Back in 2021, I was lucky enough to speak to Shell Rowe: a TikTok creator, photographer and Film & Television Production Graduate that used her platform to document her battle with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. In under a year, Rowe grew a following of over 150,000 followers and 4.6 million likes; now sitting at over 300,000 and 17 million respectively.
We discussed her rapid growth on TikTok, what it’s like documenting such a personal experience and how brands can use influencers in their marketing strategy. This is a great read for business owners and marketing teams that are at the beginning of their influencer marketing or TikTok marketing strategies.
T Clarke Freelance: Shell! Thank you so much for joining me!
Shell Rowe: No worries, thank you for having me!
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Shell Rowe, I’m a Film & Television Production Graduate and I guess you’d call me a TikTok content creator.
What made you want to start sharing your cancer journey online?
I think it was because you always hear about the really sad part of having cancer - which is of course completely valid - but I wanted to put a bit more of a positive spin on it and show that you can still have fun and be silly while you have cancer. I think it’s important for other young people with cancer to see that too.
When it comes to cancer, people tend to only see the sad sides of it. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because I talk about the bad parts as well, but I think it was somewhat of a relief for people to see someone with cancer joking around. I wanted to use my experience to say “we can still have fun,” and you can find a way to not let this take over my family and I’s lives.
There’s this amazing quote that says “I have cancer, cancer doesn’t have me” and I think that’s a great motto to live by; don’t let it take away all of the great parts of you. I try to focus on that when I share my experience and people seem to like seeing that.
What made you want to start posting on TikTok specifically?
The great thing about TikTok is that it’s the one platform you don’t want your friends and family to follow, which makes it different from any other platform for me. It’s different with Facebook and Instagram because they’re intrinsically linked to your personal life.
TikTok is like that embarrassing YouTube channel that most Gen-Zers had as a kid that you didn’t want anyone to find. Nobody’s searching for their friends on TikTok. That’s the whole point of the ‘For You Page’ - so you finally feel confident enough to post whatever you like without feeling judged by the people around you. You’re not interested in seeing what Susie down the road is posting on there, you want to see what’s going on everywhere else in the world.
It gives you this massive boost of confidence because nobody has you under a microscope, especially in the beginning when you’ve barely got any followers. Initially, I was making these videos for myself and not sharing them with anyone; little skits and things like that. That hasn’t changed, except now I put it out there with the intention of people seeing it.
I chose TikTok because I was sharing a pretty personal experience with the twist of my humour over the top, and a video-sharing platform that gives you the space to be yourself felt like the right place to do it.
That’s such a great way of thinking about TikTok: the cringey YouTube channel you had was a kid… We all had one! When did you post your first video?
I started posting on TikTok in March 2020, and even then I wasn’t posting in the way that I do now. The first time I posted with my actual voice (no lipsyncing over an existing sound) was in May or June I think. I didn’t really understand the app when I first joined so I would just take a popular sound and lipsync over it, there was no editing or anything like that. Nobody even saw those videos, which gave me the confidence to carry on doing it.
Why do you think your following grew so much in such a short space of time?
I think… because I’ve got a big mouth?! [laughs] I have a very candid way of talking about things that you either love or hate, and I think people like watching how I talk about my cancer or the funny stories I’ve got from hospital visits and things like that.
While I do try to make it fun and give people a laugh, I also don’t shy away from sharing the tougher days because having cancer is not fun. To only share the good days would feel pretty inauthentic to me.
Absolutely. One of the things that make your content so engaging and one of the reasons people warm to you so quickly is because you’re so authentic. Being sad in one frame to being hilarious in another is genuinely who you are and I think that shines through in the content that you make.
Thank you so much! I can’t fake a smile and I can’t pretend something’s okay if it isn’t. It can be annoying because I want to be seen as a strong person but if I’m feeling down on a particular day I won’t hide it or be fake-happy for the sake of a good TikTok. It’s sometimes hard for me to mitigate those emotions and decide whether it’s acceptable to share them on a platform where a lot of people are going to see them.
