Are Micro "Influencers" Delusional?
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2022
- Support my content on Patreon: / roberttolppi
Micro influencers are taking over the internet, but can you really bring in money online with a small following?
Washington Post article:
www.washingtonpost.com/techno... - Розваги
Yes they are
thank u for the answer, now i don’t need to watch the video. you’re out here doing God’s work, friend.
@@hallehuckleberry ur woife is in me DMs
@@hallehuckleberry 😂😂😂😂
Way to generalize an entire group of people.
But I should have been able to tell from your username that you don't stand behind anything
Not gonna lie, this reminds me a lot of professional modeling. Until you get to the absolute top of the industry, and I do mean the very very top level, a huge amount of modeling is a deficit on the model. Most jobs are unpaid, and a lot of jobs require you being your own clothes, which you have to buy a lot of so you have different things to wear at different shoots. Unless you are literally a supermodel, you have to pay for all your own flights to get to shows, pay your own accommodation, agencies often do very little to actually help you directly, not to mention all the money you have to spend to keep up a “model look,” and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
And you need to do this to get seen, stay in the moment, have a portfolio, get to the paid jobs, etc. Even when you’re established and this is your career, if you’re gonna be paid or not, and how much and when, is very up in the air. I even know some models who end up doing free advertising for big companies if they wear their clothes a lot (tagging them in posts they’re already making from preexisting shoots where they happened to wear those clothes) in hopes to get featured and get their face out there. Even though micro influencing is very much it’s own phenomenon, this also feels like a branch off of a type of exploitation that has existed in this sort of industry for a very long time.
This is crazy 😧 Modeling agencies should pay for all the professional fees (flight, accomodations but also hair removal, facials, spa treatments).
Most industries where the creative can be easily replaced have exploitative practices like this.
“If you don’t do it, someone else will then you won’t have a chance at all.”
@@leila_de_hautjardin lmfao. While I don’t disagree, I had a good laugh. As the “regular” model, you are replaceable. Unless you become a household name, you hold absolutely no power in the industry. Your agency expects you to do everything yourself outside of getting you audition opportunities. Everything required to “keep yourself together” is all on the model.
I’ve had experience in this type of modelling. The industry is built to run people into the ground with exploitation, free work and can also be quite dangerous. I’ve had experiences with well known people in my area trying to push me into adult content, them having a good standing in the community meaning I was never going to be believed. I’ve done work for photographers under a TFP deal which I haven’t gotten any images out of, meaning I spent my own time and money and was unable to even showcase that in my own portfolio. To make it worse the local agency I was under closed without warning and never got me any paid work. In other words, I was tied to a company, unable to sign to another and getting nothing in return. Once people start speaking out, the exploitation will simply evolve and form another path to exploit others. Sadly I don’t think any of this will ever end, there will always be something new to exploit the general image and work of others.
Tons of entertainment type industries are like this, probably none more than race car driving.
You are my favorite micro influencer Robert.
I think any influencer, micro or macro, is at least a little bit delusional.
Why?
@@picklewhop Micro influencers are delusional enough to think they can get a following when they're really unlikely to succeed. Macro influencers are even more out of touch with reality, due to the sudden wealth and fame. Not to mention most of these people are under 30.
@@picklewhop it’s new age jobs that will disappear as quick as it blew up
@@brbgfyb695 I feel like that's something people would have said about TV celebrities when TV first came out. I think if the internet is still around there will always be paid advertisements
@@joelle4226 I’m sure that television actors get payed way more than the micro influencers that just give free promos on their tiktok accounts. That’s like comparing famous singers to soundcloud rappers (except rappers get paid for their work 😂)
I have over 20k followers on tumblr and that is worth... let me check. No money and a waste of 10 years?? Ripped off.
@@Ruby-xk8kn you’ve never been on tumblr have you lmfao
@@Ruby-xk8kn hmmm. No.
@@Ruby-xk8kn you cannot sell things to people on tumblr. it’s near-impossible.
Tumblr followers are meaningless but that’s what I like about the site. Nobody sees what kind of platform anybody else has and there’s no algorthym so you can actually get your stuff seen. Everybody is on equal ground there and there are no Influencers stealing the attention from artists. And there’s no face detection made to prioritize selfies or any significant push on video content like every other platform seems to have. I can actually draw something, post it, and have it seen by actual real people who will share it, not because they want the clout of associating with me, but because they actually like my work. You can actually be an artist there instead of an empty content factory like everywhere else. It’s a lot less stressful to exist there than all the other platforms online these days.
