We’re friends, right?

Because we want to be a little honest– vulnerable, even. We’ve tried to start this article a variety of ways, but none of it feels right. That isn’t to say we aren’t excited about it or worried whether or not you’ll enjoy it. Something about the introduction hasn’t felt right. Because the usual intro just doesn’t fit. Even if we’re tackling something big, like crafting the perfect video for a social media algorithm, we couldn’t get an opening to work.

Which, oddly enough, does fit with our expert’s insights. So let’s keep it authentic and unique (like him) and get to know him first. 

Meet @JDubsArts

We hear you now: “Oh, I’m definitely friends with him!” @JDubsArts is one of the best-known creators on Clapper. Whether you’ve been on Clapper since day one or it’s literally your first day, you’ve heard of JDubs. Or seen him in a comment section, a Radio, or Livestream. He’s everywhere!

Which is a good thing. He’s welcoming, he’s funny, he’s happy to lend a hand, he’s kind– anything good you could say about someone online, you can say about JDubs. And (probably our favorite, but we’re biased) he’s passionate about Clapper and the community he’s built here. 

So we knew we wanted to talk to him just not what about exactly. We came in with an idea, thought of a few more while we were meeting, and thought of even more when we started reading our notes. But one quote stuck out to us, and we decided to roll with it. 

You (and Your Content) Are a Sandwich

Every video is like a sandwich and the algorithm is hungry. So make the most appetizing sandwich you can. 

Essentially, you and your video are the basics: the bread, meat, and cheese of the sandwich. These are the most important things a sandwich needs to be considered a sandwich. A social media algorithm won’t even begin to consider your video if it’s not a video. 

But we’re a sandwich-ista at your favorite chain sandwich shop: it can’t end there. 

When you go to Clapper, you still need your oil, vinegar, your salt and pepper. 

You have to add additional pieces to make your sandwich– your video– even more delicious. And that includes the platform you create. That’s what we’ll be diving into today, starting from day one. How to make your account and your content the Jimmy John’s of social media.

Starting on a New App

Becoming a successful creator starts with your platform, and creating a good base usually begins on day one. When JDubs joined Clapper, it was 2020 and the community was still small and pretty new. He was starting fresh on a fresh platform. Usually, we’d recommend caution when starting on a new app. 

JDubs took a very different approach. 

I came in Clapper like a raging-ass bull.

We’re from Texas, we know what a loose, raging bull can do. But JDubs didn’t leave a trail of destruction and debris behind him. So maybe he’s got the right idea. And, of course, you don’t have to keep that same energy throughout your time as a content creator. You can change once you find your footing! 

I’m more focused, but the first year it was wildfires and tornadoes connecting.

Spread Yourself Thin

(No, this isn’t an allegory about being the condiment on a sandwich.)

Rather than observing the platform, JDubs chose to come in and explore it first-hand. He started creating content, jumping into Lives and Radios and interacting, and there wasn’t a comment section you couldn’t find him. And it didn’t stop with engaging: he was going Live, starting Radios, and creating content. 

I kind of got involved in a little bit of everything. I went into what they called in high school “being a frontrunner.” I followed a lot of popular trends, I met a lot of people, and I started doing a lot of different things. 

He was getting to know the culture and the community by being an active part of it. From day one he was creating connections with other creators and building his own community. And while he was definitely doing it his own way, he was learning about Clapper.

I chose to embrace the culture when I came to Clapper. Culture is important on social media.

JDubs spent his time understanding the kind of content posted on Clapper, what the community liked, and how they interacted with each other. If you want to be successful on a platform, this is vital. 

So next time you create a new account, don’t be afraid to fly in like a bat out of hell. Connect with people, create content, and actively learn what the culture is. This activity early on and the connections you build could make the base of your sandwich even tastier. Think: skipping the white bread and going for one with cheese and peppers baked on top.

You’re More Than One Thing

You may start your account for something specific. JDubs is a great example: his platform is dedicated to his art and his Shop. But if you scroll through his content, you’ll see a lot more than just art. There’s music, there’s content from his everyday life, and also art. One of the series he’s best known for isn’t related to art at all. 

I took over karaoke for another creator and over the last year ran karaoke on Clapper on Saturday nights. 

What started as a fun move ended up being really good for business. JDubs told us that people came into karaoke from different communities with no idea that JDubs was an artist. They’d come in, have fun, and realize he also sold artwork. Karaoke quickly became something fun that also brought in new customers and community members he might not have met before. The same can be said for your regular content. 

I say everything is content, so I just record anything that my brain thinks “let’s show that to people later.” Sometimes, it’s me cooking; I posted a video last week of how to make caramelized kielbasa! 

Don’t be afraid to create more than one kind of content. Not only will it help you reach more people, but we’re all more than just one thing. JDubs is more than an artist, our team members are more than just Clapper employees. It makes you more human and authentic to share about all the things you love. 

Your viewers will love how real your content is, especially on Clapper. 

Making Your Content Sandwich

We’ll break this down element by element, but let’s go back to what JDubs originally said about content sandwiches and social media algorithms. 

Every video is like a sandwich and the algorithm is hungry. So make the most appetizing sandwich you can. This could be putting a backing soundtrack or having some kind of visual element that grabs your audience’s attention, like captions. You can do that outside the app, but when you go to Clapper, you still need your oil, vinegar, your salt and pepper. That makes it a tastier sandwich for the algorithm. 

Now we’ll get into every ingredient you need to make the perfect social media algorithm sandwich. 

The Bread

Your video itself is the bread. It’s the most basic element of your sandwich. You want to ensure you have a high-quality video, no matter the kind of content you create. 

