by By: Willow Milchman
By no means am I a qualified food vlogger/influencer. However, I grew up in a family of chefs, so I can appreciate a good meal or a restaurant when I see it. On my for you page (FYP) on both Instagram and Tik Tok, there are thousands of videos of food and restaurants to visit. All of these videos are similar in that they are about food but drastically different in how they are filmed. The filming aspect of food videos makes or breaks whether it will get a high number of likes or watches.
There is a particular and successful way that food bloggers gain watchers. As Tik Tok and Instagram users, we see various ways people film their food videos. From vloggers like Cedrick Lorenzen, who makes food in a sexy type of way, to accounts like Katherninewants, where Randy cooks meals for his wife, there are thousands of different ways to express your style of cooking. Each one of these accounts is popular among the Tik Tok community and has over one million followers. These are just two of many foodie accounts that are going viral on Tik Tok. I am going to tell you which food vlogger approach is most successful and why.
The first successful way to gain followers is to use short-cut food clips of whatever you are cooking and place a popular song over the top of the video. The key to these videos is to keep them short and to the point. Short clips keep your viewers involved and entertained. The lighting must be bright to highlight your quality and final outcome.
Another tactic you can take on is the voice-over method. I see many successful vloggers use this method. This method goes best with vlogging content, especially when reviewing food or discussing a day in the life of a chef. Again, using this strategy, you can connect with the viewer and make your video more personal. This method could cause a video to go viral because of personality and openness with your audience.
Or you could take the Emily Mariko approach. Mariko went viral during quarantine for making simple meals in her aesthetically modern kitchen. What is odd about her approach to editing is that she uses only the sounds of her cooking. No speaking, no music, just the sound of her cooking. Nonetheless, Mariko is now verified on Tik Tok with 12.6 million followers.
Overall, any of these techniques will work perfectly for reviewing, making, and enjoying food. But they have to be done correctly. Sometimes it is good to use variety when producing your videos; however, you won’t see many big-name foodies do this. They will stick to the best editing tactic for them, which is what their platforms will consist of. With that being said, lighting, visuals, and video length are three factors that can make or break your journey to becoming a successful food vlogger.
I enjoyed reading your post! I love food and I think it’s so cool that you come from a family of chefs. I think food vlogging is becoming more popular and therefore competitive on social media. I think you definitely have to find the editing technique that works for you and what attracts your audience the best for sure. Emily Mariko is unique for her style of editing.
Hi Willow, this is a great post! I definitely have seen all of these methods on my FYP as well, and I agree that these are the most effective ways for food content to go viral. Personally, I love the videos that only have the sounds of actually making food because I think it is aesthetically pleasing to my ears and eyes. I love food content on social media and I think if done right, it is a really good way to get noticed.
I really enjoyed reading your post! I tend to watch a lot of food vloggers on TikTok and Instagram, so I have observed a lot of the same things. One of my favorite food vlogger’s is Keith Lee. He does a lot of food reviews and his follower base has grown extremely fast in the past few months. I also agree that aesthetic videos usually do pretty well and get lots of views.
Hello Willow,
I enjoyed your post about food vlogging! I agree many of the methods you mentioned can help a food vlogger increase audience and engagement. I love too that food is so loved by many people so it’s an easy interest to people who come across videos like the one you linked and so fourth! Whether it’s meal prep, food art and design, or any other from of slow cooking food ASMR it entertains many. It’s a very important way to gather a following especially implementing the tips and techniques you followed.
I love the food content on my FYP. I don’t eat seafood but now I’m down a wormhole of a woman who reviews tinned fish and I watch the whole video. I think a significant part of it is I get to learn something new through another person’s experience. I personally don’t want to live in a world without Emily Mariko’s calming salmon bowls.
Hi Willow!
I really enjoyed your take on food vloggers and influencers. I tend to see a lot of these types of influencers on my FYP’s as well, so I loved learning about it from an educational and professional point of view. I think that in all different types of social media, there are ways to hold attention and make your videos more popular. The more aesthetic the videos are, the more likes, engagement and reach they tend to have.
Hi Willow,
I really loved your approach on food vloggers! My FYP is full of food videos, and I have to say, all of the more successful videos use these tactics. I have a saved collection on TikTok for recipes and food; all of them are good-quality videos, with great editing, and well-thought-out sounds. My favorite may be the silent ASMR ones because it truly feels like I am there witnessing the creation firsthand.
I really enjoyed reading your post! My fyp is also filled with food vloggers. I always notice that of all the TikToks I see, those are the ones that I watch all the way through. I love how it’s a way to get inspiration for meals to make but also entertainment at the same time. My favorite are the asmr food videos- I could watch those for hours!
Hi Willow!
I really liked your blog post. I thought that it was interesting that you said you came from a family of chefs because my dad was a chef for 20 years too. I definitely think that growing up with a chef in the house changes the normal daily family dinners. But relating to your blog, I think my dad would have appreciated learning how to cook through Tik Tok rather than the cut-throat, hands-on experience he had. That’s what I love about social media is that it allows people to learn things in an entertaining way that we would probably never have thought about before.
I appreciate the tips and perspectives shared in this article. It’s interesting to see the various approaches food vloggers take to engage their audience, from short-cut food clips to voice-overs and even focusing on the sounds of cooking. Great reminder that lighting, visuals, and video length are crucial elements for success. I love Emily Mariko so I really enjoyed the inclusion of her TikTok!
I enjoyed reading your post. This is definitely a space I want to grow into and seeing your advice really helped me. It was well written! Thank you!
Hi Willow! I loved reading your post. I could tell that you are passionate about food and cooking, and it was shown in your writing. Your tips are very helpful and specific. I also really liked that you gave examples of successful food influencers so people have an understanding of what the community is like, and what they would be competing with if they were to join the food influencer community.