Social media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide for you.
Matt Goulart, Founder of Ignite Digital
You've likely heard the term "influencer", but what exactly is it? Influencers are popular online personalities with a supposed expertise in a given field. Most of what they post to their following is related to this field
Influencing may seem like a job filled with flexibility and positivity, however, there are upsides and downsides to becoming a social media influencer that you should know about before you get started. In this article, we'll go through the skills you need to become an influencer as well as all the major pros and cons of doing it.
The Advantages of Becoming a Social Media Influencer
There are many advantages to becoming a social media influencer, if not many people wouldn't be attempting to do it themselves.
While the advantages of influencer marketing are clear to businesses and companies, what are the advantages that make people want to become influencers?
Content Creators Can Earn a Lot
While there are a few types of influencers, the main advantage they all have in common is their earning potential. The very best influencers can make millions and even respectable influencers will earn more than a typical salary.
According to ZipRecruiter, social media influencers can earn over $91,000, but depending on your work you can earn much more!
As with every "dream job", though, you have to remember that the top earners are always in the minority. This doesn't mean that it's not possible to make a good living as an influencer, but don't imagine that you'll instantly become a millionaire by creating an Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube account!
@halleykate ♬ original sound - halley
Influencers Have More Freedom Over their Schedules
Social media influencers mostly work for themselves, which means they can enjoy a lot of freedom in terms of their work schedule and how they plan the day.
As an influencer, you're the boss and can choose how and when you work. Many influencers as well as the self-employed, entrepreneurs, etc. also enjoy these freedoms, which can be even more beneficial if you have other commitments like friends, family, and a life that you'd also like to live.
Influencers Often Get Free Stuff to Use and Promote
To become a successful influencer, you have to play the game. The "game" is essentially creating a personal brand where your opinion holds weight.
Influencers use their "influence", brand, and audience that they develop through content creation to earn money by selling products. In the past, this was done by celebrity endorsements and testimonials, but in the world of social media, more approachable or inspirational people can do the job just as effectively.
Companies recognize this, too, so rather than paying an expensive celebrity to tout their products, they send free goodies to influencers in the hope they'll talk about them on their channels.
More often than not, these pr boxes that you have to talk about are yours to keep. The more popular you become, the more likely companies and brands will send you things to promote and in many cases, you get to keep them even if you don't use them or talk about them.
Don't expect lots of free things the second you become an influencer, though. Remember that you need the right tools for the job and work hard at building your brand and channels.
Social Media Influencers Can Go from Part-Time to Full-Time
The flexibility offered to social media influencers over their time means that you don't have to fully commit to becoming one. Instead, you can become a social media influencer on the side, while still working your regular job and earning a steady income.
This is great because as your social media brand grows, you can ultimately work less and less on your day job until you make the leap to become an influencer full-time!
Influencers Can Enjoy the Fun of Building a Community
Social media influencers get to build a following, which is arguably a huge part of the appeal. As you create valuable, useful, or engaging content, you'll see your audience grow.
Influencers need to have a following as that's who they exert their "influence" over. However, it's far less malicious than it sounds. Many influencers enjoy very healthy relationships with their communities who can offer support when things get tough, fight for the same causes, or simply chat about the shared interests that brought you together.
Influencers Don't Need Any Credentials
The skills that influencers need can be developed by anyone without needing to go to college or pay for expensive courses. Influencers don't need any academic qualifications, not even a high school diploma.
Of course, you do need expertise. Your expertise in a given area is what gives you credibility as an influencer so if you want to focus on an academic field, then you may need qualifications.
Khaby Lame (known simply as Khaby) got his start from humble beginnings in social housing and then lost his job just before starting his TikToks. From there, he went onto becoming the second most-followed person on TikTok and working with the Italian soccer club Juventus, the Venice Film Festival, and working with Hugo Boss!
The Cons of Becoming a Social Media Influencer
The life of an influencer sounds pretty wonderful. After all, you get to build a wonderful community, share your passions and expertise, and be paid or given free things for doing it.
However, it's not all fun and games and while becoming an influencer may appear exciting, there are many disadvantages and challenges are part of it.
Here are a few of the drawbacks of becoming an influencer.
Content Creation Offers Little Job Security
When you work for yourself, you won't have as many protections against unemployment.
Every entrepreneur will warn you of these risks. If the work dries up, it's up to you to keep the money coming in. If a company or business changes how they want to do things and that no longer involves using you to create content promoting their products, there's not much you can do.