How do you have THAT many followers on Tumblr?? I thought the porn bots all got wiped back in 2019 or whatever... there's hardly anyone alive on that app. Half of my 10 followers whom I never interacted with haven't posted since 2020 lmao. I use the app for my own self gratification and nothing more at this point.
Micro influencers remind me of kids that want to be famous but don't actually have any idea what they should be doing to get there.
I mean, we've all been there. Wanting to be rockstars or famous movie actors but don't actually have any real interest in music or acting. Kids these days want to be UA-camrs but don't have an idea on what content to make.
We weren't actually passionate. We just wanted the fame.
I think these micro influencers are the same way. They're more focused on getting to that end goal with no clear direction or passion.
I'm on the oldest end of Gen Z and I can clearly remember being a teenager in 2015 and imagining all the cool videos I would make of me and my friends pushing each other in shopping carts at the park or recording the local Walmarts latest public freakout incident and garnering millions of views for my incredible and unique perspective on life. That did not happen LOL but it was fun to dream
Makes so much sense to me.🤜🏼
It’s me, I’m the kid who wants to be a rich tik tocker but doesn’t know how to get there
@@lizzie404 Think about how ridiculous that statement sounds you out of what ? A million other kids
@@tondaniraluswinga2590Get a real job. Influencing will be over in 10 years and you'll have nothing to show for it when your employers ask about your previous work experiences.
i remember i recently got a spam email calling me a micro influencer. tbh i feel the word is quite patronising when its applied randomly to someone. lol i'm not an influencer
To anyone who would call me a micro influencer how about you micro influence my balls lmao
Same.. I've got 500 ish on IG for my art account, but it's basically just a personal account that got followers and I keep getting those emails
Also, I think just calling someone a _micro_ influencer is belittling in general.
Like if you called an actor a D-list actor instead of just calling them an actor
I have 3k on yt, 1k on tt and 500 on ig, I would never want to call myself an influencer. That’s the best way to get your friends to mock you lol. Idk it’s just so cringe to assume I have any amount of sway or influence on what people who watch my content buy.
i’ve experienced this phenomenon first hand, i started posted pics of my dogs and the most d list companies would message me like “if you buy from us and take photos of your dogs wearing out clothes we’ll give you a coupon” and in like woooow greeeat thanks
I was going to comment the same! In every single one picture I upload of my dogs I get these ‘collab?’ Dms.......
Now thats the part where you gotta whip out photoshop and get a free coupon
😂
I get that all the time on Instagram! I'm a faceless account but they keep trying to get me to buy clothes at a discount to post xD
Apparently my cats are also micro influencers 🤣
Yes!!!!! Same here!!! Lol I get a lot of sunglasses and bikini companies
I believe Micro influencers should be contacting local small business and partnering with brands from their community. There’s a big untapped market when it comes to local marketing.
Edit: I’ve seen a few comments disagreeing so I just wanted to say that I understand for some small businesses it’s not possible, but my job is actually a freelance writer for a small town magazine (my town has one red light in the entire town and a population of 15k) that is paid for by local ads taken out by small businesses only.
So although it’s not a common thing of course, it’s already happening to some extent just without individual influencers.
A lot of small businesses don't like/can't afford to do partnerships, especially for people under 10k followers. The only way it could be worth it for a small business to give free product and/or pay was if the influencer in question had a very decent follower count that was actually local to the area of the business. Even online small businesses can't afford to be doing it.
There’s no point if you’re just local when most people watching can’t come
What do you mean by one red light?
@@milenabianca9787 my town only has one car intersection/where the light turns red and you have to stop for others cars.
@@DiannaCarney ahh right okay honestly I thought it was a restaurant or something 😂🤣 sorry I had to ask
Susan: 15’000 followers. she is pretty, she posts fashion, body, travel shots. People follow her because they either think she is hot/pretty or the images are pretty. She tries selling a fizzy drink. She may have a conversion rate of 0.5-1% (aka 75-150 people)
John: 1’000 followers. He doesn’t often show his face. He is all about fishing. He is an expert. People follow him because he is an expert in fishing and they fish themselves. He recomends a fishing rod. He has a conversionrate of 50% (aka 500 people buy it)
Who is more powerful?
