David Waite @daviewaite
My name is David Waite. I have always kind of gone by the title of Artist, which could include multiple talents. I grew up in a very musical family and was exposed to a lot of music as well as pop culture through nine siblings. I eventually chose the profession of technology and became a computer programmer all while on the side I matured my musical talents. The many years in the tech field provided me with the technical education that I needed in order to facilitate sharing your talents and these latter days.
How did you start your journey as an influencer, and what inspired you?
I was in various bands, and ultimately decided to go solo. I decided to create my own music studio in my home, and start producing and songwriting my own music. After creating songs, I wanted to share them, but I knew if I just put my songs up without having something visual, I wasn’t creating the whole picture and putting myself at a disadvantage. I started to create my own music videos that would accompany my songs. It started out as very rudimentary, and grew to be very elaborate and technology driven. My Instagram page became the medium that I used in order to get my music out. I try to in all my content to capture my emotions, humor and or personality which humanize my content and better connect with individuals.
Can you share the story behind choosing your specific niche or focus for your content?
I’ve had my Instagram page for over 10 years, but my niche or focus has shifted at various times in my life… because i myself have changed. But I want to say one of the major shifts that happened with my content happened later on. Like I’ve expressed, my Instagram started out with my music, but it started to branch out into other talents and abilities that I wanted to share with the world. Fitness is an important part of my life, and it always has been. The many many years of discipline and patience had paid off. Which had a compounding and ripple effect in my Life. I started to notice, i felt better, i looked better and almost moved differently . I started to model more and to put myself out there. I started to see what I liked in the mirror a lot more. This only grew my confidence. All of this was reflected in my Instagram. It ultimately became my digital journal a way of expressing myself artistically, and just to put my life out there. Being authentic and genuine, and showing your raw emotion inside of your life is what resonates with people. As the desire for me grew, I shifted my Instagram to better reflect this. I started to understand who my target demography was, I started capitalizing and shifted on that. I mean it wasn’t like I was changing who I was, but taking who I was, and putting it out there more… this I believe helped my users connect with me on a deeper level. Once again, being authentic and raw is what resonates with people.
What platforms do you find most effective for connecting with your audience, and why?
This is a question that’s gonna be relative to each influencer. I got the majority of my following First from Instagram so a good share of my attention is here. I have followers who are interested in talking to me personally so I use Snapchat as a means of one-to-one communication. Its features and basis of operation works a lot better with interpersonal communication in my opinion. Every platform that you’re on you need to understand. Your audience may be different on each one, which is another reason to post different content to each. Nobody wants to see the same thing twice anyways. Plus you’re missing the opportunity to show them something new. Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter and Threads are going to have different audiences. I try to put different content on each of these platforms, providing a new window into my life.
Can you tell us about a memorable experience or achievement in your influencer career so far?
I think a memorable experience, or basically an achievement for me, is honing my craft, and continually perfecting it. My ability to create quality content Today is far more advanced than it was 5 years ago or even last year. My ability to be confident and put myself out There is a lot more than it was five years ago. Combining these two allowed me to have better content.
What strategies do you use to engage and grow your audience on social media?
Taking a step back, I am naturally an outgoing, extroverted, a bit eccentric person so i enjoy social interaction and in fact will get depressed if I don’t talk to people. My point is, your most important asset as an influencer is your current followers. Talk to them. interact with them yourself. If a user comments on your post, comment back to them, treat these digital messages as if they were actually physical conversations that you were having. If somebody comments on your post that they like it. In real life, would you walk away and not say anything… neither would I… hence, every comment gets a message. Same thing goes with DM‘s. If you get a DM, then you message them back in a timely manner. You need to make sure that you check your hidden request as well. There may be people trying to reach out to you that aren’t reaching your general mailbox. Literally this is all common sense right?.. it’s not and the majority of accounts do not operate like this. Now I understand … that there are accounts with millions of followers and to try to stay on top of that is unrealistic, but for the rest of the 90% that aren’t these… these are good practices.
How do you handle negative feedback or criticism that you may receive online?
I think what I’ve understood is that since I’ve put myself out there that you need to be able to have thick skin. There will always be haters and I think if you’re secure and confident in yourself, then nothing can hurt you.
Are there any misconceptions about being an influencer that you’d like to address?
Being an influencer is still work. In fact, for most who are doing it on the side, it adds another job and responsibility. Creating content repeatedly, day in and day out, can get exhausting. It has to be fun for you. If it’s not fun your ability to sustain it longevity wise, greatly diminishes.
Could you tell us about a time when you had to overcome a challenge in your influencer journey?
One of the things that’s difficult when you’re constantly putting yourself out to the world… is being able to understand that likes and numbers and shares are not directly tied to your self worth. Even a reflection of the type of content you’re putting out. You could create a banging video or an awesome song etc. and put it out to the world and get two likes. Now on the flipside, you may not know that when you put it out, the majority of your demographic was asleep etc. There are so many variables in this that you cannot get worked up like that. You just continue to create your content and put it out there. Almost like you post and don’t look back.
What does a typical day in your life as an influencer look like?
As my account has gotten bigger, and my thirst for content creation gets larger and larger, I’m now at a point where I have created my own photography studio, and I film content every weekend. With this content I’ll be able to pull out the main video, BTS content and any other misc videos. After filming, I begin to cut all video and slowly post them until the next following weekend, where I will repeat the process.
What are your goals and aspirations for your influencer career in the coming years?
I’m having so much fun creating and presenting my skills to the world… That the only thing I really want more of… is to continue to explore and create new ways to express my emotions through Art.
Can you share tips for aspiring influencers looking to establish themselves in the industry?
Find something you’d like to do… you don’t even have to do it well, but something that is fun to you… something that makes you smile. Now take that and show the world… don’t be afraid to be silly or embarrassed or out of your comfort zone. This will only help in your journey to connect with others.
