September 4, 2025 • 9 mins
One viral TikTok. 23 million views. 400,000 NEW FOLLOWERS 🤯 (oh, and one restaurant shut down). If you’re chronically online like us, you probably already heard about the San Francisco food creator who went from 15k to 400k followers in just ONE week… all because of a shocking restaurant experience. In this episode, I’m breaking down the full story of how this micro-influencer turned an uncomfortable experience into a viral moment, what it means for brands, and the big lessons every creator can take away. This story is a wake-up call: don’t ever underestimate the power of creators — no matter their size!!
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This episode can also been seen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jHklzx3etzw
💻 Free Brand Deals Training: https://sidewalkerdaily.com/brand-deals-training/
🤩 Ready To Level Up? Speak with Our Success Manager: https://calendly.com/sidewalkerdailyteam/discovery
👉 Book A Call: https://sidewalkerdaily.com/coaching-influencers-creators/
🌟 Best-Selling Pitching to Brands Mastercourse: https://sidewalkerdaily.com/ptbm/
🎁 Free Gift For Influencers & Creators: https://sidewalkerdaily.com/influencer-business-resources/
🛒 Shop our Amazon Store 🛒: https://www.amazon.com/shop/sidewalkerdaily
This episode can also been seen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jHklzx3etzw
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Influencer Confidential by Sidewalker Daily. My name is
Nina Zeta and I will be your host. I love
working with brands and influencers on all things business strategy.
Are you ready to learn what it takes to work
in this influencer industry and see behind the curtain? Well,
let's jump in. What I'm about to share on today's
(00:23):
episode is a true story, a story of how powerful
social media is for brands and creators alike and how
you just never know when the iron is going to strike.
There was a situation that happened in San Francisco with
a local food creator. Her name was Carla at Carla
Beebee and at the time she had fifteen thousand followers
(00:44):
when all of this went down. On July twenty third,
she basically gone on TikTok and shared with her fifteen
thousand followers a situation that happened and her experience as
a micro influencer with a local restaurant. Long story short,
went to a gifted dinner that the restaurant was hosting,
and when she got there, she was made to feel insignificant,
(01:08):
like her follower count was too low and why is
she there? In the first place with only fifteen thousand followers.
This led to her going on her own TikTok and
sharing about the situation. While that video what she shared
ended up getting twenty three million views and exploding her
account again, she got over four hundred thousand TikTok followers
(01:30):
in a week. And I think this is just such
an important wake up call for creators and brands alike
to understand the power of social I'm going to share
what this really means for us and dissect the story
a bit further. So let's talk about why this matters
for brands listening in. This just goes to show that
follower count vanity metrics mean nothing. The chef basically was
(01:54):
told to be playing her videos out loud, being like,
why is she here? She doesn't have enough followers, like
my own daughter has more followers than her. Obviously, Carla
felt really uncomfortable by the situation because she was invited
to the restaurant, Like, there's a difference if she wasn't
invited and she's just trying to pitch herself. They invited her,
(02:15):
so the host invited her, and I guess the chef
and the hosts were not on the same page and
he made her feel really bad about the situation. But
it goes to show follower a count does not define value,
especially with niche communities. Now, I think one of the
main reasons Carla blew up, outside of the fact that
the whole Internet was on her side and they felt
like this man was being rude and taking advantage and
(02:36):
putting her down, the part that I don't think a
lot of people are seeing is that when you go
to her page and you scrolled down, it's all food content.
It's literally all local food content. It's not like the
Internet raved and got behind this creator that is posting
a random bunch of stuff and you know, did one
food collab. The people that followed her probably not only
(02:59):
want to do it to support her, but also want
food content. And now all of her videos are getting
crazy amounts of views. But again, when you scroll down
through these videos, they're all food And I think that's
what really shows the importance of being a niche account,
because when you are niche, you are able to really
be about the value you're delivering, and that's what brands
need to understand. Niche accounts. Micro influencers with niche accounts
(03:20):
are really valuable. What I love about carla situation is
that she's gone back to posting about food content. She
talked about the situation, she talked about an update, and
then that's it. She's not making a big deal about
going viral. She is just continuing to post her food
content and people are loving it. I think another big
wake up call for everyone with the restaurant with Creators
(03:41):
alike is you literally never know what piece of content
could make or break your business. In this case, it
broke the restaurant's business. They have decided to shut down
for a restructuring. You know, their Yelp reviews are insane.
