Samantha Howsden Ward started her TikTok account to share test-taking tips with youngsters.
After two months, the Omaha-area woman still had no audience for the lessons she put on the app, which allows users to share short videos. But when she started posting about one of TikTok’s trending themes, she gained more than 60,000 followers overnight.
Howsden Ward ditched the ACT prep videos and started sharing parenting advice. Now, with nearly 3 million followers, she dubs herself “the mom of TikTok.”
Howsden Ward, 48, started her TikTok account — monw0102, which stands for “middle of nowhere” — in 2019. She had found herself newly divorced, a single mom to two children and out of a full-time job. Her parents had recently died, and she said she was struggling with her mental health.
“I hadn’t found my calling yet,” Howsden Ward said. “I was still searching for my place in the world.”
Howsden Ward learned about TikTok from her daughter’s friend. If she could land 1,000 followers, she thought, she would be able to try livestreaming. When things didn’t pan out with her videos on ACT tips, she suggested that her daughter do a “hot mom check” video of her. People who post such videos say, “Hot mom check” before panning the camera over to their moms.