Though john has a higher conversion rate, he can only get fishing related sponsorships whilst susan is more general and can get more variety in sponsorships
me. i am more powerful
honestly its somewhat irrelevant. the only things that have substantial impact on you income opportunities is networking. was person A born into a poorer family who is unlikely to have a large network of people ready to throw money at things? was person B born into a well off family who know tons of people with disposable income who are always willing to invest in supporting people in their network of wealthy friends? those things are virtually the only thing that matters in the business world. the only other way to really make substantial amounts of money is to work really hard and get really lucky by finding a new industry to take an early stake in so that you stand a decent chance of becoming one of the major players in the game because everyone is starting at around the same point. you are always going to have a bigger fish pushing you out of the market in every other situation. its all about the situation you were born into
This is so stupid lol. They're both doing what they enjoy.
What a weird comment, "Sarah."
3:59 So true. Its even worse in art. Every time I post a piece, I get a message to post it to this other instagram account for promotion. First time, I was legitimately curious. THEY WANTED ME TO PAY THEM TO POST MY ART! 😤 I shall not fall for that scam. Please nobody else fall for it
yo the same thing happened to me XD i was like dude no? i thought you just wanted to post my pics and tag me lol i aint paying you wth
Lol anytime I post something and tag my city, I get a bunch of bots saying “promote it on [random city-related account]”. So shady
This is why I literally had to put on “anti harassment mode” because it got so annoying but then it makes my stuff suffocate in the algorithm so I just don’t even bother posting there anymore. I’m very aggressive with blocking anybody who might be selling something as well.
Same
Instagram has tons of these bots. They instantly pop up the second they detect certain hashtags in your post. It's annoying
The “gifted” collaboration is the same thing as your employer throwing a pizza party instead of raises.
literally my job told me they were going to take us skating or bowling
@@payne3133 sounds like your employer traveled back to middle school lol
PR agencies have been touting micro-influencers as a way to trade a product for a post or multiple posts. However, Jenna in your example, is a nano influencer. She's also creating fake brand deals for street cred.
I used to work in social media and I’d find content creators to collaborate with. I remember one client company requested to do paid collaborations with creators that have more than 200k followers, and unpaid gifted collaborations with influencers that have less than that. The exploitation is real
@M that's basically what it is use the person with less followers abd only busy people with high numbers it's pretty shitty for a company to do
I love that you compared micro influencing to predatory MLMs. That is spot on!
Robert Tolppi be like “Hi, I’m Robert Tolppi”
Damn, wasn't expecting this plot twist. I don't think I can watch Robert anymore knowing this
I'm going to guess some of these people are revving up this image of being successful at a small scale so they can "sell courses" on how to do what they supposedly do. The "learn how to sell online courses" thing is filling a niche left open by people that are susceptible to mlm tactics but are just smart enough to not fall for a known mlm. The fact that the micro influencer has a small following makes the idea they're selling seem more attainable.
Success is not usually bought, unless it's your wealthy family and their billionaire connects who are paying your way. At that point the person is just riding on the coat tails of that success anyways. It would take a foolish person to believe that paying for an online class to sell online content would in any way teach them anything about becoming successful. We live in an online world full of scams and chronically online people who sadly fall for them readily.
@@gingeralice3858 honestly a lot of people who want to be influencers or youtubers etc. don't understand how much time and effort it takes to actually grow a following large enough to start making profit off of that. especially with youtube, a lot of people start doing it in hopes of earning money from it, instead of actually wanting to make some type of content cause they think they have something to offer to the viewers and they enjoy making it. these people have no idea how long it takes to grow a channel either, so when it doesn't immediately take off they think these paid courses would teach them some trick they don't know.
I've done some low-level modeling and I get these "brand deals" sliding up in my dms all the time. Most often, it's some drop shipping store trying to pass itself off as a small business & they offer the micro-influencers 15%-30% off their store and a similar conversion rate for sales made with your personal coupon code. Obviously most micro-influencers don't have a great conversion rate, and so most people will end up spending money and making nothing. Not only did the brand get free UGC, they also created a paying customer out of thin air. 🤢
While true, it feels so mean. There is a sort of self image distortion that social media cultivates.
As a small business owner (one employee/me) working with influencers is always costly and it seems like no one understands I don’t have the same budget as say a McDonald’s or Starbucks. It’s a godsend when influencers have small business rates and are willing to work for product in exchange for content.
This video is the perfect example of you aren’t getting shadow banned, your content isn’t cutting it anymore ,this guy has 100k subs and is getting more in views, never seen or heard of him before but yet is on my feed, great video man hope nothing but the best for you
The whole concept of “influencer” seems so dystopian to me. Just regular people who seek to become walking advertisements by feigning a perfect life on social media. Such a strange aspiration to me.
