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Open Tabs with Sr. Content Creator Kirsti Lang
Kirsti Lang on productivity, cinematic lighting, and BookTok before it was cool
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Open Tabs is a series under The Weekly Scroll where we peek into what a creator or social media pro has open on their browser, saved in their bookmarks, and stuck in their head right now. Each issue, someone new shows us what they're paying attention to.
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Kirsti Lang is a Senior Content Creator at Buffer, where she looks after the Buffer blog and Buffer’s YouTube channel. She also creates content for her own channels from her home in South Africa. You’ll find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
So, what’s in your tabs?
Share 3-5 things that are in your tabs, bookmarks, or saved folder right now.
Diary of a CEO Dr. Sahar Yousef: I haven’t stopped thinking about this episode since I listened to it! I’m not usually a Diary of a CEO fan, but my husband sent this episode knowing it would be right up my alley. It features cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Sahar Yousef, who uses brain science to talk through optimizing your life for productivity and meaning. I’ve already started using some of it in my own work, particularly the idea of focus sprints: a block of time you book in advance to finish one specific, important task. Before you start, you break the task into small timed steps. Then you work through them with notifications off and a countdown timer running. (There’s a little more nuance to it than that — I highly recommend listening to this episode!)
The Personal Brand Method: I just signed up for Grace Beverley’s new course, and I can’t wait to go full type-A teacher’s pet on it. It’s 29 classes on building a personal brand, from figuring out what you want to be known for through to hooks, scripting, and turning content into opportunities. I’m most excited about that last one!
Cinematic Lighting Masterclass (Skillshare): When I first started creating videos, my idea of good lighting was sticking a key light in front of my face on max brightness. Ah, how naive I was. Lighting is the thing I’m most focused on improving right now (more on that below). I think this class is going to take my own content and Buffer’s YouTube channel up a level!
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Is there a creator or account you’ve been obsessed with lately?
Grace Beverley has been one of my favorite creators for years. She started out as a fitness creator and went on to build businesses like TALA and Shreddy, so she’s always been a great example of someone who’s both a fantastic creator and a businesswoman.
Right now she’s in her motherhood era, which I can relate to as a mum of one. What I find particularly fascinating is how multifaceted her content is (no niching down for Grace!): motherhood, business, building a personal brand, renovating her home. Not many creators manage to cover that much and still maintain a cohesive brand.
What’s one thing that’s been shaping your thinking lately that has nothing to do with social media?
With me, it’s always books. I’m a huge fantasy reader, and I was obsessed with Sarah J. Maas before she was BookTok famous. (Is that a weird flex? You probably don’t believe me.)
The newest book in her ACOTAR series just came out, and I’ve gone down way too many rabbit holes picking apart the plot, the subtext, and the specific words and metaphors she uses for different characters. It’s so fun and so girly, but also… weirdly academic? It takes me back to studying English literature at uni, which I very nearly made a career out of. Can you picture me as a university professor? 👀
What’s one thing you’re working through or figuring out in your creator journey right now?
Getting my footage to look better. I love making videos for my own channels and for Buffer’s YouTube, and I feel like I’ve left the amateur phase behind, but I haven’t cracked the next level yet.
Lighting and setup have so many variables, so this is the skill I’m putting the most work into right now! The quality of my footage has become such a wonderful creative outlet for me. I’ve always loved art (I still love to draw!) and this, interestingly, scratches a similar itch.
If you film at home, I’d love to know: what made the biggest difference to your footage? Any and all tips appreciated!
Is there a piece of social media news or a platform update that caught your attention recently?
Instagram! They’re always up to something, aren’t they? I’m fascinated by their latest move into long-form video. That was not on my 2026 bingo card. After IGTV shut down, I assumed they were done with long video.
What makes it extra interesting are the numbers from our latest data analysis. I just published our analysis of 2.7 million Instagram Reels, and reels of 3 minutes or longer got 49% less reach than each account’s usual baseline. They did have the highest engagement, though — so maybe that’s what Instagram is trying to foster here. People who watch long reels really watch them, but Instagram doesn’t push them to new viewers. That may change soon! I’ll be watching closely.
That’s it from me.
Until next week,
Kirsti
Sr. Content Creator
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