Creators: Interview with TikTok Influencer, Jackson Aces

With almost 6 million followers on TikTok and over a billion views on various social media and video platforms, magician Jackson Aces is considered the most popular TikTok star in Australia. It all began at the age of 12, Jackson found his calling when his mother bought him a magic deck of cards for his birthday. Jackson spent his teenage years relentlessly practicing, perfecting his art, sometimes for more than 10 hours a day. Before graduating high school Jackson had mastered techniques in card magic that few magicians anywhere in the world could perform, as well as cardistry. 

Jackson’s skill in magic also includes mind-reading, illusion, roving magic, and comedy magic stage shows, making him highly sought-after in the corporate event entertainment market. He was the resident magician at the Star Casino, Sydney, and has appeared on TV commercials, worked with international magician Dynamo, and featured on Disney performing magic.

Late last year, we sat down to discuss TikTok, creating engaging content on social media, his future plans, and advice to aspiring social media moguls here:

You're big on TikTok and Instagram. Where did it all begin?

I'd been posting videos on social media since 2011, but things didn't really take off until TikTok. In late 2018 I'd seen a fellow magician add half a million followers on Instagram in a few months and had no clue how he did it. One day he posted on his IG story that he'd just hit two million on TikTok, and the penny finally dropped.

I figured there must be an enormous untapped audience on TikTok with very few magicians catering to it. Starry-eyed, I downloaded the app with dreams of becoming famous overnight.

My first post was a card trick, and despite having no followers, the video started getting incredible views. In awe of what I was seeing, I dropped everything to watch the numbers skyrocket. After only a few minutes, it got thousands of hits, and I was HOOKED!

A few weeks later, I took a leap of faith and flew one of Julius Dein's past magic consultants over to Australia to move in with me and work on going viral 24/7. We filmed street magic around Sydney during the day, then edited and created interactive magic content at night. We consistently posted at least five videos a day, and over time a few videos started to out-perform the rest.

Within two months, I'd grown from absolute to zero to over one million followers (growing faster than any other TikTok magician).

How do you tailor content for those channels? Do you think the audiences are different?

The content is usually totally different because the audiences are totally different… but not only in the way you'd expect. TikTok has a higher proportion of younger users. These kids who aren't even allowed to have an Instagram account yet spend their days and nights on TikTok. The majority of Instagram's users are somewhat older. Snapchat's main age bracket sits between the two.

@jacksonaces 💀 HAUNTED MINDREADING PAPERCLIP? 📎🤯😱 Did it work??? #magic #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Edison Lighthouse

TikTok's haters loved to highlight this difference of users' ages, crying, "it's just a platform for kids who dance in their bathrooms!" However, I have a lot of fans of all ages on TikTok and fans that follow me on all platforms. Worldwide lockdowns made TikTok spread like wildfire, filling in the age gaps as everyone found themselves watching and making TikToks whilst they were 'bored in the house, in the house bored'. 

So here's the actual difference: the vibe of each app is different, and the content has to match that. People log into TikTok for a different reason than when they click on Instagram. It's like performing a magic show; you have to start with who will be in the audience and what setting the audience is in. For example, my corporate stage show is unlike my wedding show, which is different from my family show, and so on. 

While the audiences of my shows may include the exact same people of the same age and demographics, they will think and act differently based on the situation or setting. Sure, same people. But there'll be a difference in their vibe, tastes, and expectations.

Even though each performance is still a magic show, the type of tricks I use and the presentations to go with them are usually quite different - they have to be! I can't perform a romantic, sentimental piece of magic suited to a wedding at a corporate show for Mercedes Benz. It would feel totally out of place. Likewise, I won't perform magic focused on team-building, leadership, and reaching KPIs at a family show. 

The same goes for each app. The same person is in a different mood when they go to a specific app. They expect something else. They engage with diverse content; it almost seems like they're different people. 

So, while I try my best to create well-received content across all platforms, it's often best to cater specifically to each one. Certain videos will get millions of views on TikTok but low engagement on Instagram, and vice versa. Interestingly, I've found it hard to get cardistry to catch on with the TikTok audience. Magic generally performs a hell of a lot better. That said, my most recent top 3 viral videos were cardistry, but the theme and storytelling are what made the difference. I filmed a few remakes of the famous card manipulation scene from "Now You See Me 2", and altogether they've hit over 110 million views!

So most importantly, presentation is everything. Social media magic is its own art form. It's as hard, if not harder than, doing kids shows (which any kids performer will tell you can be BRUTAL). 

Many magicians bash social media magicians or downplay their skill level and achievements. But they wouldn't be knocking it if they had it figured out and were getting the results themselves. And many of them could! But for one reason or another, they choose to deny how relevant and valuable an online audience is. It's priceless having a loyal audience.

We're not all just "bedroom magicians" (although, on second thought, that does sound like a compliment). Most top social media magicians are incredibly skilled, real-world entertainers who've had the foresight to apply their skills to this new world of online magic. Some magicians say, "how many of those millions of followers actually book you for corporate events?" Well, you could ask the same of Apple, "how many of your millions of social media followers booked the CEO for a speaking engagement?" Answer: slim to none. But they've sold a ton of iPhones!

We saw in 2020 how quickly in-person corporate events became obsolete. Magicians were forced to sink or swim in the world of online entertainment and start doing virtual magic shows. Suddenly everyone became a "bedroom magician." 

