Each week I'm going to break down one TikTok that stopped me in my tracks—and more importantly, made me think. What did they do right? What can we learn? This week’s video comes from Rachel at Subtle Impacts, and it’s a masterclass in storytelling, content structure, and community-building.

This weeks masterful video:

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Rachel - Subtle Impacts

The story behind the brand ✨ Hi, I’m Rachel and I thought it would be fun to explain why I came up with the concept of decorative weights! I spent YEARS looking at anything made of metal and asking myself “could we make that?” “what could we do differently?” and “how is this solving a problem?” So it was a random thought, but it wasn’t at the same time. Then we spent YEARS working on getting the product made and now we’re here! In phase “bring it to market”. 🤪🙈🤗 I hope you follow along! 🫶✨

♬ original sound - Rachel - Subtle Impacts

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Starting us off we have Rachel and her company subtle impacts. This video is great for a variety of reasons:

Strong Verbal + Visual Hook

“I designed weights that also function as decor.”

I always say that the crux of a good video is a strong visual hook, verbal hook or both. One of the best ways to arrive at this is get people's attention quickly, and what better way to do that than to take an object we're all familiar with (dumbells) and make them ~chic~

Personal Story

Rachel highlights a family narrative that drives the background for creating this product. In a sea of noise and information, being able to simply explain why you're doing something (why did you start creating content? Why did you start your brand?) can go a long way — especially if there are emotionally compelling drivers (in this case, the loss of her father).

The back story also confirms that she has long standing knowledge in this field and isn’t making junk.

Camera Work

Though the entire video is shot from the same location and angle, Rachel makes sure to constantly rotate the items in front of her. Visual shifts every 3-4 seconds is critical to driving watch-through, especially if done in a 'face-to-cam' style.

Replying to Comments

I always preach that comments are the content and SO many people/brands over look them. Rachel does an excellent job at not only replying to comments, but making sure to do so to the ones that help shape the conversation.

Look at the below ones for example:

By replying to these, Rachel has:

• Acknowledged that her products have other uses
• Re-assures that she’s still a small business/start-up
• Drives the conversation that her products have an actual function and aren’t just another cheap, yassified cash grab

CTA that feels like a conversation, not conversion

Similar to the camera cuts, something as simple as a quick CTA at the end of your video can boost engagement 10x. Specifically, I love how she asks for suggestions as it’s a low barrier prompt and makes the viewer/her community feel heard (versus just directing them to the website).

Results?

3.1m views and a lot of out of stocks.

Thanks for reading. If you see anything that catches your eye feel free to send it my way, otherwise let me know what else you want to see in this weekly email!

Thanks,
Ashwinn