While most 11-year-olds were dealing with middle school social hierarchies, Emma Topp was borrowing her mother’s iPhone to film “what to wear for Easter” videos in her bedroom. This secret creative pursuit has since transformed into a dual career spanning content creation and corporate marketing that defies the typical creator path.

Emma now balances life as both a full-time social media professional and an established creator. “I’m an average girl,” she insists. “I love my cat. I live in a studio apartment in the city. I have a full-time job. I’m traveling, I’m creating. I’m doing it all on my own, and I’m proud of that.”

This Boston-based travel, lifestyle, and fashion creator has built a following across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube while maintaining a full-time position in social media marketing.

Finding Her Voice Through Early Challenges

For Emma, diving into content creation wasn’t motivated by fame or fortune. It was about connection. After moving to a new location in middle school, she struggled to make friends and found solace in the emerging world of YouTube.

“I moved around a lot as a kid,” Emma recalls. “I stumbled across my first YouTube video while looking for Valentine’s Day outfit ideas. These girls were making outfits, snacks, and makeup looks. I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is the coolest thing ever.'”

What started as filming Easter outfit ideas became a secret passion project that provided stability during her turbulent middle school years. “It was my little secret I’d come home and do every day. It was the light of my life. I loved it,” Emma says.

Her early years on the platform weren’t without challenges. “YouTube wasn’t cool. People screamed at me at volleyball games and chanted. But I loved it.” This experience of persevering through criticism helped shape Emma’s resilience and commitment to being herself – qualities that continue to define her content today.

The Transition to Professional Creator

Emma’s path to professional content creation developed gradually, beginning in the pre-monetization era of YouTube. “I was on YouTube before monetization. Back in 2012, you had to be partnered with an agency to even think about a paycheck. AdSense didn’t ‘really’ exist yet,” she explains. Her first monetization milestone remains a vivid memory: “I got my first check for $40 and thought, ‘Guys, this is huge!'”

The true turning point came during her first week of college when a partnership with a haircare brand led to her first sponsored trip. “My biggest ‘oh sh*t’ moment was my first week of college. I partnered with Aussie Haircare, and they flew me to Miami. First hotel comp, first plane comp. I was 18 and thought, ‘This is what I’ve watched other girls do. And I’m doing it.'”

That experience opened doors to more opportunities and helped Emma understand the potential of her platform. During college, Emma continued to expand her content focus. “In college, I did Semester at Sea and became their first student vlogger,” she mentions. This helped her develop her travel content before the pandemic temporarily disrupted that niche.

Balancing Dual Careers: Creator and Corporate Professional

Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Emma’s story is her deliberate choice to maintain dual careers. Currently, she works for a travel company, managing her personal content channels in addition to her professional responsibilities.

“I work full-time as a social producer … and I’m also a full-time creator,” Emma says. When asked how she manages this balance, Emma credits her passion for both roles: “The best part is I find both fulfilling. I enjoy both.”

Her corporate role began through her work as a freelance influencer for EF Education First, a travel company. “They’re 18-to-35 travel,” she says. “When I was 19, they emailed me to go to Europe. I thought, ‘Holy sh*t, I get to go to Europe for free as an influencer.'” 

After several successful collaborations, Emma’s relationship with the company changed. “I saw a job listing for them in London and texted the girls I’d worked with, like, ‘Hey, what do you know about this?’ They said, ‘Nothing, but are you looking for work?'” She ultimately interviewed “on the floor of an airport” for a freelance position and was later offered a full-time role “in a bar in Germany” while on a trip with the company.

This transition from influencer to employee required careful planning. “I walked in knowing that if I post during work hours, I don’t want to be wrist-tapped. I wanted open dialogue and to make sure anything I filmed on trips could also be used for my content,” Emma says.

How Corporate Experience Shapes Creator Strategy

Working on both sides of content creation has given Emma insights that strengthen her approach to creating videos and posts. “Managing a brand account has shown me the type of creators we’re looking for,” she explains. “It’s helpful as a creator to leverage aspects of the brand to appeal to others.”

Emma has learned that successful content goes beyond aesthetics. “People think good content automatically succeeds. But we’re looking for storytellers, people who work well in groups, who focus on experiences, have reactive joy, are engaging and entertaining.”

This insider knowledge helps Emma position herself more effectively as a creator. “Being analytical from the inside has given me insight into what brands want as I connect with them personally.”

The corporate environment has also nurtured her creative development: “I’ve become more creative by being surrounded by other creatives. I was a STEM undergrad and Neuroscience major, so I was super left-brain and had to fight to get creativity out.”