You’re the kind of UA-camr who’s videos I thumbs up, before i even watch!!! Thanks for always providing unique and interesting content!!!!
same!
i can see it
i'm in 10-person twitch streams all the time, if some company sponsored one of those i'd be very very inclined to give them money, or at least think they are very cool
As someone who has recently jumped into the marketing world for work, I am quite familiar with USG. On a personal level, I don't believe it is quite ethical but from a business standpoint, I do understand the point. From a business perspective, USG looks good on a brand's socials because it shows a level of dedication and commitment to a brand that from an outsider's perspective looks very enticing. If someone comes to your page and wants to check you out it might look more trustworthy to see a bunch of other people essentially cosigning your brand because they post about it of their own free will. Of course that is not the actual case but from a brief quick look that is what it appears to be. I am also told that most people see the marketing stuff as extra and not part of the full business budget so it is often what gets cut first. So most marketing budgets are so low they don't factor in many costs for labour outside of the labour involved in the product or service campaign itself. It's not right absolutely but it does seem to be market standards. It's a lot of snake oil and la vie en rose but hey man you can't avoid that completely when it comes to marketing.
To me, calling yourself an "influencer" is like advertising that you have no real skills or talents. Otherwise you'd call yourself an "artist" or "writer" or whatever.
Yep they sure are. Some of them do the same exploiting to business owners and artists by requesting free services, merchandise, artwork, or anything they don't really want to pay for in exchange for "a social media post". Some even have the nerve to get upset when told no. Ridiculous.
Gatekeep
Girlboss
Gmicro influence
Thank you for this video! When I was a teenager, I had an instagram account with 50k followers, which isn’t a lot but was also nothing to be coughed at. I had a brand reach out and offer me an affiliate link, and for every purchase my followers made, I would get money to spend in store. However, I still had to pay my own shipping. The quality was very bad, they were just a dropshipping company. Now as an adult, I realise I should have demanded some level of pay for my advertising, as i was paid probably less than $10 in merchandise (cost to them) but my followers spent several hundred dollars in their store because of me! So many micro influencers like I was thinking they are getting a good deal!
I spent a year in the ugc community to see what it was really all about and it is indeed just an mlm situation.
Great video
I started content creating at 17 because I wanted to romanticize my life, get better with editing and filming, and more confidence taking pics and vids of myself. When brands started reaching out to me, I started taking it seriously like a job. it became really draining, keeping track of engagement rates and filming high quality content for brands who pay nothing. Now I see it as a hobby. I’m an 18 year old college student now and I love filming mini vlogs of my college days and occasionally taking pictures of myself in cute outfits. Sometimes I take a few gifted collabs but they usually don’t require any posts so I only share when I genuinely like the product
I worked for a top cosmetic brand on a social media department. Our “paid” influencer list was 1600 accounts, where just about the top 200 actually got paid in cash. Most got paid in free products. We used our large following often as a cross promotional negotiating tool to get lots of free UGC. We also regularly searched our own hashtags to ask for permission to use their UGC on our own page. As long as we got permission, we would take their video, put royalty free music over it, and repost it. People would jump at the chance because they would get lots of followers from our audience.
I also worked for a top toy brand as social media… we paid a healthy 5 figures for a UA-cam account to come to our office and film a promo video with the brand i worked for… and they got a free flight as well as a 5 star hotel and uber black for transportation. It was quite the opposite experience… toy companies pay insane amounts for these videos because COPPA compliance makes advertising toys to children very tricky.
How tf does this dude never miss?? Some of the most consistently good content I’ve ever seen!
Know your worth. The worst thing they can say is no.
Had a bad expirence with a small influencer, whom though i was a fan for just talking to her... I had no idea who she was and even now almost 6 years later, she is still a small influencer with only 7k followers on facebook...
But no one cares about Facebook?
@@tifKh that’s the exact thing I thought
Great video as always Robert! Keep up the good work!
this was very well put. Very informative without falling into a whole drama content.
Good video. Thank you.
I feel like influencers are in the same boat as gardeners and artists, in a sense that you work so many hours and get paid so little. 🤷
Just wanted to say I thought this was a really good video and I understand social media a little better now! Thank you for the video!
great video Robert! never knew about this and I found or really interesting
Great video! Having worked/currently working in this field it's crazy that a smal account can exert an influence on their followers. But the flipside is that a small following in a travel/modeling field that is saturated has very little say, as opposed to certain industries I've seen microinfluincers really affect purchases due to a niche or being in a position of authority.
