How to smash your first 90 days as a creator (according to the platforms themselves)
Sophie Rose · 26 Mar 2026 · 7 min read
Leaders from the creator partnership teams at Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube just did a SXSW panel called "Your First 90 Days as a Creator."
Together, the panellists shared the mistakes they see new creators making constantly.
As a brand spanking new baby creator herself, this caught my eye. Because some weeks, I’m absolutely crushing it… while others my numbers f*cking flatline. Also, because I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing. Like at all.
The panel featured Julia Hamilton Trost from YouTube, Brooke Berry from Snapchat, and Katie Sollenberger from Meta. And the mistakes they named are probably ones most of us creators are doing without realising we’re killing our own momentum.
The biggest mistake insiders see: jumping on every trend just because it's trending.
Trends have life cycles. Arrive late and you look derivative. Arrive early with a distinct take and you can ride the wave. But mindlessly hopping on everything that crosses your feed makes you look desperate and kills your unique voice.
The rule they recommend: 70% original content, 30% trend content. Your original work is what builds your actual audience and establishes who you are. Trends can amplify that, but they can't be your entire strategy.
Everyone says "post consistently." But the best advice from the panel was this: pick a posting cadence you can sustain on your worst week, not your best week.
Algorithms reward consistency. Any breaks kill momentum. If you post daily for three weeks and then disappear for a week because you burned out, you've just tanked everything you built. Scary, I know. But it’s better to post three times a week every single week than to sprint and crash.
On Instagram specifically, Sollenberger noted that consistency is crucial for algorithmic favour. On Snapchat, Berry emphasised that your public profile needs consistent Stories so brands can see the type of content and formats they could plug into. On YouTube, weekly drops at a consistent day and time teach audiences to return.
A surprise to me: follower counts aren't as important as they used to be.
What actually matters are the signals that unlock distribution to non-followers. On Instagram, sends and shares drive reach. On YouTube, average view duration and retention matter more than subscriber count. On Snapchat, watch time drives Discover surfacing.
Berry specifically noted that watch time is critical for getting the Discover feed to notice you. The creators surfacing on that page got there through watch time metrics, not follower numbers.
Your profile is essentially your portfolio.
Brands scan your public profile before reaching out for opportunities. So if you want travel brand deals but have zero travel content on your profile, they're moving on to the next person. Your grid, Story Highlights, and pinned content need to showcase exactly the type of work you want to get hired for.
Berry explained this perfectly: your public profile is your home on the platform. If there's nothing showcasing the consistency of content or formats brands can plug into, they won't consider you. Treat your bio, playlists, and Highlights as a living portfolio with clear positioning and contact info.
Test! More!
New creators fear flops and avoid testing. And that's exactly backward.
Instagram's Trial Reels exist so you can test topics and formats with non-followers first, then promote winners to your grid. YouTube Studio's Test & Compare lets you A/B thumbnails.
Run lightweight experiments weekly. New hook, new length, new call to share. Test the first three seconds and watch how retention shifts. Pair thumbnail testing with hook testing and you'll learn faster what actually works versus what you think should work.
A friend to all is a friend to none. Same with content. By trying to appeal to everyone, you’re appealing to no one.
The creators breaking through are going niche. They have clear positioning, specific expertise, defined audience, consistent format.
This ties back to the 70/30 rule. Your original content should have a clear point of view and serve a specific audience. Trends can broaden your reach occasionally. But your core content needs to be specific enough that people know exactly why they should follow you.
Across all three platforms, the metrics that matter most are watch time, shares, and engagement.
Not vanity metrics like likes or follower count. Instagram wants sends, YouTube wants retention, Snapchat wants watch time.
Switch to a professional or creator account to unlock analytics. Review your top three winners and laggards each month. Study how viewers find you, the data tells you what's working - you just have to actually look at it.
I didn’t know this, but platform teams say the first 90 days can set a creator's trajectory for the next nine months.
The difference between momentum and stagnation rarely comes down to luck - it's usually a handful of avoidable missteps.
- Go niche
- Test constantly
- Don't chase every trend
- Build your profile as a portfolio
- Pick a sustainable posting cadence
- Focus on engagement metrics not follower count
These aren't secrets. They’re the basics most people ignore because they're chasing viral moments instead of building foundations. This isn't mysterious algorithm hacking. It's just doing the actual work instead of looking for shortcuts that don't exist.
You got this, cuties (speaking to myself, also lol) x
-Sophie Randell, Writer