Entrepreneur and Biz: Kacie Rose Burns

Tilt: Real experience of living abroad.

Channels: TikTok (662K) Instagram (89.8K)

Rev Streams: TikTok creator fund, sponsored content 

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

  • Fill a gap: Just because you want to create in a crowded space, like travel influencers, doesn’t mean you can’t find a niche that needs to be filled.
  • Get your audience involved: Kacie uses her viewers to help in content-making decisions.
  • Publish consistently: Once you capture the audience’s attention, continue regular delivery of your content to keep them interested and engaged. 

The Story

If you’ve watched the Netflix show Emily in Paris, you probably have an idea of what it’s like to become a social media influencer who chronicles her life abroad. But Kacie Rose Burns isn’t like many travel influencers who just post about the perks of living in another country. The self-proclaimed “American girl living in Italy” also gets real about homesickness and culture shock.

Unlike @Netflix #EmilyinParis, Kacie Burns gets real about living abroad in her #contentbusiness on @TikTok and @Instagram. #contententrepreneur Click To Tweet

But before we get to that, let’s explain how it started in January 2021. 

New York dancer makes a move

Before moving to Italy and becoming a content entrepreneur, Kacie earned her bachelor’s of fine arts in commercial dance from Pace University and worked as a professional dancer. She didn’t intend to become a content professional but knew she was onto something when her TikTok videos started finding an audience. 

“To be completely honest – it was a complete accident. I never posted anything or used TikTok really other than to watch videos of cats and cooking recipes, and I posted a photo maybe once every month on my Instagram. I really wasn’t a social media person at all,” she says. 

In January 2021, that changed. Sitting on a plane to Italy with her boyfriend Dario, she posted a TikTok about their relationship. “Two years ago, I went on a solo trip to Italy. On my first day in Florence, I met Dario,” she wrote. They formed a long-distance relationship before Dario moved to New York in 2019. After his one-year visa was up, Kacie hopped on a plane with him and moved to Italy. “Fifteen hours later, after we finally arrived in Italy, I opened the app to see the video had gone viral.” Since then, their TikTok has amassed over 800K views and 169K likes. 

@kacierose4

Cheers to new adventures! 🇮🇹 #ciaoitalia #emilyinparis

♬ original sound – Kacie Burns
Kacie Burns did a @TikTok from the plane to tell the story of the relationship that had her moving to Italy. When she deplaned, the video had gone viral and gave her a #contentbusiness idea. #contententrepreneur Click To Tweet

Success leads to content business

After that, Kacie began posting more videos to her account. “After our flight, we were in mandatory quarantine for two weeks, so I decided to use that time to create short videos about Italian culture, travel tips, and all the fun and interesting things I find as an American living here. And the rest was history,” she says. Over time, she has accumulated more views and followers across Instagram and TikTok. “When I realized how much I loved helping people plan their travels and understand different cultures, I knew that I could turn content creation into a business.”

Growing a following

Like many content creators, Kacie says consistency has been one of the main keys to her follower growth. But she also gets her audience involved in her content-making decisions. “I listen to what my audience is looking for and answer those questions,” she says. TikTok users can reply in video form, which is something Kacie frequently uses. 

Standing out from other travel influencers

There are plenty of travel influencers on social media who share their best tips. But Kacie couldn’t find any accounts that chronicled their experiences living abroad, a gap that may have existed because of the pandemic. She found her content tilt.

“There’s a missing piece in a lot of travel accounts, which is simply sharing what life is like abroad and how it differs from your own country. There are different social norms, culture differences, food differences, and how simple everyday things, like ordering a coffee or making a restaurant reservation might not be done the same way in a different country.” 

TikTok creator Kacie Burns found her #contenttilt – how living abroad is different than living at home, from ordering a coffee to making a restaurant reservation. #contententrepreneur #creatoreconomy Click To Tweet

Kacie delves into these minute details, and her audience loves to hear about them. “I think culture differences are incredibly cool, and learning about them helps open your mind and expand your viewpoint of the world.”

Growing income streams

Kacie, who works as a part-time English instructor to supplement her content business revenue streams, participates in the TikTok creqtor fund and publishes sponsored content. “I’ve worked with brands such as LingoDeer, MagicEars, and U-Dictionary to name a few. I knew my audience would find these brands helpful like I did. The payment rate depends on what type of post the brand is requesting. So before both sides accept the collaboration, I like to talk about our ideas and expectations.”

Advice to content entrepreneurs

“Listen to what your audience’s pain points are and help them by creating content with a solution to their problem,” Kacie advises. “Focus on the quality of what you’re putting out there and stop thinking about numbers or follower count. If your content helps someone or puts a smile on even ONE person’s face, then you’ve done a great job.”

About the author

Bonnie owns Word of Mouth, a content agency specializing in social media, content marketing, and editorial writing. She's written for Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Coveteur, Man Repeller, Health.com, and more. She loves wearing fanny packs and laying in the fetal position.