Beauty content creator Jade Lily transitioned from corporate marketing to full-time content creation after being laid off, quickly finding success despite entering the field later than many of her contemporaries. 

Unlike other creators who started as enthusiasts, Jade entered the creator economy through the corporate door, bringing marketing expertise from fashion brands that provided her with insider knowledge most creators spend years developing.

“Pre-pandemic, before TikTok, we made IGTVs and created in-house content, which was never done before. It was all like bloggers creating that lifestyle content,” explains Jade, describing her time at an online boutique, where she began as a paid intern and advanced to developing content strategies.

She has both witnessed and participated in the key changes in beauty content consumption that have transpired since. Jade admits her entry into serious content creation came “a little late in the TikTok game,” giving her perspective on the quick changes already underway.

“Those beauty hauls that we would watch on YouTube that were like 30+ minutes are now on TikTok, but shorter,” Jade observes about the industry’s dramatic format compression. According to her, this compression of content formats requires a complete rethinking of how beauty techniques, products, and results are communicated.

The beauty content space has also become more inclusive, though challenges remain. “When you think of beauty, you always think about the OG YouTubers. It was like an uppity community and now I feel like it’s a little bit more inclusive and you get to see so many different faces in it,” she observes.

This transformation represents not just changing audience preferences but an entirely new business model for beauty content creation—one that Jade has prepared to adapt to.

Platform-Specific Business Strategies

A key element of Jade’s approach is implementing distinctly different strategies tailored to each platform’s algorithm and audience behavior.

“My strategy is way more strategic on Instagram because the algorithm is just so weird and annoying,” she explains. “I have certain posting times. I don’t post super early in the morning. I don’t post super late in the day. I have certain days that I post reels and just in-feed.”

In contrast, her TikTok approach emphasizes volume and performance-based curation: “I aim just to post at least one to three videos every day, and if they don’t do well, I end up just privating them and calling it a wash.”

This platform-specific strategy is supported by professional management. As Jade explains, “With my agency, they’ve definitely helped with strategy in that way and timing, and they get on calls with TikTok and Meta and can fill me in on some insight there.”

Her agency relationship began when she reached approximately 40,000 followers. “I had an agent reach out to me whom I had followed for years. When she reached out to me, she was branching into more of digital creators, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I must be doing something right.'”

Content Positioning: Luxury Meets Accessibility

In beauty content, Jade has built her brand by balancing aspirational aesthetics with relatable presentation—a business strategy as much as a creative choice.

She describes her content as coming from “just like an everyday Idaho girl, just in her house filming fun videos.” This positioning combines her focus on “beauty and hair content” with an approachable delivery that maintains high production quality.

“I don’t need to show off in a way that feels exclusive,” Jade explains. “I share whatever I like, and that’s how it is. I like to make it pretty.”

She notes that this aesthetic sensibility comes partly from genuine roots in beauty culture. “My mom is a hair stylist and she owns a hair salon,” Jade explains, referring to her mother’s profession. “Growing up around my mom and hanging out in the hair salon around women, [I learned that] the ultimate form of influencing is word of mouth, and that’s what a hair salon is,” she shares.

Jade’s content often focuses on personal beauty experimentation, including series related to her upcoming wedding that showcase different hairstyles and beauty looks.

Content Production Methods

Jade’s production process balances spontaneity with strategic planning, adapting to the faster content cycles demanded by today’s platforms.

“I think there’s a lot of value in being in the moment and filming an idea as it comes to you because sometimes those ideas kind of just escape you later,” she explains. “Some of my most viral videos were filmed in two minutes, edited, and uploaded.”

For planned content and brand campaigns, she avoids traditional planning methods: “I hate notes and content planners. I’m always texting myself. I text myself to think it out, then film and edit. And usually everything’s in my house, which makes it comfortable.”

This home-based production approach allows her to maintain consistency, which she identifies as the most critical factor in creator success. “The answer’s in the question. It’s really like staying consistent,” she advises when asked about growth strategies.

Her enjoyment of the process varies by stage. “I would say probably coming up with the ideas. I think I get way more stoked on the ideas,” she says about her favorite part of content creation. “Sometimes filming, if it’s not going your way. Maybe you’re not speaking right or don’t like how you look on camera. Sometimes that’s not fun.”

Brand Partnerships

Jade’s monetization strategy centers primarily on brand partnerships, with special attention to alignment and genuine connection.

“I feel like the brands I try to work with are ones that I use all the time. And I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of brand deals because I’ve just posted and posted products that I actually [use],” she explains.

She appreciates when brands provide clear direction while allowing creative collaboration. “What has always been good is having a well-thought-out brief or examples to show me so we can collaborate,” she notes. “Being able to work together and have that back-and-forth to really fine-tune a brand deal is amazing.”

For Jade, the most genuine partnerships extend beyond typical sponsorships. “I wish I saw more honesty about how much people really loved the brand that they were promoting,” she says. “I would love to see someone’s brand deal, but then I also see them using the products in everyday life.”

Her dream collaboration would be with hair care brand Ouai, a company she’s already worked with. “Recently, I have gotten to work with Ouai. I love them,” she shares, before explaining her future aspiration: “I think it would be amazing to launch a product exclusively with me.” She envisions this partnership extending to experiential marketing through “an influencer trip with it where it’s hosting everyone going somewhere tropical.”

Taking Industry Challenges Head On

Despite her success, Jade still faces obstacles common to many creators, including comparison and burnout.

“Burnout is always a challenge. I try not to get too down about that one,” she says. “If you’re burnt out, don’t post. Go outside, and life gives you content, a little bit, or life gives you ideas.”

The comparison trap presents an ongoing struggle. “It’s so easy to be a consumer and scroll, and you see a hundred people in 20 minutes and their personalities and what’s doing good for them, but everyone is so different,” she points out. “Being a consumer and a creator and trying to filter through that and be like, ‘Oh yeah, this is how I like to post and how I like to talk. ‘You can just adapt to other people sometimes.”

Jade’s take on performance metrics highlights her resilience: “If something doesn’t work, if it doesn’t do well, I don’t spend too much time thinking about it because I don’t want to be sad and stop doing this.”

Trends and Growth: What to Expect

Jade identifies several emerging trends that creator economy professionals should monitor.

“Subscriber-only content is getting more and more popular. I know subscriber-only content will start coming to big platforms like streaming. So, like Amazon, a content creator could create subscriber-only content. I think that is going to be big,” she predicts.

She also anticipates audience preference shifts: “I think people will start just wanting to feel like they’re talking to their friends more. Even if it’s a little bit silly content or a brand deal, I think people will crave more than feeling like they’re always watching ads.”

For her personal brand development, Jade has clear goals: “Just developing my community further. I feel like I had such a late start on TikTok and this year was just the first year I strategically posted,” she explains. Her plans include expanding to YouTube for long-form content.

She’s also integrating her upcoming wedding (June 2026) into her content strategy: “I love sharing everything about weddings and beauty and fashion when it comes to weddings. I feel like weddings can be so boring nowadays. I hope that my content this year to get married inspires people to just not go for the basic traditional wedding.”

Her final advice for new creators emphasizes both timeliness and genuine voice: “Get on TikTok sooner and start talking to the camera sooner.”