Takeaways:
Finding the Right Growth Pace – Ryan Peters racked up millions of views on TikTok very quickly. However, he was slower to evolve his @peterspasta channel than some would suggest because of the idea of using sustainable pacing and branding instead of chasing viral moments.
Making Content Creation a Business – Ryan Peters had 300,000 TikTok Followers and a full-time job. While at home helping take care of his newborn, and now 1 million followers, he continued creating popular social media content. That’s when he had an idea. He could have time with his family and generate income simultaneously by becoming a full time content creator.
It’s Important to Understand the Creator Platforms – The creator economy has bridged the gap between brands and community. However, for Ryan Peters, it is incredibly important that the brands that reach out to him understand his platform and creativity.
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It’s not easy to go viral on social media. It’s definitely hard to do so within your first few posts. But for Chef Ryan Peters, the founder of Peters Pasta, which provides pasta service and social media consulting, that was indeed the case.
Now, with upwards of 3 million TikTok followers in tow, Ryan Peters has transitioned from chef into full time content creator.
“By the end of October (2020), I went from 300,000 followers to a million.” Ryan Peters tells Restaurant Influencers podcast host Shawn P. Walchef of CaliBBQ Media. “My son was born in November of 2020. I decided to take a month off from the restaurant I was the chef at… I was still able to make content at home.”
It was at that moment that the star of @PetersPasta came to an important realization. “I can be at home with my family, (and) still make a living.”
That realization caused Ryan Peters to quit his day job and focus on building Peters Pasta. With no real blueprint, Peters relied on classic work ethic and making cold calls to drum up interest. That meant doing guerilla research, including scouring LinkedIn profiles to find companies to partner with.
Despite his admirable outreach efforts, the return on that time investment was minimal.
“A lot of times they were like, No. Or it didn’t go anywhere… But for every 1 out of 100 I did, there was usually a genuine conversation to be had, and usually it turned into something.” explains Peters.
As he continued to build the brand online, Ryan Peters consistently released content. Though success — in terms of views and impressions on TikTok — came early and often, he did not succumb to the fleeting thrill of chasing viral moments.
“I’m thankful for that stage of my brand because that built me up very, very fast. But since then I’ve kind of evolved it,” he said about his social media strategy. “There’s still so much that I can do with my account because I’ve kind of taken it slowly with the evolution of it.
“Short term maybe that was a downfall because I wasn’t capitalizing in the beginning, but I think long term it now gives me the opportunity to keep growing”.
Pace and strategic partnerships have been crucial to his brand’s rapid ascension. He has carved out a unique space within the creator economy that has allowed him to work with partners that include teams from every major sports league in the United States.
At this rate Peters Pasta is on track to be a household name. Ryan Peters is setting the digital pace for Restaurant Influencers to follow.
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