Sara Hopkins is dominating the internet, one Vine at a time

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In just a few short years, Sara Hopkins has positioned herself as one of the most influential social creators in the industry. Since her Vine channel's inception, Hopkins has garnered over 680 million video view, has a fan base of over 1 million fans strong, and has been recognized by the Shorty Awards for her social media expertise.

One watch of her viral videos, and it's no surprise that Hopkins has gained an avid following in such a short span of time. Her 6-second clips aren't just hysterical -- they're incredibly relatable. They're centered around everything from awkward face swaps to her puppy's antics to skits with other Vine stars. But probably the best part is that all of them are inspired by things that happen in Hopkin's everyday life. Her comedic skills mixed with her completely approachable topics are a recipe for social success.

At the rate she's going, Hopkins is poised to completely dominated the internet. She has branched out to other platforms, including Snapchat (she was nominated for Snapchatter of the Year at this year's Shorty Awards), Instagram, and even Musical.ly. With her versatility across platforms, we're willing to bet that Hopkins is going to be going viral all over world wide web.

So if you haven't had the chance to get to know the Viner on a more personal level, here's your chance. We recently sat down with Sara Hopkins to talk about how she got her start, what it was like to go viral for the first time, and more!

What led you to start creating Vines?
I always say this but it was extreme boredom. I was in Chattanooga Tennessee as an intern for a news station. And I didn't know anyone that was working there other than the people I worked with in the news station. I would go home after working all day long and would be very bored. Vine was just coming out that year and I loved making videos, so I was making Vines even though nobody was watching them since they entertained me. And eventually everything snowballed. I had a small following at first. But then I graduated college, moved to a new city 9 hours from my home and didn't know anyone there so it snowballed even more. So started making more videos and a few of them went viral, and it really just spread out from there to other platforms.

What was it like the first time you went viral?
I think the truly most viral video that I've ever made was the hype man duties video. Before that, I had a few hashtags that were trending, like humans acting like dogs, which were silly and other people could replicate it. That was a breaking point that because a larger viner revined one of those videos. It was crazy. In the course of eight months or so everything really exploded. I don't even know how it got to this point. It's insane.


How do you conceptualize your videos?
If I have something that I'm going along with for a theme. I do themed videos for like dating videos for animals. So I have a quick script in my mind and then I'll shoot it a bunch of times. If I'm just randomly thinking of something, it's usually about something that happened to me in real life and I have a list of notes in my phone of potential Vine I want to do. Then sometimes it happens by accident and I'll be recording my dog and he'll do something really cute. And well that has to go on the Internet. It all depends on the content.

How willing is your dog to do videos?
He loves me. He's very very devoted to me. A lot of people say that they've never seen a dog so obsessed with a person, but I'm equally obsessed with him so it's fine! He aims to please and as long as I have food, he's ready to perform.

What platforms are you most excited for to use?
I actually probably, as far as quantity, Vine the least. It's one of the platform that takes the most amount of work and those have to spaced out. Instagram I do it everyday. Snapchat I breathe, and that's why I got the Snapchatter of the Year nomination for Shorty Awards, which was really cool. It's been such a way to express myself. On all platforms, I'm really excited about the new stuff that's coming out. Some of it makes me feel so old, like Musical.ly. I'm figuring it out right now but that's such a 12-year-old arena. Snapchat and it has a huge place in my heart. Same with Vine because that's where I started -- never forget where you came from. I definitely have my core platforms but I'll try everything for a little while and give it a shot.

If you could collaborate with anyone else on a Vine, who would it be?
Like anyone in the whole world? Like Taylor Swift! I want to be in her squad. I feel like she's really funny when she's being goofy. Also, just any of the musicians that I am obsessed with at the moment. Not sure how that would translate to social media or my followers, but that would be so cool.

Where do you see the progression of your career going in the next few years?
I want to do more long-form videos so I want to really build up my YouTube presence. Editing is one of my favorite things because I went to school for radio television and film, and editing was a part of our curriculum. I love editing software and getting your hands dirty, so long-form videos for sure.

YouShouldKnow is a feature that showcases up-and-coming social stars. To see more of past interviews, click here. And come back at 12 pm EST for more exclusives on Sara Hopkins, including her advice to aspiring social stars.

For more past YouShouldKnow stars, scroll through the gallery below:​

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