/Work / The SUMO Guy
From 0 to 48K organic followers in 4 months on TikTok...
Content ProductionContent Strategy
The situation
Professor Paul McGee, better known as The SUMO Guy, is a globally recognised speaker, author, and leadership expert with decades of experience helping individuals and organisations improve mindset, communication, and performance.
Despite having an established reputation offline, Paul's team recognised there was a huge opportunity to build a stronger presence on modern social platforms, particularly TikTok, where short-form video was becoming one of the most powerful tools for reach and audience growth.
The challenge was translating years of expertise into content that felt native to the platform without losing the credibility and depth the SUMO brand was already known for.
With the right structure, creative direction, and content systems in place, years of expertise can be translated into scalable digital growth that feels authentic, sustainable, and genuinely engaging.
The SUMO Guy
Paul McGee
- Project Name
- SUMO Guy TikTok Growth
- Year
- 2026
- Service
- Content Production
- Client
- The SUMO Guy
Over 2 million video views
The goal
- Build a scalable short-form content system
- Grow Paul's audience organically
- Increase visibility with younger demographics
- Position The SUMO Guy brand strongly across TikTok and wider social platforms
The focus wasn't just on views. It was about building an engaged audience that genuinely connected with the content and wanted to keep coming back for more.
The work
We worked closely with Paul's team to shape a content strategy specifically designed for short-form platforms.
That included:
Content planning and creative direction
TikTok-first scripting and hooks
High-volume video production days
Editing and optimisation for retention
Ongoing platform and algorithm analysis
Consistent publishing systems
To build momentum quickly, we developed a production workflow that allowed us to film as many as 80 pieces of content in a single shoot day, creating a large bank of videos ready for ongoing distribution.
From there, we focused on consistency. Posting twice daily, testing formats, refining hooks, and learning what resonated most strongly with the audience over time.
The challenge
The biggest challenge wasn't producing the content itself.
It was adapting an already well-established personal brand into a format that worked naturally on TikTok without it feeling forced, overly polished, or disconnected from who Paul already was.
A lot of expert-led content struggles on social because it feels like it's been translated directly from stage to camera without understanding the platform properly.
So instead of overproducing things, we focused on clarity, relatability, pacing, and consistency, allowing Paul's personality and expertise to lead the content naturally.
The approach
We approached the project as a system rather than a one-off content campaign.
Instead of chasing trends endlessly, we focused on repeatable formats, strong hooks, clear audience understanding, and sustainable production workflows that could continue long term.
That allowed us to move quickly, test ideas efficiently, and continually improve performance without sacrificing consistency or quality.
Everything was built around momentum.
The outcome
Within just four months:
- 48,000+ organic TikTok followers
- Over 2 million video views
- Strong audience engagement and retention
- Consistent daily content output
- A scalable content system for ongoing growth
With the right structure, creative direction, and content systems in place, years of expertise can be translated into scalable digital growth that feels authentic, sustainable, and genuinely engaging.
The SUMO Guy
Paul McGee
More importantly, the content helped introduce The SUMO Guy brand to an entirely new generation of viewers while strengthening the wider digital presence around Paul's work.
This project is a great example of how expert-led brands can evolve for modern platforms without losing what made them valuable in the first place.
Next project
Abba Cakes
A modern headless e-commerce platform and bespoke order management system for a Cheshire bakery.
View more work
Start with clarity
Start with clarity.
If your brand, content, or digital presence isn't quite where it should be, let's fix that. Tell us a bit about where you're at and what you're aiming for and we'll take it from there.