The Online Celebrities: Inside the Career of Social Media Influencers
We investigated the perceptions of social media influencers’ and content creators’ self-identity, entrepreneurial motivations, and job crafting abilities.
Alexandra Cantu, Shannon Reilly, and Samantha Trepeck
Throughout the past decade, social media has enhanced many people’s lives and, as such, has garnered a great deal of attention. As a result of social media, brands can connect with consumers more directly and organically. The benefits of social media participation extend beyond simply socializing but include establishing reputations, bringing in career opportunities, and generating cash revenue. As social media influencers and independent third-party endorsers, these individuals can shape audience attitudes through social media(Freberg et al. 2010). They use social media platforms to create content promoting certain brands to obtain a following and brand recognition.
WHO ARE SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS?
We identified a social media influencer as someone who has acquired or developed recognition or notability through the internet. These individuals can be found on popular social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and more (Statista 2022). In addition, we identified notable influencers as individuals who have or have ever had brand partnerships or sponsorships. Before participants could access the survey, we asked two filter questions:
1) Do you self-identify as a social media influencer/content creator? and 2)Have you ever had or currently have brand partnerships/sponsorships?
THREE CONCEPTS STUDIED
This study examined self-identified social media influencers and content creators. Our research analyzed three concepts: self-identity, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and job crafting.
SELF-IDENTITY
People believe that they know who they are and that who they are influences what they do. Having a sense of self seems to be an ingrained characteristic of who we are (Tang et al., 2012). In this study, we will examine how individuals describe themselves. Further, we aim to investigate how individuals express their self-motivations.
ENTREPRENEURIAL SELF-EFFICACY
How individuals believe in their capabilities to perform specific tasks and roles affects their entrepreneurial spirits (Chen et al., 1998). We examine their entrepreneurial perspectives and approaches based on the participants’ self-identity, individual motivations, and life experiences.
JOB CRAFTING
People’s actions to shape, mold, or redefine their job are considered job crafting (Wrzesniewski 2001). An individual may craft a job by changing what they do as part of the job, how they approach their work or interact with others (Bakker et al., 2016). This study examines how social media influencers think and engage in their career.
METHODS
To conduct research regarding social media influencers and content creators, we developed a survey to best measure self-identity, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and job crafting. We crafted three scales using previous research from literature reviews to understand their perceptions. The study consisted of a 5-point scale. Participants were asked to rate their agreement or disagreement to 56 statements regarding the three concepts. This scale was followed by seven demographic questions and two open-ended questions, allowing respondents to share their advice and challenges concerning the professional career of influencers.
When recruiting influencers to participate in the survey, we identified 57 individuals from various influencer marketing websites (MediaKix; Influencers. Club). We referred to our above definition when determining if a selected individual fits the ‘social media influencer description.’ Our research team contacted these influencers via three email blasts– one initial email, one reminder email, and one final email. Furthermore, our team reached out to 49 other influencers to participate in our survey via direct social media messaging. Comprehensively, our team contacted 106 influencers.
RESULTS
Participants
After reaching out to over 100 influencers, we secured 13 individuals to participate in our survey. When reviewing the demographic results of our participants, 92.3% identified as female. The majority of participants have had some college education (38.5%), followed by completing Bachelor’s Degree (30.8%). 23.1% of participants have obtained an advanced degree (MS or Ph.D.), while the highest education of 7.7% of participants is a high school degree. Slightly less than half (45.5%) of participants responded as making $500–$999 per year– strictly derived from social media work– while 18.2% of participants make $1,000–$4,999, and 9.1% make $5,000-$200,000+. When determining platform usage of the participants, 69.2% of respondents claimed that Instagram is the top platform on which they post professional content, followed by TikTok (30.8%). When asked about the number of followers on their primary professional platform, 38.5% of respondents answered 1,000–9,999. 30.77% of respondents answered with having 10,000–19,999 followers, and 15.38% noted having 60,000–69,000 followers on their primary social media account.
SELF IDENTITY RESULTS
During our analysis of the self-identity scale results, there was a clear trend that social media influencers identify with using their platform for the greater good. When looking at statements categorized under the “Missionary” construct, half (50%) of participants strongly agreed with the statement, ‘As an influencer/creator, I want to be a responsible citizen of our world.’ To remain consistent with this theme, 46.2% of the respondents also strongly agreed with the statement, ‘As an influencer/creator, it is important to me to make the world a “better place.”’ Additionally, Darwanian constructs were apparent in the results of the respondents, where 46.2% of respondents strongly agreed with the statement, ‘As an influencer/creator, it is important for me to operate my brand on the basis of solid management practices.” The largest number of respondents (23.1%) strongly disagreed with the statement, “When managing my identity as an influencer, it is important for me to establish a strong competitive advantage and significantly outperform other influencers/creators in my domain,” suggesting that the majority are not interested in defeating their competition.
ENTREPRENEURIAL SELF-EFFICACY RESULTS
Our research team saw a clear trend in those considering themselves influencers and utilizing the tools that entrepreneurs commonly use when analyzing the entrepreneurial self-efficacy results. Of the participants, 72.96% strongly agreed and felt confident in their ability to communicate with others. However, influencers did not feel as confident in the ability to build a budget as 23.8% of respondents felt neutral or strongly disagreed with the statement.
After looking at how the individual scores ranked amongst all the entrepreneurial self-efficacy questions, we looked further into the subcategories that made up these questions. We concluded that influencers typically ranked themselves the highest in the communication category with a score of 4.475/5 and the lowest in the financial management category, where they scored on average a 4/5.
