Welcome to our IZEA interview series with influencers and marketers of all niches to highlight their journeys, share their insights, and inspire! Today we are talking all about influencing with Cait.
Meet Cait, a social worker turned content creator and mom of three who lives in British Columbia. Though she recently went viral for a TikTok her husband posted of her chasing an eagle off her goose, Franky, 29-year-old Cait has been a micro-influencer for years. She shares natural parenting, sustainability, homesteading, and wellness content with her 15.8K Instagram followers. We sat down with her to chat about her experience as an influencer and the viral video that has more than 23 million views on TikTok.
My name is Marette and I’m the content manager here at IZEA. Will you tell me a little about you, who you are and what you do?
“My name’s Cait, and I used to be a social worker and am now a full-time creator mom of three kids with an eight-year-old, a two-year-old, and a four-month-old. So life’s always busy and chaotic, and we live on half an acre here in North Saanich, BC.
Do you have many animals, besides your goose?
“We have chickens and ducks, all outside animals.”
For those who didn’t see your viral video, can you describe what happened that day?
“Yeah, so it was the evening time and I was just getting ready for sleep and feeding my babe. And we heard our goose at the front door, just kind of screaming at the door. So I knew something was going on, so I instantly popped up, ran to the door and that’s when I saw the huge eagle come down and try to grab her. And I just ran outside topless, middle of breastfeeding, and scared it off.”
@therealmommagoose We have lost 3 chickens in the last week from what I was told was eagles which I believed hawks were preying on them but watch Frankie (our female goose) get taken. Mama bear mid breast feeding protecting her sweet Frankie. Officially living at a zoo 🦅 #nature #geese #eagle #eagleattack #yyj #victoriabc #eagles #mamabear #geeseofinstagram #eaglesofinstagram #canadasnature #naturechannel
♬ original sound - Cait
Wow. Have you had any encounters with that eagle before?
“There are so many eagles around here, so they’ve taken some chickens before and things like that. So I was definitely ready. I was, like, annoyed with the fact that we had a chicken taken the week before.“
What was the response like when you posted your video?
“So my husband posted the video. He’s like, ‘I’m just posting this.’ I was just like, ‘Whatever.’ I did not think I was gonna gain any traction whatsoever. It was just one of those comical moments — a day in the life for me, honestly, of chaos — and then it went completely viral and it’s just been so funny, like everything that’s transpired from it.”
How soon did it start taking off? When did you notice that it was getting a lot of traction?
“I think that night. I think by the next morning it was at 500,000 views and then it just kept going and going and going, and now I think it’s almost at 22 million.”
Did you see an uptick in followers from that on either your personal account or the goose account?
“Yeah, on my own account, like my personal account on Instagram, I think I’ve gotten over 2,000 new followers in the past seven days. And then on the TikTok account, it’s gone up like 40K.”
Can you tell me how you became a full-time content creator?
“Social media’s always been kind of my passion. I’ve always liked an aesthetic feed. I’ve always been super meticulous about what I post and track what people like. And it wasn’t until probably the past year that I started treating it like an actual job. Once I started doing that — treat something like a job, it’s going to pay you like a job.”
What is the focus of your content?
“I focus on motherhood and natural living, sustainable living, things like that.”
Are you doing more video now on Instagram?
“Yeah, definitely. I track my analytics. I follow what gets the most engagement and we all know right now that Instagram— they’re trying to push the videos.”
Do you have any tips for people who would like to be content creators full-time?
“The biggest thing is just finding what makes you tick, your niche. You can’t have fashion and then medical mixing in one account because you’re going to get two different types of followers. You really need to find what you love, what’s your passion, and what you can share that provides value for other people. And your people will come; they’ll follow.”
What are your tips for working with brands?
“It goes back to treating it like a job. I engage with brands like a business. I represent myself like a business. And it’s just all professionalism.”
Have you had a favorite comment when you look at the reactions to the video?
“There are so many funny comments. The ones that have me howling are the ones that basically relate to me owning a cobra chicken, which I had no idea what that was. But apparently, it’s like a Canadian goose, which she’s not a Canadian goose, she’s Sebastopolgoose, which is a domesticated goose. But it’s basically things like, ‘Don’t mess with the girl that owns a fricking cobra chicken’ or, like, things like that. To that extent. It’s just hilarious.”
”You really need to find what you love, what's your passion, and what you can share that provides value for other people. And your people will come; they'll follow."
Marette Flora is IZEA’s Content Manager. She writes and edits content about influencer marketing and all the latest #TeamIZEA happenings. When she is not at work, she can be found writing her personal blog, crafting personalized gifts or exploring Chicago where she lives with her husband, two daughters, dog and plants.
