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With over 3+ million followers across various platforms, followers are obsessed with Kristi Howard’s realistic try-on hauls, beauty ratings, pet adoption advocacy, grief/trauma awareness advocacy, and relatable vlogs. Born in Atlanta, Kristi moved to Nashville to continue her pursuit as an influencer, and keeps proving the value in connecting to others through relatability and staying true to yourself.
Hi Kristi and welcome to OLC! So tell us what motivated you to transition from a part-time influencer to making social media a full-time career?
It has always been my goal to make this my full-time career. I just had to stay in school and work until I was able to financially go all in around 2021. Even when it was something I did on the side with very few followers I never lost motivation because I knew this was all I ever wanted to do!
How do you maintain authenticity and relatability while managing a large following of 3+ million on various platforms?
3 million is actually insane, but I have to remember it is just a number. What is most important is staying true to myself and being the same Kristi who gained that 3 million and worked her booty off for years posting on social media to get to this point. I like to show everything from the good and the bad. As long as I’m being transparent and honest I hope that people will always respect me and love me for me. Obviously I am going to change as that is something that comes with age but I do my best to always be myself regardless of a number on any app!
Can you share some of your favorite fashion and beauty picks that resonate with your followers?
I’ve always been a dress for comfort girlie, however, I do like to make it CUTE. My go-to is always a trucker hat, oversized tee, and pants. I love Free People’s Graphic T’s as well as the brand Boys Lie. Anything colorful, soft, and baggy I can get down with! My top beauty pick would have to be Summer Friday’s Skin Tint. I spray tan so I use shade 5 and it matches PERFECTLY. It’s so soft and looks way better on my face than actual foundation. Also- people sleep on this because they all love the soft pinch liquid blush, but Rare Beauty’s Stay Vulnerable Melting Cream Blush is so dreamy!
Your advocacy for pet adoption and grief/trauma awareness has been inspiring. Could you tell us more about how you became passionate about these causes?
Honestly, I was never a cat person until Soysauce showed up at my house. I fed her for about two months and finally decided to take her in when I gained her trust. I fell in love instantly and it made me the biggest cat lady on the planet. Suddenly I want to save all the babies out there and now I feed about 4 cats outside as well as I just took in another one last month.
Grief is something I never imagined I’d experience on this level. I always have documented my life on social media so when I lost my sister, everyone who had watched me saw the whole thing play out. The shock, the anger, the pain, all of it. I would share it and use my platform as a journal and by doing that I realized there was a whole community out there who also is able to relate. Grief can make you feel crazy and lonely especially if you have friends and people in your life around you who will probably never understand to that extent what you’re going through, so it’s nice to share with others online and relate. I also have shown those who are friends of people grieving better ways to approach the situation and what you “should and shouldn’t” ask to help comfort your loved ones!
With such a significant online presence, how do you handle criticism or negative feedback?
I’m so sensitive, to be honest with you. I hide it with humor but I always fear reading one wrong thing that will set me off. Sometimes I clap back, other times I laugh. It really depends on how personal the “hate” is. I always have to overlook it while reminding myself how much LOVE I get from my followers. It overpowers any silly false comment. That’s what is most important!
What advice would you give to aspiring influencers who want to connect with their audience on a deeper level?
I always say to post as if it’s your private snap story. I don’t even use Snapchat anymore because any inner thought I have, I take out TikTok and I post it. This won’t be everyone’s cup of tea- but it definitely makes you feel more real and relatable to people because you are speaking to them as if they are your friends. Don’t ever try to be something you aren’t because the thing you will be best at doing is just being yourself.
How has your background, moving from Atlanta to Nashville, influenced your content and style as an influencer?
I think just getting out of a different environment and documenting that whole process changed my content. I was in my early 20s moving to a new city not knowing a single soul and making videos online. People were drawn to that independent side of me. When I moved here I didn’t even realize how many opportunities there are in this city! Like I said, I really knew nothing and moved here blindly but it all worked out for the best and I love vlogging life here especially because it’s such a touristy city, people are always looking for recommendations.
What are some challenges you faced while growing your social media presence, and how did you overcome them?
I always felt stuck for the longest time. I would spend days and hours on ONE, 4-minute video just perfecting it with edits and felt like all I needed was my name to get out there and be seen. I knew I had the talent and potential or else I wouldn’t have kept going for so long. Tiktok was the best thing for me because it is SO much easier than any platform ever to get your name out there on the For You Page. All it takes is ONE viral video sometimes and once people found my account I was able to continue to grow.
I also felt like I watered myself down a lot because I was young, embarrassed my co-workers, classmates, teachers, coaches, parents, would see and I’d get in trouble for being too “crazy” but truthfully you won’t grow by watering yourself down and have to put it all out there and be yourself. It will all work out from there!
How do you strike a balance between sharing personal aspects of your life and maintaining boundaries online?
I do overshare a lot, but when it comes to my friends and family, I don’t really film as much as I do when I’m alone. As much as I love documenting everything, when I am with someone, I basically always “clock out” and don’t really show or film too much because I like to be as present as possible.
Can you give us a glimpse into your creative process for creating engaging and relatable vlogs?
People like to see me in my baggy, mix-matched clothes with my hair a mess more than they like to see me being put together and aesthetic. It’s more REAL. I lean into that as much as possible and try to film things as I am not really set anything up or get ready. This is what keeps people engaged because they can relate.
What’s next for you in 2023?
Still manifesting a Reality TV show in my future but I guess until then you’ll have to follow along and see!
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