They are dealing with a total crisis communication nightmare because
obviously this chef was no trained in social media and
(04:01):
doesn't understand how powerful it can be. On the flip side,
to creators listening, don't ever stop posting. Don't ever stop posting,
because you never know what video that you post out
there could have this mega ripple effect on your business. Again,
she went from fifteen thousand followers to four hundred, you know,
thirty thousand plus she's gonna maybe be even in the millions.
(04:23):
And I think this just goes to show that when
the content hits, when it's relatable, when it touches people's hearts,
you know there's something really powerful around that. I think
it also just shows the importance of being a respectful
person in business, never making people feel bad less than
humiliating them, no matter how many stars you have in
your business or how big you are. Because again, times
(04:46):
have changed. This isn't the Devilwares Proda days where people
could be in charge and be ruthless. We are in
a world where it just takes one video to resonate
with the world and touch the hearts of people that
can change both you those businesses. I think it also
teaches us that the internet works fast, things can happen
really fast. And I think it also shows for any
(05:08):
brands out there, you know you want to invest in
solid influencer marketing expertise, people that understand this industry right,
because clearly at this certain restaurant there was a situation
where that chef just didn't understand. He's like, oh, big
followers equals big this. He should have just bit the bullet.
If he didn't want her there, not say anything, houst her,
(05:28):
give her the meal and be done with it. But
he didn't understand the repercussions of again how the true
influencer marketing works, and it went to really hurt their
entire business. So invest in experts in this field, especially
if you're our brand, so that you know how to
handle these situations that come across. And lastly, if you're
not going to embrace creators, then just have like a
no creator policy. And that's fine too. I think it's
(05:51):
old school and it's closed minded. You can't just accept
some except not like it creates a weird space people talk.
I mean, I've had creators tell me they on brand
trips where some creators get paid and other creators don't,
so like it just feels funky. So if you are
going to embrace creators and host creators, then really get
(06:12):
clear about everyone and the management being on the same page.
If you have follower requirements, okay, fine. But they accepted
this girl, Carla, they invited her, and then they made
her feel bad, which is obviously a total no no.
And I guess they and the rest of the world
also learned valuable lesson about the power of social media.
So here's what's really cool. As you go from fifteen
(06:33):
thousand followers to four hundred thousand. This affects so many things,
what you can charge, obviously, it's going to affect so
many partnerships that are coming your way, the amount of inbound,
the community you're building. Now, if I was her, what
would I do with this growth? Oh my god, I
would do a lot. I'd build out a whole new
brand media kit showing my stats and my numbers, believe
(06:55):
it or not. I wouldn't even mention the controversy because
chances are a random brand doesn't even know about what happened,
so now they're just seeing four hundred thousand followers and
thirty thousand views of video or whatever. Secondly, I would
start pitching. I would actively start pitching and reaching out
to brands, because she is going to probably be getting
so many more yeses now that she is at this
(07:18):
four hundred thousand follower level. I would also probably try
to steer myself away from this controversy and decide to
like really not bring it up again. And she's done that.
She's just moved on and creating food content, which I
totally agree with and I think she should. And obviously
this is the perfect time to make a statement. If
you're a brand that wants to work with me, please
reach out. She's probably going to get a lot of
(07:41):
inbound leads because again, so many brands are rooting for
her and so happy for her. Especially, she should go
in her comments and see who is commenting that is
a brand and reach out to them directly. Now, if
you're a creator that wants to learn to pitch to brands,
what to say, how to position yourself to get a
brand to respond to your pitches and really start me
making money on paid brand partnerships. I have a free training.
(08:03):
You guys can access it at any time. I'm going
to go ahead and link it below. So, whether you've
grown really fast on social or you are someone who
is just excited about pitching brands in general, watch the training.
