ItsDanielMac/Instagram
Social media superstar Daniel Macdonald, better known as Daniel Mac, has amassed over 20 million followers across different platforms with his street interviews where he walks to everyday people and celebs and asks them “what do you do for a living?”
After finding success on social media, Daniel is looking to inspire others to do the same.
We sat down with Daniel, who was recently featured on Instagram’s “Creativity Never Stops” campaign, to talk to him about his social media journey, his wildest interview, and his Instagram tips and tricks for 2025.
How did you get started on social media?
Daniel Mac: “I was not doing social media when i first started out. I originally just asked people what they were doing for a living and when i posted it to Instagram, it got 20 million views. At first, I was mostly behind the camera. it was right when reels was starting to pop off – even my family and friends didn’t know it was me behind the camera and would ask me “is that you?”, and I was like yeah it’s me.”
“It stemmed from me just being curious about how people get wealthy. I saw a Ferrari for the first time after moving to Dallas from a smaller city, and I was like let me just walk up to this person and ask what they do. There was a lack of content in that sphere and people wanted to know how people get wealthy.”
The creator economy is a big thing, and everyone wants to be a creator these days; what tips do you have for creators beginning their social media journey?
“Try a bunch of styles or niches. Once you find what works, stick with that and make your brand. It’s fine to start diversifying once you’ve built that following. Finding a formula that can be applied again and again is what makes you able to do something for longer. I’ve been creating this type of content for four years now.”
What about more experienced creators? How do they take their social media game to the next level?
“A lot of people overlook, and this is more technical, the start of a video. The best way to describe it is look at your friends when they’re doing when they’re on IG and see how quickly they swipe through videos. It’s important to really hammer in the first few seconds- you really have to hook them at the start of the video.”
“I use on-screen-text/ IG’s fonts to hook people in – they have to read something that gives you a synopsis of the video – this is what’s going to happen, and it helps keep them locked in.”
“Also, being consistent and maintaining a consistent post schedule. Having your audience know that there will be a couple of new videos a week on your profile to watch helps. I use polls on my IG stories too and i see a bunch of people coming from polls to my feed – and that’s where i get the most engagements.”
Is there anything you’re looking forward to doing on Instagram this year?
“I’ve been a little complacent in some of my posting, even though I’m following the same “what do you do for a living” sphere – I really want to connect w/ my audience more. A lot of people don’t get to see the real me because I’m behind the camera. I’m going to start doing more sit-down discussion posts, that I don’t usually get into”
“Now that there’s three-minute reels, that a huge thing I will utilize and get into the nitty gritty, and do deep dives and connect with my audience more”
You were recently featured on Instagram’s “Creativity Never Stops” campaign where you shared a compilation of all your best interviews. I’m curious: what is the wildest answer you’ve gotten to the question, “What do you do for a living?”
“I’ve heard everything – I went up to a woman who said she breeds thoroughbreds -these are top-level performing horses, and their offspring can bring in millions of dollars. She breeds the horses and sell the horse DNA for millions of dollars – this genetic code is worth millions’
What connections have you made on Instagram with other celebs, who’s the craziest person you’ve DM’d?
“My first Instagram celebrity DM was Danny Duncan – it was 2 weeks after I filmed my first video ever saying he loved my stuff and wanted to do something together. This was a foundational moment that made me realize I could actually connect with famous people.”
“If I do a more set-up skit style video, DMs is where it goes down. for example, I was on my way to DM Wiz Khalifa, and I checked his profile, and it said “follows back”. So I DM’d him and was like do you want to run a video? We set it up ~ Two years ago where he rolls up and i catch him leaving his studio. He just told me where to show up and when and I just waited until he came out of his studio.”
“I’ve tried to set stuff up with Lil Uzi Vert, and he randomly pops up in my DMs from time to time saying “let’s run it” or something like that. ”
“You never know, when you go through requests, who’s going to respond – it’s like a little treat because you never know, maybe someone will respond. DM’s has been super crucial and has been the most important tool for setting up collaborations.”
Are there any other Instagram-related things you’re looking forward to this year?
“Trial reels – Instagram is the only platform that does something like this – if you’re hesitant about posting and you don’t want to annoy your followers, you can post it with people who dont follow you and then post it on your main feed. It takes the stress out of posting. I’m going to do more Instagram live stuff and sit-down and chat with people. Also been using Facebook for three-minute content. I see the best, consistent view counts on the meta platforms.
(This interview has been edited for length/clarity)