By Kat Shee, VP of Marketing at GROW and 1/2 of Shee Sisters, lifestyle and golf creators.
Have you ever thought about joining the world of influencers? You’re not alone. In fact, SignalFire (via a 2020 Forbes article) estimated that as many as 50 million people around the world already considered themselves creators. Broken down, Hubspot’s 2022 "State of Consumer Trends" report found that 30% of surveyed 18- to 24-year-olds and 40% of 25- to 34-year-olds considered themselves as such. Not all little kids want to be astronauts when they grow up anymore: Now it’s also about YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. But are they wrong?
As inflation rises and we see industries across the board taking a step back, influencer marketing remains lucrative as ever. According to Influencer Marketing Hub data, it was a $1.7 billion dollar industry in 2016, and we’ve watched it expand all the way to what the data suggests was a $16.4 billion industry in 2022. And it doesn’t seem to me like it’s going to slow down any time soon, as brands across the world are incorporating influencer marketing strategies into their business plans.
This takes us to the big question: How many people can actually make it as an influencer? Is there real money to be made in this dominating industry?
Some naysayers argue that with too many influencers come too few eyeballs. In this world, content may be overlooked, and it can be difficult to build a trusting relationship between the consumer and the influencer. Sorry, sponsored products. In reality, that may not be the case. At the beginning of 2022, Forbes senior contributor Walter Loeb reported on Sideqik data showing that 72% of consumers' trust in influencers actually increased, 66% said their purchase decisions were driven by influencers and 64% said influencers helped them discover new brands.
As an influencer myself, I think it comes down to knowing your niche, hitting every platform and, honestly, a little bit of luck. If you’re thinking about becoming a content creator or struggling to find your platform, here’s how you can find your niche (and hopefully, eventual success) online.
With 50 million people fighting for an audience online, finding success is not a task for the faint of heart. Many influencers who decide to leave their 9-to-5 gigs spend a large amount of time working side hustles to make ends meet until the free products they're offered turn into real cash. As one self-proclaimed failed influencer puts it, “I cannot pay my rent with a T-shirt.”
It’s hard to say how many failed influencers exist or how long it takes to become “successful.” It’s even tricky to define what success means as a whole. Is it a verification check or a certain number of followers or views? Defining what success looks like to you is a crucial first step to take when you're working to become an influencer.
It’s also important to ask yourself how long you’re willing to try being an influencer for. “Making it” happens at different times for everyone. Sometimes it just takes one viral video or a universally adored dog falling at your feet. If you find that your content succeeds, it’s critical to analyze why it worked, what audience it hit and how you can recreate that success.
Many influencers make the mistake of starting off too broad. Everyone likes TikTok hacks, but not everyone can be Khaby Lame. Ask yourself what genuinely interests you. Influencing is about creating an authentic connection with an audience.
As a lifelong and competitive golfer, I knew my content was going to be based on the sport. But after a year or two, I wanted to branch out and be in more sports-related content instead of just golf. I think it's important to create the content you want and also create the content that your audience likes. On our Instagram account, we get really promising engagement rates with funny and relatable skits, but we see similar success when we’re on the course crushing a game.
How many female golfers with an actual competitive background, Division 1 collegiate experience and great sister relationships are out there? That’s a pretty specific niche.
It took me six months of posting here and there to realize "wow, people actually like my content" and from that, I would just start posting different types of things that I thought would appeal to my audience.
Finally, where your content winds up is going to make a big difference in your success. A lot of being a creator comes with luck. Sometimes, you just have to be in the right place at the right time and have strong momentum. But you should make sure you’re consistently on all of the platforms.
As content creators, we always have to be up to date on the latest algorithm changes. For example, when Instagram switched its algorithm to non-chronological order-of-feed posts, it changed the whole game. It changed the way Instagram pushes your content out for others to see.
Being an influencer is not your average 9-to-5 job. I am constantly thinking about new content, how to connect with my audience, collaborations with other influencers and navigating relationships with the brands I represent. It’s easy to think that influencing is just about doing a dance and raking in the cash, but the reality is that it takes hard work, lots of time and the self-awareness to know yourself well enough to find your niche that works. If at the end of the day that still sounds better than your desk job, then what are you waiting for?
