We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacob Knight a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jacob , thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I would say just expanding my food page overall was a risk in itself. Sometimes expansion is not a good thing. This food page was originally just me going to restaurants, taking a picture of what I am eating, and then I post it. Then on Instagram reels were popular and I was like “let me record myself eating the food”. Then that lead to me saying “I like cooking too so how about if I record myself cooking and post that as well”. To further my audience reach I went from Instagram only to posting videos on TikTok and YouTube as well. Then I thought to myself “how about a blog where I can post my travels and more in depth dishes with recipes included” so now I have a blog on Substack. Now finally with my biggest risk is that I am currently writing a cook book. So if I never took the risk of expansion I’ll probably still be posting pictures only on Instagram, not have an established audience on multiple platforms, not have a blog, and not be in the middle of writing a cookbook.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hello! My name is Jacob and I am a food content creator based in the metro Atlanta area. I am originally from Phenix City, Alabama and I moved to the Atlanta area in March 2022. I started my food page So Yea I’m Eatin’ in June 2022. I had the idea for a food page for a couple years at that point but never acted it. So after moving to the Atlanta area I finally decided to start it because I was like “new city, new places to eat, what I got to lose”. On my page you will find food recommendations mainly in the Atlanta area and home recipe videos. From easy meals for a weeknight dinner or a creative spin on a well known dish, I like to consider myself a “borderline” cook. What I think sets me apart from other creators is that first when it comes to food content creators there is normally one or the other. You either visit restaurants and review the food or you are a home cook who creates recipes. On my timeline I am one of the few food content creators that do both. What I am most proud of so far with this page is when someone reaches out and say they went to a restaurant I recommended or tried out a recipe I posted. Also there was a couple times where I went to a food festival in the city and a couple people recognized me, I cannot lie it was pretty cool. Lastly what I want people to take away from my food page is that it is okay to step out of your comfort zone when it comes to food. It’s okay to try something different from what you normally eat. It’s okay to try out a recipe that you never made before. If I can do it, a person who is a creature of habit and sometimes has a hard time trying new things, then anyone can. Also I like to say there is more out there than just chicken tenders and fries at restaurants.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I built my presence on social media by making sure when I started my food page I was on as many social media platforms as possible. I originally started on Instagram only with restaurant and cooking content. That lead to me getting on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and creating a blog. Making sure my content can be viewable on as many platforms as possible. My advice for someone trying to build a social media presence is two things, first one is being consistent. If you stay consistent by posting content, let’s say posting 1-2 times a week for example, you are building that audience because they know they are going to see something from you on a regular basis. You somewhat become apart of their weekly routine. The second piece of advice is to be authentic. I know this is being cliche but you got to be yourself. Post what you want to post and don’t base your content on what you see from others. It is okay to hop on a trend every now and then but remember trends are trends for a reason. Being authentic has lasted longer than any trend.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I say the most rewarding aspect from being a creative is when people watch your content then try out that restaurant you recommend or that recipe you posted. There has been a couple times when someone told me that they never wanted to eat sushi until they saw me try it and it made them want to try it. In a way this food page is here to show people that it is okay to branch out and try different things in life. I am doing it on a smaller scale because it is just strictly food. But maybe seeing me eat or cook different cuisines would probably open the door to some else to branch out and try new food. With that small step maybe since they tried out a different type of food they normally wouldn’t eat that could lead them into trying something different out in another aspect of their life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soyeaimeatin.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soyeaimeatin/?igshid=MDM4ZDc5MmU%3D
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/so-yea-im-eatin-100089098178355/?mibextid=LQQJ4d&wtsid=rdr_0biE1XlUK5LgyTzU9
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@soyeaimeatin?si=3LO1KnAiaiSmJLdl
- Other: TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@soyeaimeatin?_t=8qjdrTM3YXz&_r=1
