About a year ago, a friend introduced social media influencer Martina Dwamena to Tik Tok, a video app on the internet, but she was reluctant to join because she did not see how beneficial it would be to her.

But after the release of her first video on the app when she finally decided to join, Martina, who is known as _asantewaaaa_ on social media, realised that she could take advantage of the applause she received and do more.

Today, she has become one of the most sought-after influencers on social media with 370,000 followers, and she told Graphic Showbiz in an exclusive interview that she took advantage of her opportunities.

“This friend of mine sent me a picture of the app that I should download and I told her I wasn’t interested because I didn’t think anyone would watch or listen to me since all the big stars were there doing things. However, this friend didn’t let me rest until I got tired of her ‘harassment’ and downloaded it.

“Afterwards, I asked myself what I could do to stand out and then I found a trending video on a news item from a TV station, so I memorised the audio, acted it out and posted it on the app. It went viral after a while and I took advantage of that and kept on releasing more videos.

“In fact, the moment I figured it was working for me and brands started contacting me, I knew there was no stopping and that has been it for me since 2020.

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“Then again, COVID-19 had hit the world and everything had come to a standstill, so the videos on Tik Tok were a form of entertainment for people so it also helped in bringing me recognition,” she said.

When asked if she knew that single act of deciding to join the Tik Tok craze would bring her this far, Asantewaa said, “For me, the very moment I had massive feedback from people on social media and my followers increased, I knew I had to take the bull by the horn. I knew it was a good start and something could actually come out of it and since then I have not looked back.”

Aside from her influencer duties, Asantewaa is also a nurse and revealed that combining both was not difficult at all. “It’s so easy to do these two. Laughter is also medicine so I try to give that part of me to my patients as well so I’m very good,” she said.

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In responding to how long she took to make a video, she answered, “Initially when I started, it took about 45 minutes to an hour but with time, the duration has reduced. I can get my act right within the shortest possible time.”

She also revealed that being an influencer came with a lot of benefits. “Apart from the obvious which is popularity, it comes with other things, including advertising for brands at a fee and I have worked with a lot of them. The truth is that, there is money in being an influencer, especially if you do it well,” she stated.

Asantewaa has been married for three years and when Graphic Showbiz asked if her husband was okay with how visible she was on the internet, she said, “Of course, he is very cool with it, he supports me in all I do.”

Now that she has the attention, the future is very bright for Asantewaa. “The future is now for me, I don’t leave anything to chance. If any opportunity comes my way, I take it. The future can be in the next hour, second or tomorrow and that is how I live my life, I give everything my best shot,” she stated.