How can creators leverage content freedom?

Danielle Bayard Jackson knew if she could get 17-year-olds interested in Shakespeare, she could talk to an audience on TikTok about navigating their friendships. 

Jackson, a former high school English teacher and now friendship coach and educator, has gained an audience of more than 300 thousand followers on the platform. When a user bemoans their chronically late or emotionally unavailable friend, Jackson comes in with psychological research and solutions. 

“One of the comments I get most often is ‘I can’t believe I’m getting this for free,'" said Jackson, who added that writing a book wasn’t top of mind until her followers asked for one. “Beyond a look into my personal life or quick tips and hacks, I think people are hungry for tangible information on how to enhance the quality of their lives.” 

As she offers up knowledge on the internet, Jackson gathers insights that are fueling her career in return. Through approaching partnerships with brands like  Bumble, Etsy and Amazon Prime with data-driven ideas, she’s built the creative autonomy that keeps her platform topical and focused on education. 

“I’m a teacher first, and this is an outlet for how I teach, but when brands say ‘I want to come alongside you,’ that feels like a cherry on top,” she said. 

Jackson’s guide to brand trust 

For Jackson, attracting the right brands has come from saying no to the wrong ones, as her ability to establish credibility before tying in sponsored posts has attracted partners. Instead of being handed a script or even creative direction, she said brands often first ask “Well, what are you interested in talking about?” 

Instead of telling her followers to download Bumble for Friends, she delves into detailed advice on how to make friends in a new city using the app, like updating your bio to ask for local recommendations that could start a conversation, and keeping an open mind with age. 

“Danielle is coming to brands with irrefutable data and saying ‘Here's how we can take this content and refine it for your brand',” said brand collaboration coach Kahlea Nicole Wade, who represents Jackson. “If marketers are looking for someone who can get people thinking and talking, she’s the perfect partner for that. She’s creating engagement in a very unique way.” 

Playing creator and consultant 

At her talent agency Alora Society, Wade pushes her clients to figure out their “monetizable skills,” which can often span far beyond content creation and activating within social media. While Jackson has yet to work with Etsy on sponsored posts, she led sessions for their employees internally to speak about loneliness and connection. 

“We’re able to come in and say ‘Here’s the listening and research that she’s done and here’s what we’re looking for, and then Danielle leaves feeling like it was super organic,” said Wade, who stressed the importance of creators preparing for these partnerships with insights.

As for future brand collabs, Jackson is set on working with Delta—and she already has a concept on long distance friendships prepared. 

“I’m playing a consulting role,” she said. “I can already tell you what millennial women are looking for in friendsgiving vs Gen Z women, and brands don’t need to get a focus group because I found it. Instead of saying ‘How can we get in front of your audience?’ brands are saying ‘Can you come help us?’”

‍