“I never in my wildest dreams would have even thought people would have taken a liking to just regular food that I’ve just been cooking over the years,” says Michael O’Neal, the ‘accidental’ influencer who transformed a viral TikTok video of smothered chicken and rice into a prominent food content series in just two years.

With a business administration degree and a steady career at Kaiser Permanente, Michael had no intention of becoming a food content creator until February 2022. That’s when the said smothered chicken and rice recipe TikTok video reached 1.7 million views within a week. With his viral success, he immediately seized the opportunity many creators spend years pursuing.

Rather than chasing the next viral hit, Michael focused on developing a consistent, distinctive content approach to build long-term audience loyalty. 

His music-driven, food-focused videos have attracted nearly 3 million followers across platforms, allowing him to build “The O’Neal’s Way” into a brand with upcoming knife and seasoning lines launching this March—all while deliberately avoiding the talking head format dominating food content.

Developing a Distinctive Content Strategy

Michael says he has always disliked voiceovers, opting to craft his content around a vibe with music. 

This approach was deliberately crafted to create a specific viewer experience: “I try to create that atmosphere as though I’m in the house with you. You can just turn this on in the background, or you can just kind of set it up. Let me just sit up my iPad on a platform real quick, play the music with the video in the background, and vibe to that while I’m sitting there cooking.”

A key element of his content strategy is the initial hook – a tasting reaction that draws viewers in. “By the time I draw you in, I put that draw in at the end. It loops back into like, you’re still watching the video all over again. You don’t even know it,” he reveals. “I read something where the first five seconds, if you can capture a person in the first five seconds, you got them.”

The Cross-Platform Growth Strategy

Understanding that platform diversification is crucial for long-term stability, Michael methodically expanded from TikTok to Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Rather than taking a platform-specific approach, he developed a systematic content distribution strategy based on his research into algorithm patterns.

“I went to start doing research on social media platforms around that time to catch the algorithm,” Michael shares. “I found out that most of them are pretty much the same. They just have different ways of posting, but they’re all the same. If you post the same amount, criteria, and hashtags, they’re all the same.”

This insight allowed him to efficiently scale his content across platforms, though he did make tactical adjustments for each: “YouTube, they like longer videos. I will try to post longer videos there. That’s what really goes further with them. With Instagram, it’s shorter videos.”

Notably, Michael eventually made the strategic decision to prioritize content quality over strict platform guidelines when necessary. “When I started looking at my videos, I felt like it was cutting some of what I’m doing out of my video. I got tired of it,” he explains. “Even now on my Instagram, I have them over one minute now, but they’re still doing very well because people want to see the whole step.”

From Brand Partnerships to Owned Products

The first phase of Michael’s earning strategy came through brand partnerships, beginning with companies whose products he already used and promoted organically.

“My first brand deal was Kinder’s seasoning,” Michael recalls. “I actually started a hashtag of Kinder seasoning, and it just blew up from there. Once they first saw that I was posting their stuff—I was in love with their seasons. At the beginning, when I first started, every video had a Kinder seasoning because I had every one of them.”

This approach naturally aligned and resonated with his audience. Instead of forcing partnerships for quick revenue, Michael has remained selective about collaborations.

“It just all has to align with my niche,” he explains. “I’ve had companies that try to hit me up about exercise bikes… That fits into my niche technically because I could be cycling, but on the other hand I have an ice cream cone or a plate of lasagna. Is it really working out?”

More recently, Michael has expanded to working with major food brands like McCormick, creating original recipes for specific campaigns. 

“What made [the collaboration] special is that they wanted me to do something for the Super Bowl that just went by and it was my first time creating a recipe like this… they wanted me to do something like a buffalo chicken dip. I ended up doing a buffalo chicken dip and wonton cups with their products.”