JOB CRAFTING RESULTS
The results for job crafting demonstrate that these self-identified social media influencers looked to increase their social and structural job resources. The term “job resource” refers to any physical, social, or organizational aspect of a job that stimulates personal growth or efficiency (Tims et al., 2013). Individuals’ social job resources primarily comprise the relationships and networks at work that provide them with support and feedback. And structural job resources shape the design of jobs, like how and when work gets done that offer chances for autonomy, creativity, and growth (Tims et al., 2013). When questioned, “I ask my peers and others in the industry for advice,” 46.16% of respondents had a positive sentiment indicating an inclination to increase their social job resources. Additionally, 66.67% of participants responded to “I strongly agree” when asked, “I try to learn new things at work,” indicating a strong preference for increasing their structural job resources. The chart below displays the five statements with a high agreement in the categories of social and structural job resources.
Qualitative Findings
When interpreting the qualitative data from our research findings, many themes were apparent throughout the response topics labeled ‘Advice’ and ‘Challenges.’ More specifically, when participants answered the posed question, ‘What advice do you have for aspiring influencers/content creators?’, 46.2% of respondents provided answers involving staying true to yourself and your values. 30.8% of respondents offered advice to apply yourself with “something that brings you joy,” while 23.1% of respondents recommend not worrying about others’ perceptions [of themselves]. When analyzing the data collected regarding the challenges of being a social media influencer/content creator, the most common theme was receiving judgment or criticism from others (46.2%). Additionally, 23.1% of participants face the challenge of “learning how to not put so much pressure on myself.”
IMPLICATIONS & LIMITATIONS
The research samples and selection significantly restrict this survey. Because the survey obtained such a limited number of participants, it is difficult to translate these findings on a larger scale. We cannot assume that these results are consistent across a larger population. In addition, the survey data that we collected did not provide a greater understanding of minorities, other genders, sexual orientations, or cultural backgrounds. When conducting future studies, it will be imperative that the research be diverse in every aspect, reflecting an accurate representation of the social media influencer community. Once gathering data on a larger number of diverse respondents, we can analyze relationships amongst self-identity, self-efficacy, and job crafting.
CONCLUSION
Using social media is an effective way to create a reputation, develop career opportunities, and earn revenue. These individuals have the power to shape attitudes through social media as social media influencers and independent endorsers. Through this study, we were able to have some insight into the behaviors and perceptions of social media influencers. The three concepts studied were self-identity, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and job crafting.
The first finding demonstrated that social media influencers look to positively impact society regarding how they internalize their motivations as they pursue an underdeveloped career. In addition, influencers identified that their entrepreneurial spirits primarily drive their communication techniques, identifying opportunities, and being creative with their approach. And lastly, the findings demonstrate that social media influencers are invested in increasing their social and structural job performance. While this study only secured 13 participants, the qualitative data revealed common themes around the two open-ended questions: 1) be yourself and have fun, 2) don’t place much pressure on yourself. Future research should see if there is a correlation between the three concepts studied once a more significant population is accessed. We are eager to provide more knowledge and resources to up-and-coming social media influencers and content creators.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Special thanks to the social media influencers and content creators who helped drive our study. Your expertise and perceptions were invaluable to this study and others looking to become creators. Thank you to the following influencers for their contribution.
@kt_kamrow
@kokainedanny
@flatbushgirl
@letspartychica
@thecurvydiaries
@aves.t @averytyson
@ashleighegood
REFERENCES:
Chen, C. C., Greene, P. G., & Crick, A. (1998). Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers? Journal of Business Venturing, 13(4), 295–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0883-9026(97)00029-3
Freberg, K., Graham, K., McGaughey, K., & Freberg, L. A. (2010, December 4). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811110001207
List of 150 micro-influencers in every niche [emails included]. Influencers Club. (2022, February 11). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://influencers.club/2021/01/10/list-top-micro-influencers/#wine-influencers
McGee, J. E., Peterson, M., Mueller, S. L., & Sequeira, J. M. (2009). Entrepreneurial self–efficacy: Refining the measure. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(4), 965–988. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00304.x
Published by Statista Research Department, & 8, M. (2022, March 8). Most used social media 2021. Statista. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
Sieger, P., Gruber, M., Fauchart, E., & Zellweger, T. (2016). Measuring the social identity of entrepreneurs: Scale development and international validation. Journal of Business Venturing, 31(5), 542–572.
Tang, Q., Gu, B., & Whinston, A. B. (2012). Content contribution for revenue sharing and reputation in social media: A dynamic structural model. Journal of Management Information Systems, 29(2), 41–76. https://doi.org/10.2753/mis0742-1222290203
The rise of social media influencer marketing on lifestyle … (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/communications/journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/153/2017/12/08_Lifestyle_Branding_Glucksman.pdf
The top 20 Instagram micro influencers to follow right now. Mediakix. (2021, April 2). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://mediakix.com/blog/instagram-micro-influencers-to-follow/
Tims, M., Bakker, A. B., & Derks, D. (2012). Development and validation of the job crafting scale. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(1), 173–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.05.009
Tims, M., Derks, D., & Bakker, A. B. (n.d.). The impact of job crafting on job … — isonderhouden.nl. The Impact of Job Crafting on Job Demands, Job Resources, and Well-Being. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.isonderhouden.nl/doc/pdf/arnoldbakker/articles/articles_arnold_bakker_310.pdf
