That awkward moment when your co-worker is also an influencer
+the importance of owned platforms
quick summary ⚡️
50 million people are making money as content creators and - get this - most of them still have full-time jobs… 🤯
Cultural gems for your to-read list, including an inside look at the Harris campaign’s viral TikTok strategy
4 reasons to prioritize owned platforms in your digital strategy
when your co-workers find out you’re a social-media influencer
36% of U.S. Adults have a side hustle [Bankrate survey]. What happens if that side hustle happens to be content creation and your co-workers find out? For some creators, it can get a little awkward.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week on the phenomenon: “No one expects to share a cubicle with an influencer. These days, though, a growing number of Americans are pursuing side hustles on social media, even as they work traditional jobs. Some become accidental stars after posting a video that unexpectedly strikes a chord. Others amass online followers for months or years before co-workers find out—moments that can prompt everything from pride to relief to embarrassment.”
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It’s not a surprise that this is happening more, especially as Gen Z gets further along in the workforce. A few supporting nuggets from WSJ’s Te-Ping Chen:
Goldman Sachs found that there are 50 million content creators globally who earn money by posting online and 4% of them earn more than $100,000 a year from their work. [4% may seem small, but that is 2 million people…]
A recent Morning Consult poll found 57% of Gen Z respondents said they’d become an influencer if given the chance.
Colleges including the University of Texas at San Antonio now offer bachelor’s degrees aimed at aspiring influencers. [Read more about that here.]
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Of course, the story that gets plenty of attention is about influencers who leave their regular jobs when they hit it big on social media. Chen mentions several, including Joanne Molinaro:
“[She] was a partner at the prestigious law firm Foley & Lardner when she started posting on TikTok about vegan Korean cooking. Though her videos took off, drawing hundreds of thousands of followers, it wasn’t until her account was name-checked in a TikTok commercial during the World Series that her online celebrity became widely known at her firm.”
And while it’s fun to read these stories [and daydream about what we’d do if it happened to us], we love to read about the people who are continuing their 9-5 jobs, keeping influencing as a side hustle:
“In Toronto, patients regularly recognize TikToker and physiotherapist Nathaniel James, 27, even in scrubs. Four years ago, James was working at a liquor store and going to school, and had no TikTok account. Then a friend with just 10 followers posted a goofy video of them dancing and it blew up, drawing a million views overnight. He and his friends have continued making videos, earning him a six-figure income, mostly from brand deals, which involve promoting everything from fast food to movies.
James says his TikTok fame is good small-talk fodder, which comes in handy during 45-minute physical therapy sessions. He says he loves the job and has no plans to quit.”
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We don’t see it a lot, but it’s being done! Check out this MTD story about 3 executives who have strong, strategic profiles - great for inspo, especially if you’ve been wanting to get out there yourself.
P.S. If you’re a creator and had co-workers discover it while scrolling, we want to hear about it! Drop a comment on our Note here
💎cultural gems💎
The cultural moments and news that caught our attention this week:
TIKTOK AND THE U.S. FACE OFF IN COURT OVER LAW THAT COULD LEAD TO A BAN ON THE POPULAR PLATFORM, ap news
On Monday, TikTok challenged the U.S. Government in federal court, arguing against the potential ban. Executives and creators appeared in court, giving their best arguments for the app.
Both TikTok and the Justice Department have asked for a ruling by Dec. 6, which could allow the U.S. Supreme Court to consider any appeal before a ban takes effect.
THE ‘FERAL 25-YEAR-OLDS’ MAKING KAMALA HARRIS GO VIRAL ON TIKTOK, the washington post
“Over the past eight weeks, Harris’s social media team has helped supercharge her campaign, harnessing the rhythms and absurdities of internet culture to create one of the most inventive and irreverent get-out-the-vote strategies in modern politics.”
TIKTOK SHOP IS HUGE FOR THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY, the verge
Only 1 year after launching, TikTok Shop is now the ninth-biggest beauty and wellness retailer. But there’s a lot of fair criticism that it has made the platform worse, taking it from a source of easy entertainment to an endless scroll of ads.
I TRIED HAVING AN AI FRIEND, HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED, garnett achieng
“I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by my AI companion. Conversations with them were seamless and often eerily human-like.”
“Some tourists behaved inappropriately. One person poured water [on her] while another threw a shell onto Moo Deng when she lay on the floor.”
✨CLIENT FEATURE ✨ AFTER A MISCARRIAGE AND A HIGH-RISK PREGNANCY, BLISS IN PARENTING, ny times
Congratulations to MTD clients Elizabeth Higgins Clark and Lauren Pomerantz, co-founders of Wooby & Fotty, on their NY Times feature! The piece is a follow-up to the article covering their wedding in 2018.
You can check out Wooby & Fotty, a musical puppet show about a pair of childhood blankets, on YouTube.
4 reasons to prioritize your owned platforms
With the instability of social platforms today (👀TikTok + X), more and more creators are looking to invest in their owned platforms.
[An owned platform = one you have control over and is not manipulated by external forces like algorithms. Think websites, blogs, and newsletters.]
Social platforms may feel more intuitive to you, especially if you’re on them every day. But here are a few reasons why your time may be better spent on owned platforms:
Algorithms are ever-changing. Algorithms on social can change at a moment’s notice, or without notice at all. Building your main content on your owned platforms allows you to stay in control.
If you social platform crashes, you’re left with nothing. See that total number of followers you’ve worked so hard for? If the platform malfunctions, unloads bots or -- worst case scenario -- completely shuts down, you lose everything.
Social doesn’t give you control over the consumer experience. You decide how your content is presented, ordered and displayed on your owned platforms. When you turn it over to a social platform, the algorithm dictates when, where and how it goes out.
You can train your audience. Even if you’re in the early stages of digital strategy and are not ready to sell, or drive subscriptions, for example, it’s still worth getting your target audiences used to visiting your owned platforms.
Tools to help you get started on the MTD Blog: