In�luencing can be a high-earning career.

Why don't we take it

seriously?

Content creators are making big money and running businesses as in�luencers. It's time
to recognise their work as a real job. Most days, Chloe Homan's work schedule is jam-packed.
The 32-year-old from Wisconsin, US, usually starts her week with planning and touching base
with her team, while Tuesdays are back-to-back with meetings. Wednesday and Thursday are
reserved for focused work. With Friday spent wrapping up loose ends before the weekend,
Homan says she can sometimes rack up 80 to 90 hours of work each week.
Yet in spite of her long hours and intense work schedule, plenty of people still don't see
her line of work as a "real job". Homan is a professional in�luencer, who has been on the
receiving end of plenty of eye-rolling about her career. "I remember telling friends and family
what I was going to do, and nobody even knew what it meant," she says, re�lecting on the start
of her content-creating journey, around �ive years ago. "People thought you'd just take a picture
and post it, and there wasn't any real money to be made. I remember my mom being worried
about me putting my whole life online."
But now, things are changing. Homan was able to go full time as an in�luencer in 2019
after �inding a niche providing curly hair tips and tutorials to her followers. She now runs her
social media platforms as a business with a staff of six, and has also launched a hair accessory
line. And it isn't just her ability to make a living as a content creator that she's seen change.
"Now I have friends who are teachers who will tell me that kids say that they want to be
TikTokers or YouTubers when they grow up," she says. "You can create a very good living in this
industry."
For years, many people have seen in�luencing as something of a self-indulgent pursuit
for mostly young women, with content creators being branded as vapid, even con-artists. But
the art – and business – of in�luencing is changing. Now, content creation can be a lucrative
career, and companies rely on people with big social media followings to boost their products
and services. Many in�luencers have proved themselves to be savvy entrepreneurs with a knack
for building a brand.

A 'real' job?

As the founder of New York-based in�luencer agency Village Marketing, Vickie Segar
has seen the business of in�luencing change. "In�luencers have been discredited for a decade,"
she says. "People used to believe that in�luencers could be paid to support and promote any
brand, but they're increasingly understanding that the creator is in control."

Segar says she's seen growing trust in in�luencers from consumers, and with it, a boost
in con�idence from brands to spend big on in�luencer partnerships. Estimates from In�luencer
Marketing Hub show the in�luencer industry is now worth a sizeable $21.1bn (£16.8bn). "Most
consumers, especially younger audiences, are sceptical of print and mass media marketing,"
says Anna Stella, a marketing lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, UK. "However, in�luencer
marketers bring authenticity to advertising, increasing brand trust."

www.alternatifa.com
 In another In�luencer Marketing Hub 2022 survey of 3,500 agencies and brands (38%
of whom worked in marketing), 82% of respondents they would be dedicating a signi�icant
portion of their budget to in�luencer marketing in 2023. Yet despite the impact of these
creators, Segar says many people – particularly older generations – still don't take in�luencing
seriously.

"In�luencers are creative directors, talent producers, editors, location scouts,

community managers, product curators and sales teams all in one," says Segar. "They are
replicating a creative agency and media industry that would have several people working to
produce what they do and maintain the audience and media value. Anyone who can keep
people's attention should get credit for that value.".

www.alternatifa.com
 Fill in the Blank With Appropriate Meaning!

1. In�luencer :
2. Curators :
3. Wrapping up :
4. Jam-packed :
5. Reserved :
6. Used to :
7. Line of work :
8. Replicating :
9. Particularly :
10. Dedicating :
11. Trust :
12. Lecturer :
13. Rely :
14. Savvy :
15. Boost :
16. Sizeable :
17. Estimate :
18. Eye-rolling :
19. Recognise :
20. Loose :
21. Re�lecting :
22. Worried :
23. Platforms :
24. Journey :
25. Portion :

www.alternatifa.com