Sharing your emotions with so many people is an incredibly vulnerable thing to do. Can you tell me more about what authenticity means to you?
I think it’s very easy to spot when someone isn’t being authentic. My biggest pet peeve is seeing people put on a fake persona online; being someone that isn’t true to who they are. I’m not talking about people that play characters or post skits, I just think you need to lean into the different parts of your personality and be who you are instead of being what you think other people want you to be.
One of the things I don’t like it when people try to put me in a box, it’s like… you can be more than one thing? You can be funny and aware of other people’s feelings, you can be pretty and intelligent etc. Viewers’ expectations can make it hard for some to stay authentic because they eventually focus on creating content that will get them more Likes instead of doing the things they enjoy.
The same goes for when creators get hate comments online. Viewers always expect the creator to take the moral high ground and to never give the trolls a piece of their mind “because it’s not worth it”. I have never been that person. I’m definitely learning that not every insensitive or mean comment needs a response from me, but sometimes people just need to be told to **** off!
So to answer your question, authenticity just means being true to who you are and sticking with that as your audience grow. I don’t like the idea of hiding different parts of your personality online, so when I don’t respond to trolls I worry that I’m not being authentic because that’s what my instinct is. I feel like I shouldn’t have to censor myself in that way, but when you have a big platform you do have to pick your battles.
I’ve never thought about it from that perspective; that sometimes your authentic response isn’t always the right response to share on a platform of millions of people. I can see how that can conflict with the idea of being your authentic self.
Do you think the way you told your story over TikTok influenced how quickly your following grew?
I think so. I think it’s because people typically aren’t used to seeing cancer talked about in that way - especially in young people. I also think people expect you to look a certain way if you have cancer. When my vide
os started to reach a bigger audience I didn’t ‘look’ particularly ill so I think it was also a bit of a shock because people see how extra and bubbly I am online and they’re almost like “oh… she’s got cancer?”
It hits home with people as well because seeing someone laughing and joking and looking pretty normal is not what they think having cancer looks like (if they’ve never been up close and personal before). It makes them change their perception of cancer a little and raises awareness of the fact that you can ‘look fine’ and still be battling cancer.
I also think that talking about cancer is still a bit taboo. The conversation only really begins when the person with cancer starts talking about their experience. Before I started talking so publicly about my experience, people were hesitant to ask me questions because they didn’t want to upset me. Things like, “what was it like losing your hair?”
That’s why it was important for me to talk about things that people were too afraid to ask questions about, or felt like it was inappropriate for them to pry even though they might’ve just had a natural curiosity about it. Because I’m the one that talked about it first, they now feel comfortable asking questions. That leads to more people talking about cancer in general, which I think is really important.
As I said I’m very open to answering lots of different types of questions about cancer and if I can help a few people going through a similar thing, then that’s enough for me.
On the reverse of that then, have you ever had an instance where you’ve had to reassert your boundaries if they’ve asked about something that you’re not comfortable sharing online or are you quite an open book in that sense?
I don’t think so, not in a firm way at least. I’m very open about what I share online - I’ve made some really personal videos about some really gross experiences!
There is a small handful of things that I’m not comfortable talking about, and that’s mainly because I’m not comfortable talking about them offline, let alone discussing it on TikTok with thousands and thousands of people that I don’t know watching. Usually, if I see people asking extra personal questions in my comments I’ll tend to ignore it or if I feel like it’s needed I’ll make a quick video addressing why I’m not going to share my answers to these personal questions online.
You’d like to think most people have enough self-awareness to know what is and isn’t okay to ask you, but it makes it all the more admirable that you are such an open book because there are a lot of people out there that have been through a traumatic event that potentially didn’t know anyone that they could relate to and visa-vera.
I’ve seen that you do engage with your comment section quite a lot, so would you say you’ve built a community on TikTok?