How do you typically find inspiration for your videos or your magic performance?

There is so much magic out there already to draw inspiration from. For my shows, I like to deep dive into videos of the top magicians and ask myself, "why are they at the top? What sets them apart?" They might dress better, their whole show has a cohesive theme, they get more people involved, or they're funnier than most magicians. Maybe they use music to complement each routine. Perhaps their tricks are bigger.

David Copperfield set himself apart early on because he'd take a regular illusion and elevate it on a 7-foot platform. All of a sudden the tricks, and the show, just seemed amplified. Houdini took the standard straitjacket escape and performed it hanging from a crane, suspended 100 feet above crowds of amazed onlookers. Simple tweaks like this can make a huge difference in how well the audience receives a show or a trick. The most important thing is that I listen to my audience and be honest with myself. I might like a joke or a trick, but it's out if it doesn't fool or make the audience laugh.

Once I bring a trick into my show, I will heavily tweak and change it over the next few months (or years!). I keep the presentation simple at first because I know it will evolve over time as I gain experience with the routine in front of a live audience. Ideas will come to me, jokes and funny moments will reveal themselves, and problems such as a dead moment will have to be creatively overcome.

Sometimes, a volunteer will make an off-the-cuff remark which sends the audience into hysterics. You can bet that I'll be using that line as my own from there on out. Some of the most comic bits in my shows came from the audience being funnier than me. That's why the magician who does the most shows wins. 

For online magic, it's gotta be visual! There's not much time for storytelling when users scroll at a hundred miles an hour. You have to grab the audience. The best tricks need no explanation. Magic transcends all ages, cultural and language barriers. This is especially true of the quick, eye-popping tricks that work best on social media.

Why do you think your content is successful? What would your tips be for making engaging TikTok content?

I threw everything at the wall and saw what stuck when I started out. Admittedly, not much stuck, to begin with. Even videos I was sure would perform well, did not. You have to look at the data and the results. I pored over my analytics with a fine-toothed comb to discover what was really working and why.

Early on, I had a video do far better than I'd expected. I was on the train with a deck of cards in hand (as always), and a family hopped on, returning from the local fair. The kids had all bought magic sets and were enthusiastically rummaging through the mass-produced assortment of linking rings, sponge balls, and other gaffed cards (magic sets have come a long way since my day!).

I sprung my cards from hand to hand, waiting to catch their attention. The oldest child yelled out, "WOAH! Are you a magician?!" loud enough for half the train carriage to turn their heads. I showed them a trick or two, then asked if I could take a look at his magic kit. Inside was a bending spoon trick. He showed me the clever secret, and I was delighted. I handed the kid my phone and asked him to film it. It was an unrehearsed, off-the-cuff 8-second video; I looked a mess, and the presentation was painfully cheesy. Yet that video raked in the views.

Something so silly, which I put ZERO effort into, did better than most videos I was slaving over. Why? For starters, it was raw and organic (no, I'm not talking about a vegan diet). Videos that seem natural, as if someone just pulled out their phone and filmed something cool or funny, have a certain appeal. The video was short and simple, too - anyone speaking any language could understand the trick and appreciate it. I figured that viewers were rewatching the video to try and pick the secret. 

Here are a few tips: 

1. Keep it short. Grab their attention in the first half a second. Things that grab attention include police officers, drama or conflict, surprising visual magic, fire, contrasting colours, attractive people, and so on.

2. Look at the trends - these show you what's hot right now (a big reason why people will share content is that it's currently relevant). Trends provide a blueprint for a viral video. 

3. Pick what you want to be famous for and stick to that because the algorithms for short video apps try to find more and more people who like your content. People followed you based on your previous work. If your content is changing too much, people who followed you for your workout videos will scroll past your dancing videos, and so on. 

@jacksonaces BILLIE EILISH WAS AMAZED 😱🤯 watch the pen! #billieeilish #magic #fyp ♬ original sound - JACKSON ACES MAGIC🎩

What can your followers look forward to in the upcoming year? Any future projects you can tell us about?

I have a big project coming up that I've wanted to do for years. It's my own magic course for the beginner magician who wants to learn magic but has never even picked up a deck of cards before. It's going to be everything I wish I'd known in my first few years struggling to become an entertaining magician.

Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs or social media influencers?

Look at the data. Look at what has already worked. Numbers don't lie, and they might be the opposite of your tastes or what you think would work. Put your own ego and preconceived ideas aside and be willing to look at what is successful, then draw from that and try to add your own touches and creativity.

If you keep trying things, you will find something that works better than others. Once you find that special something, whatever it is, triple down on it! You don't need to look for different tools to add to the toolbox when you already have something that does the job

Finally, what is your favorite deck of playing cards?

This question would have been easy to answer five years ago, and I would have immediately given you my top five: Wynns, Jerry's Nuggets, Fontaines, Virts, and Tally-Ho's.

Wynns are my favorite cards based on how they handle - the stock is so thick and sturdy, and they are incredibly perfect for nearly every cardistry move (except fans). They were a dream for multi-packet cuts, packet flips, and aerials like kickflip by Dan & Dave. I highly recommend them, especially for beginners, because the packets stay together (House of Playing Cards decks are similar, or just use Fanning powder).

Now it seems like a few new decks drop each week, and it is so hard for me to keep up, but I still love Fontaine, and the new Jerry's Nugget colorways are gorgeous. Neon color designs are tough to beat!

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