Woman finds Tiktok success with vocabulary lessons
Beverly Mahone, a former Canton resident, started a Tiktok challenge that involves words rather than dancing.
The grandmother’s typical Tiktok videos start with a welcome from “Auntie Bev” and a grammar or history lesson in less than a minute. Her most popular video with 2.2 million views defines “pauciloquent,” meaning someone of few words.
Mahone said an initial goal, other than to increase her followers, was to help young, Black men increase their vocabulary.
“So every time I get a young Black male who comes and he says, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that word or ‘thank you for that information.’ I can’t even tell you how great that makes me feel,” she said.
After nearly a year on Tiktok, Mahone started a Wordup! Vocabulary Challenge this year. She worked with her business coach to make her vision a reality and secured American Advisors Group as a sponsor.
The competition began Jan. 8 and is scheduled to end in November. The games can be viewed on her Tiktok account — @Bevspeaks — and her Youtube channel — Beverly Mahone.
The semifinal on Saturday comes with a $250 cash prize or a chance to win $500 in a November final. Canton resident Victoria Neal is among the three semi-finalists.
Bevspeaks builds a following
Mahone, who was born and raised in Canton and now lives in the Durham, North Carolina area, is a part-time writing consultant for North Carolina Central University. She first downloaded the Tiktok app about two years ago.
“And it was so addicting, and I saw such foolishness up there,” she said.
With some encouragement and assistance from her teenage grandson, Mahone brought her tutoring skills to the app last May. She defined “cognizant” in her first Tiktok video with a young audience in mind but was surprised to learn how many adults were unaware of the word’s meaning.
“In less than 48 hours, that video had 100,000 views,” Mahone said.
Her Tiktok account of @Bevspeaks had 50,000 followers within two weeks and 253,000 followers by July 14. She now has nearly 600,000 followers and 3.3 million likes.
Mahone often posts several Tiktok videos a day and thinks the key to her success has been simple explanations and entertaining examples.
“A lot of times the sentences I give them are just so crazy and so ridiculous,” she said. “But understanding that, you know, these are younger people so I have to kind of be a little different than I would with people who are like in my
age group, 60 and over.”
Rules of the game
There were 36 competition slots available for the Wordup! Vocabulary Challenge, Mahone said. She announced the contest and accepted free entries through her website, allwordzmatter.com.
Contestants had the option of paying for a $25 membership to her Wordup Community for a partial list of vocabulary words in advance and the opportunity to play again if there are open slots.
Two contestants typically compete at a time, giving the other five words to define from a pre-approved list. Mahone provides three choices, and a correct answer earns one point. There also is one bonus question worth two points.
The contestant with the most points moves on to the next Saturday competition. There are three competitions a month, and the top scorers from January, February and March will compete this Saturday.
“We’re doing a special March Madness Saturday, and that person has the chance to, what we’re calling, take the money and run,” Mahone said.
The winner will have the option of taking $250 and leaving the competition or continuing to the final in November to compete for $500 against the winners from spring and summer months.
Neal said she’s not sure what she will do if she wins Saturday. The Canton resident has known Mahone since childhood and is a fan of game shows.
“It just sounded like fun and a way to support my friend,” Neal said.
She also saw it as a chance for her financial literacy business to gain exposure. Neal said she follows Mahone on Tiktok and encourages others to do so as well.
“There’s not one person that would not benefit from knowing more words and how to express themselves,” Neal said.
Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.comon Twitter: @kbyerrep