When launching any type of venture, the timing almost never seems to be on your side. There’s always a feeling that you’re starting too late, other people are already doing it, or you just don’t have the time right now to add another side project. This may seem especially true today in the midst of a global pandemic that’s shutting down entire industries.
However, while the above reasons might be true for other projects, they’re not true for starting a business as an influencer. This is actually the best time to start your business as an influencer and we’re going to share a few reasons why.
This is why this is the best time to start your influencing business.
It’s a young and growing industry
Whenever you’re starting a new career or business, you want to make sure that the industry is still going to be around in 5-10 years. For example, it wouldn’t do any good to open up a video rental store after Netflix had already become popular. Or you wouldn’t want to become a taxi driver after there was Uber.
Luckily for influencers, this industry is just starting to take off.
According to a study done by Business Insider, brands are set to spend up to $15 billion on influencer marketing by 2022. This number has almost doubled since 2019, where brands spent a collective $8 billion on influencer marketing. While some brands have been partnering with influencers for years, it’s still just becoming mainstream.
The industry is projected to keep growing, which means that sophisticated influencers will be more and more valuable for companies.
Influencer marketing will only get more popular
The gym apparel company Gymshark recently made headlines by growing 200% year over year and reaching a valuation of just under $500 million. What makes Gymshark particularly headline-worthy was that their growth was:
1 – Achieved in only 7 years.
2 – Achieved in the ultra-competitive sports apparel company. Squeezing market share away from athletic-gear goliaths like Nike, Adidas, Lululemon, and Under Armour.
And guess how Gymshark was able to pull this off? Influencer marketing. The fact that Gymshark was able to use a strategy that’s still secondary for most brands and pull off the success that they’ve had will serve as a wake-up call for other brands.
As more and more companies start using influencers as their main source of marketing, the industry will spread out to wider niches.
Influencer marketing can be used by any organization
As long as it’s done organically and influencers are being honest, influencer marketing is essentially just creating positive word of mouth. In this sense, it is a tactic that can be used by basically any organization. Influencer marketing can be used by anyone from Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and even local nonprofits to help promote their initiatives.
This makes influencer marketing one of the most widespread marketing strategies.
Everyone needs a side hustle these days
We won’t dive too much into the economics of it, but having a side hustle is becoming less of a hobby and more of a necessity. A recent survey done by CNBC found that 47% of Americans felt that the rising cost of living was the greatest threat to their financial security. For many Americans, the reality is that:
1 – Rent and the cost of living has been steadily increasing.
2 – Wage growth has been stagnant for years and jobs feel less secure with each passing year.
3 – Many young adults find themselves buried underneath student loan debt (sometimes over $100,000 worth) that will take years to pay off.
All of these reasons have created an environment where it is a financial necessity to have a side hustle. For many people, turning building an influencer business can lead to much needed financial relief even if it’s only a few hundred bucks a month.
Influencers work remotely
The rise of remote working (working from a laptop instead of in an office) has been growing for some time. First, there is the rise of digital nomads and the desire of younger generations to get more freedom over their time and life. However, this trend has also been accelerated by the novel coronavirus.
Due to quarantine orders put in place to battle the spread of the coronavirus, many companies had to scramble to establish systems so that their employees could work remotely. This will create an environment where, even when the virus no longer poses a threat, there will be minimal reason to transition back to the old way of working. In fact, as the virus is lingering in the United States, some companies are already offering the ability to permanently work from home as a perk to their employees.
A few of the companies to offer permanent work from home are:
-Square
-Shopify
-Slack
This is most likely the beginning of a cultural revolution where the majority of work that needs to be done will be done remotely.
This works out perfectly for influencers for two reasons:
1 – The work that they do can (for the most part) be done entirely remotely. Blog posts, pictures, and other content can all be created online regardless of where you are.
2 – Companies will have more of a need for influencers because there is such a stronger push to have a digital presence. To build their own digital presence, they will turn to influencers.
It will put you back in control
Becoming an influencer is a unique decision to make because of the flexibility that it gives you. There are so many different avenues that you can go down and different ways to monetize your brand. That’s part of what makes it so exciting when you’re getting started. You’ll have full control over what you want to create, how you want to provide value, and how you can make money.
Additionally, the limit of what you can earn as an influencer is essentially unlimited. Unlike other side hustles where you can only earn a set amount or an hourly wage, the money you make from influencing is only limited by the value you provide.
We hope that you’ve found this article valuable in understanding why this is the best time to start your influencing business. If you’re interested in reading more, please create a profile or follow us on Twitter and Instagram to get alerted of new articles as we publish them.
