Written by: Chloe McAuliffe
Photo Courtesy: Sophie McGuire, Amir Sayid, Cade Bethea
Welcome to the age of influence
I am sure we are all familiar with the YouTube and beauty star James Charles, or TikTok’s sister duo Dixie and Charli D’Amelio, or how about lifestyle extraordinaire Lauren Conrad? Whether you know these influencers well or have just heard of them, there is much more undiscovered talent. The world of influencers is glamorized to the nines, but we as “everyday people” do not really see or understand the behind the scenes of what goes into being the next Emma Chamberlain.
So what exactly is a media mogul? To put it in short terms, a media mogul is someone with power and influence in the world of journalism, politics, entertainment, news or a social platform. These moguls can influence from anywhere, at any time, using different mediums ranging from television to radio to your iPhone. Our world is absolutely filled with content; good or not, there's loads of it everywhere.
Even though it might seem easy to style an outfit, type a few words and click a button, that is not all the job of being an influencer is, and many fail to realize how much work goes into the day-to-day lives of the top media moguls. But lucky for you, we were able to meet up with a few and dive deeper into their lives as social media stars.
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Meet Sophie McGuire
@MuchLoveSophie
Sophie McGuire is an 19-year-old blogger living in Dallas, Texas. She is currently a sophomore at SMU, but is still working hard to grow her blog and other social platforms. If you love positivity, light-hearted content, style and beauty then @muchlovesophie is the influencer for you!
Meet Amir Sayid
@amir_sayid
Amir is a Youtuber & Instagram influencer from Somalia. He is a current junior and finance major at TCU and somehow is able to balance the influencer lifestyle along with his education. He recently started to grow his following on TikTok and is absolutely killing it!
Meet W. Cade Bethea
@southernandthankful
Cade Bethea is a 23-year-old author and creator of his blog Southern and Thankful. He was born and raised in Arkansas and is a recent graduate from TCU. Cade doesn’t just have a blog but also a TikTok, Instagram and podcast! His content ranges anywhere from style, food, travel and faith to pop culture.
What we see on social platforms is a highlight reel of influencer’s lives. We see the final product, the one with the perfect edit, thought out caption and strategically planned outfit at the highly sought-out coffee shop.
But what we don’t see are the 500 trashed pictures, the distressed closet cluttered beyond belief and the time and effort put into the pose and location.
While many of us think being an influencer is a fairytale life, and there are moments when it can feel like one, every influencer has to go through the dirt to get to the gold.
“Blogging is very unstructured, and everyday is a bit different," said Sophie McGuire, aka MuchLoveSophie. "A typical day could range anywhere from photoshoots, planning content, emails, working on partnerships and research. Not all of it is fun and glamorous even though it looks to be that way."
Part of the act of being an influencer is to simultaneously foster your own brand while promoting other products and companies. So how do brand sponsorships come about, and how do they work? Well, for most influencers, it’s a two-way street.
“Usually a brand will reach out via email or direct message me on one of my platforms," McGuire said. "However, if I truly love an item, I will constantly post it on my stories, feed and blog and the brand will reach out to partner with me. Sometimes I reach out to a brand personally because I think it would be beneficial for the both of us.”
McGuire said she will not promote a brand unless she truly supports it because authenticity is important to her.
“I have said no to several brands before because I would not want to promote an item or product that I don’t personally believe in or would never use," said McGuire. “I don’t want my followers to not trust my recommendations or mistrust my content.”
Instagram: @muchlovesophie
Instagram: @muchlovesophie
@muchlovesophie
@muchlovesophie
@muchlovesophie
@muchlovesophie
Just like your own Instagram accounts and social platforms, many influencers start theirs as an outlet for self-expression and creativity. McGuire started her blog, Muchlovesophie.com, to promote positivity and inspire creativity, while Amir Sayid, aka @amir_sayid, began his Instagram business as a hobby.
“Because I started my account as a hobby, I have enjoyed every single video and post I’ve made,” Sayid said. “It helps sometimes when a project is taking 10 hours to think back to when I started in 2018 purely because I loved doing it.”
"Sometimes, influencing on social media can feel more like a full-time job," Sayid said. Often, he has put his plans with friends on hold to finish a promotion video for his channel. But, knowing how much time he has dedicated to his business, he knows that there are thousands of people waiting for his “little piece of content” which inspires him to continue, he said.
