Showing up and showing out: the new era of content creators

Khanyisa Madubula

“Embodying leadership, energy and collective power in my content means showing up real, loud and unapologetically myself,” says Khanyisa. “I don’t create for me alone; I create to start conversations, to challenge norms and to remind folks that our voices matter. Let’s keep showing up and showing off — together.”

On turning her truth into a content strategy that stood out to Cleanipedia, Khanyisa emphasises that the brand saw the effort she put into each component. “Consistent tone, seamless visuals, strong messaging and delegating helped me be intentional.” Khanyisa keeps her content authentic while delivering a message about shared responsibility. Expanding on her approach, she says she uses humour and everyday moments to sneak in those real conversations. “Because people listen more when they don’t feel judged; they relate, they laugh and then they go, ‘Wait, she’s kinda right though.’ My content stays fun because that’s who I am, and if it’s not real, I don’t post it. Simple.”

lifestyle

Meet the digital disruptors bringing glam to the grind

On creating content that is equal parts humour, heart and household management, she adds that her characters are the “girlies” that bring all those elements together. “Boujee Makazi brought humour, heart and household management by using everyday products in everyday situations. That’s the place I create from, real and authentic.”

Khanyisa's reason for joining the campaign is driven by her passion and love for creating — and being a relatable voice of representation. “When I get that DM from someone saying they recognise their mother in my characters and it made them feel comforted in some way, that’s when I am reminded of what I [create content] for.” With countless skits and video content showcasing hilarious takes on South African households, Khanyisa says Cleanipedia helped her expand in household management content; it not only offered cleaning advice, it took the guessing and frustration out of cleaning. Moreover, she highlights that the campaign is focused on helping South Africans feel seen — no matter who they may be. “We see you, whether you're moms, dads, grandparents, helpers or partners. Too often, the people who keep everything running — the ones scrubbing, sweeping and managing the chaos while the world keeps moving — are invisible. So, this campaign is visibility. Its validation.”

Anarzade Omar

“As they say, sometimes silence makes the loudest noise — and that’s how i choose to move sometimes,” says Anarzade, whose content is teeming with soft living and self- care. “Keeping it calm in my content shows that you can achieve just the same results as everyone else.” For the Instagram guru, that’s just how cleaning makes her feel too, “It slows down everything and brings me peace. So that is what I want to portray and make the audience feel when they watch.”

Anarzade explains that she values the calm, intentional energy that can be placed into everyday tasks. “I feel like we need to start romanticising the everyday tasks because life has become so materialistic — everyone is always chasing something. I think Cleanipedia reminds us that bringing intentional energy into everyday tasks like cleaning is so important and that’s exactly what I do.”

Her participation in the campaign also speaks to the value Cleanipedia places on softness and presence for which she concurs she is seen and appreciated. “It says we don’t need to change who we are to fit into the ‘trend’ and that brands still want authenticity. Being soft is a strong way of marking my presence and Cleanipedia has confirmed that by having me as part of this campaign.”

When Anarzade hits record, she iterates that she hopes to inspire and motivate people to romanticise daily tasks. “I hope whoever’s watching can get up and start cleaning too. I hope people always feel inspired and happy when they watch my content. I like to say I want to be someone’s ‘comfort creator’, [I want audiences] to come to my page to binge my content and feel happy when they leave.”

She states that lifestyle content should be anything and everything you love doing in your life. “And if that’s cleaning, there is a space for that too!” When all is said and done, Anarzade hopes to leave a digital footprint of warmth — to make digital feel human. “I want to remind people that there is beauty in the ordinary and help them romanticise life.” To achieve this? Anarzade says she'll do it through “cleaning, making coffee, or freakin’ delicious meals! All while remaining true and relatable.”

The detergent Anarzade swears by is...

Sunlight! I feel like it’s so multipurpose... If you have Sunlight you can clean almost anything and everything.

Caitlin Hood

There’s something electric about caitlin. Whether she’s mopping in her gym clothes, belting out karaoke with her mop as a mic, or dancing through her chores, her energy is both infectious and inspiring. Her signature style — joyful, comedic and full of heart, was born from a moment of freedom. “When I met a colleague-turned-friend who made me feel completely free to be myself, it changed everything,” she says. “That version of me ended up online and the internet loved her.” It’s that version — funny, loud, unapologetically vibrant — that got her noticed. “Maybe it’s something only Cleanipedia can answer,” she jokes. And even this gives a resounding 'yes'.

