What it is like to be an influencer 

You see them on social media. With their PR packages, picture perfect holidays and endless adventures. Being an influencer might sound like the dream job you wish you had. However, the job comes with so many facades, not all of which are apparent to the public’s eye.

Therefore, today’s article would like to introduce 6 influencer facts to shine some insight into this seemingly glamorous job!

Influencer facts: #1. No fixed schedule

 

As you might have guessed, being an influencer is not a job that has fixed hours. Instead of the regular office hours, influencers can be working at any time.

This might mean longer than average working hours and burnt weekends. After all, their job is focused on social media, where there will be users online all the time.

Beauty influencer and founder of Huda Beauty, Huda Kuttan has stated “The most important thing is that this isn’t a part-time job. When you leave the office on weekends, you are always going to be this person –- especially if you are an influencer-founded brand, you never get to leave that life.” (source: USA Today)

Besides their engagement in social media, influencers are often involved in many other activities. From events to fan meets and video production, these are often time consuming and happen on an ad hoc basis. This means that there is no scheduled work routine for influencers. Instead, their day is planned based on the types of events they have at that point in time.

Influencer facts: #2. No fixed pay

Just like how influencer have no fixed schedule, their pay is not fixed too. Not only do different influencers have varying incomes, the income levels of influencers themselves might vary from month to month.

This is especially so for influencers that are freelancing. This means that their pay for the month depends on the type and number of campaigns worked on. Therefore, explaining the dips and rises in income levels of influencers.

Although it seem like influencers have access to an endless income stream due to their picture perfect lives on social media, that is not necessarily the case.

This is because influencers are often sent many products by brands in hopes of a good review. It is also not uncommon for brands to send influencers on a holiday as part of their influencer marketing campaign. Therefore, explaining the seemingly luxurious lives of influencers online.

That being said, it is possible for influencers to earn massive incomes if they manage to garner a large audience. Blogger, Courtney Quinn has revealed in a Refinery29 video that she makes more than 300K per year from her.

Influencer facts: #3. It can be stressful

By now you might have came to the conclusion, being an influencer can be a stressful job.

Although the picture perfect pictures on social media can you make you think otherwise, their job comes with many forms of stress.

Firstly, influencers are viewed as public figures. While they might not be regarded as celebrities, influencers are widely known. People listen to their recommendations, trust their opinions and keep up with them on social media.

Therefore, they not only have to keep up with the pressure of delivering consistent content for their followers. They also have to ensure the message that they sent out through social media is accurate.

There are varying instances of backlash as a result of the incendiary content produced by influencers. An instance would be the infamous Logan Paul video on Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, also known as the ‘suicide forest’. With his millions of followers, the video quickly went viral, and caused public ire due its insensitive nature.

Therefore, influencers have to often keep in mind the type of message they are conveying to their followers. This would mean hours of research and study about the area (fashion/beauty/food etc) they specialize in.

Influencer facts: #4. You need to constantly engage with your audience

Being an influencer can mean working around the clock. Unlike regular offices, social media operates on a 24/7 basis.

The primary goal of influencers would be to build and maintain an audience. Therefore, they are constantly online interacting with their followers. Be it in the form of a live video, or a 24 hour story or producing videos and uploading pictures, influencers are constantly active on social media.

Influencer facts: #5. Opportunities open up

Despite the stress and the not so regular working hours, being an influencer does have its perks. Besides being able to be a part of the PR list on various brands, a career as an influencer opens up multiple opportunities.

It is not unheard of for influencers to be invited to exclusive events such as movie premieres, product launches and vacations to exotic islands.

To add on, opportunities come in with an increase in audience numbers. Influencers are no longer only restricted to a job on social media. Instead, many of them have become entrepreneurs, authors and even spokespeople.

An example would be Shayla Mitchell, or @makeupshayla, who has become an ambassador for ColourPop Cosmetics, even collaborating with the brand on a brand new line. Others include @Zoella, who became the world’s fastest-selling debut author when her novel Girl Online was published in 2014.

Influencer facts: #6. Authenticness is a part of the job

Authenticness is a part of being an influencer. This is because people are more inclined to connect with influencers that seem authentic.

Would you take advice from someone that comes across as an insincere person? The answer would most probably be a no. Therefore, the first step to be an influencer is to be genuine on social media.

This perhaps explains the rise in the popularity of vlogs and live streams, less ‘formal’ sort of content that allow genuine interaction between influencers and their followers.

Conclusion

Like every other job, being an influencer comes with its ups and downs. We hope this article helped to shed some light on this seemingly elusive job!

Sources

thelist.com, what-its-really-like-to-be-an-instagram-influencer/
Buzzfeednews, michaeldarer/how-the-logan-paul-debacle-trivializes-japans-suicide