Welcome to the Marketing in the Wild podcast. I’m Julia from Stratos Creative Marketing, where we are obsessed with finding real-life examples of the good, the bad, and sometimes wild, in marketing.
Julia: All right, everybody! We are here today with Angelic Angie.
Angelic Angie: Hello hello!
Julia: I have been looking forward to this and we unfortunately have had to reschedule this like a bajillion times, but it is fine because you’re finally here!
Angelic Angie: I know.
Julia: And so before I ask Angie to tell us about herself, I just want to tell you how we met her. Savannah and Angie were, I think, at Disney World or Universal? They were standing in line next to each other, got into a conversation and then Savannah was like, oh my gosh, she needs to be on our podcast.
Angelic Angie: We just fell in love with each other. It was the weirdest thing. I don’t know. We just, I’m honestly really glad the line was really long because we just kept talking forever and she just became my muse and yeah, we just started talking about marketing.
Julia: She is one of my favorite people. So, Angie, tell us about yourself, where you live, what you do for fun, and then we’ll get into what you do for work.
Angelic Angie: Alright. So my name is Angelica, better known by my online alias Angelic Angie. I don’t give my exact location for safety and privacy reasons, but I am from Western Massachusetts. I love expressing myself through different kinds of art while sharing whatever it may be to thousands of strangers online and also live streaming video games. So I am a full-time content creator on TikToK and Twitch.
Julia: That’s awesome. And guys, just so you know, I fully disclosed to Angie I have no idea about half of what she’s talking about. So she’s going to, for those of you also don’t get it, she’s going to explain it to all of us. But then for those of you who do get it, you’ll be able to follow her at Angelic Angie. So tell us about your work! Explain to us like what you do.
Angelic Angie: So essentially I broadcast myself live streaming video game content or share other different hobbies of mine, where I engage with my audience in real time through chat. I’ve gotten questions in the past like, “Why would anyone want to watch someone else who plays video games?” And my best example to that is like, why would anyone watch sports on television when you can just play the sport yourself?
Julia: That’s a great example.
Angelic Angie: Right. Exactly. So it’s the same kind of difference except you build your own brand and community. And when I’m not streaming, I post videos and pictures of myself cosplaying as like video game characters. I design outfits, I learn how to do similar makeup styles and even impersonating their voices. I would then redirect people from my TikTok and all of the things that I would create to my live stream so that they feel like they have an opportunity to actually get to know the creator behind the camera.
Julia: That’s awesome. How long have you been doing this for?
Angelic Angie: So I’ve been live streaming for six years. I played video games all of my life, so live streaming was just a creative outlet at first, which then formed into a hobby over the years. I was a full-time social media manager for the same restaurant I was waitressing at, but then the pandemic hit. And so I decided to pursue my hobby of streaming.
Julia: That’s awesome. That is so cool. Do you have like, maybe this is not the right question to ask, but are there certain video games that you stream consistently?
Angelic Angie: Yeah! So when I first started streaming or playing video games, there were very tomboyish games. So like anything that was like a shooting game or like anything that was a tactical game. So my first game that I’ve ever streamed, it was called League of Legends, and then over the years, I started getting into first-person shooters, which were like, I feel like everyone knows what Call of Duty is, so I got into that. And then I got into what I’m playing now, which is Apex Legends, for like two years. And I cosplay characters from that game. So, I really loved the competitive aspect of it. And back then, it was really rare to see a girl playing video games, let alone a good one at that. So yeah, right now it’s just Apex Legends.
Julia: That’s awesome. So you play the same one for a while then until you beat it? Or like until you get bored, how does that work?
Angelic Angie: So like I said, I’ve been playing video games all my life. I have two older brothers who taught me everything I know, so the competitive aspect is what keeps my drive going. There are games and video games out there that have a story mode, and once you beat the game, that’s kind of it. But this game, you play with people online and it’s basically a battle royale, which means like a hundred people go into a map and you’re in a team of three and you just find each other on the map and just kill each other. And whoever is the winner, you’re the winner. So I’ve just, I’ve always wanted to be on top. I always want to be the champion. That’s kind of what, like what gets me going. So that game in specific, like specifically isn’t a game that you can just like finish or beat per se, but I also play other games on the side. I like to just chill out and just play other games. I don’t know if you’re into video games?
Julia: I’m going to be honest. I think that I would, but I think I’d become addicted. So that’s why I haven’t done it. So I think I totally could get into it. I just haven’t.
Angelic Angie: Right. Yeah. So, it’s important to have a person kind of introduce you to the world of gaming because there’s so many different things out there. You can just chill and make a little farm, or you can be like me and, you know, be competitive. It’s all up to you.
Julia: I think I’d be more on the farm side if I’m totally honest.
Angelic Angie: I’m the same way! I’m the same way. Sometimes I’m just like, I’m over everybody.
Julia: Right, just let me go make my own little farm. That’s awesome. So then tell me how you attract followers or an audience. Tell me more about that.
