What I learned about social media — and I'm not a marketer
Notes from a filmmaker | Maria Steppe
I stumbled across a video that finally made sense of all the confusing advice out there about building an online presence. Here's what stuck with me.
I'm not a marketing expert. I'm a filmmaker. But like most people who work in creative fields today, I find myself thinking about how to show up online — what to share, where, and why. And for a while, honestly, I found a lot of the advice out there pretty confusing and sometimes contradictory.
Then I came across a video by Kallaway — The Biggest Lies You've Been Told About Social Media — and it genuinely reframed a lot of things for me. Not because it's about filmmaking specifically, but because it cuts through a lot of noise that I think applies to any creator trying to build something real online. I wanted to share the ideas that hit me hardest.
"The only universal principle that matters for building a personal brand is time under trust. The more time someone spends consuming your content above a trust line, the bigger your personal brand will grow."
— Kallaway
That one line changed how I think about content. It's not about going viral. It's not about the algorithm. It's about whether the person watching you is building trust in you — slowly, over time, through repeated contact with ideas that are genuinely useful to them.
The lies worth knowing about
Lie 1
There's a magic formula for social media growth
There isn't one. The only thing that actually works is showing up consistently with ideas people haven't heard before, that they can actually use. Non-obvious and tactically useful — that's the whole game.
Lie 2 — The one that hit hardest
"You are the niche"
This is the advice that says document your life, build in public, let people follow your journey. Callaway is pretty blunt: unless you're already famous, nobody is following you for you. They follow for the value you provide in a specific area where you have real expertise. Your personality is the icing — the topic and the insight is the cake.
Lie 3
Your videos aren't working because your hooks are bad
Videos fail because the topic isn't interesting or the take isn't original. Hook craft is downstream of having something worth saying. Ask yourself: what do I believe about my field that 99% of people either haven't heard or would disagree with?
Lie 4
Using data kills creativity
The sweet spot is data-enabled creativity. Use data to aim your attention at what already works, then bring your creativity to the execution. Don't guess randomly, but don't just copy what's trending either.
Lie 5
More views = more money
The right viewer is worth a thousand random ones. Audience-product-offer alignment matters far more than raw reach. Going broad at the cost of relevance is almost always a mistake.
Lie 6
Create for everyone in your niche
Create for one specific person. If it's a bull's-eye for them, it'll land for everyone like them. Specificity beats generality every time.
Lie 7
It's quantity vs quality
It depends on where you are. Early on: post a lot to learn fast. Then: set a quality floor and never dip below it. Later: hold that floor and slowly increase frequency. Most people skip the learning phase and wonder why nothing sticks.
Lie 8
You need to be everywhere on every platform
Pick one home platform and get good there first. Overwhelm is the number one reason creators quit. Earn the right to expand.
Lie 9
Jump on trends when they're hot
Chasing trends builds zero trust and zero personal brand. The goal isn't to follow trends — it's to start them. Zag when everyone else zigs.
Why I'm sharing this
As filmmakers and visual creators, we often think of social media as secondary — something we have to do, not something we're trained for. And that can make the whole thing feel overwhelming or confusing.
What I appreciate about Kallaway's content is that it brings it back to something we already understand: craft, specificity, and genuine value. The same principles that make a good film — a clear point of view, something real to say, respect for the audience's intelligence — turn out to be the same principles that build a personal brand worth having.
I'd genuinely recommend watching the full video. It's one of those rare pieces of content that actually changes how you think rather than just adding more noise.
