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More than a quarter of Gen Z in the US plan to make a career as a social media influencer, according to new research which highlights the aspirational quality of a job that blurs the line between ‘influencer’ and ‘celebrity’.
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Digital consultancy Higher Visibility commissioned Censuswide to survey 1,000 people aged 16-35 across the
US during July.
Social media influencing is a two way street between
audience and brands. The study revealed
that over 1 in 4 (26%) Gen Z trust influencer reviews more than product page
reviews, while some influencers
can now make over 1 million dollars for a single social media post.
The desire to become an influencer is uniform across the
States with 30% of those interviewed expressing an interest in the the Midwest, rising to 37% in the Northeast. In New York State alone, 41% of local Gen Zs intend on becoming an influencer in
the future, whilst 30% from LA also feel the same way.
Perhaps even more
shockingly, the study found
that Gen Z males (20%) are more likely than females (13%) to believe that being
a social media influencer is the only choice of career for them.
Additionally, over
12% of Gen Z told us that they would quit college to become an influencer.
According to the
results, nearly 1 in 4 Gen Z believe there should be social media influencer
training in school, with 6% of Gen Z actively choosing not to go to college to
become an influencer.
Naturally most parents don’t agree – or perhaps don’t
understand what the job would entail.
Nearly a quarter Gen Z claimed
that their parents follow them on social media, yet almost half say their parents would prefer for them to go
to college than become an influencer.
It’s not as if most Gen Z are blinkered when it comes to the
money that can be made as influencer.
Asked to
guess how much they thought an
influencer would make in a year on average, the most frequent answer as
between $75,001 – $100,000 was the
most commonly guessed figure, followed by $50,001 – $75,000. Surprisingly, 10%
of respondents told this research
that they thought influencers could earn between $5,001 and $10,000 per year,
with just 2% selecting ‘over $100,000’.
Instead, Gen Z are attracted to the others benefits of being
an influencer which they perceive as being to receive ‘free products’ , free holidays, and being a “celebrity.”
The most popular social
media influencers according to this cohort is Charli D’Amelio, beating out both Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. D’Amelio gained
popularity for her dance videos and has amassed 193,900,000 combined followers on TikTok and Instagram.
Unsurprisingly, TikTok is the social platform of choice
carrying most weight about this demo. Nearly
40% of Gen Z said they would
choose TikTok as their primary platform with over half believing it is easier
to be a social media influencer on TikTok than on any other social media
platform. YouTube is in second
place with 21.68%, while
Instagram follows in third with 21.39%.
Just 7.13% of Gen Z
responded that they would not want to be a social media Influencer.
“It is safe to say
that over the years, the line between ‘influencer’ and ‘celebrity’ has blurred,”
says Adam Heitzman, co-founder of the consultancy.
With influencer
culture permeating the younger generations and becoming more prominent as time
goes on, it is a movement unlikely to falter any time soon.”
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