Angelic Angie: Oh, it was rough at first cause six years ago, streaming wasn’t a big thing. Not everyone did it. So I would stream to nobody, like literally zero viewers. And at first it didn’t bother me cause I was like, whatever, it’s just a hobby. Like I can just save my gameplay for like later. But then over the years I just, I’m really big on Twitter, too, so I was just like, I love making friends. I love getting to know new people. And being homeschooled online, I was like, yeah, making friends online is the only way to make friends. So it was important to kind of engage with other people, support their content, and honestly, just like being personable with people.
So, if I can give one advice in marketing, it is be personable because people will come back to you and support you.
Julia: That’s awesome. So slowly you just, as you made connections, like this is how you gathered an audience?
Angelic Angie: Yeah. I made the mistake where I was like, you know, maybe if I post on my Facebook status, like people, my hometown will support me. No one cared in my hometown. They didn’t understand what I was doing. And that’s another reason why I kept streaming because I just felt like it was a different thing, like no one’s ever heard of it. And I don’t know, I just, I liked feeling “original” per se. So when I was waitressing, people didn’t understand what I was doing either. So they would say some things like, “Oh, so you’re just, you’re telling me that you sit there and you play video games and people pay you, and like, you don’t do anything else?” Like insinuating that I’m doing something else on the side. I’m like, nope! I don’t do anything, I’m just there. But yeah, don’t make the mistake of posting yourself for your hometown to see. Kind of branch out. At first I started on Facebook and Instagram, but then I decided to go on Reddit and TikToK and other social media platforms that no one really used at the time cause then it slowly started getting bigger and bigger.
Julia: Right. Yeah, for sure. Well, and especially, I’m sure you have to think about where your people are and how to message to people who are interested in what you’re interested in.
Angelic Angie: So it’s weird because I don’t really, ooh. When I see people, I don’t see us, I don’t see an opportunity of, oh, let’s collab. I see an opportunity of a new friend and I want to get to know this person and we’re playing video games together. And so it just somehow looks like a collab in the eyes of everyone else. But to me, I’m just like, “Hey, messaging you because you’re really cool and we should totally be friends!”
Julia: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. So tell me a little bit, so we know a little bit about your work and how you have gotten into this. And you’ve insinuated and talked and mentioned a little bit about marketing, but that was one of the things that you mentioned to Savannah when you met in line, that you actually have to do a surprising amount of marketing compared to the work.
So what kind of, you’ve already mentioned Reddit, TikTok, other social media. What are some other things that you do to market yourself and like what you do?
Angelic Angie: Aside from “collaborating” with people and playing with friends, the reason why I was so passionate on mentioning marketing was because a lot of people think that just because you’re a girl, everything is just handed to you on a silver platter, like everything is just easy.
And at first, it got me really mad, like couple months ago, because I’m like, you guys really don’t know the effort that I’m putting into what I’m doing. So at first I’m just, yeah, I’m streaming for three hours, but then it’s so important to network with people when you’re offline. And when I’m offline, I’m also like, you know, dressing up as a character, I’m putting on makeup, I’m following trends and challenges, I’m learning the algorithm. I’m coming up with incentives of why people should follow a streamer that you can already watch for free.
And the streaming platform right now is just so oversaturated, so it’s important to keep continuously coming up with creative ideas. And so not only is it like offline or not only am I doing those things offline, I’m writing, you know, letters of gratitude, handwriting them, sealing them with candle wax seals and, it’s really important to come up with incentives overall.
Julia: It’s interesting. It’s almost like you’re creating an experience for people, too. Like even though like you’re the one who is streaming, you’re creating an atmosphere or a culture or a community around you that’s an experience, because I’m assuming you send those handwritten letters to contributors or things like that.
Angelic Angie: Yeah, yeah. Contributors or anyone who wins a giveaway or anything like that.
Julia: Because I think about like, that’s a whole experience. Like nobody ever gets a letter hardly ever, unless it’s like a bill, and then to have a letter that’s handwritten and sealed with wax, like that’s like a whole experience that you’re offering, too.
Angelic Angie: Exactly. Yeah. And I want people to, like my goal, I guess, for all of this is to build a community and a safe place where people could just come and hang out really. So people see, or people watch sports on TV, but it’s like when you watch a streamer, the streamer can make this experience feel personable and even involve you in their channel.
Julia: Totally. We were just watching, I’m not sure if you’ve watched Ted Lasso at all on Apple TV?
Angelic Angie: Yes. I love that!
Julia: We just watched the season finale last night, and I won’t ruin anything, but one of the scenes is like this famous soccer player who then sees these other soccer players playing in the park and he goes and plays with them. And I was like, what a cool way to like create community. And the reason he went out and played with them is cause one of them was wearing his jersey number. And so how cool that these kids get to play with this soccer player who is actually like a normal person, he just has this platform and could create an experience for people.
Angelic Angie: Exactly.
Julia: I really liked the analogy of being very similar to sports. But tell me more about what you do for marketing. So it sounds like what I’m hearing our audience could take away, is stay creative. You’re following trends, being creative, creating experiences for your people. And then you’re also connecting with your community. You mentioned some of the things like sending letters. What are some other ways that you connect with your community? Like via social media, maybe.