Of course, you can always create work contracts, but even these will only apply for a limited time. Endorsing products and creating content online means that you won't necessarily earn a regular paycheck, either.
Many TikTok influencers were fearful that their jobs would be eliminated due to the app's ban on January 19, 2025. Fortunately, for both creators and users the ban lasted only a few hours, but the app's future in the US is still unpredicted.
@bbcnews TikTok has gone offline in the US, hours before a new law banning the platform was due to come into effect.#TikTokBan #TikTokBanUS #US #SocialMedia #Ban #DonaldTrump #BBCNews ♬ original sound - BBC News
Social Media Influencer's Earnings Are Relative to Their Popularity and Trends
Generally, the bigger your audience or brand, the bigger your earnings. That said, certain niches pay better so you could earn more with a smaller audience in a more lucrative niche.
However, within your area of expertise, a larger audience will often result in higher earnings, which means a large part of your job will be chasing trends and having to do popular things rather than just because you want to do them.
While many influencers do enjoy freedom over how they work, they also have to have their ear close to the ground and regularly work on becoming more popular.
Not all influencers make similar money. How much you earn as a social media influencer depends on how popular you are and how wide your audience reach is. The more users you can reach with your videos and posts, the more businesses will be willing to pay because they'll see a better return on their investment. However, if your popularity declines for any reason, it's likely that your income will also take a significant hit.
Social Media Influencers Are at the Behest of the Platforms They Use
Social media influencers get most of their business through their social media platforms of choice. This means that if the platforms decide to work against you, suddenly become unpopular, or something happens to your account, you could end up in trouble.
Many social media influencers mitigate this risk by having several accounts across several platforms, but even then, they'll likely have accounts that are more popular than others and wouldn't want to lose them.
Influencers Can Be Subject to Abuse and Horrible Comments
If you've spent any time on the internet, you're probably aware of how awful certain areas of it can be.
The biggest downside of doing anything online is the comments and abuse that come from having a public online persona. If you build a good community, there'll be people who have your back, but that won't necessarily stop the trolls from posting horrible things.
Before you become a social media influencer, remember that this is always a possibility and sadly, something that every influencer has to deal with.
What Skills and Qualities Do Influencers Need?
Social media influencer is a newer kind of career and while there aren't any formal requirements, you need to have what it takes to become an influencer if you want to enjoy any kind of success.
The most important thing for a social media influencer is that they communicate effectively. This goes beyond speaking, too. You have to be able to write effectively.
Influencers have to be creative, too. They need to constantly come up with ideas for content and posts, creatively solve problems, and attempt to predict what the next big trends are going to be.
Social media influencers or content professionals need to be relentless, too. Social media platforms require users to post regularly, but so do most audiences. You need to keep your followers interested in what you're doing with lots of content, but you also need to listen to them to ensure you're making the right content for them.
Learn More About Influencer Marketing with Superprof
Influencers don't need any formal qualifications, but they do need to be experts in social media, influencer marketing, and marketing in general. Fortunately, you can learn all of this without having to go to college by studying with a private marketing tutor.
In the past, you may have just studied marketing or business at college, but now you can study influencer marketing, social media, and very specific skills with tutors either in person or online.
On the Superprof website, you can simply search for marketing tutors and start browsing their profiles to see what they specialize in. They can also go through all the pros and cons of being an influencer and help you work out if it's right for you and if it is, how you can get started.
Additionally, you can use a private tutor to learn a lot of the other skills that influencers need, including graphic design, video editing, community management, etc. With many Superprof tutors offering the first lesson for free, you can always try a few tutors out before choosing the perfect one for you and the niche you're going to focus on!
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want to be connected
Hello Urvi! If you want to be connected with a tutor, please head over to our website Superprof.com and search for marketing tutors to discover a plethora of tutors that fit your needs.
Do celebrities hire social influencers who pretend to be that celebrity?
Hello Steven, thank you for your comment! That would depend on each celebrity and what they decide with their management team. To learn more about influencer marketing, contact a Superprof tutor today!
hey thanks for the help
You’re welcome, William! We’re happy you enjoyed the article!
Thank you for yor help
Thank you for your help. I hope you will be a popular influencer one day.
all good jennie tried my best
Hey guys! Thanks Hailey for the help and also like the article! Good work. :)
Hi Kayden! Thank you for the comment and support! We’re glad you enjoyed the article!