Nashville’s It-Girl Kristi Howard On Her Rise To Viral Fame
Internet personality, Kristi Howard, has over 3+ million followers across various platforms. Her fans and followers are obsessed with her content, spanning from realistic try-on hauls to hilarious lifestyle vlogs and unfiltered storytimes. Born in Atlanta, Kristi moved to Nashville to continue her pursuit as an influencer, and is now known as Tik Toks’s Queen of Amazon Storefronts. Amongst her relatable, unserious and hilarious content, Kristi is able to connect with her followers on a deeper level through having those raw, vulnerable and honest conversations, following a loss in her family. As an influencer, Kristi is not one to take herself too seriously, and continues to prove the value of connecting with others through relatable content and staying true to yourself.
Can you share your journey of becoming an influencer? What inspired you to start making content?
I don’t remember ever wanting to do anything else besides create videos and document my life. When I was little it was always youtube videos. I would post skits or choreograph dance routines every time I had a sleepover and film it to post online. As I got older I would hop on whatever the trend was myspace, tumblr, vine, instagram, facebook, then when tiktok came I finally got my “big break”. I always carried a camera around in highschool and would create videos of my life, the sports teams, baby showers, weddings, and eventually I was able to create content as my full time job. I always enjoyed being the one in the camera on top of being behind the scenes as well. I love having creative control, editing, and storytelling.
How do you come up with new content ideas? Do you have a creative process and what is it like?
Whatever I’m going through in life, or whatever is happening in the moment is what I document and post. I don’t do much pre-planning other than deciding I want to film an unboxing video if I know I have something coming in the mail, or filming a “GRWM” if I know there is an event I’m going to beforehand. Other than that it is just whatever I feel like each day! I think that’s what makes it more authentic!
How important is it to engage and connect with your followers?
I think it’s SUPER important. These are the people who are tuning in and following along my journey. It takes 1 second to tap and like a comment. & that might just make someone's entire day! You never know what someone is going through.
How do you balance a personal life with your online presence? Is it challenging?
Yes and no. I definitely think having an “online presence” has made my anxiety a little worse if I’m being honest. I feel like I overshare so much that I have a constant fear that I’m always being looked at and judged (I live in a super touristy town). I’m never afraid of someone who is a follower being mean- but it’s the people who just come across my videos from time to time and don’t actually watch me well enough to know about my mental health struggles and how I am the way I am that tend to make me anxious when going places. I would hate for someone to catch me on a bad day and not understand that sometimes my anxiety takes over at any given moment. It can interfere with me attending events or hanging with friends as often as I used to. I’ve also had to find a balance in what days not to record and what things I do record. I honestly never ever make videos around my friends or film with them and I like to keep it that way! It’s all about finding what works for you! Can you share some of your tips for someone looking to start an online influencer career? Stop comparing yourself- That is my biggest flaw that I struggle with myself. You have to literally NOT care. Stop holding back because you’re embarrassed your coworkers will see, your parents, your classmates. I also did that for a very long time and regret it so much. I always watered myself down and never grew until I finally got over that and posted my TRUE self. You have to forget about that and continue to post post post- that is the only way you will grow.
What's the most rewarding aspect of being an influencer, according to you?
Being able to see the impact I have on others. I really am not a “mushy” person at all but seeing all the sweet messages, emails, comments, I get on a daily basis. I feel like I have millions of little friends. I have a whole community and am so grateful. Being able to relate to others in ways you never thought you could is such an awesome feeling.