It’s clear: Caitlin’s energy resonates with audiences because it’s rooted in joy and truth. “My content is about freedom... When you see me with a mop in my hand like it’s a microphone, I want you to feel inspired, sparkly, happy, revived. I want you to feel like you can dance through the mess and make your space feel like magic.” She wants her followers to know that ordinary moments can be fun, expressive, even fabulous. Her message to creators who feel they have to “tone it down” to be marketable: “Don’t. The right brands will value the real you. The ones that do? Those are the ones worth building with.”

Even on the days when she's low on energy, Caitlin’s “Chommies” — as she lovingly refers to her followers — keep her going. “I love them so much. Hearing their wins and celebrating with them lifts me. They inspire me right back.” For Caitlin, music, movement and comedy aren’t just parts in her process, they are the process. “They’re my creative lifeblood,” she says. “They keep my content feeling like a confetti cannon; bright, bold and joyful.”

Caitlin's cleaning hack requires a bit of alchemy:

I finally figured out how to mix pantry ingredients with cleaning products to tackle stains and smells. Total game changer!

Immanuel Makuse

Representing the “real life happens” crowd, Immanuel says 'showing up' can be described with one word: “Authenticity. It means showing up real, showing the mess, the wins and everything in between. It’s about being proud of the everyday stuff and not pretending to have it all figured out.”

If you follow him on any of his social media platforms, you’ll know that his content is rooted in honesty about not always getting things done right away. Having captured Cleanipedia’s attention through his authenticity, he says that the topics he touches on often go under the radar. “As men and fathers, we don’t often put these [struggles] out in the open. We talk to friends about them, but never really document it. When I started doing that, people related straight away. It felt real, and I think that honesty and relatability are what caught Cleanipedia’s attention. It’s something different because it’s true.”

On turning cleaning chaos into relatable, bingeable content, Immanuel says he keeps it honest, voices his frustrations, laughs through it and turns the chaos into humour. “That’s real life, and people connect with it because they’ve been there too.”

So, is his goal to make people laugh, feel seen or both? “Definitely both! If I can get someone to laugh and also feel like, ‘That’s me too,’ then I’ve done my job. The goal is to show that it’s normal not to have it all together. What matters is that you keep going and finish strong.” To balance comedy with realness he says, “I don’t try to act like I’ve got it all figured out. I show the late starts, the missed steps and then I show the win at the end. That’s the point, as long as you start and get it done, it still counts. That’s what real life looks like.”

Considering the campaign celebrates everyday personalities, he asserts that it’s important that procrastinators feel included and not judged. “A lot of people feel bad about falling behind, especially in a world that praises perfection. I want procrastinators to feel seen. We’re not lazy, we’re just human. Life gets hectic — sometimes you don’t clean today, but you clean tomorrow and that still counts,” he affirms.

What does he hope his audience feels when they see his content featured in a national campaign? “I hope they feel proud. Like, ‘That’s one of us.’ I want people to see that you don’t have to be fancy or perfect to be part of something big. Just be yourself and speak your truth; people will connect with it.” Through his content, he shares that he aims to show that real life is messy, loud and far from perfect — but there’s joy in all of that. “You can laugh, learn and still win, even when things don’t go as planned.”

Reflecting on how his early content paved the way for a moment like this, Immanuel says he was simply sharing his story. “No filters, just what I was going through. I turned the hate into laughs, and my biggest goal was to educate people while entertaining them. I was also living in a different culture back then, so sharing those experiences pulled people in. That honesty and humour built a community and that’s what made moments like this possible.”

Beyond the Cleanipedia campaign, he shares that what keeps him coming back to the camera to share his perspective is the people. “The comments, the DMs, the laughs we share. When someone says, ‘You made my day,’ or ‘That’s exactly what I’m going through,’ reminds me that what I’m doing matters. It’s not just content, it’s connection.”

One cleaning puzzle Cleanpedia helped Immanuel figure out:

The baby-bottle cleaning hack! I never knew how to help my wife with that part. I honestly felt a bit useless sometimes. But that hack changed the game. It made me feel like I could contribute and help in a real way. So much so that we’re having a second baby now, haha!