Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Alfred Thomas (Fredo) @fredoontv

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

I’m a 24 year old content creator from Florence, Mississippi. I grew up poor in a small town. Most people here believe that if you came from here, or even Mississippi in general you could never accomplish anything big in life. It’s hard to make a name for yourself, because you lack the support and resources. I never got to see anyone I knew doing the things I wanted to do in life. So I decided I’d be the one to set the example. My whole life I had a passion for dance, but I didn’t have access to a teach or dance community, so I taught myself in my front yard. I danced day in and day out for years bettering my skills. I first become known on vine for posting dance content as @iFREDO. I went on to gain a following on musically that eventually became tiktok. I went to college and started receiving formal training in dance and running track. While there I met the stars of lifetimes show “Bring it!”, who were impressed by my dancing and asked me to be on the show. I made a few appearances on the show which ended up getting me verified on Tiktok. I took a break from content to run track and find a way out of Mississippi. During my career I became a 6x All-American Track athlete, 3 time GAC conference champion, I made ESPN’s top ten performances of the week, and appeared on ESPN at Texas relays. I won 3 athlete of the week awards and one athlete of the month. Kansas relay winner, and multiple school records. After I finished my track career I got back into content creation posting dance content. In the first year I went from 15k to 250k followers. In 2021, I spoke online for the first time and went viral. Fans asked me to talk more and let them see more of my personality. This lead me to do reactions and comedy content. After a few months I was at 1 million followers. That’s when I got wrongfully banned from tiktok. I had to start all over and within a week my backup account had 500k followers. My original account was given back which now has 1.6m followers and my back up 749k. I moved over to Instagram because of the unfair moderation on tiktok for black creators. I post on tiktok occasionally. I started Instagram in October with 4K followers, and I’m now at 499k. I started having issues with Instagram making people unfollow me against their will, not allowing people to follow, suppressing my content, and banning me from live streaming. Fearing that it would be another tiktok situation, I decided to start a YouTube channel. So far I have been able to post freely and have direct communication with support. Now I chase my childhood dream of being a YouTuber. I also stream on Twitch as well.

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

I mostly do reaction or comedy videos. Occasionally I post freestyles and dance videos. I’ll also do Q/A videos and give out advice. On my YouTube I do breakdowns of current events in the world. On Instagram, I post reaction reels a few times a day. This helps you grow faster if you aren’t having any problems with your content getting flagged.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

My name Fredo on TV comes from the fact that everyone calls me Fredo and I’ve literally been on TV.

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

I use Picsart to edit my photos, however I don’t post photos really. Most of my page is videos.

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

I don’t scroll on Instagram much. I just post and check my friends content out. See my friends and other influencers who are in my category or from a similar background doing well inspires me to keep going.

6) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

Definitely helping people. Easing the burdens of peoples day, even if just for a moment. Giving advice to people in hard times. Showing people you don’t have to handle life alone. Saving lives and giving smiles. I live for that. I can think of some of my lowest moments in life where I was alone and I vowed to be present whenever I could however I could so nobody would have to feel the pain I did. Atleast if I could help it.

7) What’s your favorite part about StarNgage? Any exciting campaigns that you have joined through StarNgage before?

That they showcase the stories of influencers. I feel like getting to know the influencers helps the audience better relate and appreciate them.

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

Try to make any ads not feel like ads. People hate getting ads on social media. Make it funny, relatable, and still get the message across. Using influencers with strong communities will give you better results. I’m always authentic, I stay true to who I am and what I believe in. I talk with my Mississippi accent and never water myself down.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

It is very important because you can rarely beat the original. Duplicates are replaceable. In order to stand out you have to have your own way of thinking. If your content is quality, people will ignore other aspects such as camera quality. I filmed most of my content on a baked potato and still grew lol.

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

Building relationships that can help me move forward. As well as building my portfolio for more opportunities.

Topics:

• Humor

Country:

United States of America