The rise of social media influencers – aka content creators – has been phenomenal over the past few years. Whether it’s someone with a massive reach and clout or someone with fewer followers but an equally commendable impact, the trend of influencing is holding ground.
Because the likes of Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, and Srishti Dixit have grown through their entertaining content, the rest of us have seen an open door to make it just as big.
While starting with the aim of becoming an influencer isn’t rocket science, maintaining and growing your influence is no piece of cake.
Sure, the life of a social media influencer looks glamorous – what with all the freebies, fame, and earning potential – but it isn’t for the faint of heart. Here’s what no one tells you about becoming a social media influencer.
1. It isn’t as simple as posting a picture or video
Taking a selfie and posting it online isn’t the only thing social media influencers do.
Most small-time influencers often take care of their own content from scratch – right from scripting to shooting, finding the right location and using the right clothes, and from editing to promotion, an influencer is their own writer, director, costume and makeup person, editor, and social media manager.
Each piece of content takes meticulous planning and work. In retrospect, choosing the influencer path provides ample opportunities to upskill.
We told you – it isn’t for the faint of heart!
2. That’s not the only thing they do for a living
Even Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, and Komal Pandey had full-time jobs while they built their influencing careers. Popular content creator Satshya also holds a job as a content strategist!
Cracking the social media game is a long, often arduous process, and many small-time influencers do this as a side-hustle.
Getting to a level where you can monetise your reach is time-consuming and takes ample dedication, so for some perspective, small-time influencers are working round the clock. Again, it’s never as simple as posting a selfie.
3. The fear of becoming irrelevant is omnipresent
With the changing tastes and preferences of audiences and the dynamic, often confusing algorithm, social media influencers have to constantly stay on top of their game to provide valuable content. One must be agile to make it as an influencer on social media, dabbling in different formats and styles of content while maintaining their unique voice.
Take Dolly Singh or Prajakta Koli for instance. While they create content as themselves, they also appear as different recurring characters such as Zeenat and Montu among many others, which they have turned into properties over time.
From Reels and IGTV to the currently popular YouTube Shorts, content creators must think of unique ideas with a ‘viral’ factor for every piece of content they do.
4. It isn’t all about money, fame, and followers
We know, we know. One of the biggest incentives for someone to become an influencer is all the things mentioned in the heading of this point. And we’re not going to lie; it’s a solid one. But there are some serious downsides to being an influencer, as several of them have been vocal about time and again.
In past interviews as well as their social media handles, Kusha Kapila and Dolly Singh have expressed how being constantly glued to social media has impacted their mental health.
In an interview with Indiatimes, Dolly Singh opened up about how much of a toll being up to date on trends and competition has taken on her health and how it’s nearly impossible to give it up because their social media presence is her bread and butter. Comedian and content creator Supriya Joshi often takes social media breaks citing similar reasons, and often expresses how lucky she is to have an understanding and supportive audience.
As is with every job, social media influencing comes with its own set of challenges which we must not discount.
5. Being an influencer can be rewarding if you make it
In the last two years – since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic – influencers have gone a notch above posting entertaining content. Many influencers became active sources of support, accurate information, and other resources that helped the public procure medicines and hospital beds. Even when it comes to brand collaborations, popular influencers by and large have set benchmarks for what they would like to promote to their audience.
Satshya, for instance, put out a series of stories detailing the work of NGOs looking for volunteers, all to her 177K followers.
This is a perfect example of using one’s influence for good, which in itself has become an important ‘trend’ among social media content creators today.
Being a social media influencer is a task that is high risk, high reward. If you think you have a unique voice and take on things and wish to showcase that to the world, the internet is your oyster. Go on, become the social media star you were meant to be!
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