During a compelling session themed “From Zero to Hero: The Stories Behind a Social Media Phenomenon” at the International Digital Content Creators Festival 2025 (Tao Fest 2025), Le Tuan Khang – the creator behind the long-running sensational trend “Dam Gio Ben Con” (a phrase evoking rural death anniversary feasts) – candidly admitted his humble beginnings. His initial videos, uploaded in 2018, garnered a mere single subscriber and fewer than 100 views.
He recounted the early struggles, including using a phone with insufficient storage for long videos, forcing him to delete all other applications to free up memory. “At that point, I decided to move to HCMC, where I worked in a wood workshop and as a motorbike taxi driver to save money for a phone with greater capacity, just so I could freely shoot longer clips”, Khang shared. Today, this young man from Soc Trang Province boasts over 13.3 million TikTok followers and more than 720,000 YouTube subscribers.
A cursory glance across Vietnamese social media platforms reveals a clear viewer preference for content centered on everyday life and relatable narratives. Brand expert Tran Tue Tri emphasizes that creativity must be intrinsically linked with sustainability, and that authenticity is paramount for content to achieve widespread appeal and resonance.
This predilection is evident in the success of currently prominent content creators such as Khoai Lang Thang, Jenny Huynh, Le Tuan Khang, Vung, BomBom Vlog, Loc nong thon, and Ut ve vuon. Their video content typically abstains from elaborate scripts and sophisticated production effects, instead resembling electronic diaries that authentically document familiar life moments.
Yet the engagement generated by such unpretentious content is often surprisingly potent. Viewers readily express their emotions in comments, share their own analogous stories, and convey a sense of empathy and delight in following the lives of these engaging young individuals.
Jenny Huynh, who uploaded her first video at the age of 12 chronicling her daily school and leisure activities, recalled, “My most popular video was actually about a flight from Vietnam to the US. I simply documented moments from the 27-hour journey and shared my feelings, yet it garnered an incredibly high number of views.”
The reality for most digital content creators is a journey that begins “from zero”, long before they achieve viral clips with millions of views and amass substantial followings. Yet, even for established creators, pressure manifests in new and evolving forms.
A pertinent question arises that once a certain level of success is attained, whether content creators should strive to remain authentically themselves, or should they adapt to or cater for fan expectations.
Mosz Watchara, a Thai content creator with over 910,000 TikTok followers, asserted, “To succeed, you must first be true to yourself, and then listen to feedback to refine your work. I am always proud to be myself”.
Evelyn Hutani from Indonesia echoed this, suggesting that sharing genuine aspects of oneself in the most positive light naturally fosters empathy.
This challenge necessitates that creators, to maintain their connection with audiences, continuously seek distinctive storytelling approaches and innovative ways to explore familiar themes. The task of sustainably preserving one’s unique voice while consistently offering fresh perspectives remains a formidable one.
Le Tuan Khang confessed, “It’s been three months since I last produced a video. I want to create something new, but I haven’t yet found the right idea.” Similarly, the popular duo Ninh Anh Bui and Nguyen Tung Duong admitted to recently feeling constant pressure to discover novel and unique content for their fanbase.
Behind every engaging video lies a meticulously planned creative process. Many young professionals in the field share that to avoid creative burnout, they often strategize content months, or even a full year, in advance. Some make a habit of recording everyday moments, archiving them in extensive data repositories for future use. Remarkably, some viral videos were pieced together from footage shots many years prior, with old clips sparking new ideas when creators found themselves short on fresh topics.
Despite differing perspectives on content ideation, creators universally agree on one principle. Meticulous attention to image selection, post-production, and staging is crucial to delivering a polished, professional final product.
Jenny Huynh revealed that while her content might sometimes be intentionally “silly” or “random”, her approach to post-production is exceptionally rigorous, with each video typically requiring five to ten days of dedicated production work.
