Over the past decade a new career pathway has been carved out online. Thanks to social media, fame and money are more attainable than ever, and ‘regular’ people are now afforded similar opportunities to A-listers. For those who manage to hit the big times, influencing or content creation can be a lucrative career. According to Goldman Sachs analysts 50 million people worldwide now work as creators, and the industry’s total consumer demand has reached $250 billion.
Although full-time social media careers can be highly profitable — with the most successful creators earning in the millions — they can lack the stability and security that a full-time job can provide. According to a recent survey by The Washington Post only 12% of full-time creators said they made more than $50,000 (£40,200) a year. Despite this, in 2023, 57% of Gen Zers said they would like to become an influencer if given the chance, and three in 10 young people would even pay to become one.
But things may be changing. Although 60% of 18+ Gen Zers say traditional 9-to-5 jobs are soul-sucking, and 43% reveal they have no desire to work a traditional 9-to-5 job at all, some influencers are going against the grain and either returning to, or starting a 9-to-5 job for the first time.
Hello 9-5…
In an interview with Business Insider, Taylor Olsen, a fitness influencer and marketing coordinator, said she didn’t love her career ‘being at the hands of people who don’t know me.’ On her transition to full-time work, she said, ‘Now, I get feedback from my manager and our CEOs – not just internet trolls leaving comments. I have health insurance, a 401k, dental insurance, and PTO.’ In addition to her job-related benefits, Olsen revealed that she feels ‘more liked by my audience than ever’ due to her new work-life relatability.
This sentiment is not confined to Olsen’s experience. In a TikTok, user @snoopdiamond said that influencing is making her ‘brain rot’ and that becoming an influencer ‘made her out of touch.’
She explained: ‘When you do content creation for a living, if you’re not careful you can quickly just insulate yourself and put yourself in this bubble, that’s not really good for your brain.’
In an interview with Fortune, 23-year-old TikTok influencer Ana Wolfermann discussed her decision to take up the 9-5 job search. She said: ‘While I was in school, there were other things taking up my mind that challenged me as well, even though they weren’t necessarily things that I enjoyed. But I haven’t been challenged since pursuing this full-time. There’s only so much you can do if you’re focused on yourself. When you are the brand, and you are the product, it can be very unsettling.’
McCann’s Global Head of Influencer Crystal Malachias pointed out that although there isn’t an official average life cycle of a creator, some put it at 3-7 years. She said that given the average age of a creator, this short career path is ‘quite scary.’
‘The smart creators out there are looking at ways they can take their native social understanding and creative smarts into industries that are in need of social first transformation. It can be highly lucrative for creators and also provides job security, income security and long term ability to work in a creative role,’ she said.
She also noted that despite a number of influencers choosing corporate life, she doesn’t see steep decreases in those interested in content creation any time soon. ‘For young, impressionable people, the lifestyle and excitement that creators are able to portray and how they have come to be successful, seems to many easily achievable.’ she said. ‘I find it fascinating how people now take photos and videos of everything, posting and posing exactly as creators have taught us to. It’s a social phenomena that has altered behaviours that are not going anywhere.’
The move to longer-form content
Despite content creation still being a flourishing industry, there’s a shift happening — audiences, and now influencers, are craving more meaningful content and activity. As outlined in We Are Social’s 2024 Think Forward report, there’s now a ‘growing desire for in-depth and entertaining learning,’ with Gen Z exploring the depths of subjects they’re passionate about with longer video essays. ‘This hyper-attention or slow knowledge consumption, overlaid with memes and TikTok references, popular in geek culture leans into creativity and critical (deep) thinking. Popular creators like ContraPoints and Mina Le highlight the demand for engaging, long-form content,’ the report says.
Another way influencers are moving away from the confines of TikTok and creating more structure for themselves is through long-form writing. Lesley Buckle, a beauty influencer known online as Freshlengths, told Business Insider about her transition back into blogging, ‘You have your own space, and you can control that platform, how it’s viewed. You don’t have to keep pandering to what the algorithm wants, or what the platforms want you to do.’ For those in the US, the uncertainty of TikTok’s future, due to a potential TikTok ban facing the country, also plays into their decisions about their future. Because of this, many are trying to diversify their content and build more meaningful and long-term partnerships with brands.
Community and connection
During the interview with Ana Wolfermann, she was asked, ‘Why do you think corporate life will be better than influencing?’ She responded, ‘To see people every day and have relationships with them day-to-day is my number one priority.’ Influencers who are accustomed to working alone are seeking more connection. This desire to move from online to real life was echoed in a report by Amplify and SevenSix. The report outlined that creators value brand experiences for their opportunities and the chance to build community. One creator in the fashion space said, ‘This job can be quite lonely, a lot of the time you’re creating and doing independent work so it’s always nice to connect with other influencers.’
Since the pandemic the concept of community has become more prevalent, and brands are noticing this desire for community and connection among youth. In a recent interview with MediaCat, Joel Menegazzo, Creative Director at Seed, said there’s a hunger to form relationships post-pandemic. ‘We’re seeing this appetite flourish as youth seek to revenge their lonely years by forming IRL connections with like-minded peers and communities.’
In terms of job prospects, Malachias said there’s something for everyone, ‘I hope that young people coming from school or university push into the creativity that exists behind the success of being a creator and bring that to the many other careers that are available for this talent.’
Featured image: Israel Andrade / Pexels