Ask Karly & Reading Fundamentals
Two social-first video series that put a trusted reading expert in every family's feed. Made in-house by a two-person team, with no production budget, and entered in the Webby Awards.
Ask Karly TikTok engagement rate, against a 5.8% account average
the YouTube views of RIF's other 2026 videos, on average
longer watch time for Reading Fundamentals than RIF's other posts
production budget across 23 episodes since the April 2026 launch
Parents and caregivers are a child's first and most constant reading teachers. Yet most guidance on how reading develops is written for educators, not families.
Reading Is Fundamental has 60 years of literacy expertise and an in-house team of reading specialists. The question was how to get that expertise to families where they already spend their time: on their phones, in the few minutes between everything else, and without an agency budget.
Two series, one trusted messenger
Both series star Karly O'Brien, RIF's Literacy Services Manager, a former PK–8 classroom teacher and reading specialist with a master's in Curriculum and Instruction. Each was designed for short-form social from the start, on TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
Ask Karly
Real questions from parents, with expert answers. Builds confidence in the adults raising readers.
“Do audiobooks actually count as reading?”
“Should kids reread the same book?”
“When should you stop reading aloud?”
Reading Fundamentals
One phonics skill per episode, shown on screen with familiar words. Builds understanding of the skills that make reading possible.
The FLOSS rule
Sounds and blending
Vowel teams
Anatomy of an Ask Karly episode
Open with a question parents have asked themselves, so the episode feels relevant from the first second.
Karly explains what the research says, in plain language.
End with one practical step families can use at home, grounded in how children learn to read.
Built to run without a budget
Every episode is produced in-house by RIF's marketing and literacy teams, which keeps donor dollars focused on getting books to children. The process is designed to be repeatable: about an hour per episode, six episodes a month.
Two of the quarter's top episodes
@rif.readingisfundamental Your child is listening to a book instead of reading the pages… does that still count as reading? Karly breaks down what kids can gain from audiobooks, and why listening can be a valuable part of their reading life. So, do audiobooks count? Watch to find out!
Watch on TikTok ↗
@rif.readingisfundamental Teaching vowel teams? Try showing kids how two letters can work together to make ONE sound. Karly uses words like rain, boat, tree, and bead to show how spotting vowel teams can make decoding words easier. Save this phonics tip for later!
Watch on TikTok ↗
We tested what made episodes work
From August 17 to September 25, 2026, I ran a head-to-head TikTok test: 18 posts in 9 matched pairs, comparing RIF's three recurring video series.
| Series | Average views | Engagement rate | Average watch time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask Karly | |||
| Reading Fundamentals | |||
| Book Recs |
Question-led hooks and named phonics skills beat broad themes. "Do audiobooks count?" and "Same book on repeat?" became the top two TikTok posts of the quarter. The test also showed what didn't matter: a branded shirt versus everyday clothes made no reliable difference, so wardrobe won't drive production decisions.
The result shaped the calendar: more Ask Karly, and Book Recs reworked around timely hooks.
Families watched, saved, and came back
On TikTok, Ask Karly episodes average nearly twice the views of RIF's other posts and earn the highest like rate and watch time of any recurring RIF series. On YouTube, they average more than eight times the views of RIF's other 2026 videos.
Reading Fundamentals grew steadily through its first quarter. September episodes averaged more than four times the TikTok views of summer episodes. Viewers saved its lessons 52 times, a strong signal of usefulness, since people bookmark content they plan to come back to.
The series also changed RIF's YouTube channel. In the fourth quarter, 9 of the channel's top 10 videos were new that quarter, and Shorts grew from 36% to 56% of all views.
“I wish I could send this to my mom 20 years ago, great video!”
“This is why series are SO great! Once you get a kid hooked on the first book, they'll voraciously read the rest.”
I led the series for the marketing team alongside RIF's literacy experts: the content strategy and format, the publishing calendar, and the performance testing that decided what to make next.
I also designed and built the Webby Awards entry site that presents both series, from the copy and layout to the embedded episodes and results.
What it shows
A nonprofit doesn't need an agency to make video that works. A trusted in-house expert, a format built for the feed, and a habit of testing can outperform polished production.