Angelic Angie: So offline, I have movie nights in my Discord channel where it’s kinda changing, but it goes from either, I’m thinking about doing it weekly, but it goes biweekly right now where every other Wednesday we would just, offline, go into my Discord and we would all either watch anime, a movie, and we all just watch, I’m screen sharing it.
And then we also have a separate chat where everything is silent. We’re just watching the movie, but people can still text and watch the movie at the same time. So we’re all just laughing. So that’s one incentive.
Julia: It’s almost like you’re whispering to your friends, except you’re texting them.
Angelic Angie: Yes! Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we’re just all reacting to the movie. And other than giveaways, challenges, trends, also like listening to your community as well. I think it was, who was it last…last night, I was watching another podcast and I think it was the, I think her name was Kristen and she was like, “Sometimes people don’t know what they want. You can ask people like, ‘Hey, what do you want more of? What do you want to see?’ Like the thing is, people don’t know.
So you need to kind of, people are following me or following people for a reason. It’s something that they’ve never seen before. So it’s your job to kind of keep bringing that to the table. And if there’s anything that they suggest, listen to them. If they see their favorite character on TikToK, maybe they want to see their favorite character on TikTok do a certain challenge or a certain dance or whatever. So, I’m always listening to my community and always trying my best to communicate with them when I am live streaming, because sometimes it gets really hectic and it’s hard to kind of read through everything. So just making them feel special, really.
Julia: And I think that’s a really important thing. A lot of our clients are learning the importance of even responding to DM sort of comments.
Angelic Angie: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Julia: Obviously, the more you get the harder it is to respond to everybody, but when you do, people feel really honored that somebody takes the time to respond to them,
Angelic Angie: That’s another thing. So when I started going viral on TikToK, no matter if, no matter if the comments were mean or good, I would be responding because at the end of the day, when, people don’t know this, but when you respond to a comment, that person’s going to come back to that video and it’s going to add another view. So it’ll just keep racking up views on the videos.
Julia: PS secret: that’s how the algorithm works, everybody!
Angelic Angie: [00:17:00] Exactly. Learn the algorithm, everybody!
Julia: People are like, “It’s so hard. What does the algorithm do?” And I’m like, just respond to the comments. That’s what it wants from you!
Angelic Angie: Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Julia: The more comments, the more views.
Angelic Angie: Exactly. Like, that’s what I tell, especially like the mean comments. I’m like, keep doing it boo boo! Like you really don’t know how much I appreciate this.
Julia: Even the main comments count. Well, I am super grateful to have gotten the time to talk to you, get to know you. Is there anything that you, so a lot of our listeners are not necessarily streamers, although maybe we will get some new streamers who are listeners now, but what would you say to any business owner, in terms of advice, as they’re growing something new? I think you’ve taken this journey and it was like a hobby that now has become a livelihood. And so a lot of us who are entrepreneurs are following the same sort of trajectory. And what advice would you give from something that you’ve learned?
Angelic Angie: The biggest thing I’ve learned about marketing is to, number one, be personable with people. Like I said, it’s all about changing your mindset. So when I think of collaborations, I instead think of it as an opportunity to make friends, instead. Or when I see a new viewer, I see a potential new member and it’s up to me to make them feel like they are one. And when I see a large audience, I see my community.
So, that’s one. I think number two was thinking outside the box, coming up with creative ideas, incentives, keeping up with social media trends or challenges, and collaborate with other content creators. And then the third would probably be, be consistent. I know a lot of people say that in the marketing world, but it’s so true. I was the least consistent person. When I decided to stream consistently, like the only reason why I decided to do that was not only because of the pandemic, but the only way for me to do anything is to use reverse psychology on me.
So my boyfriend was like, I bet that you’re not gonna be able to stream. You’re not even a streamer anymore. It’s just a hobby. And I’m like, oh, how dare you?! Which, by the way, I did end that challenge. And the thing is, I forgot where I heard this from, but it takes 30 days to break or even start a new habit. So, because I did it for 30 days, I don’t know what happened to me. Like I just want to stream all the time for some reason. It was so hard at first, but it was so worth it. So consistency, learning the algorithm, and engage with others.
Julia: Yeah. What I really appreciate about you is that it’s very clear that even though your medium is tech, you’re a very personable person and it’s not, you don’t have like dollar signs in your eyes when you see people. You’re really seeing people for who they are and how you can serve them. And I think that’s really cool.
Angelic Angie: Oh, I love that word, serve. I like that a lot.
Julia: Well, that’s what I think of you now that we’re best friends after 26 minutes.
Angelic Angie: Was it that long? Oh my gosh.
Julia: Sweet. So if people want to reach out to you, get to know you, tell them where they can find you.
Angelic Angie: So you can type in angelicangie.com and it will lead them to a page where it will show my live streaming schedule and a list of all of my social media platforms. But of course you can hang out with me during my live streams on Twitch, because that’s where I prefer to get to know new people.
Julia: For sure. That’s like your medium, so sweet. Well, Angelic Angie, I’m so grateful for you to take the time.
Angelic Angie: Thank you for having me.
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