This article has been updated since it first appeared in print.
Ja’Mia Brooks is the entrepreneur behind Richmond’s largest dining TikTok. (Photo by Jay Paul)
No doubt thousands of Richmonders are sharing dances, recipes, jokes and animal antics on TikTok, but not many film themselves talking about the city. That void inspired Ja’Mia Brooks, 26, to start what has become Richmond’s largest dining TikTok. She’s amassed close to 95,000 followers and 41 million views since she started posting videos about the city in January 2021 as @jamiabrooks.
A mass communications major at Virginia State University, Brooks says that she’s always been “obsessed with recording everything I did and making Snapchat or Instagram stories, or just even having it for memories myself.” She and her niece had used Triller to record and share dance videos, and she naturally downloaded TikTok when it was introduced.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooks said she and her mother were stuck at home and bored. The women bought “super-duper cheap” flights to tourist hotspots like Las Vegas and Miami that had fewer pandemic-related restrictions. “We would just go and live it up,” says Brooks, adding, “I was using TikTok to find everything that we were doing. If I was in Miami, I would look up Miami foods ... or things to do in Miami. And that's pretty much how we were navigating the pandemic.”
Brooks was also posting her videos. Her adventures in Vegas, Miami and Los Angeles received thousands of views, so she paid attention when TikTok advertised for Black influencers to join its Creator Fund, which monetizes posts. But when further travel restrictions limited the places to which she could fly, Brooks was unsure how to continue building her TikTok brand to apply for the program. Then she searched the app for Richmond.
“I was looking up the same exact things that I would look up everywhere else I was going, but nothing would pop up,” Brooks says. “I was shocked that there was no one in Richmond that thought to start making videos.”
Brooks prepared five videos for her first week of hometown posts. "I posted the very first video that I had [filmed at Barrio Taqueria + Tequila], and it went viral. It went really crazy,” she says. The video has more than 340,000 views to date. Thanks to appearances on the news and the “Eat It, Virginia!” podcast, Brooks’ follow-up videos exploded, too. Restaurants began inviting her in to film. Brooks was in business — and in the Creator Fund.
In the two years since, Brooks has posted some 4,000 videos. They rarely receive fewer than 10,000 views, and some have reached six figures — viral by anyone’s definition. Content includes personal experiences curated to appeal to her audience and sponsored posts contracted through her business, Ja’Mia Brooks Marketing. She notes that her followers are looking for specific content: “Where can I go for my birthday? Where can I go for brunch? Where can I go for a nice dinner? … They don’t want me just putting every single business in Richmond. When I see something that’s obviously going to attract people and something that we all would want to do, then I try to capture that.”
Brooks has expanded her digital footprint to encompass YouTube and Instagram, as well. She sees growth opportunities with YouTube, which is offering micro videos in addition to longer fare. “I want people to be able to come and watch short videos of these restaurants and these experiences,” she says.
The influencer also posts on Steller Travel, which is similar to TikTok, and on Facebook. Brooks explains that if any of her platforms were to shut down, “I would want another one to follow and to already have built an audience on. So, I’m trying to do that now instead of later.”
She also has diversified her brand to include a travel clothing and accessory company, Ja’Mia by Ja’Mia Brooks, and a lash extension and microblading business called Bladebabez. She says she’s working hard now “so that in the future I don’t have to work as hard.”
And influencing is hard work, Brooks says, involving choosing locations, filming and editing content, interacting with online communities and ongoing expenses. “When you start … you’re paying for everything. You’re not going to be able to just jump into this; you have to have a plan. And that’s literally how I succeeded. I made a plan, and I stuck to it.”
Raves About Richmond
A Facebook page is the go-to for searchable restaurant tips
RVA Dine & Drink co-founder Kevin Clay (Image courtesy Kevin Clay)
Born of need during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Facebook page RVA Dine & Drink has evolved into one of the largest restaurant information sources in the region. With nearly 100,000 members, the page is a place for restaurants to tout specials and for diners to find the perfect birthday dinner, a specific style of sandwich, authentic Italian eats, the best burger, food events and more. Richmond magazine reached out to one of the page’s founders, Kevin Clay of marketing and PR agency Big Spoon Co., for details.
Richmond magazine: How did RVA Dine & Drink start?
Kevin Clay: During the pandemic, Big Spoon Co. was trying to figure out a way to help restaurants spread the word about takeout and delivery options. A friend shared a Facebook group based in Hampton Roads, so we decided to create a similar group for Richmond.
RM: And how has it evolved? How are people using the page today?
Clay: Originally, the page was dedicated to restaurants posting their specials for takeout and delivery, but we rebranded the page to be a general group for fans of RVA’s dining scene. The first rule of the group is positivity only. It’s not a review page but a rave page — we want to see what people love about the dining scene and help lift restaurants up.
RM: Who are the moderators?
Clay: Myself; Erin Brunner, who is part of the Big Spoon Co. team; and Sterling Stokes, who you may also know as RVA Beermeister and is active in RVA’s brewery scene.
RM: Any idea how many local businesses participate? They seem very active and responsive.
Clay: I don’t know, but businesses are encouraged to post up to once daily.
RM: Do you envision the page adding other platforms or staying on Facebook?
Clay: For now, we’re staying on Facebook, but who knows what’s in store for this year.
RM: Any tips for newcomers using the page?
Clay: If you’re in a hurry to find an answer, use the search bar. There are thousands of posts that may already answer your question.
