Keshia Sih-Tseng is a LA-based digital content creator. She loves the world of entertainment and meeting celebrities! Keshia has over 6 years of content creation experience. She has built an audience of over 21K+ followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. She has worked with Disney, Universal Studios, Prime Video, and HBO Max. Keshia is passionate about sharing her creativity through her love for entertainment and adventures around the world with her husband, Kevin and sweet pup, Maxie. She is excited for the opportunity to potentially work with your brand!
indieactivity: Can you share the story of how you started your journey as a digital content creator and blogger, and what inspired you to pursue this career path?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): I started my journey as a digital content creator and blogger almost 7 years ago. I loved dressing up for my trips to theme parks and one of my really good friends encouraged me to share my outfits on Instagram. She told me that I was really talented and needed to share my gifts with the world. I was a little hesitant at first, but she told me, “You never know where this could lead!” and I’m glad she did. I’m so grateful for all of the amazing opportunities I’ve been able to be a part of because I decided to give all of this a go!
You’ve amassed an impressive following across multiple platforms. What do you believe sets your content apart and resonates with your audience?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): Thank you! I believe that I bring a unique vision to life in my more styled content. If I’m putting together a recreation of something inspired by a movie, show, or musician I love, I really try to do it justice and make sure what I’m creating feels aligned with the original that I’m paying homage to. I also share a lot about fun things to do around LA and I do my best to include all the information that I think is super helpful to know when someone is making a visit. I really want my audience to feel prepared before they head to an event or show, etc. when they are using my content to help them plan ahead. Lastly, I’m pretty open about my mental health in my content as well, and I have found a deeper connection with my audience by being vulnerable and creating space to talk about that with others.
Collaborating with brands like Disney, Universal Studios, Prime Video, and HBO Max is a significant achievement. Can you tell us about some of your favorite brand partnerships and the projects you’ve worked on?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): It’s so hard to choose! I feel truly blessed that I’ve had so many amazing opportunities to work with my dream brands – I don’t think I have a particular favorite! I feel fortunate and lucky that I’ve been able to build wonderful partnerships with the people I’ve worked with and that they allow me to channel my creativity in a way that helps them tell their stories.
Being a part of Disney’s Creators Lab inaugural cohort is a remarkable accomplishment. How did this opportunity come about, and how has it influenced your content creation journey?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): Disney personally reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in joining their inaugural Creators Lab cohort and I said yes! There were 20 creators in our group, including myself, and it was really great to have the opportunity to connect with like-minded people who cover a range of different topics in their content. We bonded really quickly, and after getting to know my fellow creators, it made me feel less alone in my journey and what I go through on a day to day basis.
I learned a lot from the featured speakers who presented throughout the series of sessions, and the program culminated with our group being able to participate in Disney’s Creators Celebration, which included a trip to Walt Disney World and a Disney Cruise! As micro creators, we got to meet a bunch of macro creators on the trip and it was really inspiring to learn about their personal journeys and make new friends along the way. It’s been so helpful to be able to apply what I’ve learned in the program to my work and creative process now, and I always love being able to brainstorm and talk things through with my friends from the cohort whenever we get the chance to hang out and see each other.
As an AAPI content creator, how do you incorporate your cultural background and experiences into your content, and why is this important to you?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): I’ve really challenged myself to think about how I can incorporate my cultural background as a Chinese American into my content year round. Because a lot of my content revolves around pop culture and entertainment, one of my favorite ways to do this is by highlighting AAPI-led projects! It’s important to me to keep talking about my Chinese heritage because representation matters! To be able to resonate with a main character in a movie, show, or book who looks like me is such a special feeling and makes me feel like someone else understands my experience as part of the AAPI community.
Growing up, I was really embarrassed about my cultural background and it took me until I was in high school to really start appreciating my Chinese heritage. I didn’t have a lot of AAPI role models in the media to look up to as a kid, and I think it really impacted how I viewed my role in society. I knew that when I started my social media platforms, I wanted to be a voice and help open doors for the AAPI community in everything that I do. Through my work, I want to show others that they belong and can achieve whatever they set their minds to – that if I can do it, they can do it too!