It is going to really help you in your brand
partnership journey. What I find so interesting is if you
guys take time to like scroll her comments, you are
(08:24):
going to see so many people in support of her,
also in shock of her growth, seeing that, like wow,
this could really just happen to anyone if you're brave
enough to put your story out there. What this has
taught me is don't doubt the micro influencer. Don't validate
people on the number of followers they have. Followers do
not equal your worth. It does not equal your standing
(08:47):
in society, right, And this guy was like, Oh, if
you don't have a certain number, you're just not it,
and well, I guess he learned his lesson. I hope
you enjoyed today's episode. If you did, make sure to
rate you and subscribe to our show and visit Sidewalkerdaily
dot com for more resources on all things influencer, marketing
and social media. Until next time,
Welcome to Influencer Confidential by Sidewalker Daily. My name is
Nina Zeta and I will be your host. I love
working with brands and influencers on all things business strategy.
Are you ready to learn what it takes to work
in this influencer industry and see behind the curtain? Well,
let's jump in. What I'm about to share on today's
(00:23):
episode is a true story, a story of how powerful
social media is for brands and creators alike and how
you just never know when the iron is going to strike.
There was a situation that happened in San Francisco with
a local food creator. Her name was Carla at Carla
Beebee and at the time she had fifteen thousand followers
(00:44):
when all of this went down. On July twenty third,
she basically gone on TikTok and shared with her fifteen
thousand followers a situation that happened and her experience as
a micro influencer with a local restaurant. Long story short,
went to a gifted dinner that the restaurant was hosting,
and when she got there, she was made to feel insignificant,
(01:08):
like her follower count was too low and why is
she there? In the first place with only fifteen thousand followers.
This led to her going on her own TikTok and
sharing about the situation. While that video what she shared
ended up getting twenty three million views and exploding her
account again, she got over four hundred thousand TikTok followers
(01:30):
in a week. And I think this is just such
an important wake up call for creators and brands alike
to understand the power of social I'm going to share
what this really means for us and dissect the story
a bit further. So let's talk about why this matters
for brands listening in. This just goes to show that
follower count vanity metrics mean nothing. The chef basically was
(01:54):
told to be playing her videos out loud, being like,
why is she here? She doesn't have enough followers, like
my own daughter has more followers than her. Obviously, Carla
felt really uncomfortable by the situation because she was invited
to the restaurant, Like, there's a difference if she wasn't
invited and she's just trying to pitch herself. They invited her,
(02:15):
so the host invited her, and I guess the chef
and the hosts were not on the same page and
he made her feel really bad about the situation. But
it goes to show follower a count does not define value,
especially with niche communities. Now, I think one of the
main reasons Carla blew up, outside of the fact that
the whole Internet was on her side and they felt
like this man was being rude and taking advantage and
(02:36):
putting her down, the part that I don't think a
lot of people are seeing is that when you go
to her page and you scrolled down, it's all food content.
It's literally all local food content. It's not like the
Internet raved and got behind this creator that is posting
a random bunch of stuff and you know, did one
food collab. The people that followed her probably not only
(02:59):
want to do it to support her, but also want
food content. And now all of her videos are getting
crazy amounts of views. But again, when you scroll down
through these videos, they're all food And I think that's
what really shows the importance of being a niche account,
because when you are niche, you are able to really
be about the value you're delivering, and that's what brands
need to understand. Niche accounts. Micro influencers with niche accounts
(03:20):
are really valuable. What I love about carla situation is
that she's gone back to posting about food content. She
talked about the situation, she talked about an update, and
then that's it. She's not making a big deal about
going viral. She is just continuing to post her food
content and people are loving it. I think another big
wake up call for everyone with the restaurant with Creators
(03:41):
alike is you literally never know what piece of content
could make or break your business. In this case, it
broke the restaurant's business. They have decided to shut down
for a restructuring. You know, their Yelp reviews are insane.
They are dealing with a total crisis communication nightmare because
obviously this chef was no trained in social media and
(04:01):
doesn't understand how powerful it can be. On the flip side,
to creators listening, don't ever stop posting. Don't ever stop posting,
because you never know what video that you post out
there could have this mega ripple effect on your business. Again,
she went from fifteen thousand followers to four hundred, you know,
thirty thousand plus she's gonna maybe be even in the millions.
