded her content to include party planning, crafting, vintage fashion and home décor. Her audience ate it all up.

Sam now toggles between New York City and her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her husband, Kyle, and new baby Kiki. Here, Sam shares a few ingredients from her recipe for success.

Commit to your passion

In the beginning, Sam was juggling college, a job and her social media content. Like so many aspiring creators, Sam had to choose where to focus her time and energy. “Some people wait until their social media work surpasses their salary, then they make the leap full time,” Sam shares. “It was hard for me to do both at once.” She decided to take a chance and become a full-time content creator. “I figured, if this fails, I can go back to my industrial design career.” Sam never had to revert to plan B, as Aww Sam became even more successful than she imagined.

Start with what you have

Sam didn’t start out with fancy equipment or a studio. Working out of her one-bedroom apartment in New York, she taped paper to the walls to create a photography backdrop. “I used Photoshop to extend the colored backgrounds,” Sam shares. She had a flip phone (no smartphone), so she improvised with the tools available. “I used a digital camera,” Sam explains. “I would email the photos to myself, and then I’d go on my iPod touch and post them on Instagram.”

Find inspiration in unexpected places

Sam’s design aesthetic is uniquely her own. But she’s drawn inspiration from outside of the Aww Sam orbit, too. “I look at other creative things, like films, graphic novels and surrealist art,” Sam says. “You can gather inspiration from stuff that’s not directly related to your work.”

Use your platform for social advocacy

Sam has built her brand on spreading joy. But she also uses her platform to educate her audience. Her Instagram Stories cover the Black Lives Matter movement and other important issues, including the rise in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. In one post, Sam shared her experience growing up as a Japanese American, and how her grandparents were relocated and confined in U.S. internment camps during World War II. The post enlightened her audience, “some of whom didn’t know Japanese internment camps existed,” Sam says.

Sam hopes her content serves as a bright spot in her followers’ social media feeds. She encourages other creators to start posting and see where their journey takes them. “I think all creative work is valid,” Sam says. “Even if you don't think you've done a good job, you still made this thing. You made something out of nothing. And that in itself is still valid.”

Want to hear more? Check out the full video interviewwith Sam on The Conversation.

Editor’s note: Today’s guest post is from Amit Sion, Chief Revenue Officer at XWP.

Content creation is growing at a faster pace than ever before. Digital media has made it easier for niche publishers to reach global audiences. And publishers are now competing for readers’ attention and time not just with each other, but with social media platforms. With seemingly limitless ways to get news, entertainment and other information, publishers need to find ways to stand out.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, our web agency XWP works with technology, media and publishing companies. Part of what we do is help publishers engage readers and thrive in today’s highly competitive and often mobile-first marketplace. One way we help them do that is through Web Stories.

We recently began working with News Corp Australia to use Web Stories across their family of publications. For example, Australia's most prominent newspaper, The Australian, just added a Web Stories carousel to their homepage under the “Visual Stories” heading. They are using Web Stories for a variety of sections, including news, travel, lifestyle, arts and entertainment.

We are also working with News Corp brands in the U.S., like The Wall Street Journal, and hope to bring Web Stories to even more News Corp publications. In each project, we learn something new and try to share that experience globally.

"News Corp Australia is producing more Web Stories a week than any other publisher in the world,” says Rod Savage, Partnership Editor of News Corp Australia. ”We could not output such volumes of quality content without a quality publishing system and XWP's plug-in has proven to be robust and intuitive. We're looking forward to continuing to build a mutually beneficial relationship with the common goal of making Web Stories a stunning user experience."

On the Google app on Android and iOS, News Corp’s Web Stories appear on Discover (currently available in the U.S., India and Brazil). This is a useful tool for reaching new audiences, and our customers are seeing positive results in their web traffic.

We’re also helping smaller, independent publishers use Web Stories to engage their audiences. For example, a COWGIRL Magazine Web Story promoted a documentary about Wyomingrodeo athlete Amberley Snyder, who built her life back after losing the use of her legs in an automobile accident.

“It's a different way of telling a story online, unlike anything that anybody's doing out there,” says COWGIRL Magazine Founder and CEO Ken Amorosano. “[Social media stories are] rapid fire…but they’re not really telling a story. A blog post is telling a story, but it's out of sequence, as a photo doesn’t necessarily link with a paragraph. With Web Stories, every word with that image, with that video, matters. And it matters to the actual flow of the story. It has a beginning, middle and an end. And it's very, very, very powerful.” Check out my interview with Ken to learn more about their experience using Web Stories.

Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about how to develop, deploy and enhance Web Stories for publishers. We’ve found that you can't just take an article and break it up into pages with text — it has to be more engaging. Web Stories offer the ability to add video, sound and images, and publishers need to find the right balance of using multiple media to tell their stories. When we start with publishers, the first thing we do is look at some existing stories. Then we encourage them to think about how to transform them into immersive Web Stories.

We can’t wait to see where Web Stories take XWP and our publishers next. That includes working with Google to develop Web Stories for WordPress, and helping even more of our customers experiment with Web Stories to grow their audiences and create new reader experiences.

