Social Media Influencer - Is It A Viable Career Option?

Are you bored of having a 9-5 job? And looking for some amazing social media careers that are interesting and lucrative as well? You can do all of it right from your home or simply anywhere you like. What you basically want to be is - a social media influencer! That's right, you can consider making a full-blown career out of your fondness for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

As most people spend their time on such platforms, being a social media influencer has become one of the most influential careers. A social media influencer has the chance to influence trends, consumer behaviour, and public opinion across the world. So, snap a pose, grab your camera and phones, and let's explore the fascinating world of social media influence.

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Where To Begin?

Social media influence offers something for everyone, with a diverse range of categories that cater to every interest and passion. Whether you're into fashion, food, travel, gaming, or business, there's a category of social media influence that's perfect for you.

Here are a few different streams of social media influencers, each category, however, presents unique opportunities and issues and demands a certain combination of skills, talent, and knowledge:

>> Fashion and Beauty: Influencers in the fashion and beauty industries must have a keen sense of style and the ability to produce aesthetically interacting content.

>>Travel: Travel influencers need to be able to take beautiful pictures and offer insightful travel advice.

>>Food and Fitness: Influencers in the food and fitness industries must be knowledgeable in the science of exercise and nutrition in order to provide informative posts on healthy living.

>>Lifestyle: Lifestyle influencers talk about a variety of topics, which enables them to engage with a larger audience. They might share personal experiences, give relationship and self-improvement tips, or inspire and motivate their followers.

>>Gaming: Influencers in the gaming industry must possess good gaming skills and knowledge as well as the ability to offer entertaining gameplay comments and observations.

>>Technology: Tech influencers need to be knowledgeable about the most recent technological advancements and capable of offering insightful analyses and critiques.

>>Business and Finance: Influencers in business and finance need to have an in-depth understanding of economics and business in order to offer insightful commentary and guidance on entrepreneurship, investment, and personal finance.

Other categories besides these are parenting, comedy, and personal development, even education and career guidance. So, discover your niche, let your uniqueness and creativity shine through. Moreover, which category you decide to be in is very personal to the individual’s interests and passions.

Apart from that, an influencer can choose different methods to produce their content, such as vlogging, blogging, podcasts, and short videos on Instagram and Youtube.

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Earnings of An Influencer

According to the Influencer Marketing Report mentioned by CNBC, the Indian influencer market is anticipated to reach Rs 2,200 crore by 2025 and grow at a 25 per cent CAGR. Moreover, based on an evaluation by iCubesWire, social media influencers had a 46 per cent rise in their advertising-based income when the COVID-19 outbreak caused a 20 per cent reduction in all Indian advertising. Highlighting the fact that the influencer business is getting serious day by day.

In addition to that, marketing agencies all around the world have classified influencers into four categories based on their number of followers. For instance, individuals with followers from 1,000 to 10,000 are termed nano, and from 10,000 to 1 lakh are micro. Influencers with followers ranging from 1 lakh to 1 million fall under macro, and mega influencers are the ones who have more than a million followers.

Here are some of the variations on which their income depends:

>> Income is often based on the reach you have: According to marketing experts, an influencer can make between Rs 15,000 and Rs 5 lakh from a single brand contract, depending on which category (nano, micro, macro, or mega) they fall under. Moreover, for each category, income can vary on different social media platforms.

>> Which platform they are posting on: Income varies as per which social media platform they are creating content for. For instance, influencers on Facebook can earn money by posting sponsored posts, affiliate links, or live videos. Nano influencers can earn approximately Rs. 14,000 per post, and it can go up to lakhs as the number of followers increases. However, Micro ones might earn Rs. 21,000 to 22,000.

Instagram is one of the most popular platforms for influencers to make significant earnings. Nano influencers on instagram can begin with Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000, micro influencers can earn Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 60,000, macro ones earns significant amount ranging from Rs. 1.5 lakhs to Rs. 3.5 lakhs and mega influencers can earn Rs. 4 lakhs or more on per post.

Whereas, Youtubers after monetizing their channel can earn in lakhs while going live where their subscribers and followers can directly pay them. Apart from this, their regular income comes from the number of viewership and subscribers following their content, which is paid by youtube only. It can go beyond Rs. 1.5 lakhs to Rs. 6 lakhs if an individual has 150 million or more views. On platforms like Twitter, nano and micro influencers can get Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 11,000 approximately per post.

However, payments can vary depending on various factors including their level of popularity and engagement, the kind of content they create, their niche and audience, and the brands they collaborate with.

>> Based on the type of promotion: Followers are more likely to believe a brand when an influencer endorses it. So in order to promote a brand or even themselves, there are different mediums available, such as:

• Sponsored Posts- Where influencers get paid for promoting goods and services in their posts. You must have often seen the ‘Paid partnership’ tag in the posts, so that is actually a sponsored post.
• Brand Ambassadors- Influencers promote brands exclusively they have signed contracts with often on their social media accounts. Many big Indian influencers nowadays have been announced as brand ambassadors for brands such as Lenskart, L'Oreal Paris, and Maybelline India.
• Affiliate Marketing- Have you ever seen influencers advertise a deal on a good or service using a unique code or URL? They most likely work as affiliate marketers. Brands reward influencers with a percentage share as compensation when a customer is brought in by an influencer.
• Merchandising- It is basically creating and marketing branded goods, such as T-shirts, caps, phone covers, and other accessories featuring the influencer's name, picture, or logo. They are intended to appeal to the influencer's audience and promote their personal brand.

Social media influence as a career provides a lot of flexibility and creative freedom. Influencers can operate from anywhere and produce content that is in sync with their hobbies and interests. But one of the major drawbacks of this line is the crowd that follows it. For instance, if one does it, flocks of people follow in fascination to replicate it. It is a good factor in terms of revenue generation but at the same time to handle huge crowds becomes problematic. Moreover, youngsters these days are greatly impacted by these influencers, as an influencer it is their responsibility to guide youth without hampering ethics and morals of the society. So one needs to consider and draw safe lines and boundaries.

Additionally, the potential for social media influencers in India as a career is huge and expanding with time. India has one of the largest populations of social media users in the world, and the increasing popularity of platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook has created a huge demand for social media influencers.

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