Thank you for the uploads Robert! Enjoy your perspective !!
Well researched, such a great video thank u!
New robert tolppi video 👀 cant wait to watch!
This is my first time watching your videos, and you’re so fun to listen to!
This has helped me so much! I have a small but very niche channel that nearing 1k, and I've been messaged multiple times. When I mention pay, they Back away. I don't even want those types of companies on my page because they're for enterprises, and I focus on individuals breaking into the industry
I agree that content community is giving mlm vibes. I bypass it all.
Haven’t seen your videos in a long time. Nice job as usual, Bob!
This is the first useful explanation I have seen about this subject. Thank you.
I always get these scammy brand requests to post about their product for a discount on items. Why would I pay for a product just to advertise it. I always wonder who falls for these kind of things.
As someone who works in social media marketing, this is true. A lot of micro influencers want their content to be reposted for more “exposure” so I’ve always seen it as a win-win situation. 🤔
Great video! Keep up the good work
That little tiny piece of fuzz in your hair is the sponsor of this video. ❤️
This was interesting to watch. I have an IG account that is specifically tracking my makeup purchases and makeup empties/progress. I just hit 4,300 followers but I wouldn’t consider myself an influencer. Makeup brands have reached out to me asking to send me products for a post/reel. I really wouldn’t mind making it (even if I just used the makeup I already owned from the brand), but I want to get paid for this work. Honestly I haven’t even gotten as far as getting to my asking price with these brands. Once I mentioned getting paid with real money then they stop the communication altogether 🤔
Me to my mortgage company: Will you take payment in makeup and clothing? 🤣
Thanks for Sharing!! it's def the WILD WILD WEST out here. You have to watch your back constantly so brands won't screw you over. Even will all it's drawbacks, I absolutely LOVE what I do and wouldn'tchange it for anything!!
I truly believe you must have the PASSION, DRIVE and LOVE for creation and a LOVE for People to make it🤩 Don't give up Creators!!
Love your content rob!
Robert i just found you and im in looove with your channel and prospective. I notice dots like micro influencers being in the same category as mlms. Keep it up! Id love to see that you get to the point of doing lectures at colleges about shit like this and what you see happening. I can tell when you things from a sociological standpoint, I as well
7:36 you said "pray tell" that's an instant sub from me homie
Thank you for the video, Robert!
If you don't mind me saying, your argument in this video was less tight than your usual standards, but it was still thoughtful and insightful as always. A refreshing break from work to listen to you!
I think you've touched on an issue I have been unconsciously very curious about in the past. Your thoughts helped me sharpen the vaguer musings I had on this. As someone who doesn't do TikTok or Instagram, the world of influencers is alien to me, and I realise now I had assumed that audience size would be the definitive factor in deciding the degree to which monetisation is possible.
The complete lack of any organisation among the users who aspire to be influencers, and the total opacity of the users who already are influencers, means that this reproduces the problem of atomised alienation that is peculiar to all labour relations on the internet. Users are constantly the ones doing the 'work' of generating content, while platforms reap the profits. In this case, there is the intermediary of the companies (who would like to advertise) as an additional element that is parasitic on user-labour.
The question I would love to hear an interesting answer on is: what prevents all these users from recognising the fundamental similar nature of their exploitation vis. platforms? This is especialy the case for aspiring influencers, who have an even more narrow understanding of their relationship with the platform (it being their livelihood and not just a hobby), prima facie making it more likely that they would recognise that they are al in the same boat together. Yet this does not happen... How would we go about creating an educated cohort of users who both know their worth (as you put it) and know the worth of the collective they operate in?
What a thoughtful comment! In regards to your last question- they have been mocked due to misunderstanding, but colleges are starting to offer “influencer” and “social media” classes and programs focusing on helping to understand the business of influencing and how to monetize social media. I’d suggest you look into that if you’re curious !
I read an article about micro influencers in my local area, about how local small biz and restaurants are slowly catching on to social media marketing. One of the influencers interviewed straight up said she doesn't mark posts as sponsored because "people don't need to know" and "It'll make me look untrustworthy". You have a generous interpretation for why there's no 'sponsor' tags on some of these people's posts and maybe some of them are genuinely not sponsored but I bet there's a bunch of people just not disclosing properly
Very comprehensive analysis, well said
The thumbnail is hilarious 😂
I really dig your content 😊 food for thoughts!