(04:23):
And I think this just goes to show that when
the content hits, when it's relatable, when it touches people's hearts,
you know there's something really powerful around that. I think
it also just shows the importance of being a respectful
person in business, never making people feel bad less than
humiliating them, no matter how many stars you have in
your business or how big you are. Because again, times
(04:46):
have changed. This isn't the Devilwares Proda days where people
could be in charge and be ruthless. We are in
a world where it just takes one video to resonate
with the world and touch the hearts of people that
can change both you those businesses. I think it also
teaches us that the internet works fast, things can happen
really fast. And I think it also shows for any
(05:08):
brands out there, you know you want to invest in
solid influencer marketing expertise, people that understand this industry right,
because clearly at this certain restaurant there was a situation
where that chef just didn't understand. He's like, oh, big
followers equals big this. He should have just bit the bullet.
If he didn't want her there, not say anything, houst her,
(05:28):
give her the meal and be done with it. But
he didn't understand the repercussions of again how the true
influencer marketing works, and it went to really hurt their
entire business. So invest in experts in this field, especially
if you're our brand, so that you know how to
handle these situations that come across. And lastly, if you're
not going to embrace creators, then just have like a
no creator policy. And that's fine too. I think it's
(05:51):
old school and it's closed minded. You can't just accept
some except not like it creates a weird space people talk.
I mean, I've had creators tell me they on brand
trips where some creators get paid and other creators don't,
so like it just feels funky. So if you are
going to embrace creators and host creators, then really get
(06:12):
clear about everyone and the management being on the same page.
If you have follower requirements, okay, fine. But they accepted
this girl, Carla, they invited her, and then they made
her feel bad, which is obviously a total no no.
And I guess they and the rest of the world
also learned valuable lesson about the power of social media.
So here's what's really cool. As you go from fifteen
(06:33):
thousand followers to four hundred thousand. This affects so many things,
what you can charge, obviously, it's going to affect so
many partnerships that are coming your way, the amount of inbound,
the community you're building. Now, if I was her, what
would I do with this growth? Oh my god, I
would do a lot. I'd build out a whole new
brand media kit showing my stats and my numbers, believe
(06:55):
it or not. I wouldn't even mention the controversy because
chances are a random brand doesn't even know about what happened,
so now they're just seeing four hundred thousand followers and
thirty thousand views of video or whatever. Secondly, I would
start pitching. I would actively start pitching and reaching out
to brands, because she is going to probably be getting
so many more yeses now that she is at this
(07:18):
four hundred thousand follower level. I would also probably try
to steer myself away from this controversy and decide to
like really not bring it up again. And she's done that.
She's just moved on and creating food content, which I
totally agree with and I think she should. And obviously
this is the perfect time to make a statement. If
you're a brand that wants to work with me, please
reach out. She's probably going to get a lot of
(07:41):
inbound leads because again, so many brands are rooting for
her and so happy for her. Especially, she should go
in her comments and see who is commenting that is
a brand and reach out to them directly. Now, if
you're a creator that wants to learn to pitch to brands,
what to say, how to position yourself to get a
brand to respond to your pitches and really start me
making money on paid brand partnerships. I have a free training.
(08:03):
You guys can access it at any time. I'm going
to go ahead and link it below. So, whether you've
grown really fast on social or you are someone who
is just excited about pitching brands in general, watch the training.
It is going to really help you in your brand
partnership journey. What I find so interesting is if you
guys take time to like scroll her comments, you are
(08:24):
going to see so many people in support of her,
also in shock of her growth, seeing that, like wow,
this could really just happen to anyone if you're brave
enough to put your story out there. What this has
taught me is don't doubt the micro influencer. Don't validate
people on the number of followers they have. Followers do
not equal your worth. It does not equal your standing
(08:47):
in society, right, And this guy was like, Oh, if
you don't have a certain number, you're just not it,
and well, I guess he learned his lesson. I hope
you enjoyed today's episode. If you did, make sure to
rate you and subscribe to our show and visit Sidewalkerdaily
dot com for more resources on all things influencer, marketing
and social media. Until next time,
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