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.
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What Is an Influencer?
An influencer is a person who inspires others to act.
They may also invite people to try out new products and services.
All this happens as they continue to entertain, teach and inform their audience and keep them waiting for “what’s new” tomorrow.
An influencer typically has a popular channel on social media.
However, they could also act as a spokesperson for traditional media, such as television or radio.
They shape people’s opinions, values, and attitudes in a way that causes them to see a need for a particular sales offering.
Pros of Being an Influencer
1. Unlimited earnings potential
I just found out that researchers have estimated that the influencer marketing industry is worth about $15 billion by 2022.
This almost doubles the revenue that influencer marketing generated in 2019.
Money made comes from promoting either your own products or services or another company’s offerings.
Some companies might even pay you to appear at popular events for which you’d be the social media spokesperson.
As long as you prove yourself and keep increasing your following, you can earn unlimited amounts of money.
It’s not quite as simple as that, but your work does mostly consist of you appearing on social media.
You record videos, audio, images, memes, and some meaningful text quotes – anything you can do to keep your audience engaged.
If this is what you normally do in your free time anyway, why not get paid for it, right?
Sometimes, you may start out part-time and work your way up to spending all your days just interacting online.
3. Can use popularity to support causes
One type of influencer you can become is a celebrity that supports social justice, environmental policy, or personal causes.
Maybe you do this as part of a public relations campaign for a for-profit corporation, or you work as an influencer for a non-profit charity.
Whether you work for a private company or a philanthropic organization, your popularity can raise awareness.
In addition, you can inspire people to donate their time, money, and resources to causes that matter to you and the groups you represent.
It can make you personally feel good to support causes you believe in too.
What’s more, setting an example of giving to others will build trust between you and your target audience.
You need this positive relationship between you and the people who participate on your social media page.
It’s what helps you promote the brands, products, and services you offer directly or as an affiliate.
4. Freedom to work anywhere
Some social media jobs may require you to work in an office.
However, most of the influencer jobs you take give you the opportunity to be on location in different places.
If you’re working independently, you can shoot your social media videos from anywhere.
5. You can become your own brand
If you have your own TV show, are a singer, dancer, or musician, or play sports, social media can help you increase your following.
You become your own brand as you regularly post and engage with your audience.
If you conduct yourself properly, all you need is your face – not some fancy logo — for your audience to remember who you are.
6. Relatively easy work (usually)
Although becoming an influencer is not a job that allows you much rest, the work itself is relatively easy.
Usually, all you need to do is make sure that you post at least once a day and make your posts meaningful to your audience.
7. Schedule work around your life
To gain experience, you could take on a part-time influencer job while in college.
Then, work up to full time.
Whether working full-time or part-time, you have the chance to work your influencer job around your life.
For instance, you can sit in class for a couple of hours.
Then, check your inbox messages while on break before your next one.
It’s even possible to secure a steady income from an influencer position while working another full-time job.
That depends on how many postings you’re required to do every day.
In most cases, it’s very flexible unless you become high-profile and the demand for your presence grows.
Cons of Being an Influencer
1. Your life is not private
When you become an influencer, there’s a chance that people will find out when you eat, use the bathroom or get out of bed.
That’s not much of an exaggeration.
If you decide to date, marry, or divorce, they’ll find out about it and expect you to talk about it.
You can’t get away with keeping much of your life secret at all.
2. Reputation is always on the line
As a popular influencer, you may have to hire a public relations specialist to manage your reputation.
This can be expensive, but it’s a necessary evil.
Your reputation as someone always on social media is always on the line.
You always have to watch what you do and what you say, even when no one’s looking.
That’s because someone is always looking for ways to ruin you.
3. Constant public scrutinization
If you become a celebrity influencer, you’re probably lucky if you get a chance to breathe, let alone urinate in private.
No matter what you do, you’re going to be watched to make sure you’re doing whatever you’re doing right.
You especially have to be careful what you say to others.
Both on and off camera, if you say something that offends someone, your comments could end up becoming the top story of every major media outlet.
If that’s not the kind of publicity you want, you’ll have to be careful.
The public will judge you harshly just because they can.
4. Open yourself up to “real” danger
It’s tough to hide your location as a social media influencer when shooting live videos.
This opens you up to “real” dangers.
Stalking, non-violent and violent attacks against your character and your physical person, and threats: That’s only some of what you might deal with if you reveal your live video location.
Your house could also get robbed, and people you love could get injured because of how hard it is to stay private as an influencer.
If I were you, I’d get a bodyguard once you get popular.
5. Saying “one wrong thing” could ruin you
I mentioned earlier that influencers are always scrutinized.
If you do say “one wrong thing” even in private, it could ruin your career.
For instance, a remark that someone perceives as racist, sexist or homophobic, could mean the end of your career as a social media star.
You will barely have a chance to get a job at McDonald’s – or go undercover and not work with people at all anymore after a failed life as a celebrity influencer.
6. Potential for security breaches
The more people know about you, that’s all the more they can use against you.
Only some enemies, don’t want to slander you or physically kill you.
Instead, they may hack into your social media account. If they do, it may not be for financial reasons.
Maybe they want to see your pages closed down because they don’t agree with your stand on a personal issue.
So, what do they do?
Maybe they find a way to access your pages and post as if they were you.
In the process, they shock and confuse your followers, who thought they knew you and trusted you.
One of the easiest ways for a security breach to ruin an influencer is probably to have adult content posted on your pages.
Otherwise, maybe the people hacking your account will post hateful threats.
They do this all as a way to ruin your reputation.
Of course, they could do it for financial reasons too.
They want to hack your social media accounts to gain information about how to steal your identity and your money.
7. Takes work to keep up ratings and make money
If you don’t continue to give your target audience the content they want to see or hear, you don’t make much money.
People are fickle too, so you don’t know how long your money-making popularity will last.
If you don’t continue to maintain a certain number of page views and show your sponsors your audience reach is worth the investment, they might drop you.
Pros and Cons of Being an Influencer – Summary Table
| Pros of Being an Influencer | Cons of Being an Influencer |
|---|---|
| 1. Unlimited earnings potential | 1. Your life is not private |
| 2. Make money just by posting on social media | 2. Reputation is always on the line |
| 3. Can use popularity to support causes | 3. Constant public scrutinization |
| 4. Freedom to work anywhere | 4. Open yourself up to “real” danger |
| 5. You can become your own brand | 5. Saying “one wrong thing” could ruin you |
| 6. Relatively easy work (usually) | 6. Potential for security breaches |
| 7. Schedule work around your life | 7. Takes work to keep up ratings and make money |
Should You Become an Influencer?
If you want to make money by influencing people on social media, think about the kind of influencer you want to be.
You can do this work if you have a well-thought-out plan.
I think anyone can be an influencer if they do have concrete goals about what they want to achieve.
Also, understand that not everyone will make millions as an influencer.
You can, however, earn a stable income anywhere from about $40,000-$60,000 working full-time.
