About Maile Bartow 

Maile Bartow is a lifestyle TikTok content creator studying abroad in Florence and a brand ambassador. In 2020, Maile transferred from a private college to a public university to save money. She began looking for a remote job to accommodate her traveling and classes.

Maile shares, “I was hired by a hair salon that specialized in women who were experiencing hair loss. I started taking on their social media, and I was super inexperienced, but I wanted to learn, and I wanted to try to help this business owner grow. From there, I realized that social media is something that I’m super passionate about.”

After realizing her passion for social media, Maile took on a couple of different internships in social media management. During these internships, she gained a lot of experience working with influencers, content creators, and ambassadors. 

Maile Bartow was also contacted on Linkedin about becoming a representative for Amazon Prime Student. She applied for the position and was a representative for two semesters. 

She adds, “I also was reached out to by Samsung, and that’s how I got that position, and I just loved it. It inspired me to start doing things in front of the camera because I was doing it from a social media manager style, and now I’m starting to work on my TikTok and actually post as a content creator.”

In addition to growing her TikTok, she manages multiple brands’ social media accounts. 

Representing Amazon Prime Student & Samsung

Amazon Prime Student is a savings program for students offering Prime delivery, Prime Video, early access to deals, Prime exclusives, Amazon warehouse, and Prime reading at a discounted rate. 

As a representative, Maile Bartow hosted events on campus. Each week, there was a different themed event where she would set up a table and tell students about Prime Student’s offerings. She also provided them with different codes to sign up for Prime Student. This code would track her insights and referrals. 

Maile also worked with Samsung. For the collaboration, Samsung gifted Maile a Galaxy tablet to promote on her social media. 

Maile shares, “For them [Samsung], I was posting talks as well as Instagram stories. I was more of an influencer for them rather than an ambassador on campus. It was part of the college ambassador program. I promoted both brands on my social media channels.”

Creating Content 

Maile Bartow explains, “I think the way I approach making content is taking different trends and things that I see in the media and finding a way to make it niche towards the brand. If I see a trend, I won’t just repost that trend. I’ll find a way to make it relate to Prime Student or Samsung.”

Maile focuses on making relatable content that appeals to college students. She incorporates trends into her content but makes them personable and relevant to ensure that she’s not just regurgitating the latest trends. 

Handling Criticism

One of the scariest parts of becoming a brand ambassador or creating content online is the fear that your friends and family will make fun of you for it. 

However, Maile Bartow shares that you must have thick skin to enter this business. 

“You have to have thick skin. I’ve had negative comments on my social media, but at the same time, I try not to take them to heart because I know it’s not a reflection of me. It’s more of a reflection of them, so I think it’s definitely a hard business to get into because you have to be willing to put yourself out there. You really just start realizing that the only way you can be successful is to put yourself out there.”

Travel TikTok

Measuring Success Online

Maile Bartow measures success by multiple metrics, including views, likes, and if her social media is constantly growing. She also recently landed her first brand deal and was sent on a free trip. 

“Things like that, where brands are actually interested in working with you, is a really good way to measure success, and also, let’s say you have a college ambassadorship – anytime they want to invite you back, I think that shows that you were successful.”

For example, Maile was invited back for a second semester at Prime Student, demonstrating her success as a brand ambassador. 

Brand Campaigns

One of her favorite campaigns was with Collegiate Lineup, a custom apparel company for collegiate organizations. As part of that campaign, she was sent a sweatshirt for her sorority and asked to post about it on social media. 

Maile Bartow explains, “I think the reason why that [campaign] was successful is it wasn’t something that I wouldn’t post on my Instagram… it was very true to my brand, and it was very personable to me, and my friends didn’t see it like an ad.” 

This campaign taught her that brands that give the content creator more creative control over campaign content and the ability to integrate it seamlessly into their content tend to be more successful because they don’t feel overly commercialized. 

Maile’s Tips for New Creators

“I always recommend this to people who are starting out: There are a lot of social media managers on TikTok that will post upcoming trends and be like this is a trending sound. Use this sound, and they’ll give you tips on how to use it. I think that when you’re starting out, that’s a really good way [to grow] if you follow a couple of those people.”

For new creators, she recommends following social media managers on TikTok that share top trends and sounds and using these trends to build your following. However, you should always personalize the trend to your niche and style. 

Balancing content creation with your job, school, and personal life is also critical. Maile works as a full-time social media manager on top of creating content and recommends always finishing work as early as possible. 

“I have a planner, and I block out different times on my planners for classes, for doing social media work, and then I mark time in my calendar for being with friends and having a social life because I think that’s super important. I don’t want to look back on my college days and see that I was only working and I was super stressed out all the time.”

Maile Bartow also recommends finding a niche you love. For her, creating travel content doesn’t feel like work, whereas making content for a technology brand might feel cumbersome. 

For those interested in becoming brand ambassadors, she shares that Riddle & Blooom and Prime Student are two companies she’s enjoyed working with that always accept new applications, even from those with little experience. Youth Marketing Connection is another marketing agency focused on brand ambassadors that Maile recommends. 
In the future, Maile plans on “creating for myself and my own brand super seriously. I’m currently studying abroad in Italy in Florence, so it’s been pretty easy to make travel content, and I’ll be here until March.”