Content Creation Process and Platform Strategy

Emma’s approach to content creation blends spontaneity with strategic thinking. “My notes app is a desolate, terrifying place of disjointed thoughts no one should ever see but me,” she laughs. “I’m big on shower thoughts, half-asleep thoughts. I’ll jot them down and revisit.”

Visuals play a crucial role in her creative process: “I love curating Pinterest boards, mood boards. One photo can spark three concepts.” This approach allows her to develop content that feels fresh when much content looks similar.

Emma tailors her content strategy to each platform’s unique characteristics. “TikTok’s a crapshoot,” she says candidly. “Instagram, I like stylized shoots and fun edits. YouTube’s been on the back burner for years. It’s something I love so much, and how I started, it just takes so much more time and care, and I want to be intentional about those videos.

Social media’s shift toward short-form content presented a significant challenge: “Switching from long-form to 30-second, attention-grabbing videos was tough.” Emma’s background as a “raised YouTube creator” with a “soft spot for long-form” made this transition particularly challenging.

She’s also observed the frustrating inconsistencies across platforms: “You’ll go online and see, ‘TikTok’s video, Instagram’s pictures.’ But right now TikTok loves pictures and Instagram loves video.” Despite these challenges, Emma approaches content creation with adaptability and persistence.

Brand Partnerships: Creative Integrity as Priority

Emma’s approach to brand partnerships is guided by a strong commitment to creative integrity, a principle strengthened by her dual professional roles. “I’m big on creative integrity, being myself,” she emphasizes. “I love following a brief, but also pushing back. Yes, it’s your product, but I’m advertising to my audience.”

This philosophy has led to some of her most fulfilling brand collaborations. Emma describes a Halloween campaign for Aussie: “I made custom tarot cards with the products, sourced props, backgrounds, and shared the whole process. It wasn’t just ‘buy this.’ I was excited to show my vision. “I’ve taken on more of a creative director role the past few years with my ads… each partnership is an opportunity to explore a vision I’ve had or something I’ve dreamed up.”

Her selective approach to partnerships stems partly from having financial stability through her corporate job. “I’m not money-driven, and having a full-time role lets me say that.” This freedom allows her to decline opportunities that don’t align with her values.

Emma is particularly mindful about avoiding fast fashion partnerships: “I try not to partner with fast fashion brands. A lot of them are crap, and it doesn’t make sense to my audience.” This principled stance reflects her broader concern about the increasing commercialization of social media and its impact on the quality of content.

Measuring Success: Beyond Analytics to Engagement

Emma takes a balanced approach to measuring content performance, valuing both quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback. “Both are important,” she says. “Brands want numbers, but meaningful comments showing people love this are the most powerful.”

This perspective is informed by her professional experience, where she’s learned to present both types of evidence to stakeholders: “Every campaign at work, we pull six or seven comments showing people love it and why.”

Managed by Illuminate Social, Emma has also learned to detach from the immediate performance metrics of individual posts: “I’ve stepped back from being overly quantitative. Just because a video didn’t do well, I loved it. It might not perform best, but brands often ask for videos like that the next month, and if I love it, that’s what matters.”

For Emma, meaningful engagement means “comments showing people are as excited as I am – that they get the collaboration – is huge and makes sense.” This focus on connection rather than pure reach aligns with broader social media trends recognizing the value of engaged communities over raw numbers.

Managing Creator Challenges and Future Directions

What is the one thing Emma would change about the creator space? “I’d kill TikTok Shop.” Her frustration stems from the increasing commercialization of social media: “Everything being so monetized has taken away some genuineness. It can be such a powerful tool, but I’ve seen the majority grossly overuse it to pocket money. It throws integrity and responsibility out the window in the allure of a payout.

Emma observes that this commercial focus has led many to enter the field purely for financial gain: “I’ve seen creators I love, but also people just doing it for money.” The result, in her view, is less creative, more formulaic content: “It’s led to a lot of duplicate content, which is boring.”

Looking ahead, Emma plans to return to her roots in long-form content: “I need to be more vocal about my personal life. My niche was thrifting, but I now live in a city. I don’t thrift, but I’m a Poshmark and eBay shark, and I want to be more transparent about that. I’m still balancing how much I can show about my work life. I want to share it, but what’s the line about professionalism, you know? It’s a fun new challenge.

She’s also excited about continuing to develop her skills: “I’m always learning new techniques and editing tricks I’m excited to share.” Above all, Emma remains driven by her own passion and interests: “Whatever I like making, I’ll keep making. Whatever I like to watch, I’ll probably angle toward.”

In a field often defined by extremes, Emma offers a middle path that emphasizes balance, being true to herself, and personal fulfillment. “I think it’s possible and can be done. Sure some weeks I’m not sleeping, but I love what I’m doing,” she concludes.

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