Why do so many people want to be influencers?
It used to be that back in the day, when you asked a young child what they wanted to be, they’d tell you an astronaut, ball player, or maybe even a doctor.
Today? More and more kids say they want to be an influencer of sorts — travel vlogger or video game streamer, for example. What’s interesting, we’ve found, is that a seemingly equal number of adults also have the same aspirations.
So, what’s going on? Why does it seem like so many people today want to be influencers?
The rise and rise of influencer marketing
To understand this, you first have to understand just how popular influencer marketing has become in the modern age. Influencers — like it or not — have woven themselves into digital culture. We learn from influencers. We get inspiration from influencers. We get product recommendations from influencers. They are everywhere, and it makes sense, because much of our lives are spent on social media platforms. We buy everything online, it seems, and we get our entertainment from a handful of online providers. So why wouldn’t influencers be a thing?
Let’s be clear about something, though. Influencers have been a thing long before the advent of the internet. Celebrities and sports stars are influencers, and they’ve been doing paid promotions in everything from magazines to cereal boxes for years. What’s changed is the method by which people gain notoriety. No longer is a group of Hollywood elites deciding who will or will not rise to fame, but literally anyone can upload to a website or app like YouTube or Instagram and make a name for themselves if they or their content resonates with the public.
The Covid era has been particularly remarkable in the influencer marketing space, as much of the population was effectively stuck at home with very little to do recreationally. This caused a boom in the industry, with brands looking to promote their products in effective and affordable ways.
The allure of being an influencer
Over the years, we have pondered on what exactly the allure of being an influencer is. On its face, it seems to be an incredible career. But in reality, it’s a job like any other — perhaps even more stressful than you might imagine. We know this first-hand because our jobs involve interacting with influencers on a daily basis.
We’d divided our findings into three distinct categories:
Visibility and creative expression
Financial and lifestyle benefits
Influence and impact
Firstly, visibility and creative expression. Many people have an inherent desire for fame and want to express themselves. They like attention, and they want to be known. Specifically, they want to be known for something. They want the world to see them for who they are. They seek the limelight and feel worthy of it. This isn’t a bad thing, by the way. As humans, we all have a desire to show the world who we are; some on a grander scale than others.
Then you have the financial and lifestyle benefits of being an influencer. It can be an incredibly lucrative career path. The earning potential is incredible if your audience is big and engaged enough, and your popularity offers glamorous perks like free stays at luxury hotels and free products. This is probably what most people who want to be influencers are thinking about, but very few think about the time, effort, and persistence it takes to get to this level of success.
In addition, some people just wanted to have influence and make an impact. They seek out opportunities to shape opinions and drive change in the world. You’ve seen these people; they work very hard to convince you of things — literally anything. From which cell phone to use all the way to which political persuasion you should get behind.
The path to becoming and staying an influencer is difficult
Becoming an influencer is hard. Like, really hard. You need to have the personality, grit, and persistence to make it. Most people find it too much of a challenge to gain traction and promptly give up when they don’t see results. Those who are considered influencers today didn’t give up. They constantly pushed themselves to be where they are today, and their recognition is well deserved. But it’s also safe to say that you can do everything right and still not make it as an influencer. Factors like your content itself and your personality play a huge role in whether or not you make it — and who makes it is democratized by the participants of the social media platforms you produce on.
And if you do make it to that level of success, it’s not without stress. Many influencers burn out from constantly working; scripting, producing, editing, and so on. Whereas most people will generally put their work down at the end of the day, an influencer is always thinking about the next thing. What will keep my content fresh? How do I remain relevant in this saturated space?
Additionally, we are all humans. We grow and we change. The personality that rose a person to online fame may have changed over the years. That personality change can impact an influencer’s content and continued success.
It’s not easy
You may have deduced by now that being an influencer is not just freebies and great income. It is a job like any other, and perhaps even more stressful than the work many people do. As we mentioned, we see first-hand how much of a challenge it can be, working with influencers in all kinds of niches.
But if the pros still outweigh the cons and you’re still keen on creating compelling content, you should at least go for it. Try it out and see how it works for you.
Who knows, if your content is good and you’re persistent enough, you may just be lucky enough to join the ranks of today’s top influencers.