“The hardest part of being an influencer [is] the assumptions people make about you! It’s crazy to think about how everything I say in my videos has an influence on others which can definitely be tricky at times.” - Amir Sayid
Just like celebrities, micro and macro influencers have a camera on them at all times, and some do not realize what little action can spiral into drama.
“As a college student, it can be difficult to balance everything, but the pros do really outweigh the cons in my case,” Sayid said. “Because of this channel, I have built a great networking web and a world of opportunities. Honestly, despite what some people think the motivations behind an influencer’s platform are, I am not doing this business to get famous. I just follow my passion and let it take me anywhere.”
Since the online world is a massive enterprise and a web of networks, how does one pick and choose which platform to start growing on? While the web is a great tool for building up a personal brand, it can be all too overwhelming for beginners to jump in. For media moguls, however, they typically start on one platform and build from there.
“My brand started on Instagram where I would post pictures of my favorite items, ootd and positive quotes,” McGuire said. “As I continued on there, I realized it could be something much bigger. So that's where my other platforms have emerged from, but, even now, I am still looking for new ways to expand my network.”
Cade Bethea, aka @southernandthankful, said it takes a while to gain a following which can make you think ‘maybe I chose the wrong platform,’ but, in the end, it all works out. As you gain followers, you can expand to different platforms and have new but overlapping audiences on each.
With the networking web, massive amounts of influencers and a world filled with content, becoming as an "influencer" can be tough. So, how do they do it? And to what extent is the term overused?
“I wouldn’t say the word influencer is oversaturated per se,” said Bethea. “Anyone can be an influencer which is what makes the online world so big and exciting! I do find that sometimes the term 'influencer' is used as a negative stigma around my brand. I’m not trying to be the biggest and most famous influencer; I just simply share my life and ideas. If people listen or get inspired then that’s great."
Others have a different take on what it exactly means to be an influencer.
“Almost everyone wants to be an influencer,” said Sayid. “For instance, someone with fake followers on Instagram thinks that they are an influencer, and many people fall for this. However, it’s not an easy road, and to make it in the business it takes someone with drive, passion and the right motivations."
Just like the oversharing of the term influencer, there’s always a fine line when it comes to oversharing and being too private. How is this line navigated by media moguls? All three influencers said it was hard to distinguish between oversharing and not sharing enough, especially when it came to more personal matters.
“I try to be as open as possible while maintaining my privacy as well,” said McGuire. “If either my family or friends are involved, I try to keep quiet about that because it’s more their life than mine. But if I can share something that will help others, then I do what I can to share the most."
Navigating the line between public and private can be just as tolling as COVID-19 was.
“During COVID, lots of people can relate to this, I felt challenged mentally, and I found that my content and creativity is often directly related to my mental health." Bethea said. "At times I felt pressured to be creative, and there were times when I struggled because I felt like I wasn’t doing enough or being productive enough, especially when I lost my full time job.”
Sayid said the circumstances of COVID-19 caused him to feel creatively stuck as well.
“COVID affected me in a big way,” said Sayid. “My typical videos are filmed outside, and I am always on some new adventure or challenge. But because of lockdown I wasn’t able to go anywhere. I ended up not uploading a video on my channel for two months because I simply had no material to work with. Because of that, I lost the motivation to make more content and felt stuck creatively. However, in order to combat my creative block, I tried TikTok and, to my surprise, it blew up."
Although both of these creators struggled mentally and creatively, they both learned from their experiences and grew from them.
“Even though my creativity differed from day-to-day, the biggest thing I learned during the pandemic, not just as an influencer or creator but in general, is that we can’t always be so hard on ourselves,” Bethea said.
The best part about being integrated as an influencer in the online world is that it is always evolving and growing. Whether you are just starting out or have been building your personal brand for a while, just know that with drive, motivation and passion you could become a media mogul. Just know that the day-in-the-life isn’t always a perfectly edited eight minutes!
Don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe!
xoxo,
Chloe McAuliffe is the Creative Director and Design Editor for Image Magazine. She is a junior at Texas Christian University, double majoring in strategic communication and design studies. Chloe is looking to pursue a career in fashion.
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