An inspiration to many students through her channel cheeradvice4you, cheerleader Meaghan Mackey is a YouTube celebrity with over 171,000 subscribers and 6 million views. She is also a full-time Journalism major at the University of Nevada, who hopes to one day travel the world as a reporter. WayUp sat down with Meaghan to learn more about her path to social media and get her advice on ways students can become self-starters on YouTube.
Tell us how you first got into social media.
I first got into social media my sophomore year of high school when Instagram started taking off and beauty gurus were arising on YouTube. That was when I decided to post my first videos about cheerleading and share my passion for cheer with the world. Ever since then, YouTube has become my job, and I’ve been able to share my passion for cheer and living a healthy lifestyle with my followers.
You are a cheerleader, a full-time student, and you are looking for a part-time job. What advice would you give students on how to balance time?
The number one piece of advice I have to give on how to balance your time well is to keep a planner and organize everything so that you find time to rest and are able to get everything done. It’s not easy but it’s important to find down time so that you don’t wear yourself out.
What is your dream part-time job?
My dream part time job would be a cheerleading coach. I love coaching, especially little kids, and I think it would be so much fun to expand on my passions through coaching and help little girls who enjoy doing the same thing I do!
What is your favorite video that you’ve ever done?
I don’t have a specific video of mine that is my favorite, but I really enjoying filming “Follow Me Around” vlogs and “Day in the Life” videos. It’s like having my own reality show, and it helps me connect with people and show them what being a cheerleader and full-time student is like.
What has been the coolest experience you’ve had through your site?
The coolest experience I’ve had by far since starting out on YouTube has been guest starring in the “Secret Life of An American Cheerleader: Season 2” on the Cheer Channel. It was such a cool and new experience for me filming in LA for the show. I met so many amazing people and had a lot of fun on set.
How do you continue to stay creative?
Being creative and finding new inspiration for videos can be challenging at times, but there’s always new trends happening, and I always carry a notebook with me to jot down notes or write down fresh ideas that pop up in my head throughout the day. Because I am one of the only cheerleading gurus on YouTube, it is easy for me to be creative and come up with my own ideas because other people don’t do the same thing I do.
What advice would you give to students looking to start their own YouTube channel?
My biggest piece of advice would be to not go into it for the money. YouTube is so much more than that and when I started, the YouTube partner program wasn’t as a big of a deal as it is now. Currently, people can make a living off of YouTube but you should do it because you’re passionate about it and want to share something that you love.