The next phase of his business development is underway: creating product lines that extend his brand beyond content. Currently in development are “The O’Neal’s Way” chef’s knife (launching this month), “The O’Neal’s Way” gourmet seasonings (launching Summer 2025), a potential cookware line, private catering services, and a podcast-style cooking show featuring guest collaborations.

The Reality of Content Economics and Daily Operations

Michael offers a sobering perspective on the production investment required to create seemingly simple content. What appears to viewers as a quick cooking video represents hours of planning, shooting, and editing.

“You could say a regular meal would be 30 minutes or less for you as the person watching the video. But for me, creating this video, showing you all the steps, editing, doing all of that, this took seven hours to do,” Michael reveals.

Managing this production schedule while balancing family responsibilities requires careful planning. After leaving his 9-to-5 job, Michael had to develop a new workflow and routine.

“The whole first month was, I’m not gonna lie, it was a little stressful and it felt like I wasn’t doing nothing,” he admits. “But at the end of the day, we still, with my wife, we managed to figure out a schedule. I still can have that family time that I’ve been itching for most.”

His new schedule incorporates content creation and family responsibilities: “Now I can take my kids to school in the morning while coming back home to have my schedule to cook and clean. I have time to go, then pick them up.”

This balanced approach helps sustain his content production while avoiding burnout. “The biggest thing was scheduling,” Michael emphasizes, highlighting an operational aspect many new full-time creators overlook when transitioning from platform success to sustainable business.

Creating Emotional Connection as Business Foundation

The intensive production process pays dividends in audience connection. Beyond entertainment, Michael’s recipes have become relationship tools for his viewers, creating a foundation of trust that extends to his business ventures.

“The most rewarding thing is hearing how some of my recipes have helped marriages. Has gotten two people proposed to,” Michael shares. “I’ve had kids come up to me and tell me, ‘Yo, like, I know who you are.'”

These personal impacts create deeper loyalty than algorithm-driven engagement. “I’ve gotten one where a woman was in shambles with her marriage. She said, ‘I cooked him a few meals, and now he’s fine. We’re back in love now. We just cook together. We watch your stuff,'” he recounts.

This emotional connection surprised even Michael himself: “I never would have thought that a recipe that I cooked at my mama’s house would be doing this much damage for someone’s house or someone that needs a good recipe. Countless people say, ‘Yo, I didn’t know how to cook before I found your page.’ That’s insane.”

Tips for Creatorpreneurs

Michael’s decision to avoid voiceovers in favor of music-driven food videos not only differentiated his content but established a recognizable style that others have begun to emulate.

“I see many people using music in their videos now and doing less talking,” he says. “Even my crew, even some of my other followers, they come back and tell me they like, ‘Yo, guess who’s doing music now?’”

His research into platform algorithms reveals the value of understanding digital ecosystems rather than treating each platform as an entirely separate entity. 

“I found out that most of them are pretty much the same. It’s just they have different ways of posting,” Michael shares from his experience expanding across platforms.

When platform requirements threatened to compromise his recipes, Michael chose to prioritize content quality over algorithm preferences. “If I miss a step and somebody hits my DM saying, ‘Hey, I didn’t like how that tasted. Did you miss a step?’ And I’d be like, ‘Yeah, I had to, because I had to take it out of the minute,'” he explains.

Rather than accepting any sponsorship opportunity, Michael evaluates whether products genuinely fit his content: “It just all has to align with my niche.”

Perhaps most importantly, Michael emphasizes consistency as the foundation of creator business success: “Many creators will keep telling you consistency is key. It’s the thing. It’s what keeps you in the algorithm, it’s what keeps the people seeing your videos, it’s what keeps you rotating in the queue.” 

The discipline to maintain this consistency even when results aren’t immediate separates sustainable creators from those who quickly fade. 

“I remember, man, I used to see like 200 views, and I used to be so happy about that. So it’s not all cake and ice cream in the beginning, but it will be. Keep going, keep pushing, stay consistent and give it your all,” Michael advises.