Was hesitant to watch this one cuz the title sounded... Mean? But you have bamboozled me yet again with your thoughtful content. Really enjoyed you take on the topic.
i loved this video. thank you.
there is a shift happening where micro-influencers start calling themselves UGC creators. In short the girlies that realize that they don't have much real influence but have gotten good at content creation are sick of not getting paid and are selling their skills instead of platform
That's smart
That’s already been a thing - creating content for brands who don’t have time to make it themselves, but a lot of them were just now finding out about it
C.S.Y.A (Commenting to Support Your Algorithm!)
I personally prefer smaller youtubers because they're less likely to shove how rich they are, seeing people like Trisha and Jefree make me feel bad
Great breakdown.👌🏼
Love your channel 😸
Your one of my top micro influencers ☺️. I also think a lot of your videos will be referenced extensively in research papers in future. 👏🏿
You rightfully pointed out that clothing companies clothing only costs them cents to make but this standard is completely ignored for the influencers. How much should Starbucks pay for a selfie from someone with a few hundred/thousand followers?
As much as the value of products is subjective, the influencer market takes this to new levels.
Return of the King
unrelated but your rly pretty bro
I clicked on this literally for the thumbnail. I want to carry that look around to show people exactly how I feel.
Your youtube channel is really underrated
I work in Fashion Mkt and I tell all the microinfluecers that talk to me about this that they SHOULD know their worth, curate brand deals, not jump into anything because in the long run it's not gonna benefit then! If you like a small brand and u believe in their work you should try it, I know a lot of girls who became influencers because they supported the brand from the beginning. Think outside the box, and try to diversified from what there is already, it really is a saturated market rn unfortunately. (Artist too, don't sell ur art rights at the beginning, they WILL take advantage from you)
Those "branded posts" are probably Affiliate links.
Always love to see your content, Robert. You are inciteful, entertaining and always right on point. Can't wait for the next one!
Great video!!!
where can i find those glasses? i love them!
Thanks for sharing an interesting content
My friend has worked with Parade, I don’t know the exact deal but I believe Parade sends them free product every few months and gave them an affiliate code to earn commission on anyone buying with that code. Unfortunately, I don’t think most people make a lot on affiliate marketing unless they have a huge dedicated following.
I don't know why but I just love your voice
Micro influencer here: I have 1.5k on insta and almost 13k on tiktok. They don’t pay me we just get free product or leave reviews 😀 until I start UA-cam this is good enough for me but it’s not sustainable and I don’t understand people that think that model will change
As a part of social media marketing team, the answer is yes.
I have this huge data base of influencer price list, from major, big ones like someone with 1m+ followers to some micro influencers, and some of the micro influencers offers reasonable price, but some of them i swear to god, expensive as shit.. 😩
Their engagement rate isn't even that good, and they're asking big money for one post, even the same price list as someone who already gained like 100k+/200k followers, like these ppl really can't put a price on what they offers..
But, shout out to some micro influencers who love just reviewing products and offer a reasonable price with amazing results, you're rock!
I mean, it's not like it's public information how much social media posts are valued. There's really no workers' rights for this type of stuff either so it's a blind race to the bottom for everyone who isn't already a mega celebrity.
i used to get dms all the time from clothing brands asking me if i wanted to be “partners” or ambassadors but the most they give to you is a discount code for like 10%-15% off your order 💀 i do not miss instagram
Great video, and a really interesting topic! As someone who is an aspiring micro-influencer, here are some of my thoughts:
- the only "delusional" aspect is expecting that it will be easy to make a living from this or that it will happen quickly. Reality is you will probably work for free for a few years before you start earning money. It's also not reliable, and there are no guarantees, so you have to either have a plan B or be crazy enough to really commit yourself to making this work no matter what.
- unpaid/gifted collabs are DEFINITELY exploitative. That being said, I currently accept them (if I really like the product) because it helps me to have products to make content with without having to spend my own money. End of day, people get bored if you show the same half-empty moisturizer in every post, and buying new stuff all the time gets expensive.
- I've heard a good rate to charge is 4% of your following (for a static post). So with 10k followers that'd be $400. Not bad! Plus you can charge extra for usage rights for the brand.
- UGC is where it's at right now for the REALLY micro micro-influencers (like me). ie. get paid to make the content without having to post to your own feed (or you can offer that as a bonus for an extra cost). If you make great content but you don't have a large following, you can still be really valuable to brands.
