I was an Influencer, and then I retired.
“Am I crazy?” I asked myself before announcing my exit from the Influencer world. Maybe to some, because to some becoming an influencer is like holding the golden ticket.
Free stuff, being paid to get free stuff and share it, cool events, incredible opportunities… that’s what it’s all about.
It is a pretty cool gig.
But the Influencer, or as I prefer to call it, Content Creator world has changed so much from the close to ten years ago when I entered the scene. I entered the world as a blogger and it was about inspiring and teaching and sharing. I naturally transitioned into video with YouTube which helped me tell stories.
Next came this big Instagram wave full of curated feeds and perfectly polished and produced content. That one was harder for me to grasp. I still loved the storytelling, sharing and the honestly imperfect content I had started with.
Over the past couple years the Content Creation world took on yet another transformation with a big push to perform and entertain as TikTok and Instagram Reels became king. The short, light clips filled with dancing and music have filled our feeds. I have wondered if this has become popular because of the pandemic. Maybe we are all so worn down and traumatized that this is all that we can handle right now.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to consume all of it… the beautiful photos, the Pinterest DIYs, the TikToks and Reels and I get how to make them, how to make them perform well and grow your community, but personally I needed to get off the hamster wheel.
And I’m not the only one.
As we exit these two years of lockdowns and our world completely changing as we know it, I have watched as quite a few content creators who started out around my time exit, change careers and pivot away.
I recently had dinner with a few creators, most who have exited like me and a couple still in that world who are adapting and growing. We were having a conversation about this shift and I shared my thoughts… either we are performers or we are not.
I am not. I think that many of the other Influencers who have pivoted away are also not performers, and that’s okay.
For me stepping out and observing this phenomenon while figuring out how it can be turned into a strategy to grow a brand is what gets me excited.
I am so ready to cheer on those creators still in the space as they adapt and grow.
It is hard to turn some social media traction into a full-time business. I know because I have done it. It really is something to celebrate.
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