When social media first popped up, we all used it to connect with friends and family. Over time, it developed into a place to showcase your talents to a broader community and build an audience.
Money soon followed, and social media became the new Hollywood. Internet personalities are the new rock stars. And like Hollywood and the music industry, everything you see is done for show. It’s branding and paid advertising.
Platforms like Twitter are well known for being flooded with fake followers and bots (it’s not the only one).
Even on brand new niche platforms like Clubhouse, you can buy followers and stage time. There are a lot of sales funnels in social media. If you pay the wrong people, they’ll just take your money and tag you.
Besides the followers and engagement, the pictures are faked, staged, and highly processed. Nerd City on YouTube has some great videos pointing out how highly photoshopped images are from influencers who swear they don’t use photoshop.
And it doesn’t pay as much as you think it would. You aren’t going to hit 6-figure salaries or higher unless you’re in the upper echelon of social media influencers with 7-figure followings.
Even then, it takes a lot of hard work, and most people are teams working with people behind the scenes and in public.
It’s not uncommon for celebrities to have anonymous accounts while their team rings their branded accounts online.
The entire thing is a business, and it is only becoming more prevalent as time goes on. At this point, traditional stage performers (actors, musicians, speakers, comedians, etc) are competing with social media influencers from YouTube, Tiktok, and Instagram for venues.
Performers are being judged by their online social media following more than their talent. That’s changing the playing field, especially since the pandemic.
At this point, it’s basically necessary to have a presence online that’s manufactured to fit a brand. That’s why I work with agencies that help creators and brands navigate this new economy and society.
Here are a few social media posts that infamously got people fired, if you want more.