Christina Galbato began her career as a public relations intern in 2015. She launched a personal blog and an Instagram profile in 2016, posting about travel and life in New York City. “Back then, it was just a passion project,” recalls Christina. Soon, she started connecting with other content creators, including those earning income as bloggers and social media influencers.

That led to a life-changing, “aha” moment.

“I realized I could actually make money and have a full-time career doing this,” Christina says. She landed her first paid gig creating content for a Caribbean tourism board. One job led to another, and another. She grew her network and built herwebsite, herblog and her following, establishing herself as a dependable and engaging influencer. Other brands came calling, and Christina’s success skyrocketed.

Within a year, she’d earned enough income as a content creator to quit her job as a marketing assistant. She built her portfolio and attracted more business deals, earning six figures from brand collaborations. She traveled the world, visiting 16 countries. As her community and success grew, things began to shift. “My followers started to ask me, ‘How can I do what you do?’” Christina says. She transitioned away from travel content to become an online educator, creatingcourses and apodcast to help other creators monetize their businesses.

By 2020, Christina’s business brought in its first $1 million in revenue. By 2021, she more than doubled that revenue stream, with enough work to hire 20 team members — most of whom are women. With an audience of over 500,000 online, she has already helped 10,000 other women become successful influencers and is expanding her courses and coaching offerings to help even more.

Christina offers her advice in the latest Creator Insights series, launching today on the Google for Creators YouTube channel. “I'm excited to encourage other creators and show them a number of different ways that they can monetize their content,” she says. Some topics Christina covers include creating a strategic content plan, making your pitches stand out to brands and calculating rates for sponsored content.

Here, she shares three tips for content creators to get on track to achieve their own success.

Network with other creators and brands

Christina’s success didn’t happen by accident. She followed and connected with other content creators, inviting them into her community and tapping into theirs. At the same time, she reached out to brands and public relations companies representing brands. “Do not underestimate the power of networking,” Christina advises. “You want to run a business that serves people, that serves your audience. So if you're not talking to them, you're missing out on a huge opportunity.”

Focus on your audience, not yourself

“The biggest mistake new creators make is too much focus on ‘me me me’ content, and not enough on value,” Christina observes. “The online landscape and what it means to be a successful influencer has changed a lot. Five years ago, you could post about what you were doing, selfies, pictures of what you were eating. People don't care about that stuff anymore. People are always asking, ‘What is in it for me?’ Lead from a point of view of always providing value to your audience — whether that is entertainment, informational content or inspiration. That's going to set you apart from people who aren’t leading with that mindset…and bring you success a lot quicker.”

Diversify your platforms and income streams

Christina’s content strategy includes a website that serves as her brand hub, which branches out onto her social media channels. She also reaches her audience through an email list and her podcasts. “It’s not just being on Instagram, but also having an email list and growing your audience on a platform that you own, like a blog,” she advises. “Creators should also explore different ways to monetize their content. In addition to brand collaborations, there’s affiliate marketing, creating online courses and other digital products. Never put all of your eggs in one basket, whether it's a content publishing platform or an income stream.”

Want to learn more about becoming a successful content creator and social influencer? Watch Christina’s first Creator Insights video on the Google for Creators YouTube channel and stay tuned for more.

Tokes Ojo-Ade is a marketing professional, wife, mother — and successful web creator. Her blog,Tokes’ Take On Style, offers fashion, styling and shopping tips for busy working women.

“As a working mom, I know we all juggle a lot,” says Tokes, who lives in the Washington, D.C. area and works full time in the financial services industry. “Given how time-strapped a lot of us are, we could all use effortless styling and shopping tips along with easy style inspiration,” she says.

Tokes works to keep her blog’s content fresh and engaging, like adding tappableWeb Stories andYouTube videos to the mix.

She also live streams to connect with her fan base more directly. On her biweekly Instagram TV (IGTV) live stream, “Thursday Tips with Tokes,” she shares quick and easy styling tips with her audience — sometimes reaching over 21,000 views. Fans are drawn to Tokes’ warm, personal style, and her take on fashion and beauty to help women feel more confident.

Tokes spoke with us to share a few tips on how to create a successful live stream.

Prepare before you go live

While trial and error is part of the learning process, Tokes says preparation is key to live streaming success. “You have to figure out what the intent is, what the goal is, what you're trying to do,” Tokes says. “If I'm sharing tips, do I need props? If I'm showing and telling, what are the pieces that I want to share? How long am I going live for? How many outfits can I fit in during that time? Also, I have to anticipate questions that people may have.” She suggests making a list of everything you need for your live stream and reviewing it in advance to avoid any mid-stream glitches.

Tokes also recommends preparing based on the platform you’re using. She says while Instagram is great for quick and spontaneous live streams, her Amazon Live shows require more prep with choosing products to feature that are a good fit for her audience.

Involve your audience and other influencers

Tokes kicks off every live stream with some audience banter, welcoming her viewers by name. Engaging with the audience as soon as she goes live helps them feel like they’re part of the show. “I always ask where people are joining from because you're bringing them along,” Tokes shares. “It doesn't feel as much like you're talking to a screen because there's that engagement and interaction going on.”

