The Influencer "Job" Profile
Now I was thinking.... with all the new influences from social media can it be that being an influencer can be categorized as a full time job? Or maybe it is something which will disappear in a few years leaving millions of young peoples dreams shattered... Let's discuss it.
What it cannot be contested is the fact that being an influencer demands a big amount of time and skills which either are born or are learned over time. Until now everything seems a 1 to 1 mapping of a normal 9to5 job. You develop skills, you learn, you grow.
Let's discuss nevertheless the risk which lurks in the shadows with the influencer profile. For most of the people doing it the development of skills necessary for later on are put in second place if put at all on the list. The main subject of interest are attracting companies and products and playing the part required in selling those products as good as possible. Of course there are influencers which try to remain as unbiased as possible but very few are formulating a statement like "this product is shit". How could they? Such a blunt affirmation destroys any possibility of working with that company in the future, ergo less revenue. For me the question is if I cannot trust someone because they cannot formulate their opinion as direct as possible then why watch them at all? Pretty much a direct parallel with politics. You talk a lot but are you really saying something?
Coming back to the skills learned, there are a lot of them and it can be even daunting if you try to learn product placement, marketing, video and photo editing, platform development and so much more. If we have a look at a well known youtuber and influencer MKBHD he did what many are not doing. He developed a brand, made a company and all with skills from making videos and what he learned in school. majored in business and information technology. Notice how he understood that dropping out of school, making Youtube videos and being on Instagram is not the only thing on his mind. This is truly an example of someone who understood how everything works together and who will have a future also after Youtube will disappear or will be replaced by another platform.
My worry is for all the young girls and boys who come and have a false impression that all you need is a camera and your good smile. (advertised by many big names as they all started like this). The difference is that they started together with the platform itself, and you did not need much back in the day. Now nevertheless you don't stand a chance if you don't already have some skills gathered before you put that camera in front of you and start talking.
What I am trying to emphasize is the fact that the influencer job does not exist. The term is as fragile as straw in the storm. As influencer you can disappear in one week if your viewers suddenly decide that you are not cool anymore or one advertisement was sending the "wrong" message. By wrong I mean simply not accepted by the majority and hurting one or the other feelings. This is internet so you must be prepared for it.
My opinion is that we should drop the media declared fictive jobs and start thinking in the future. If you are doing this for the next 2-5 years, what will happen after? Always put in perspective what you can gain from what you are doing and not the money part. Money, views and likes come and go but your skills remain and can bring you more long after the platform does no longer exist or the company retracts their products from you because of something you said and they disagreed. Never stop learning and always listen to the bigger picture otherwise you can get to a point where everything falls apart and you will lack the tools to stop the flood.
Until next time, TFG