The Meat (or Cheese)

You are the meat, cheese, or protein of your sandwich. The main event! All the other elements are great, but they’re nothing without you, the integral piece. And yes, this means social media algorithms love you. 

The Ruffage

We’ll deviate from JDubs a little bit: consider the sound and music the lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. We make this change because sounds can be super important to your video, and those added veggies elevate a sandwich. Sound can take your video to the next level. Look for a sound that matches the vibe of your video but doesn’t overwhelm it. If possible, use a sound from the app you’re posting on. 

Clapper is equal opportunity, but it’s still an algorithm and it favors itself. It’s almost like the plant: give it a little attention, and it’ll help you grow.

We also recommend using trending sounds, as they’re more likely to gain traction on the FYP. Like using an in-season vegetable, this makes your content sandwich even tastier.

The Dressings

The oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper on your sandwich can be considered the text on your video. Maybe it’s not necessary, but it adds an extra little something to your content. It’s something you appreciate when it’s there. JDubs had some advice for adding text to your videos using in-app editing tools. 

Sometimes I’ll do 0.5 seconds at the very beginning of the heart emoji and the finger pointing straight out. Usually, I shrink it down and put it under where the sound sits on the screen. That shows the social media algorithm I’m using in-house stuff, which makes it a tastier sandwich.

This is a good strategy for working text into your video just to have it, but we’d also recommend actually working in-app text into your videos. This might be having a title on screen in the first few seconds, having a question on screen, or dropping a few emojis into the frame! Even something as simple as adding an emoji counts as text. 

Get Some Variety 

Just like sandwiches, no one likes the same thing over and over again. Even if you’re running a business account, you can spice up your content and try new styles or genres. You don’t have to stay in one niche! Posting something different might introduce you to a whole new audience. 

Take JDub’s karaoke host stint! He’s passionate about music, but it wasn’t exactly related to his Shop or his regular content. 

Music is an art too and I do enjoy it. I play guitar, I used to be in a band in high school, but it wasn’t something I pursued.

The variety goes beyond just the content you create. If you only think about your platform as one thing, as one kind of tool, it will limit you. This is especially true for small businesses or marketers. If you just think of it as a place to sell or promote your work you lose some of the fun. 

We started using Clapper as not just a business site, but also as entertainment. We started hosting shows.

Because turkey club sandwiches are good, but who doesn’t like a Reuben? Sometimes you just have to shake it up!

Your Schedule

We’ll put sandwich word-play aside for now and touch on scheduling. (Meal-prepping, if you will!) Having some kind of schedule is essential to content creation, but even successful creators like JDubs don’t have a set schedule. 

I don’t like to plan things, but I like to know the plan.

You don’t have to have every video perfectly planned out and edited in advance, but we do recommend knowing when you’ll post. That might be every day or five times a week. The cadence is up to you, but do have an idea of when you’ll post. 

And, to make it easier on yourself, have a bank of content ready to go. If you have five videos made ahead of time, you can swap them in whenever you need to.

Have evergreen content, because you never know when you won’t be able to record your content. I keep content for about a year and a half. Some things don’t get posted some things, some things, get repurposed and voiced over. My chaos is organized. 

Not making yourself always stay in one niche helps!

The Plate

This simile is a bit of a stretch, but when talking about your content or platform, you have to think of how you want to present it. JDubs put it perfectly.

What are you doing? 

Ask yourself what you’re doing. Are you promoting something? Educating people? Trying to entertain your audience? This will affect the content you create and how you fit within the app itself. 

Look at the internet as real estate. There are enough people that come to my channel and I visit their channels enough. We connect and have serious conversations whether they be marketing, bullshit jams, venting sessions, or game nights.

You may just be on an app to connect, to sell, or to educate, but think about how you want to present yourself. This could be your profile and your brand, or even the style of content you create. How do you want to “serve up” your content for the social media algorithm? 

And a lot of the content on the app is people getting shoved in the pool, or falling off a motorcycle, and you think: “What happened after the camera stopped?” I try to build my content off of that, too. I want people to be on the edge of their seats.

Review Yourself

It’s not enough to fully understand what kind of content you want to create and where you want to fit into an app. You need to evaluate your strategy, your content, and your bandwidth. What’s working? What are you no longer enjoying? What’s taking time away from things you enjoy or would be more beneficial? 

Recently, JDubs had to set aside the karaoke nights he was hosting as they just weren’t fitting into his schedule like they had before. But at the start of his content creation career, he had to adjust something huge about his brand. 

I’d started another company called Wanza Glass because it was wordplay on my name and I was painting glasses. It was an awful, horrible name: you couldn’t search it. I’d been JDubs in my retail job, and then I started doing canvases and other kinds of art. It fit!

Devote some time regularly to reviewing your performance and understanding what’s successful. Knowing what made one sandwich good will help you improve every other one you make.

In Conclusion 

No matter what you’re using social media for, getting your content pushed to a larger audience will help you achieve your goals. Learn to craft the perfect social media algorithm sandwich. You’ll connect with more people, reach new buyers, or grow your audience. 

And it lets you explore your interests and create a variety of content you’re passionate about! Rather than just sticking to art and pushing that out, JDubs dabbled in music, small business content, and anything that caught his interest He reached a new audience and got to have fun creating content. There’s variety, spice, and always JDubs’ humor. 

That sounds like a damn good social media algorithm sandwich to us. 

Meet JDubs

We could sit here and try to introduce JDubs, but words don’t do him justice! You’ll have to go to his Clapper profile to really meet him. There you’ll find videos of him responding to comments, creating new art pieces, and sharing snippets of his life.