We were lucky to catch up with Kody Hildebrand recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kody, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I manage my own social media accounts. It’s honestly been incredibly rewarding because I get to post on my own schedule while also creating the content I feel best suits my accounts without having to worry about anyone telling me the do’s or don’t’s. I got to learn what works best for me and what doesn’t, and I’m always learning new things that could potentially work better in either a helpful way to what I’m doing or as a completely different method to keep things fresh. My biggest insights for business owners when it comes to posting on social media is to get to know your demographics better and post the content that would work best to connect with them. Don’t copy trends or memes because that automatically kills the fun of it and makes it weird to see, but instead find humor and creativity in originality and embrace that to its fullest.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Kody Hildebrand and I’ve been a professional magician and comedian for the last 11 years. I got into magic completely by accident. I had always enjoyed watching magic on TV or online, but only knew one trick for years. When I was 19, I went to visit my girlfriend (now wife) while she was in college and a friend of hers had shown me a trick I’d never seen before and how to do it, so when I got home I went straight to YouTube and started learning more beginner tricks. Before I knew it, it all rippled from beginner tricks online to finding the right books, the right downloads I could purchase, and ended up with a show that took me all over. Pre-COVID, I was only really doing birthday parties here and there, but when the pandemic hit, I decided I’d start posting on TikTok for fun. Next thing I knew, I was going viral doing what I loved and gained half a million followers in my first year alone. With that came performances I never dreamed possible including a weekend of shows on a Vegas stage and on a TEDx Talk stage. I don’t offer clients insight or wisdom when I’m performing, but instead I offer them a break from the world around them. We experience life for the most part as a mundane routine of repetition (wake up, take the kids to school, get coffee, go to work, make dinner, go to bed, repeat). We all deserve to have a break from that and to experience the chance to see life from a different angle and showing my clients that through magic while also engaging them with comedy gives them that break and breath of fresh air they need from their daily routine. What sets me apart from others when I perform (in my opinion) is that I don’t think I’m anyone special and that I’m just another person. Most magicians will act with a layer of ego or narcissism calling themselves “… the Magnificent” or “The Amazing …” and act like they’re some superhero with mystical powers. I’m literally just like anyone else when I’m on stage. My stage name is my real name. I have hobbies outside my job and magic isn’t my one personality trait. It’s something I genuinely believe every magician needs to learn to do. As far as what I’m most proud of is that I’ve made it as far as I have both online and in the real world by simply being myself and that seems to be enough. I don’t have to change who I am to fit myself into one specific niche. I’m able to be me and entertain people from all walks of life to the best of my abilities and the best part is that I get to show my daughter (3 years old) that she can grow up and follow her passions no matter what they are as long she puts the work in. I want my potential clients and fans to know that when they watch me, they’re not just watching another magician doing silly tricks on stage that you would see at a kid’s birthday party. You’re getting that much needed break from reality that I mentioned earlier. You’re getting to feel that same sense of excitement and wonder you did as a kid when you went to Disney World or Chuck E Cheese for the first time but as an adult. You get to be you again instead of who your job needs you to be and have a moment of fun.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My first real year on social media was during the pandemic. I had made the decision to post every single day, 4-6 times a day. It was a lot, but at the same time, nothing. In a 24 hour day, I’m posting 4-6 videos that were anywhere between 15 seconds to a minute long each and when you think about it, that’s really only 1-10 minutes of your day so to me it was completely worth it. Posting consistently and engaging with your audience is absolutely key to getting success online. But most importantly, just be yourself.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Biggest lesson I had to learn was to not post like a boomer (respectfully). There’s a very specific way that boomers make posts online and it’s always the same: speak like you’re giving a keynote speech with absolutely no substance and hope people stay awake through the whole thing. I learned that you need to keep people engaged and the best way to do that is to have a positive energy about yourself while also being upbeat. When I say to “be yourself”, I mean it, but make sure it’s you on the best day of your life. You want to keep your audience’s attention and make sure they’re engaged with whatever it is you’re doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hildebrandmagic.com
• Instagram: Hildebrandmagic
• Youtube: Hildebrand Magic
• Other: TikTok: hildebrandmagic

Image Credits

Jesters Forge for all but the TEDx photo