Shhhh My [TikTok] Show is On: A Paloma Diamond Deep-Dive
Goat's Strategy Executive, Jojo Agbi, on the rise of creator content series
In recent months, I’ve been emotionally invested in some great TV (highly recommend My Lady Jane for those not in-the-know).
But what’s interesting is that alongside my regular shows, I’ve been keeping up to date with various content series created by creators, for social media.
These fictional stories still feature the same jaw-dropping twists, lovable characters, and breathtaking cliffhangers, now in a newer, shorter format.
So, to tell you about it, let’s dive into a brilliant example; Paloma Diamond.
Who is she? How have audiences become invested? Where has this content style come from? And what can we marketers learn from her?
Who are we spotlighting?
Meet Julian Sewell, creator of the (fictional) Oscar-snubbed icon Paloma Diamond.
This story began back in 2023, with Julian spoofing actors’ reactions to award-nominated performances at award shows, featuring a version by Paloma herself. Fans then came together hoping she would win (spoiler: as of 2025 Paloma has not won an Oscar 😭).
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Over the next 2 years, Julian has developed lore around “Paloma Diamond” with content showing the actor’s various performances across period movies, 80s movies, and in the lead-up to 2025 Oscars Paloma went on national news and TMZ as Paloma Diamond herself to share her side story.
“People are investing in creator content series in much the same way that they are in popular TV shows and movies”
What really caught my interest recently though is when Julian produced and released a serialised drama around one of Paloma’s ‘TV shows’. Despite not being a “real” show, its cast of hilarious characters and high-value drama has earned it consistent high viewership.
How have audiences responded?
From sharing supportive comments and funny memes, to engaging in long-form deep dives, people are investing in creator content series in much the same way that they are in popular TV shows and movies.
But why?
My theory - social media encourages people to come together and build a community around their niche interests. With TikTok's Bulletin Boards, and Instagram's Community Tabs, creators can bring their community together and excite audiences around the upcoming series.
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Why does this format work?
Influencers have leveraged the speed of social to keep their series relevant. Instead of waiting for a week for the next episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Julian uploads (at most) 3 times a week. The ease of creator-led production compared to producing a full-length series ensures a consistent stream of content that the algorithm favours.
“These creators understand the mechanics of how to develop a great story”
As with all things on social, it comes back to our attention spans. Dazed uncovered how Gen Z is invested in a similar format of content, full-length movies in split into bite-sized content series. These arcs and resolutions are no longer an hour away; instead, they are only a few scrolls away, so they feel more digestible for our attention compared to watching for a full hour.
Ultimately, entertainment drives our attention, these creators understand the mechanics of how to develop a great story and produce engaging content, their high-quality production, engaging writing, and social-first style drives not only our watch time but emotion-led engagement (hence the fan-like response).
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Which brands have leveraged this format?
Brands have partnered with Julian to naturally build upon the lore surrounding our favourite actress, Paloma Diamond.
From Hulu uncovering Paloma’s snubbed auditions for upcoming shows, or Agave Tequila uncovering the diamond’s favourite drink for summer, this approach allows ads to sit more natively on her channel compared to ad-like from the audience perspective.
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What can we learn from this icon?
Invest in long-form serialised content, on short-form platforms
We’ve seeing a major shift in audiences investing in episodic content on platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts. This change is an opportunity to explore larger, interconnected stories in digestible formats and short-form platforms.
Remain reactive and explore new avenues to keep your brand/creator top of mind
Julian’s first video around Paloma Diamond was a parody of the upcoming award season, and after he consistently created videos around cultural moments in entertainment [including the Oscars] to keep Paloma top of mind [and hearts] again.
Optimise your content to entertain first, inform later
Whether a creator or brand, hook your audiences not only in the first few seconds, but with a wider engaging story of twists and turns, and with a cliffhanger to reel your audiences in for the next video.
Brands, integrate not only in creators’ content, but in their wider story too
For brands looking to activate with creators’ series, understand how your brand/product can naturally be a part of a creator’s wider story and their content.
Engage with the community
Once your community invest in the story, they are your biggest allies, leverage features of the platform and create content that drives engagement - the community hubs across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts.
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Author: Jojo Agbi, Strategy Executive, The Goat Agency
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