The Pros and Cons of Being A Social Media Influencer
In today's digital age, the term "influencer" has become a buzzword among young people. From fashionistas to gamers, influencers hold significant sway over their followers, often showcasing a seemingly glamorous lifestyle filled with freebies, fame, and fortune. Have you ever thought about having a career that involves using your personality on social media to inspire people? If so, you may want to look into becoming an influencer, a profession that has its pros and cons like any other, let's dive into it!
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What is An Influencer?
The term "influencer" has become quite ubiquitous in the online space, especially in social media marketing. What was previously being done by celebrities is now taken over by regular people with large followings on social media platforms. These individuals are called influencers. Social media influencers are also individuals who have built a social media following due to their knowledge, expertise, or interest in a specific topic.
The Pros
1. They Love What They Do
Most influencers have a niche that they are in, care about, and that is the primary reason they started the whole influencer thing. They genuinely do love what they do. If someone is an influencer, they are almost always passionate about their job. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have been able to have grown such a large following, as it is likely people would have seen right through them.
2. Flexibility
One of the greatest perks of being an influencer is the flexibility that comes with the job. In general, it is not the typical 9-5 as influencers have control over when their working hours are. They rarely have an office where they go to work every day. Usually, they are working from their home, or somewhere their job has taken them. Influencers can take work with them wherever they go. They are often not bound to time nor locations, which is one of the most attractive aspects of being an influencer. They have the freedom to work from anywhere in the world and create content on your own terms, allowing for a better work-life balance.
3. Opportunities for Collaboration
Influencers often collaborate with brands, which can lead to exciting opportunities such as sponsored trips, product endorsements, and exclusive events. Depending on how successful they are, they could even work with some big, well-known brands they genuinely love and believe in. The brands they work with will usually be within the same niche of the influencer. These partnerships not only provide financial benefits but also allow you to expand your network and gain valuable experience.
4. Impact and Influence
As an influencer, you have the power to inspire and influence others positively. While building a community is what takes the most work, it is also the most rewarding. Those who follow an influencer generally have at least some commonality and are probably interested in the influencer’s niche. This opens up real opportunities to create a community of people who share content and encourage one another. An influencer has a unique opportunity with their platform and their ability to build relationships and inspire those who follow them.
The Cons
1. Pressure to Perform
With millions of influencers vying for attention on social media, the competition can be fierce. There's a constant pressure to produce engaging content, gain followers, and stay relevant, which can lead to stress, burnout, and even feelings of inadequacy. Part of what comes with having an established platform as an influencer is having eyes on them all the time. An influencer’s audience may expect them to behave in a certain way and are often disappointed if they do not live up to those expectations. They must be constantly mindful of their actions because they never know who is watching, whether through their actions in person or their actions online.
2. Loss of Privacy
Loss of Privacy: Being in the public eye means sacrificing a certain degree of privacy. Your personal life may become fodder for public consumption, and dealing with negative comments, trolls, and invasive questions comes with the territory.
3. Career and Income Uncertainty
Being an influencer does not provide much job security. The competition in the influencer space is fierce. An influencer must constantly be thinking of new and exciting content to keep their audience engaged and growing. While successful influencers can earn substantial income through brand partnerships and sponsorships, the income stream can be unpredictable and inconsistent. Relying solely on influencer earnings without a stable source of income can be risky, especially considering the ever-changing landscape of social media algorithms and trends.
4. Haters
As previously discussed, influencers have eyes on them all the time. The harsh truth is that it’s impossible to please everyone, and every influencer is bound to have critics or “haters.” An influencer has to be able to ignore or brush off these haters. This is, of course, much easier said than done, which makes this a super tough part of being an influencer. There is also no denying that “cancel culture” is alive and well. No matter what one’s opinion may be on it, it is a powerful force that can seriously damage an influencers career if they are not careful. Influencers have to always be sure they are not making a move that could be cause for being “canceled” as it could ruin their career.