If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/
Q. Influencers seem to be making easy money. And some of them are pretty below par. Do you think it would be a good alternative career for folks in our business?
A: I wish life would have been so easy. I agree that the influence of the Influencers has grown with the increasing penetration of social media, but like any career it needs continuous honing of requisite skills to remain at the cutting edge of technology to deliver unique and authentic content (audio, video etc) in a sustained manner. In case of specialised subjects like fashion, finance etc, domain understanding and expertise are indispensable for growing the user base. The content need to be unique and differentiated. For this, knowledge of subject, technology and social media marketing tools are a must.
There are some challenges for influencers as the lack of a typical full-time career, volatile income structures, dependence on popularity for earnings, exposure to public feedback that can potentially impact one’s image and mental well-being (due to the pressure to maintain consistent quality output).
The possibility of burnout due to the constant need for content creation, public scrutiny and the pressure to maintain a certain image online and dependence on single platform ( generally) are some common risks associated with the career of an influencer. Finally, the influencer must also be ready to face air pockets in the form of ever-changing social media algorithms, which might affect content visibility and immersion of the audience in the same.
Net -net, like any other career options, life of an Influencer is not strewn with roses. One needs to navigate the thorns also. Hope I haven’t discouraged you for making a career shift.