Being a social media influencer is an aspiration for some but I feel if people knew the reality of being an influencer the profession wouldn't seem so attractive. To be honest, I don't consider myself an influencer as I rather consider myself a blogger. However, I do understand how my social media and my blog can influence others. When I started my instagram I didn't have much of a plan. I wasn't really comfortable telling other people about admitting to people that this something I want incase I failed but I guess we are all scared of failure. I always like to support other people when getting into the industry and...
I normally get asked the the same questions;
How did you start?
How do you build your community?
What doe's it take?
What a day in the life of an infuencer like?
...so to answer these questions
How did you start?
I first made my instagram account in mid-2017 after years of convincing from my friends. I was petite modelling and my friends would show me accounts of influencers and would say that I could do that. I started off with uploading some of my modelling images and finding accounts for inspiration. As time went on I leant through 'trial and error' what worked and what didnt work and built my social media from that. I feel it was harder for many than others because I never had a personal instgram so I was learning how to use the app but if I can do it, I'm sure you can do it too!
How do you build your community?
A lot of people forget is that instagram is a social network, thus, you need to socially network! Especially with the instagram alghorithms which act against influencers (or those with 10k followers).
What doe's it take?
Great content, dedication and understanding the instagram alghorytthms. Before I post anything I always ask myself if I like the image I am about to post if I was someone else. Quality is important and I definielty recommending using a good camera for your images and/or collaborating with photographer for the best quality content.
What a day in the life of an infuencer like?
I normally get parcels in the morning from PR companies to feature on my social media . Occaisionally I have parcels which don't know who they're from so I would research the details of the brand. I'm forever sending and responding to emails from PR companies and brands.
1. It's not as glamourous as we portray it to be
Influencing seems a good life of constant freebies and being paid to be your best self. However, the physical side may look awesome, but underneath it's not all what it's cracked up to be. Influencers are the internet celebrity but without the actual power that celebrity status brings.
2. The world is not enough
When I started instagram my goal was to get ten thousand followers. I thought I would be satisfied when I finally got 10k but that didn;t happen. Getting followers and engagment is addictive, especially as it will affect your account's profitability.
3. It's not as easy as it looks
Influencing seems a good life of constant freebies and being paid to be your best self. However, aesthetically it may look awesome, but underneath it's not all what it's cracked up to be. Influencers are the internet celebrity but without the actual power that celebrity status brings. Influencing isn't particularly seemed as a 'real job' and not everyone appreciates influencers so we ae normally judged a lot more than celebrities or just as humans.
4. The political game
Influencers tend to stick togeteher for a variety of reasons. We are a small but widely publicsied community which not many people understand if they haven't experienced it. Events can be great fun - not only for the complimentary drinks and goodie bags - because its filled with other people we know in the industry and its where we mostly meet each other. We stick together because a lot of the time we cannot bring a +1 to an event and networking is vital to being an influencer. However, because of the small size of the community and how competative the industry is there is a lot of bitchiness and fake friendships. I wished we didn't judge each other as much as we do and start loving and supporting each other more instead of seeing each other as competition. There is a lot of shady behaviour and allowed unacceptable behaviour (i.e. bullying) because they don't want to be autracised from the industry and miss out on opportunites. I have personallye gained a reputation in the industry for being brutally honest because I find my integrity to be invaluable and I feel that if more people done thi there would be less bullying and bitchiness in the industry.
5. Its a lonely life...
When I meet new people I try to avoid sharing my social media with due due to the fear of being judged. Once someone sees my following, I generally get comments like 'wow, how have you got so many followers' or 'why have I got so many followers'. I understand how my followers are more than most, but sometimes it isn't hard to see that I am getting judged based on my following.
Not only is it hard to meet make new friends, I have lost friends because of my social media success, unfortunately not everyone will be supportive of your success. I've had friends I've known for years stop talking and/or be absolute bitches to me since my social media success. Those who know me know that I didn't expect to be an influencer; I do sympothise with my (ex) friends and understand their annoyance when they have tried for longer and have put a lot more work into it but nonetheless, it shouldn't affect our friendships. I have offerred them support and I have shared my opportunities with them but I feel it just made our relationships worse. Being a plus one isn't that bad - I even prefer it - but for some I guess it's humiliating but that what more can I do? It's a shame that some of my friends couldn't be happy for me but not everyone want to see you succeed and I guess they weren't true friends in the first place, however it doesn't dull the hurt.
Ultimately, alike many professions, there are pro and cons. However, not many professions have pro on cons on as an extreme level like being a social media influencer. In this industry it is important to be very self-assured in who you are as a person as you're constantly judged. In all, social media has drastically changed my life, alike many good things there are pitfalls but I have no regrets. Its been a journey and I feel that I have grown and learnt so much about myself and I am more confident in who I am than I was before.
Miss L
xoxo
