In recent years, the world of social media has grown into an incredible amount of opportunities, including jobs. Teens and adults all around the globe are pursuing a career as an “influencer.”
The job emerged on the social media platform MySpace where creators were praised for their charismatic and outgoing personalities. Like the name, influencers influence their audience into purchasing goods and joining fast growing trends. Their content is recognized for its authenticity and “real” experiences. The realm of influencers then began on Youtube. Family blog channels would post their everyday lives that left their audience captivated. Many started their careers looking for a hobby that they could spend their free time doing, but they quickly realized that this could be a life-changing opportunity. The three genres of content were family vlogging, beauty influencers and gamers. With the range of media being so vast, everyone was able to find something or someone that they were interested in; causing it to blow up.
Later, the social media platform Instagram decided to hop onto the fast moving train of the influencer lifestyle. With the easy concept of photo and caption, many were able to take advantage of the new craze with posts of food, outfits, travelling and much more. Businesses, brands and content creators believed that this would change the game for the life of an influencer, and they were right. Instagram allowed brands to contact influencers and allow them to promote their products and brands for a commission.
Many decided to quit their jobs and begin a new life, solely relying on the pay from social media apps. A new wave of influence have taken over, called virtual influencers. With this completely online way of content creation, teens and adults are able to work closely with brands that pay them for their posts and promotions.
Teens have now started to join adults and create their own accounts. Popular creators are those who promote makeup brands with a video genre of “get ready with me” videos. Influencers work closely with makeup and skincare brands promoting their products while taking their audience through their step-by-step process of what it takes to get ready. Many are “influenced” to buy certain products or makeup if teens their age have them.
Some teens have even been able to make a big name for themselves by starting off on social media. This has allowed them to make a public appearance that even granted a few acting roles. Others were able to make it their full-time career by allowing them to stop school and focus primarily on their social media presence.
Influencer Katie Fang made her debut on social media by posting “get ready with me” videos. She made videos explaining her day and vlogging her everyday life. She was a relatable figure for many which sparked her following. At age 19, she gained over 4 million followers. With a net worth of over $500,000, she was able to buy herself an apartment in New York City. She directly influenced many with her ability to provide for herself at such a young age solely off of commission from social media. Tik Tok has become a hot topic of many influencers as the app sheds light to many small businesses, creators, and brands. With a new source of income, Tik Tok shop has blown up over its easy form of buying products from sellers. Not only do sellers directly benefit from this, content creators can review the product for an income as well.
Social media platforms everywhere are constantly finding ways for their audience to make money and use their platform more. Due to the similarity between different platforms, companies are looking for ways to attract influencers to them, which allows creators to make money simultaneously throughout them. Not only can an influencer monetize their name on one platform, they can also use another platform at the same time, allowing them to make even more money. Many are skeptical about whether or not becoming an influencer is practical. Some believe that its unpredictability and constantly changing trends are almost close to impossible to keep up with. As an audience, we see content creators get extremely famous and then completely disappear within a series of months. Some even quit their actual jobs to pursue a life off of social media and then quickly find themselves without both jobs once their time on social media is over.
Recently, speculation of Tik Tok being banned has taken over the internet, leaving many to question if the work they have put into making a name for themselves will be for nothing. This could lead to many becoming jobless and out of work.
Many content creators believe that the best way to comfortably have a job as an influencer is to do it on the side. With the constant fear of whether or not their job online will remain, many are questioning if it’s worth it. The world of influencers is a fast growing one, despite the future of social media.
