The digital age has brought unimaginable changes to pop culture, various business sectors, and even simple everyday life. It has made it possible for anyone to access information with just a few clicks, learn more about niche topics, and most importantly, broadcast themselves to an audience of people from all over the world.
What is an Influencer?
The people who’ve made a career out of posting their opinions on certain topics on the internet have come to be known as “influencers.” The idea being that their opinions on society and culture are “influential.” In the 2020s, when children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, the most popular answer is “influencer.” But, is pursuing an online career truly a good idea?
We often see the glamorous side of being an influencer on the internet. But, the truth is that it isn’t all fun and games. That is why, in this article, we’d like to take a look at the hardships, as well as the triumphs of being a social media personality.
Collaborations with Top Tier Brands
One of the best parts about being an influencer is that, if one were to get big enough, they would be treated as a celebrity. That means being recognized on the street, having the support of fans all over the globe, and of course, collaborating with some very well-known brands. For example, recently, a collaborative link has been established between online casinos and social media personalities.
There are a lot of regulations and rules regarding promoting online casinos, and influencers should be privy to those. However, once you learn all you can about the industry, you can partner up, and promote offers like Wheel of Fortune promo codes and similar opportunities on your platform.
Of course, the iGaming industry is not the only market willing to collaborate with internet personalities. There have been dozens of streamers, video-makers, Instagram models, and more, who’ve worked with the automobile industry, fashion brands, e-commerce giants, and even tech companies. A lot of these companies are willing to send their products to influencers, hoping that they will like it enough to promote it to a greater audience.
The Loss of Privacy
Collaborating with top-tier brands is certainly something to be excited about. However, if one is at the point where they can do business with the biggest companies in the world, then they’ve reached the status of celebrities. And, as any celebrity will tell you, the biggest downside of being famous is that one has to give up their privacy.
Famous actors and actresses are constantly besieged by paparazzi, and they can’t walk a mile without being approached by a fan. The fans may not mean anything bad by approaching their favorite celebrity. But, we can certainly understand how it can get a bit annoying to be constantly approached by total strangers. With social media influencers, the same applies, except, in some ways, it can be worse.
Social media influencers operate primarily online, and they have avenues open for fans to ask them questions using the various websites where they may have an account. That means that a famous Twitch streamer, for example, might wake up every day to hundreds of messages from different fans, many of which might border on mean-spirited.
Certainly, there are ways to fix this issue. One could regulate their social media, filtering out the trolls and strangers who send harassment. There is also the option of simply staying away from social media all together. However, that could have a negative impact on influencer, as most need these platforms to promote their videos, and interact with the fans who are actually friendly and respectful.
Your Own Boss
For a lot of people, the hardest part about working is not following a routine, or dealing with a difficult aspect of the job. Rather, it is dealing with management. There are also many people who simply have issues dealing with authority, and don’t like being told what to do. For those kinds of people, the best part about being a social media influencer is the fact that they get to be their own boss.
The freedom to set your own work schedule, decide your own hours, and even take a vacation whenever you feel like is one of the best parts about getting big on the internet. It is no surprise that a lot of influencers are using Tik Tok, and similar platforms, to reach a greater audience, and boost their fame. After all, who wouldn’t want to be in charge of their own work schedule?
Well, the truth of the matter is that being your own boss has downsides as well. For one, you don’t get any breaks. Instagram models, for example, are constantly working, through weekends or holidays. YouTube content creators spend hours editing a single video down to 20 minutes, and many of them publish videos bi-weekly, or even daily. Of course, for many people, this doesn’t sound as hard or as taxing as a standard 9 – 5. But, the life of a successful social media influencer is not all fun and games.
Competition
The final point that we have to discuss is one that you will commonly come across when discussing any market. That being the high level of competition. Anyone who thinks that becoming an influencer is simple and easy should first think about all of the other people who believe the same, and have an idea that they think is unique.
There are quite literally millions of videos, Instagram posts, “hit Tweets,” and other social media pages that are operated by people who believe that they will be the next big star. They are all in constant competition, as there are only so many viewers. On top of that, all of the up-and-coming influencers are competing against the already established content creators, who have a loyal fan base.
Competition in the world of social media is steep. In many ways, it is just as difficult to break out on social media nowadays, as it is to do so in Hollywood. It is worth considering that, for every successful multi-million subscribers YouTuber, there are hundreds, even thousands, who did not make it.
To read more content like this, explore The Brand Hopper
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