Tokes also features other influencers on her shows as a way to expand her content and build community between their audiences. “I did [a live stream] recently with two plus-sized influencers, and we talked about styling tips for plus-sized women.”

While popular influencer live stream shows have a casual, laid-back feel, successful creators like Tokes put in plenty of prep time. That foundation makes it easier for creators to relax and have fun with their audiences, knowing they’ve mapped everything out in advance.

Want to hear more from Tokes? Watch our full interview on the Google for Creators YouTube channel and check out her Web Story.

Before we jump into 2022, the Google for Creators team is looking back at some of our favorite moments from this year. Check out our top five highlights from 2021.

1. Launching Google for Creators

In October, we launched Google for Creators, a hub for content creators looking for information and inspiration. Along with guides for creating a content strategy, expanding your audience and choosing a monetization approach, you’ll find upcoming events, tips from seasoned creators and blog posts with the latest updates from the creator economy.

2. Celebrating women of color creators

On November 19, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we launched The Conversation, a new video series celebrating women of color creators. Guests, like beauty and lifestyle creator Tyla-Lauren Gilmore and fashion model and creative director Hannah Mussette, talk about how their backgrounds have shaped their brands and share their personal successes and struggles as full-time creators. Stay tuned for more episodes of The Conversation in 2022.

3. Interviewing inspiring creators

We’ve interviewed so many fascinating people on our blog, including the editor in chief of the longest-running Asian American women’s online magazine; a queer automotive educator, journalist and influencer who started an inclusive car blog; a former lawyer who became a full-time vegan food blogger; and a ceramicist whose content showcases her artistic process. Their stories show the endless topics, communities and niches that you can create content for and about on the web.

4. Tapping into expert insights

For our Creator Insights YouTube series, we asked some of our favorite creators — like Eden Hagos and Elle Asiedu of BLACK FOODIE, and beauty blogger Keiko Lynn — to share their top insights and strategies for creating content, building a brand and making money as a creator. Some topics included how to find your niche, avoid burnout and pitch yourself to brands.

5. Connecting with creators on social

We hope you’ve been following Google for Creators on Twitter and Instagram, where we share everything we’re up to. We also love connecting with the creator community on our social channels. If you’ve ever wanted to ask us a question, or answer one of ours with your own tips, that’s where to do it!

We had a blast sharing stories and insights from all the creators we spoke to in 2021, and we can’t wait to connect with even more next year. See you in 2022!

Google for Creators is partnering with Google Trends to share some of the top searches every December. With the holidays upon us, we hope this helps creators put together any last-minute gift guides, listicles or other seasonal content your audience might be searching for.

What foods are people searching for during the holidays?

Seasonal eats are (of course) on people’s minds. Top food searches in December include mulled wine, hot cocoa, hot toddy, fudge and cookies. Speaking of cookies, the top-searched types are sugar, gingerbread, peanut butter, chocolate chip and shortbread. Stomach grumbling? Us, too.

What are the top-searched holiday movies in the U.S.?

When December comes around, people are ready to curl up on the couch with a holiday movie. “Die Hard” is the top-searched holiday movie in the U.S., and other favorites include “Gremlins,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Home Alone” and “Lethal Weapon.” Fun fact — the U.S. is the only country where searches for “Elf” rank higher than “Love Actually.”

What are people in the U.S. curious about during the holidays?

You’re sure to hear a lot of Mariah Carey this time of year — which explains why one of the top-searched questions about her in the U.S. is “How much does Mariah Carey make every Christmas?”

Another insight that might help with last-minute gift guides: “Gifts for boyfriend” is searched two times more than “gifts for girlfriend,” while “gifts for wife” gets more searches than “gifts for husband.” Two gift ideas you might also want to cover, based on top-topic searches, are socks and sweaters.

Food and drink-focused creators, take note: The top day for cocktail searches is December 31, so be sure to line up some content about your favorite drink recipes in time for New Year’s Eve. Some other, not-so-surprising insights: Every December, search interest in “resume” goes down, while “champagne” goes up; and the top day for “hangover” searches is January 1.

What is everyone else in the world searching for in December?

Every December, people all over the world search for cheese and wine, baking, mince pie, tamale, candle, snowman, scarf and beanie. Certain countries see interest spike in particular seasonal goodies. In Japan, where eating fried chicken on Christmas Day has become a tradition, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is the top food search. In Israel, latkes are always number one — but this year, searches for the fried potato fritters are at an all-time high. In France and Italy, the most-searched foods in December are Yule log and panettone, respectively.

What are some other top global seasonal trends?

Ever wonder what Boxing Day is all about? You’re not alone — it’s the top-searched question worldwide in December. People around the world also start searching for snowman-related topics, like how to draw and make a snowman. Another insight that might help family-focused content creators: This year, searches for “elf” and “the Elf on the Shelf” are at all-time highs.

We hope you enjoyed these insights from the Google Trends team, and that they help you spread even more holiday cheer to your audiences.