4 Advantages & 3 Disadvantages of Being an Influencer

We look up to influencers and aspire to have the sort of lives that they have. The luxury, free gifts, continuous travel, etc. all make the grass seem greener on their side. However, that’s not completely true.

Being an influencer has a lot of advantages. However, there are many disadvantages as well that you need to take into account. Although the glamor attached with the influencer way of life appears rosy, it’s the nature of being an influencer that makes it difficult too.

Let’s take a look at both the advantages and disadvantages of being an influencer.

Advantages

#1. Flexibility

When you become an influencer, you’re not bound by a full-time job or a fixed location. The flexibility also lies in the topics that you can explore be it travel, fashion, or even beauty. You get to decide your working hours and how much you work as well.

The job also gives you the flexibility to travel as you just need a smartphone, laptop, and good internet connection. This is in stark contrast to regular jobs where you need to go to the office daily and can only explore those topics that are in the purview of the company.

For instance, Meghan Joy Yancy, a mother of 6, is able to do it right from her home while caring for her kids.

#2. Building and Connecting with a Community

When you become an influencer, you create a community of like-minded people. All of your followers usually have a common interest in the niche in which you create content. You not only create this community but even engage with it regularly.

The engagement is done with frequent comments, replying to comments and messages, and frequently communicating with your followers.

This helps you establish solid connections with your followers, which, in turn, can improve your engagement rate. The higher your engagement rate, the better your chances of landing deals with brands. You can even charge higher rates if you have better engagement and more followers.

#3. Being Authentic

Becoming an influencer allows you to be authentic and truthful with your audience. You can let them know what it really took you to become an influencer and what your life is like as an influencer.

While many influencers may make the mistake of showcasing only the good side of being an influencer, it’s never entirely true. By showcasing the negatives of being an influencer or even the struggle that you had to go through initially, you can give your story a human and emotional touch.

#4. Free Gifts

Many brands prefer to give free gifts to influencers to motivate them to promote the brand’s products or services in return. When you become a popular influencer, there are good chances that many brands will get in touch with you for collaborations.

For example, Daniel Wellington gave their watches to numerous influencers on Instagram who, in turn, promoted the brand.

This means that you’ll probably get loads of freebies to try out and review. Some brands may even offer you experiences instead of gifts. You might even get invited to get-togethers of influencers that are hosted by brands. All of these are an additional perk of being an influencer, and a good one at that.

Disadvantages

#1. Maintaining Integrity

Remember, it is crucial to maintain your integrity when it comes to influencer marketing. There may be instances when you might lean towards promoting something that isn’t genuinely helpful for your audience. The reasons for this may be the extra money offered by the brands, freebies, etc.

However, if you don’t stay true to yourself and your audience, there may come a time when you may regret it. You might also have to face backlash from your audience if it causes some issues.

It is also crucial to mention the negatives of using a brand’s products if any. This is especially true in the case of medicines as they may cause side-effects.

For instance, Kim Kardashian promoted a drug by Duchesnay. She wrote about how it helped her overcome morning sickness.

However, the FDA found that the post didn’t mention any of the risks associated with this drug. They warned both Kim and the brand about the action they would take if the post wasn’t taken down or corrected. Kim complied with these remarks, but it did harm her reputation, as can be seen in the comments on the post.

#2. Finding Consistent Work

Yet another challenge of being an influencer is that of finding consistent work. There are thousands of influencers and micro-influencers out there, and it can be easy to get lost in this vast sea of influencers. This also reduces your chances of getting contacted by brands for partnerships.

When you don’t get regular contracts, it can be difficult to sustain your daily life. You may not have a reliable source of income, and that can be difficult for some people. You might, of course, have a few partnerships where you’ll have regular work, but if those end, the regularity of income and work become difficult.

On the outside, an influencer’s life may seem filled with glamor and fun. However, do keep in mind that you need to work as hard as a businessperson behind the virtual curtains.

#3. Building a Community

You can become an influencer only when you have a community. But to have a community, you need to first create it. Creating a highly-engaged community from scratch is no easy task. You need to hustle and come up with unique and high-quality content regularly so that your audience can connect with it.

It is crucial to understand your target audience and create content that they like so that they end up following you. Not only does this take a lot of effort, but it involves an equal amount of time too.

Building a Community

And even after building a huge following, you need to keep your community engaged by proactively communicating with as many followers as possible.

Final Thoughts

The world of influencer marketing may seem attractive from an outsider’s perspective. However, influencers struggle to maintain their audience and remain relevant.

The work may not be consistent, and maintaining integrity may be difficult too. But if you’re able to manage it all well, you can reap the fruits of being an influencer in the form of freebies, flexibility, and a good income.

What are the other advantages and disadvantages of being an influencer? Let me know in the comments.

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Gaurav Sharma

Gaurav Sharma is the co-founder of Attrock, a result driven Digital Marketing Agency. He’s a certified Google Analytics and Adwords specialist who regularly contributes to reputed publications like the Huffington Post, TechCrunch and many more. He leverages his experience and knowledge as a digital marketer to help influencers monetize their efforts and eCommerce and SaaS companies grow their revenues. When he isn’t inspiring his team of devoted individuals to achieve more, he can be found globe trotting, sampling all that the world has to offer.

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