Jamie's positive videos celebrating Northampton go viral on social media
If you’ve been on Facebook any time over the past month, you will most probably have seen video reels by an enthusiastic presenter shining a light on Northampton.
Jamie Benkert has been somewhat on a social media whirlwind. In around four weeks, he has racked up more than five million views and tens of thousands of comments.
His infectious enthusiasm for the town shines through.
In his own words, Jamie has been “freewheeling” through the town in recent weeks, showcasing the places that meant something to him while growing up and highlighting some of the best venues, places to eat and drink, and visit.
“It has been incredible, it has been getting a really good reception and the response has been overwhelming,” Jamie told the Chronicle & Echo.
“It all started when I did a walking video around the town before Christmas. I do travel videos and I was getting ready to go to Thailand and thought I’d get some training in by doing a video of Northampton.
“It did more than 100,000 views on TikTok. I thought I’d get a couple of thousand,” Jamie said.
“When I got back, I thought I would keep it going. The walking video was two hours long and got a good response. But it really took off when I started doing shorter clips and chopping it up,” he explained.
“I am keeping it simple, the videos are only about eight or 10 minutes long – and the businesses have been really receptive to it.”
At first, Jamie was nervous about the response of social media and the reaction of the “keyboard warriors”.
“Bearing in mind there’s been a lot of reach and a lot of eyes, the general consensus is thanks for doing this and it’s making people feel proud to be from Northampton. I think I’ve only had about 10 negative comments," he said.
Jamie is a natural showman and music forms a big part of his life, performing as Lucien Moon.
“I am going to keep the Northampton videos going in the future – and I’ve got multiple things going on to do with my music. I’m working on my EP and I need to focus some time on recording.
“There are so many people who don’t know me but now they are discovering that I do music as well and produce travel content, so it’s been great,” he added.