By: Lakyra Banks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Statistics show nearly 44% of the American population have side jobs. Of that 44%, more than 62% of those people are a part of Gen Z.
College students are taking over the digital atmosphere as micro-influencers and content creators. Students use social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram, Youtube and more to create consumer-focused content. The branded content opened the doors to “influencer marketing,” when a brand hires an influencer to promote products or services using their social media accounts.
For TikTok microinfluencers, Oliver Sims and Madisyn Albert, they’re all too familiar with the topic.
“My goal with TikTok was to create another avenue of income,” said Oliver.
According to tube filter, the social media apps pays about four cents on average for every thousand views that a videos receives. Thus, the larger your follower and view count, the more more you are likely to receive.
“Honestly with all the brands, whenever they see like a triple digit number and your following count is like 100,000 plus, that’s when they’ll start paying you like five to six figures on the regular,” said Oliver.
However, both and Oliver and Madisyn agree that the “real money” isn’t in the app itself. Instead, they say the best way to make money is through partnerships and brand deals with other companies.
“So, TikTok pays me just not that much. But it’s been like the brand deals and sponsorships. I kind of partnership with a company called Samsonite. They make a lot of luggage. I’ve worked for them for almost a year now and they’ve sent me a total of seven pieces,” said Oliver.
Data from Shopify shows that brands pay anywhere from $50 to $7,000 for a post. That number is based on the number of followers that an account has.
Madisyn, has a partnership with social media app, Locket. Locket allows user to send pictures directly to another users lockscreen. Madisyn said, the company reached out to her to post videos and promote their brand.
“They emailed me,” said Madisyn. “They offered to pay me $100 per video and they said if it gained over 13,000 views they would give me a bonus $300.”
Several TikTok users who are college students have dropped out of school to pursue microinfluencing full-time. Despite, the rise in people seeking the job as a career, there is currently no college major for people pursuing the career path. Oliver says we plans to mix his college degree and microinfluencing.
“I wanted to do this alongside like a main job after I graduated. Since I have a degree in accounting, I can always work in accounting and entertainment,” said Oliver.
Whether it’s purring microinfluencing full-time or continuing their college studies, both Oliver and Madisyn say they’re figuring out a path.