The digital landscape is constantly evolving. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and adapt your content to stay relevant in a competitive space?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): The digital landscape feels like it’s changing a mile a minute and it is quite difficult to always keep up! I would say that the content I consume drives a lot of the inspiration and creativity behind my work, and I try to focus more on creating something that I love and what is resonating with me vs. something that’s trendy or relevant. Trying to keep up with trends generally leads to major burnout for me, but I will admit that participating in a trend here or there can be fun too! At the end of the day, I am always thinking about how I can build connections with my audience, and those relationships and their trust is more important to me than being relevant.
Can you share some valuable lessons you’ve learned throughout your six years of content creation that might help aspiring content creators looking to build their online presence?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): It sounds super cliche, but be yourself, and when the going gets tough, don’t give up! Putting yourself out there in the digital space takes a lot of courage and vulnerability. For a long time, I struggled with a lot of shame when I would get rejected after reaching out to brands or other creators. Over the years, I’ve come to learn that a “no” doesn’t mean never – it just means you’ll be one step closer to the right “yes”! I think that the secret to having a successful online presence is consistency and persistence. It’s also super important to know why you’re doing all of this because it’s so easy to get lost in the shuffle of numbers and external validation, but as long as you stay true to who you are and your “why,” you’ll be able to keep going and achieve your dreams.
With your experience in creating content across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, do you have a favorite platform, and how do you tailor your content to each platform’s unique audience?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): I have loved taking photos and documenting my life that way for my entire life, so Instagram is my favorite platform when it comes to creating content. It can be challenging to tailor my content to each platform’s unique audience, but I do my best to keep in mind that Instagram’s content is a little more “refined” and put together, so I try to put my best foot forward whenever I post on there. With TikTok, it’s all about the short form content so I’ve learned to get to the point quickly and make sure what I’m creating on there is engaging and can catch your attention right away. On YouTube, I film vlogs of my daily life, so I love being able to show what goes on behind the scenes and provide a more in-depth view of what I’ve posted on Instagram and/or TikTok.
This is aWhat are your long-term goals and aspirations as a digital content creator? Are there specific niches or themes you’d like to explore in the future?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): My long-term goals and aspirations as a digital content creator are to continue to find opportunities to help open doors and uplift the AAPI community in this space. I want to get more involved in the entertainment and theater industries and it’s always been a huge dream of mine to be able to interview celebrities on the red carpet at premieres, award shows, etc. I’d also love to create more travel content, as exploring new places is one of my favorite things to do with my husband.
Lastly, can you provide some insight into the behind-the-scenes process of creating your content? What does a typical day look like for you, from brainstorming ideas to finalizing and posting content?
Keshia Sih-Tseng (KST): I juggle my full-time office job with content creation, so when I’m not at work, I’m more than likely thinking about content! My process is rarely linear, and I’m usually at different stages of the process for the different pieces of content I have on my list to produce depending on when you catch me.
Whenever an idea pops into my head, I immediately write it down in the Notes app on my iPhone so that I can refer back to it later, especially if I don’t have time in the moment to fully process it. Because my time is so limited between work and attending events, it takes a lot of planning ahead of time to be as efficient as possible when creating content. I do a lot of location scouting online or when we’re driving around LA, so if a spot catches my eye, I will immediately write down the address so I can go back to it in the future when I’m ready to capture content there.
I’ve also created a template for the captions of my posts, so that I make sure I don’t miss any key information I want to share with my audience. It also helps save a lot of time because then I can easily switch out information to tailor it to the specific event or show that I’m sharing about. When it comes to finalizing and posting content, I really try not to overthink it and just post, knowing that I’ve done my best and I’m proud of the work I’ve produced! After my post goes live, I’ll spend a good chunk of time throughout the day responding back to messages and comments and connecting with my audience to build friendships and connections.
Tell us what you think of the interview with Keshia Sih-Tseng. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
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