Press trips, glitzy parties, free products and big expenses. It’s no wonder a career in social media is now a dream job for the majority of American teenagers. But among the highlights are some very real issues: longevity, ethics and authenticity.
In 2021, a YouGov survey found that the dream job for American teenagers is to become a professional vlogger or YouTuber. Male or female, 9% of young people in the US want to spend their lives online – outstripping careers like medicine, acting and legal.
But to achieve true stardom is a difficult balance to find, experts have warned, and even harder to achieve.
How much money do influencers make?
The average influencer earns $2,970 per month according to HypeAuditor‘Influencer Income Survey’ – but only if you pass the ‘micro influencer’ stage (10,000 followers).
Those who are trying to build their following can expect to earn around $1,420 per month – although some seem to skip the intermediate stage.
A recent example of an individual taking social media by storm is University of Miami student Alix Earle. according to Social BladeThe New Jersey native has gained nearly three million followers across her platform in the past 30 days, all while studying for her last semester in college.
Once people like it start playing, it can be “tempting” to forget your roots, says Lucy Birchall, senior influencer marketing manager at UK agency Social Shepherd.
He added that staying loyal to the original audience is the key to making big money: “If you’re charging $10,000 or more for a post, you need to have a very large audience that’s really interested in the content you’re putting out.
“We consider different tools that tell us about the audience split between men and women, age, demographics, location and things like engagement rates. We usually say that someone gets a good 3% engagement rate, and we hope to see content created for clients to gain that engagement.
“If someone is charging $50k for a post, then they have to really fit the brand and the general audience has to be involved. Alix Earle has followed before but she came out of nowhere and really blew it. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the US she can charge a minimum of $40,000 for a single post.
Jerritt Clark-Getty Images for OBB Media
“I think he has to prove that he can follow the growth trajectory in the next three to six months. He will certainly do that – he is very girl next door, like talking to his sister.
To be a sustainable content creator you need to know your audience, the influencer expert added: “You have to see yourself as a brand. Ask yourself: ‘Who is my audience? What do they want to see, what will be relevant to them and what will be relevant to get someone new to follow me?’
“It can be very tempting to suddenly see dollar signs and take the opportunity while you can, but if you partner with the wrong brand that your original audience doesn’t want, then you can get that flash. pan moment.”
Cancel culture is “very real” he adds, and is one of the reasons why Luke Hodson, founder of London-based teen marketing specialist Nerds Collective, says creators need to focus on commercial and ethical growth.
Hodson, who founded the company out of a garage in 2013 and was named among them Forbes’ 30 in 30 for the media in 2016, said: “Just being an influencer in social media is not sustainable. If you are on one platform, you will be subject to the peaks and troughs of the algorithms that have great influence. Then when new technologies come, you have to try to audiences are moving to new platforms which can be very difficult.
“The people who get this are the so-called ‘culture insiders’. They are not influencers, but people who move the culture – whether it’s music or fashion or entertainment. They create this community and then they have to figure out how to monetize it. Maybe create a new platform or find out There are several ways to get your content out there so people will pay to see it.You need to know how to go directly to your community.
He adds that the nature of social media works against well-being, both for creators and viewers. “You’ve often had groups of angry young people who want to fit in, or want to stand out. They’re very easily influenced and then sucked into this algorithmic bubble where they think everything they see is right.
“Cultural insiders must think of themselves as brands do and create a code of conduct on how to work ethically and commercially, so that they are protected but also protected. the audience.
“There needs to be some regulation or parameters, but it cannot be controlled because the free speech we see on these platforms is an important part of democracy,” he said.
Protecting influencers from online trolls can be helped by verification, he added: “A lot of times when people sit anonymously behind a keyboard, they can be Machiavellian, and asking them to verify who they are can reduce it.”
Is being an influencer easy?
The simple answer is no, far from it.
Hannah Anderson is the direct manager of Kyma Media which represents talent like KSI, Underbelly Putih Lembut and GKBarry, and says creators need to build their careers on “rented land”.
He said, “This career is hard work and can disappear overnight. It’s easy to look at a ten-second video and think that it took 60 seconds to just sit down and make a film, but the creator has to have an element of psychology when thinking: ‘How are these thumbnails going to come with the audience, are they going to stay? engage with all these videos, how do we make the video or transition creatively?’
“And before you know it, the creators and influencers are self-employed. In addition to filming, editing, uploading, replying to comments and engaging with the audience, they also have to manage their accounts on the platform, manage their finances, sales, campaigns and projects.
“Something that is also talked about more is the mental burden that influencers can take. It is part of human nature to focus on negativity to some extent and even if you get a hundred positive comments, if you get one negative one it can be very difficult not to think about it.
How long is an influencer’s career?
The average influencer’s career lasts about eight years for a variety of reasons, experts explain.
To some extent because audiences are growing and influencers are struggling to stay relevant with younger audiences or losing touch with their original audience. Other factors may include cancellations, which many “never come back”.
“The platform can also just kill you at any point,” said Anderson. “Using the analogy of a painting, you can have a painting and hang it in your house, but if your house is rented out, you have to take the painting somewhere else – you’re taking the content to a different platform.
“If you want to become an influencer, my advice is to just start creating – there is nothing wrong with just creating things for fun. Working in a creative career does not mean making videos, this is a path that more people are starting to understand.