Hope Schwing
Chats With WIMITLA.!
What a journey it has been for Hope Schwing. The Minnesota-native began on the musical.ly app in 2016 making dance content. Four years and 8.3 million TikTok followers later, she has become one of the most popular creators on TikTok! She explained that the experience has simply been surreal. “Never would I have ever thought that this free app in the App Store would become something so big and impactful on my life,” she said. “I literally got the app as a way to post videos without my high school seeing them, but here we are...It’s so cool and I’m so grateful.”
Her content has changed a lot since her start; the creator now focuses on making comedy videos for her fans. It’s a formula that has served her well-- in the time that she has been on the app, Hope has received over 618 million likes and a growing social media following. Her advice to up-and-coming TikTokers? “Be consistent and be yourself,” she said. “As long as you keep trying, you’ve got nothing to lose.” We spoke to the social media star about her beginnings, the pressures of making content, and more!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started on TikTok!
I got started on making short form videos back in 2016. I started on musical.ly, doing only hula hoop dancing videos. Right before musical.ly switched to TikTok, I started to do comedy which is my main focus right now. I’m from Minnesota and I recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business and Spanish.
Simply put, you’re a TikTok OG. When you started on the app so many years ago, did you ever imagine it would turn into the phenomenon that it currently is?
Never would I have ever thought that this free app in the App Store would become something so big and impactful on my life. It’s crazy!! I literally got the app as a way to post videos without my high school seeing them, but here we are! It’s so cool and I’m so grateful!
8.3 million followers makes you one of the most popular creators on the app. What has been the biggest change in your life since you achieved social media fame?
I'm actually about to hit 8.5 million super soon, so I’m hyped about that. The biggest change is definitely interactions in public. It’s so wild that when I go grocery shopping or get a coffee and people know who I am. It’s super awesome meeting fans in person, because they’re the ones who have changed my life.
What is the one video that you credit with helping your TikTok career take off?
Oh wow I am not sure on this one. I have had many viral videos that grew me like crazy. If I had to single one out, it would be hula hoop dancing to the yodeling Walmart boy when that was popular, or me breaking a board on my head (major fail!). Both grew me like crazy.
With such a huge platform, there is certainly room for the trolls to do their thing. How do you deal with the pressures of social media?
I am so lucky to have the fan base that I have. With as long as I have been on the app, I’m surprised I don’t get more hate comments. Sure, I get the body-shamers, “women aren’t funny” trolls. But, I really don’t care honestly. Life is too short to dwell on other people’s opinions of you.
What are some of the things you enjoy doing outside of TikTok? Have you incorporated some of these hobbies into your TikTok content at all?
I actually love to do henna tattoos and make clothes. I’ve made a few TikToks about these hobbies. Maybe this’ll make me do more! I’m always looking for ways to bring fresh, new content into my account.
Has a pandemic affected the way you create content?
More or less it has. Luckily for me, I make most of my videos by myself and alone. The pandemic actually enabled that for me more. I’m getting to the point where I’m just so ready to collab with other creators again, though. I miss it a lot! At least with the pandemic, creators have more free time to work.
What are some of your favorite trends on the app today? Which one do you wish you could bring back?
Right now my favorite trend is Megan Thee Stallion’s “Girls in the Hood” trend. I love seeing women being honest about what their “bad bish behavior” really is . I would love it if the album cover trend would come back! That one was amazing.
What advice do you have for a new, up and coming creator?
My main pieces of advice are: be consistent and be yourself. As long as you keep trying, you’ve got nothing to lose. It could take a while, but in the end it’s all worth it. Make sure to be yourself, so people fall in love with YOU and not some facade or fake version of you. It’ll make you more likeable, too!
Lastly, anything to plug? What’s next from Hope Schwing?
I love some self promo haha! YouTube: Hope Schwing, Snapchat: Hschwingy