- diversifying your income is where it's at. Some micro-influencers can get by on brand deals alone. But a lot of them also have: UA-cam ad revenue, creator fund revenue, paid memberships/communities, ebooks, courses, downloads, merch, 1:1 coaching calls, affiliate links, UGC deals with brands, they might work as social media managers for local small businesses, etc.
And I know selling courses and stuff gets a bad rap, and some are just not very good and kind of scammy, but on the other hand I've also invested in some paid resources from influencers that have genuinely brought value to me. And I know if I ever decided to sell something like that, my conscience wouldn't be clear unless it was something I truly believed could help people. But that's up to individual choice and morals, so yeah, definitely do be careful when buying influencer resources and consider whether they are a credible source and whether the price is fair.
Last point is, I really wish people would stop hating on influencers. We are not all stupid, superficial, fake and scammy people with no skills. Influencing is the new advertising, and content creators dedicate a ton of time and effort to learning real, valuable skills. And for those that actually make it? I mean, you can't tell me that someone is "stupid" if they figure out how to make money doing what they love. I feel like those who genuinely go out of their way to bash influencers and call them things like "the cancers of society" are just really bitter and unhappy in their own lives. Live and let live, right? 🙃
@M You seem to have a lot of anger. And I think it’s misplaced. But I’m going to respond to a few of your points.
1. What is this obsession with productivity? How do you define productivity? And how does my level of productivity affect you, personally? If I worked a regular job instead of trying to become an influencer, would anything in your life change? I don’t think so. So I don’t understand why you’re so angry about what I choose to do with my time.
Additionally, if you define “productive in the real world” as “irreplaceable to the basic functioning of society”, then I guess you also hate everyone who’s a musician, artist, dancer, actor, writer, photographer, designer, etc? Just scrap the entire arts industry?
2. You’re right, we are living in a capitalist hellscape. And we have been living in one since long before influencers became a thing. If you weren’t being advertised to by influencers, you’d still be advertised to in billboards, TV ads, magazines, radio ads, and everywhere else.
The difference is that influencer ads have an added layer of personal responsibility for what is promoted. Of COURSE brands are gonna try to sell you their products. That’s their only goal. People don’t even waste time anymore being angry that brands are trying to sell them a bad product. But influencers get to choose which brands they actually work with. And I personally would never promote a product that I haven’t tried, don’t like, or don’t believe in. I don’t push detox teas or crap that’s full of harmful ingredients. I don’t lie about how products have helped me or how they fit into my life and routine. Because a. I’m not a liar, b. I have moral standards, c. I do not want to lose people’s trust or get ripped apart online for promoting something I can’t honestly defend.
Not every influencer cares about that though. Some are happy to just take the money and run. But don’t put all of us into the same bucket. We are not the same.
But back to your capitalist hellscape, then again I have to add that if you hate influencers then you must also hate the regular people working regular 9-5 jobs in advertising, PR, consumer psychology, product design and development, and all the rest of it, right?
3. My posts don’t take only three seconds to make. And I do have skills. But it’s pointless to tell you anything about it because you’ve already made your mind up about me.
I don’t have a snide attitude. I don’t think I’m better than anybody else who’s pursuing a regular job. I also haven’t made a wonderful career out of this yet. Key word was “aspiring”. But I’m working on it and I believe in it because it’s my dream. Maybe you’d be happy if I failed and had to eat my words later in life and say I never made it, but I don’t really get that either, because I don’t go around celebrating other people’s misfortunes. I just know that what I’m trying to do with my social media is harmless and I enjoy it. And if anyone wants to be angry that I’m doing something harmless that I enjoy, that’s their problem, not mine. For someone who doesn’t care what other people do, you’ve spent an awful lot of time reading and replying to my comment and getting worked up over someone you don’t even know.
No one is forcing you to use social media. No one is forcing you to watch UA-cam videos about influencers. But you seem awfully invested in it despite your grievances.
Someone else pursuing a career they enjoy and are passionate about does not take anything away from you. It’s not a competition. We don’t all have to make the same choices. I think those people who make those useless “life hack” videos are annoying and just wasting everybody’s time, but I don’t go around leaving them nasty comments. I completely do not understand how anyone gets paid to be a “professional video game player”, but I don’t talk about that either. Because I don’t care, it doesn’t affect me, it’s not hurting anyone, and people can do whatever they want for their money. More power to them, I’m glad they’re happy and living their dreams.
That’s all.
