Social media sensation Small Laude speaks about her journey to fame, what keeps her grounded, and how faith and authenticity are essential in life
“I had no idea it would be like this,” admits mega-influencer Marissa “Small” Eduardo Laude who still can’t believe her phenomenal rise to fame in the vlogging sphere. With 1.5 million subscribers on Youtube (as a comparison, Kim Kardashian has 1.96 million), almost half a million followers on Instagram, and more than 2 million likes on TikTok as of writing, the former stay-at-home mum is a big (pun intended) deal in a world that, until recently, was completely alien to her.
Like many others of her generation, vlogging—or creating video blogs— was uncharted territory for Laude, and navigating its labyrinthine depths was daunting in the beginning. Sure, she had seen her daughter Alison write a blog that she started at age eight, and she had Facebook and Instagram accounts, but that was the extent of her social media exposure. That all changed in 2019.
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“My friend Karen Davila introduced me to vlogging; she encouraged me to try it,” Laude, who is in her 50s says. The next thing she knew, Davila, a renowned broadcast journalist, sent a production team to her home supposedly to film the first video to be released online. But as the team was capturing footage of her beautiful Ed Calma-designed residence, her closet and, essentially, her private space, it dawned on Laude that she was not ready to expose her personal life to the public. Not yet, at least. “I told Karen, ‘I’m not ready [for this]’,” she recalls. So, the shoot packed up and the video was shelved.
It took her another four months to finally convince herself she should try again, and off she filmed her first-ever YouTube video on her own, shooting the opening frame aboard an aeroplane headed to Los Angeles, being very much her natural self. Her authenticity resonated frame after frame—and people paid attention.
That first video became a hit, garnering thousands of views from all over the world. But more motivating than the views was the comments section, which was peppered with touching reactions from her viewers like “So real and true”, “You inspire us, and “Such a happy pill”. These comments inspired her to keep going; and her eponymous Youtube channel was born. “Viewers can read you. You can’t fool them,” she says, emphasising the importance of being genuine as a content creator; she feels this is was why the viewing public instantly clicked with her.
Her YouTube channel led to a lifestyle show on cable television titled It’s a Small World which aired in 2021, several big-ticket product endorsements, and a presence on other platforms, including TikTok. “I don’t even do TikTok because I feel it is not [appropriate] for my age, but there was once a brand that used a video of myself disinfecting my home using their product, and that TikTok video reached 17 million views. It’s amazing,” she says. Having started with a lean team composed of herself and her household help (including the popular Yaya Nic), Laude confesses she now commissions about eight staff to handle her TikTok account alone, an entire production team to do her video and editing, and a team that takes charge of her social media accounts and endorsements.
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