“Should social media have opening and closing hours?” and other reasons to follow TikTok commentator Jules Terpak
If you’re not following Jules Terpak on TikTok, drop everything and start now. She’s one of the most thoughtful commentators we’ve seen on culture, tech, work, and more. One of her video essays ends with a question we’ve been thinking about for weeks: “Should social media have opening and closing hours?” [We think…yes!]
What makes her commentary so compelling is that it is always tied to the news cycle, but also weaves in larger cultural themes with lasting impact. It’s like journalism 101, with an opinion lemon twist. And in Jules’ this case, musings on the psychological effects caused by the convergence of IRL meets URL [god we love TikTok].
As creators and strategists with roots in journalism - Founder Melissa is former NBC News and CNN, and our Head of Content Jamie is former NBC News and CBS News - we tend to prioritize high quality content over everything else. This is exactly the number one reason why Jules is a favorite of MTD – she produces some of the highest-quality Toks we’ve seen. Her content is relevant to her Gen Z audience - though no matter how old you are, you’ll learn something - it’s well produced with lots of crediting documented on her Discord, and she goes deep into her content pillars - media, tech, work and education. And of course, don’t be deceived, these may be short-form, but they clearly take days if not weeks [maybe even months] to produce.
And, she’s totally original! While the number of commentator creators is growing by the second, and we can point out some who would be in the adjacent categories to Jules, she’s pretty much the only one we’ve found doing this exact mix of topics. She’s mastered making complex topics feel simple and easy to digest. How refreshing to be able to say she’s not a copy / paste of someone else [please refer to our guidance on doing the same by honing in on your personal brand niche].
**Interjection here via the M.T. Deco soapbox - fundamentally, if you want to build a brand with staying power, you have to structure it on high quality substance. It’s easy to get swept away with the proliferation of apps, digital advisor tips & tricks, the latest updates, Gary Vee’s hectic advice, but none of that means anything if you don’t stand on solid ground. Show us your book, your blog / writing, your podcast, your newsletter, your business goals, your videos, your greater purpose. Otherwise it’s all hustle porn and you won’t last [like who cares if you have a million followers if you aren’t being purposeful with them? Otherwise you’re wasting your time and theirs].**
So back to Jules. Beyond her thoughtful, smart content that’s adding value to the cultural conversation, she knows what she’s doing in terms of brand, packaging, and distribution. Her delivery is in a signature monotone voice while sitting behind a microphone at a desk in front of a gradient colored background. To the top left of the screen, animations pop in and out along with her commentary. It’s a nod to the classic evening news broadcast format, visually and immediately establishing her as an authority figure about to dispel some important information, so you better listen up. [How brilliant is that within the FYP scroll of TikTok? It’s different and eye-catching within that environment].
The editing is artfully done through quick cuts, a style that helps break through the noise on TikTok, again the animations are great [Jules, how you do those?], and then she puts it all to good music that’s likely trending somewhat in the app, which helps with discoverability. She’s also very consistent, with not just the look and feel, but with the cadence and frequency of posting.
Besides the over 250k followers, want to know what the real measure of success is? The quality of the commentary on every TikTok. It’s good, it’s valuable, and it’s the type of conversation that’s enviable from other accounts. This is the marker of real community and it’s THE sign to look for if you want positive affirmation that what you’re doing is working. Recently she has also built out full TikToks in response to notable comments from her followers, further extending the conversation with her community. Yes Jules, yes.
So let’s break it down so you can screenshot for your own strategy. Here’s the list of tactics Jules employs that you probably want to adapt yourself:
Relevant. Jules is focused on content from the news cycle that is relevant to her Gen Z audience, within her content pillars of media, tech, work, and education. By having both a clear target audience with guardrails around her areas of focus, she’s able to go deep and get creative within each subtopic.
Unique and thoughtful POV. In each TikTok, Jules includes her opinions or musinings, which is what differentiates her work from that of straight journalism. She’s bringing forth information, explaining it and breaking it down, and then adding her own informed point of view. It’s the perfect combination, if you’re confident enough to do it, in order to spark relevant conversation around your content.
Sourcing. We love that she shares her sources [aka. those who inform her] in her Discord. This transparency helps the audience build trust. Community building 101.
Production. All her videos are high-quality and consistent. She always has a monotone voice, newsroom *wink setup [broadcast anchor chair], consistent and colorful gradient background, and uses quick cuts. Jules is a master at storytelling for a broad audience by going niche. She’s also produced videos that effectively break through on TikTok, her platform of choice [though we’re pretty sure her content would resonate on other platforms - Jules call us!]
And now, here’s the kicker for all of you who second guess yourself. Jules creates high-quality original commentary on topics that she’s passionate about that other people also care about. Her POV is what makes them original [and uniquely awesome], but her approach is straightforward, which is good inspiration if you’re coming up short on ideas for your own content strategy. Keep it simple, find topics that you care about [that hopefully others do too], cultivate a voice / style, and you can’t go wrong.