This Couple Took Their Story from TikTok to Good Morning America!
A simple story can bring you from TikTok to Good Morning America. Today we’re going to sit down with two of my friends who’s story about their renovated laundromat landed them on Newsweek and Good Morning America, bringing thousands of people in contact with their story!
Jon and Erin Carpenter have been renovating properties for years now, but last year they decided to invest in a local laundromat. What started out as a business investment quickly turned into a passion for serving the community. Throughout all of the renovations, Erin took the time to capture footage to tell the story. Using her past as a filmmaker and producer, she looked to capture the story in order to share on Tiktok. She made a commitment to post a new short video each day for thirty days, but wasn’t until near the end of that time that she created a Tiktok that their story gained traction. The Tiktok told the story of how the renovation led to the laundrymat being a community hub once again. I had the opportunity to sit down with them to hear a little about their experience sharing the story.
Erin: We wrapped the project and I did my finished after video. Watching it, it was sitting at 200 views for a long time. I was like, oh dang it, this is a flop, but whatever. Then all of a sudden it starts accumulating views and we're watching it…100,000, 200,000. It was crazy to see.
Jon: It just kept going. I was just watching it like what in the world's going on. Then all the time she’s looking at her comments, Newsweek wants to interview, this is Business Insider or like all these brands and things that were always just nebulous. When they were reaching out to us we were like we just did a laundromat…what did we do. We didn't do anything that special. I think for the community it was really cool, but something tugged at heart strings in those videos and in the one that went viral, and then it kind of went to other.
As a result of sharing the story, people’s hearts were moved. It racked up over 12 million views on Tiktok and 1.8 million likes, but more importantly, it led to people getting involved in the story. People didn’t want to just sit on the sidelines, they wanted to have an active role in making the story even bigger.
Erin: People we never would have met who want to partner with us to continue to make Reynolds laundry a better place. I was trying to build out this kids area, and I hadn't done it yet when the video went viral. I was like, ‘I'm still making it’ and so many kind strangers from the internet have seen that and said ‘hey, I have a bunch of old kids toys I want to donate,’ or if the public library came and stocked our bookshelves for free. Brands have donated detergent for free and so many people have partnered with us for free laundry days, which is incredible because now we can do like 10 times the amount of free laundry days that we were before. Just meeting other people who are on the same mission as us. It's nice when other people come in and say ‘hey, we know some stuff that can help you let us help you.’
You might think that it was Erin’s background in the video production industry that gave her the skills to tell this story, but she’ll be the first point out where the real impact was made.
Erin: It wasn't this amazing video I made because it was probably the video I've worked the least hard on in my entire life of working in the video industry. I think it was the authenticity and the story and the people's hearts that like clearly shine through in the video. These amazing people that caught the fire, and I think it's really cool to remember that; That it is about the story.
Erin’s background in film meant that’s she’s been exposed to top of the line technology used in films. Yet, the story she told that’s had the widest reach was told on the phone she keeps in her pocket.
Erin: I think a smartphone is a unique tool because it can capture something without putting all the focus on the gear, and the video itself. It's almost like taking a back seat and seeing what's happening unfold.
Jon: I didn't see half the things that she took, half I never even knew existed. She'd be like pulling out of her pocket and just like shooting stuff in the laundromat. The moment you bring out a camera it brings all this attention. You don't get authenticity a lot of times and so she was able to capture a lot of authenticity because nobody even knew that she was recording stuff.
Erin: Yeah it's like camouflage; everybody has a smartphone, you don't know what you're doing with it.
Finally, I closed out by asking Jon and Erin what their advice was for anyone who was considering sharing a story with the world.
Erin: Start doing it, that is the you can do is just start. Just don't get held back by perfection. Make it good, but you don't need to make it perfect; that's not what social media is about. Do it because you love it, because that's the big thing. If you're doing it to be like ‘I need exposure,’ I think that will come through. Make the content you want to make, because you love it. I think that's what changed on TikTok. It was just fun; there was no expectations, it was just you know it's TikTok.
Jon: Looking at what Erin did, she was trying something new. TikTok’s a new thing; She wasn't scared because it wasn't like what are people going to think about me because there's nobody there to watch you. She was consistent; she didn't get a lot of views and she just kept doing it over and over. It was never about the views, it was never about how many people are seeing it. That consistency, saying ‘for 30 days I'm gonna post every single day something that that is content that we're doing on this laundromat.’ We had a story that we're gonna tell, wrapped around the laundromat, and we're gonna find something interesting about it each day and then post a short little thing that it doesn't matter if it's going to work or not. Then put the beginning all the stuff, and then pull it all together in that end montage and ended up becoming almost a full story.
Looking at Jon and Erin’s story, I have a few takeaways.
No story is mundane. When you look at their story, it’s not a dramatic story where they saved someone from a burning house. They renovated a laundorymat and created a spot for the community to gather. It’s a powerful story not because it’s dramatic, but because it connects deeply to the desire for community.
Don’t let quality paralysis hold you back. I’m going to be honest - this was a deep takeaway for me. In conducting this interview, I had two cameras die on me and microphone issues. Quality was not to the standard I try to personally hold myself to. But as I edited their interview, I was continually reminded that it’s the STORY that matters, and sometimes it’s worth sharing a story even if the technology isn’t to the level you expect.
If you’re wanting to share the impact you’re having, just start! If you don’t get the response you’re looking for right away, don’t throw your efforts away. Evaluate what worked, what didn’t work, and then try again. Erin posted Tiktoks on the same story for weeks before she had her viral hit. I’m not saying you should spam your audience by reposting the same video and story daily - as Erin shared her story, each day she told a slightly different story. But as Jon pointed out, each story was connected to the overall story of the laudromat renovation and community revival.
People are looking for stories to get involved in. Jon and Erin’s story isn’t the only time I’ve seen people with no connection to a story get stirred to action because of a video shared online. I’ve seen people pay off mortgages for strangers, raise money to bless a waitress who was down on her luck, among many others.
Finally, don’t share your story solely to go viral. Chances are, you won’t. What I can tell you, though, is that if you are consistent, you’ll find your audience and inspire people to get involved. As Erin said, do it because you love it and have fun while you do it.
Make sure you like and subscribe for more content on how to tell stories using your smartphone, covering everything from the technique to the technology. But as we’ve clearly learned today, it’s not about the gear, it’s about the story!
