THE global pandemic did not just change the way we live, shop, and spend our free time. For many social-savvy content creators, it's changed the way we "influence" as well. As businesses and organizations rapidly digitize toward a new "work-from-anywhere" setup, a generation of first-time influencers who don't fit the mold of common social media stars are emerging online.
Meet the "gigfluencers," a new group of influencers who have full-time careers and are only using their social channel as a way to supplement existing income. What's most interesting about this group of people is how demographically diverse they are. Hence, more brands in more industries now have access to influencers with their own distinctive tone and voice that might better represent their beliefs and identities.
We've seen that there were more folks becoming first-time influencers during this season. We also realized a greater representation of people who identify as Black and Hispanic among the gigfluencer community.
This diversity within the influencer community is a clear sign of where the thriving industry is going. As more enterprises understand the potential for influencer marketing, more breed of influencers will rise. And as that transpires, more people will have the excellent opportunity to become an influencer and start earning money.
The influencer landscape is constantly evolving. There are more platforms to leverage than ever before – with the growth of players like TikTok and the emergence of new content formats like live streaming and audio. The industry is booming, and the fact that more people were encouraged to shop online during the pandemic only perpetuated that growth.