For much of the last year, Gary Vee has been begging his audience to get on TikTok.  The site was growing in popularity and the free, organic reach was remarkable compared to Facebook, Instagram, and most of the other more established social media platforms.  A brand new user could create content and get exposure to tons of people to build their brand.

For the first several months I completely ignored this advice.  I don’t need another social media account.  I’m doing well with Twitter and Facebook, I’m dabbling in “Insta” as the kids call it.  I don’t need to mess with something else.

Eventually, after hearing repeated reasons on why I needed to do this, and hearing how more and more callers to his show were having success, I decided I’d at least download the app. Just goes to show, Influencers gonna influence!

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Well, once I popped it open, I saw the videos were filled with a bunch of teenagers doing lip-syncs, dances, trick shots, and other random hijinx.  It was highly entertaining, but I didn’t really see how I could create any sports card content.  Most of the videos on TikTok are short.  Like 15 - 45 seconds kind of short. Traditional pack breaks or the other kind of stuff you see on card related YouTube didn’t seem to fit. Honestly, my analysis and thinking was shallow, and I really didn’t push myself to think differently.  I lacked creativity.

Earlier this spring that started to change.

One of the other podcasters I follow, Adam Palmer, who was a guest on the podcast a couple weeks ago, started talking about posting on TikTok.  He shared how his views and followers were growing.  He talked about the interaction he was having with the people watching his videos.    I started checking out his content there, and started searching for other sports card content on the platform.  Also, I was beginning to see the user base start to “age”.  I was seeing more and more parents creating videos.  I was seeing more people who appeared to be in their 20s and 30s.  I was starting to see videos about flipping items from thrift stores and garage sales.  That was enough to push me over the edge.   It was a brand new platform, with a brand new audience, in a format that would push me way out of my comfort zone.  What did I have to lose?  Some embarrassment if I completely flop? If you’ve seen my mustache, you can tell that’s not really something I’m worried about.  I don’t take myself that serious.

My First Month

I posted my first video on March 28th.  It was a clip from my opening day box break where one pack had both an Aquino and a Yordan.  Let’s just say it didn’t go viral.  I probably had about 100 views after the first several days.  But the seal had been broken, I was now a TikTok content producer!

Almost a week later I posted my second video, it was quick announcement recapping a Tweet from Ryan Cracknell that the Topps Release dates were adjusted to be TBD due to the Corona printing press shutdown.  It got a little more traffic, and I picked up a handful of followers, but it was still pretty uneventful.

On April 12th, I decided I was going to try and post one video per day to see if that regular schedule would help gain some traction.  I’ve posted Sports Card Tips, podcast recaps, some card galleries, and a handful of posts recapping some hobby news. Some combination of both the content and the timing seems to have done the trick!  I’m amazed at the growth in both views and followers.  At this point I’ve gone from 0 to 340 followers in about 5 weeks.

The views on the majority of my posts reach the thousands, and a post about using Terapeak to see actual selling prices for best offer eBay listings has reached over 13K at this point.  The post I made about Sportlots the other day is already approaching 11K views.  But here’s the thing about this  that really blows me away. 

Take a look at this chart of my website traffic. 

From the day I started posting regularly, my website traffic has climbed significantly!  It’s been up 40-50% month over month.  There have been lots of good things going on, but I have to believe a big portion of this growth is people who are coming over from TikTok. I haven’t seen a big jump in Podcast Traffic from it. That growth continues to be slow and steady, but I’m very pleased with the overall increase in awareness that I’m seeing.

Some posts continue to be more popular than others,  but the ones that seem to gain the most attention are the ones that are focused on helping educate people or providing a tip on how to make collecting easier or more affordable.  I’m going to continue to experiment with different topics and styles.  Mixing tips with fun videos, etc.

I’m happy I got past my reservations and jumped in.  I can’t wait to see what the next several months bring.

If you are trying to build your brand, I highly recommend checking out TikTok.  It feels different that other platforms, and that’s because it is.  However, it just might get you exposure to an entirely new audience.

Also, as I mentioned, I started a new Podcast called the WaxPackHero Sports Card Minute!  It’s available here directly on the site at the Podcast link at the top of the page, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, and several other sites!  Check it out, let me know what you think, and tell your friends!