@@HexaAngel Dancing on TikTok and posting half naked pictures on social media is NOT art. You make a living by self promoting and shilling exploitative and predatory brands. Now, that's fine if that's what you want to do with your limited time on Earth but do not delude yourself into thinking you are making any meaningful contributions to society. In fact you are doing far more harm than good, our planet and society are literally on the brink of economic and ecological collapse, meanwhile social media influencers like yourself are pushing your followers to consume and buy more stuff that they don't need in a planet that is already struggling with serious sustainability issues, many of these issues fueled by irresponsible fast fashion brands that you people are eagerly promoting because "LOOk mOm fREE sTuFF i'M aN eNtRePeNeUr"
@@distantraveller9876 I never said it was art. But if you're so mad about the environment, why don't you go protest against planned obsolescence? You know, how fridges made in the 1950s are still running fine today, but newer fridges and other appliances barely last 10 years? Yeah, go complain about that. Or go complain to Apple about them unnecessarily launching a new iPhone every year and deliberately slowing down older devices with their software updates. I still use an iPhone 6S, by the way. And let's not forget that influencers helped popularize a lot of eco-friendly products--like menstrual cups, period panties, reusable water bottles, biodegradable phone cases, etc.
I'm just trying to make a living doing something I enjoy. I'm not gonna apologize for it and I'm not gonna take the blame for the sins of massive corporations. Also, ethical and eco-friendly options are still unaffordable to most people, including myself--that is a systemic problem that NO influencer has the power to solve. None of this is my fault. But I'm not a hypocrite, I'm not a perfect person, and I do not claim to be. I'm not like one of those vegans who runs around saying they went vegan to save the planet, while eating avocados imported from half a world away. I just eat my avocados in peace. All this hate about influencers being bad for the environment just sounds like virtue signaling to me. It's a way to rationally justify a bitter and angry response towards people who are minding their own business trying to live a happy life, and are ultimately not to blame, and powerless to change the world's problems.
I work in Influencer Marketing (at an agency) with a few years experience and really appreciate your breakdown. Also, think the 4% is an okay starting point, but hope you are also accounting for different work required for deliverables, ER for those deliverable types, and any cross-platform size as well that you could possibly leverage (post syndication).
Also, absolutely always charge extra for usage. Paid usage should cost the brand! Make that money for yourself, since they’ll be using you to make money for them!
People are I think Almost all of us are exhausted by everyone always trying to sell us something. It’s not sustainable and it’s ridiculous. Why don’t people influence others with ideas and not products we are ready for a change
I'd love to create something, I just don't know what or how to even figure that out lol
You are one of the most interesting people I’ve ever seen
Interesting information!!!
Something that I think is important to note about free products in exchange for posts is that depending where you live and how many of those you are receiving, they can count towards your taxable income. This is of course not the most easy thing for a tax office to detect but microinfluencers could find themselves suddenly owing money if they didn't know about it. If they did know and they are reporting the products as income it may still be a good deal, if they actually wanted the stuff, but if they just said yes to build a portfolio of sorts they are actually paying on top.
I guess there are a lot of different types of influencers that build their following on just having heaps of stuff. Most people I followed in my teens were just (I'm assuming) much richer teens showing of bags and bags of school supplies, decorations, cosmetics, books or just weird items they found. So I can see why people wanting to get more followers would jump on the opportunity of getting free stuff, especially if it comes in the cute packaging for influencers that is popular online now. They're trying to finally make enough money by breaking into an industry where success relies on excessive consumption, but how else to finance that?
the tax office is Germany has a whole legion of Azubis in every Bundesland that are online sifting thru accounts and detect those especially when they get to Q3 and realize they have barely met the target numbers of council taxes and late fee charges. Trust me , they sit on those quietly add late fees and research fees then quietly send it to Inkasso. This should never ever be played with. But its hilarious nonentheless. people have zero clue or think its meaningless
I agree
Bruh I constantly get messages and comments from brands wanting to work with me and I have such a shitty Instagram like it’s awful Lol so I can only imagine how many actual micro influencers are getting used fr fr
My first video of yours I have seen and I am subscribing.
I have less than 1500 followers and shady companies/account comment on my posts (and my dogs posts) asking to collab and DM. My followers aren’t gonna make them money; they want me to buy stuff (at a collab discount lololol) and then market it for them. It smells like an MLM
7:50 oh you said it
Even with Instagram’s requirement to disclose paid advertisements, a lot of major brands still will not have influencer’s include #ad, #sponsored, or other FTC disclosures because the crack down is not happening. (I work in Influencer Marketing)
That price on that thumbnail vs the amount of followers they have....good lord
Never even heard of this term lol