Luke and Paul Herwerth on Growing a Loyal Following
Consistency, Joy, and Real Connection: What Growing an Audience Actually Takes
By Jim Burkhart of Summit Startup Solutions
We talk a lot about tools, integrations, and strategy. But building a following on social media isn’t just about algorithms—it’s about people.
To kick off this part of our series, we sat down (virtually) with two dance creators who have grown a broad, loyal audience across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Their answers cut through the hype and get real about consistency, authenticity, and the one thing they wish they’d done sooner.
Luke and Paul Harwerth are @Twinsauce as a duo and @LukeHarwerth and @PaulHarwerth separately.
Q: What’s been your biggest driver of follower growth so far?
A: Consistency—but not the kind you might think.
For years, sharing our love for dance was nearly impossible because of YouTube’s strict copyright laws. Then TikTok and Instagram Reels changed the game: they opened up the rules, encouraged copying popular dances, and made it easy to choreograph short routines. Suddenly we could crank out content consistently and connect with a broad audience all over the world.
Takeaway for startups: Find the platform where the barriers are lowest for your type of content. Then show up there, over and over.
Q: How do you decide what to post next?
A: Our brains never stop. There are thousands of songs we’d love to choreograph—and even more experiences, challenges, and stories to tell.
The real challenge isn’t coming up with ideas. It’s when you don’t know what kind of content you typically make. Once you find your method, system, and story avenue, the hard part becomes keeping up with editing.
Takeaway for startups: Nail your format first. Then the ideas will flood in faster than you can produce them.
Q: Which social media outlet has worked best for you, and why?
A: Instagram, hands down. It lets us connect through comments and especially direct messages. Meta built a messaging system that actually encourages connection.
Yes, it can get daunting—you can’t respond to everyone. But Instagram has also been where our most viral hits landed. That kind of success makes you loyal to the platform.
Takeaway for startups: Don’t chase every new network. Go where your audience already talks back.
Q: What early actions made the biggest difference in building your audience?
A: Our mission was simple: bring joy to a world that felt dark. Through dance, vlogs, photos, lessons, and travel stories, everything circled back to joy.
Does that irritate some people? Sure. But it connects deeply with a large group of people who want to find something good—or at least a smile—every day. That, plus consistency, day after day.
Takeaway for startups: A clear, emotional mission beats a clever strategy every time. Irritating a few is fine if you truly resonate with many.
Q: How do you balance consistency versus trying new content formats?
A: We never stop working, so balance… isn’t really a thing yet. We’re working on it.
Finding time to explore new formats is essential. We’ve spent years trying to build an audience for long‑form YouTube and live streaming on TikTok and Instagram. But editing long videos or going live is daunting—it pulls you away from what’s already proven to work. Prioritizing this is our goal for the year.
Takeaway for startups: Balance is hard. Don’t feel bad if you lean on what works. Just set one experimental format per quarter.
Q: What’s one lesson about growing followers you wish you knew sooner?
A: Talk.
We spent so much time just dancing that I think people got bored. They couldn’t truly connect with us on a deeper level. We wish we hadn’t been afraid of lower view counts and had prioritized connecting with our bought‑in audience sooner.
Now we’re playing catch‑up, reaching a brand new audience instead of growing the original one. Bottom line: invest in the people already watching. Talk to them like you’re on a FaceTime call with a friend. Authenticity is the answer.
Takeaway for startups: Metrics chase is a trap. Authenticity compounds. Start talking early, even if fewer people listen at first.
The Numbers:
IG: @TWiNSAUCE - 874k followers
YouTube: TWiNSAUCE - 157k subscribers
TikTok: @TWiNSAUCE - 735.8l followers
