In this episode of Hunting Influence, Aaron is joined by Cosette Rinab, Creator of TikTok. They discuss how Cosette has grown her TikTok following to 2.3m followers through DIY, science experiments and still fashion videos.

Key facts

• Cosette’s LinkedIn
• Cosette’s TikTok
• TikTok’s website
• Cosette started as a fashion blogger at the young age of 14 and became the brand ambassador of Wilhelmina Models
• Cosette’s parents were fashion photographers
• Cosette did several internships to get recognized by brands
• Cosette is currently studying for a Bachelors of Arts degree at the University of Southern California
• Cosette is also a popular content creator on other social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube

Key Takeaways

• Cosette has been a fashion blogger since the age of 14. However, understanding the importance of academic education, Cosette put her blogging interest aside to pursue her high school diploma  

• Cosette completed high school and eventually graduated from the University of Southern California 

• During her time at USC, Cosette joined REACH (a social media network for content creators at USC), which she believes to be the second birth of her social media career 

• Cosette was not taken seriously by many brands due to her young age, but she was persistent and sent out 100s of emails every day

• Cosette started her journey with TikTok in December 2018 in her second year of high school

• Cosette created a beatboxing video with her best friend that went viral. Consequently, she went from 3 followers to 20,000 followers overnight

• Cosette acknowledges the support from her parents and boyfriend helped her reach 1 million followers on TikTok 

• Attending community events has helped Cosette build her social network and personal relationship with brands 

• Cosette believes that TikTok gives everyone an equal chance to create content and become an influencer

• Cosette has worked with Dolce & Gabbana and NY Fashion Week along with many other renowned brands 

• She believes that collaboration with other creators and helping out newbies in launching their pages has been the key to her becoming a successful influencer

• Working through trial and error and being consistent has helped Cosette overcome rejection

• Cosette actively engages communities over Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. She believes that social media is volatile, and any channel can collapse at any time; hence its good to be versatile in the long run 

• Cosette states that her best investment has been the $80 ring light that has helped create better quality videos

• A ring light and a mobile stand is all someone needs to start their social media journey  

• Cosettes’ five-year plan is to build a brand, expand her outreach to other social handlers, and increase her fan base as she completes her studies. Right now, Cosette’s primary focus is her education and TikTok

• Social media is a real-time job like any other profession. It has also helped people during the pandemic and isolation to entertain others and be entertained. However, Cosette emphasizes the fact that while pursuing social media as a profession, one should have clearly defined goals such as do they want to become an influencer? Do you want to share educational and information content?

Cosette’s #1 tip for aspiring influencers

Discover your talent, create content with different styles and see what suits you best. She advises all aspiring influencers to be and trust yourself.

Cosette’s No.1 TikTok hack

• Create short, colorful, engaging videos that show your true self, do not copy others content 
• Lighting is a very important aspect that makes your video catchy  

Key Resources

• TikTok
• Instagram

Quotes

“If you do not manifest or sneak into something’s existence, you will never get it.”

Cosette Rinab
Creator at TikTok