I’d like to think so. I’ve definitely had a lot of messages from people that have had a similar experience with cancer or perhaps have a close friend or relative that’s going through it. I even see people talking amongst each other and sharing their experiences in the comments of my videos which is really cool to see.
People have definitely gotten more comfortable asking me questions as well, especially when I do a live stream on TikTok. I get a lot of people asking me for cancer advice; how to deal with it or how they can support a loved one through it. Just the other day I got a message from someone asking me where I got my human-hair wig made, so I was able to point them to where I got it and hopefully helped them out.
So moving on from you as a solo creator, what are your thoughts on brands moving onto TikTok and taking advantage of how easy it is to reach a large audience?
If you’re a brand and you haven’t considered TikTok being part of your strategy, then you’re a little behind. Their algorithms work like no other platform - there’s no other platform that allows you to grow so quickly and reach such a big audience as TikTok.
But with that being said, don’t think you can walk onto the platform and share any old content. If it looks too polished and scripted then it’s probably not going to get the numbers. TikTok users can smell inauthenticity from a mile away, and it seems like most brands are pretty savvy to that. I had a couple of brands reach out to me recently and they’ve given me a lot of creative freedom because they want it to look authentic. They want the video to be filmed in your bedroom with the front-facing camera on your phone with a bit of natural lighting.
When you’re scrolling through TikTok and you come across a sponsored post from an influencer, as soon as your brain realises that it’s an advert you’ll lose interest and keep scrolling. Viewers have to be engaged when you’re making advertisements or marketing on TikTok, which is why I think the best people to promote a product on TikTok are comedians. They’ll find a narrative and a way to tell it so that the viewer is invested and engaged before realising it’s an ad. I personally find that selling a product or brand like this feels much more organic and authentic. Rather than following a lazy script or just citings facts about the product off like a list, creators are expected to showcase products in a more genuine way that is also catered to their audience. With generic advertising, we tend to just switch off, so you need to think about these things more strategically.
I’ve had brands reach out to me wanting to do an ad with a bunch of requirements that I need to follow, for example, that the viewer needs to know what the product is in the first three seconds and that I have to read from a script. I can understand it to a degree, but when the requirements are excessive I’ll turn down the brand deal.
If I’m following a script, my audience will notice right away. My content is very candid and off-the-cuff so if I don’t stick to that when I do brand deals then the brand won’t get the same stats as my other videos. My audience will see through it straight away and unless they happen to be in the market for that product anyway, they won’t be interested.
I’m more than happy to work with brands I believe in but you should always let the creator sell in a way that’s authentic to their style and feels genuine. If it’s not, people will simply switch off or scroll away.
On one occasion, a brand reached out to me for a collab and I came up with a great way to sell the product but they told me I had to follow a script, so I politely turned down the sponsorship because it didn’t feel right. I only accept brand deals from things I’m proud to endorse, so you should trust what I have to say about the product.
You’re right! I work with B2B businesses, and some people have asked me what I think of TikTok and whether they should jump on it. My honest answer to them was that TikTok can be a brilliant platform for brands, but first of all, it’s not suitable for every brand and second, you have to have the right resources.
I think another common misconception about TikTok is that it’s really easy to go viral and that once your video goes viral, your sales go through the roof… In reality that’s not how it works.
People want authenticity, which is beneficial for brands in a sense because it means they don’t need a film studio and a videographer to create content. If you make videos that follow a rigid script it becomes see-through.
Yes! And in a way it almost makes the viewer resent the brand because they see it’s not genuine and there’s no added value. It’s like when you go on TripAdvisor and you read reviews that are so obviously written by bots or company staff!
If you can’t give your product to someone and trust them to promote it on their platform without a script, then influencer marketing isn’t the right approach for you at the moment. You shouldn’t have to get the influencer to exaggerate their experience by forcing them to stick to a script. If you’re not in a position where you can be completely authentic and fully transparent, then TikTok probably isn’t the right platform for you to use in your marketing strategy.
