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Ifeoluwa Afolabi: A social media influencer
Ifeoluwa Afolabi (born on the 17th of June 2003) is a social media influencer who creates a diverse range of content for a broad audience.

Early Life and Background
Ifeoluwa Olakunle Afolabi was born on 17th June 2003. He is from Ijebu East, Ogun State. He attended Peaklane Primary School, Alagbole. He attended Strong Tower Academy, Ikorodu, Lagos state for his secondary education. For his tertiary education Ifeoluwa is currently a student of the Pan-Atlantic University where he is studying Information Science and Media Studies (ISMS).

As a child, Ifeoluwa had an interest in art and sports. He received awards and recognition in school for his skills in drawing, basketball, and academic performance. During the pandemic, Ifeoluwa made content and posted on his social media platforms. In 2020, he realized he wanted to be a full-time content creator. During that time, he was wrapping up secondary school he already had plans of putting videos out. He started his journey with Instagram where he posted pictures of himself dressed up. He had an interest in modeling, so he put out fashion contents to pique the interest of sponsors. From time to time, he posted his drawings and paintings with a desire to share his talent with the world. Eventually, he started making TikTok videos to do more with his free time.

He looks up too many people in the entertainment industry including Ryan Reynolds and King Bach and largely his creativity is triggered by music. He wants to be a cinematographer, an actor with his skills in modeling and editing garnered from studying in PAU and from being a content creator.

Career as a Social Media Influencer
Originally starting his digital presence during the year 2020 which can be pegged as a period of unprecedented disruption to society due to the COVID 19 outbreak, Ifeoluwa used the opportunity to advance his career. TikTok is the channel where he began to create videos and the videos, he began to post started getting views. By 2024, Iphe, his social media handle, has 3.9 million followers on TikTok, 260,000 followers on Instagram, and 220,000 followers on Snapchat. His main content is in such genres as the skits, relatable videos, dance videos, and dark humor.

Thus, Ifeoluwa's success is indicated by his significant following and influence in the industry. His ability to create viral challenges demonstrates his skill in engaging his audience for instance the; “Slow whine dance challenge” to Fireboy’s song that attracted more than 250,000 participants. Afolabi's content, serves as a source of entertainment and happiness for many, especially in the age of the pandemic when it was so physically isolating to stay at home.

Personal Life
Ifeoluwa enjoys drawing and uses this as a way of self-expression. His artwork sometimes incorporates elements of both abstract and realism which show an interesting sense of detail and passion for art, which provide a creative outlet complementing his content creation.

He also plays basketball. The teamwork and problem-solving skills acquired in basketball also apply to his content creation, where collaboration and planning are essential. He has gained significant traction from his dance videos on social media. These dances often start trends and engage his audience. The “Slow whine dance challenge” is an instance of how his passion for dancing increases his engagement. He engages and entertains his audience through his dances.

He features his family in many of his videos, allowing for relatable content. He also creates skits about everyday situations and sibling interactions to tailor to the part of his audience who appreciate authentic moments

Rise to Prominence
Ifeoluwa Afolabi’s rise to social media fame came through a series of consistency and patience. He began his social media in the year 2020. This year saw a massive growth in social media content creation due to the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown. Ifeoluwa used this period to make a name for himself by joining social media trends and creating an engaging audience. Ifeoluwa first became recognized in the year 2020, specifically during the global COVID 19 pandemic. At this point in time, many Nigerian trends had started to emerge on social media platforms especially TikTok and Instagram. One of these trends was the “slow-mo. trend”. Much like other Nigerian creators at the time, Ifeoluwa partook in this trend.

He began to post a diverse array of content ranging from dancing videos to relatable videos and lip-syncing videos. Advancing in his career, he created trends that have been recreated by over 250 million creators. Ifeoluwa grew his TikTok account to over three million followers as a verified creator, his Instagram account to over two hundred thousand followers and his YouTube channel to 46.2 thousand subscribers.

Ifeoluwa has collaborated with many other popular Nigerian creators who create content similar to his creators like; Kennechukwu Onyedika, Danielle Yul Edochie and Onyinye Johnson. He currently partners with Meta, an American company which owns and controls the operations of social media applications including Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp among other products and services. Ifeoluwa was chosen by as a Meta creator of tomorrow alongside four other social media personalities.

He employs different strategies in his videos to ensure his audience remains focused. He often does this by putting hooks in his videos that make people talk, these include wearing broken glasses, holding things upside down or using unfamiliar products in his videos.

In order to maintain engaged followers and keep up with the numerous emerging trends across platforms, Ifeoluwa tailors his content to his different social media platforms. He also uses different hash tags for his different platforms.

Philanthropy and Advocacy
Ifeoluwa fact-checks and conducts extensive research before releasing content to understand the demographics of his audience better. He engages with his audience, addressing their comments and inquiries. He prioritizes transparency by adhering to his beliefs and values.

Afolabi often incorporates his Christian beliefs into his content to connect with the part of his audience who share his faith, fostering a sense of community. One of Ifeoluwa’s long-term goals is to inspire people and make them smile, and he is steadily achieving this goal.

Ifeoluwa emphasizes authenticity, building trust with his audience by being genuine and consistent. This trust leads to increased engagement, as viewers who feel connected to him are more likely to support and share his work. Ifeoluwa is also responsible for the content he puts out.

Development of his personal brand
Ifeoluwa developed his personal brand by consistently sharing content that aligns with his niche and resonates with his primarily young followers. His brand identity initially gained recognition with his viral slow-motion videos in 2020. Though he later explored dark humor skits and dancing, these did not achieve the same level of success. For a time, his brand was closely associated with the slow-motion videos. However, the dynamic nature of social media required him to adapt. Currently, a key moment defining his brand identity is his partnership with major brands such as Meta and Pulse TV.

He engages with his audience through lives, posts, and direct messages to understand their expectations to balance authenticity with public expectations involves a lot of transparent communication and setting clear boundaries.

Ifeoluwa uses a mixture of content formats to showcase different aspects of his brand. He has used captions, he has used posts, and he has used drawings to communicate who he is to his audience, and in return, his audience has identified him with such.

Source of Inspiration
The creator keeps abreast of social trends on the different media platforms in order to integrate elements of these trends in his content to increase the visibility and reach.

Engagement and Collaborations
Ifeoluwa collaborated with emPawer, an initiative founded by Mr. Eazi to support rising African artists. He participated in the #patek dance challenge inspired by Mr. Eazi's hit single, “patek” boosting the streams of the music.

In 2024, he collaborated with Meta to promote the creators of tomorrow campaign.

Challenges and Controversies
The process of content creation can be judged and criticized by individuals, including those who identify as fans. Some people are less interested in the artist's work and more focused on personal information, often leaving negative comments on videos. These comments are frequently aimed at gaining attention from the content creator. Additionally, fake accounts are a common issue on less frequently used platforms.

As a Nigerian influencer and content creator, Ifeoluwa encounters not only genuine fan pages but also counterfeit accounts. Throughout 2023, a surge of fake Facebook profiles emerged, impersonating him with the intent to deceive and swindle individuals.

People create websites to publish rumors about the young creative. The fake news and information can also sway away potential professional opportunities for his career.