It’s so interesting to hear that from the Creator’s perspective because you and I are kind of on opposite sides of the transaction. But you’re right - the product should be able to stand on its legs before you begin asking influencers to promote it.
Yep, I’ve seen it quite a lot where brands want their customers to address every single good thing their company stands for in a single review and it’s just unrealistic. In fact, as a consumer, I would probably end up believing a review more if it honed in on the single biggest benefit that they’ve experienced from buying that product.
In your experience, have you seen any brands that might’ve missed the mark with their online strategies?
I can think of a very big sports brand that ran a campaign about supporting pregnant athletes a few months ago. It was spreading the message that it’s possible to be an athlete as well as a mother… but it then later came out that they dropped their sponsorship with a female athlete because she fell pregnant.
One of my biggest frustrations is brands hopping onto trends or social justice campaigns purely for sales. You can spot performative activism easily nowadays because people aren’t afraid to speak out on their experiences with different brands - both customers and employees.
For the company I mentioned earlier to claim to be empowering women and mothers while knowing full well that they don’t uphold those values internally is completely unacceptable and it derails the conversation they’re supposedly trying to have.
So many brands out there are only interested in profiting off of being progressive, rather than actually making an impact and contributing to change. It’s even worse when they don’t address previous scandals they’ve had in the past.
It’s so much better for companies (of all sizes) to hold themselves accountable and concentrate on doing better. Your customers will respect you so much more and they’ll continue to be loyal to that brand because they’re aligned with what you stand for.
I completely agree - and you’re not the first person I’ve interviewed to say that. Accountability as a brand is so important, because if you’re a business with customers then you have influence.
Definitely. I massively respect brands that are unapologetically themselves. Brands that engage with their audience and have a bit of banter with their customers because it’s so much more authentic. I also appreciate the fact that not every interaction with those kinds of companies has to convert to a sale, and so I’m way more prepared to sit and listen to what they have to say.
That is so interesting to hear you say that because in marketing, we have this thing called the 80-20 rule to help break up the sales-y content and to make sure you’re always adding value to your audience as opposed to selling to them all the time.
So do you think that TikTok’s homegrown content will move into other platforms?
I think it will but I hope it doesn’t! Take Instagram as an example.
The reason everyone loved it in the first place is for what it was, people liked that it was just sharing photos. Back in 2013/2014, you’d take a photo of your dinner, slap a filter on it and post it for your friends to see.
In my opinion, their app updates over the last few years have put the users at the bottom of the list. It seems like they’re heavily geared towards monetisation, with their algorithm making it harder to see the posts you want to see - which can force some brands into creating paid ads to get their content seen.
Similar to when Twitter introduced Fleets to be like Instagram and Instagram introduce their Reels feature to try and pull viewers away from TikTok. I think these platforms have mistakenly thought that we want just one social media platform that does everything for us - we don’t! We want TikTok for posting our embarrassing bedroom videos, we want Twitter for sharing our opinions and memes etc., and we want Instagram to share the highlights and the best bits from our lives.
If I could say one thing to these social media platforms as a creator, it’d be to stop homogenising all of these features as if we’re only ever going to choose one social platform and stick to it. I find myself actively avoiding those copycat features purely out of spite - why would I watch reels on Instagram when I could go on TikTok?
I think so too, and I think a really good example of a platform that went too far with its transition is Snapchat. I really enjoyed it back in the day because the timer on messages and sharing stories wasn’t something that we’d seen before, it was a new way of communicating.
After a while, it became so commercialised and full of ads - do you remember at one point they tried to make you pay for the little filters? I think it was something like 99p to use the classic dog filter!
Oh yeah! I completely forgot they did that!
Well on that note, thank you so much for sitting down and chatting with me today! I think you’ve definitely given us marketers something to think about
when it comes to organic content creation and working with influencers.
Thank you so much for having me! I’ve really enjoyed hearing it from your side too.
Where can people find you online?
You can find me on TikTok, Instagram, take a look at my photography work here and my short film Sense of Tumour is out now!
