For this task, I have been asked to research in to progression opportunities after college, rather than University. Alternatively, students may choose to use their skill to create a social media based career. Although a fairly new option, there has been a huge spike in the amount of people using their social media platforms as a full time job – through a combination of unique looks and brand marketing.
Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok allow creators to ‘boost’ their posts. This requires you to pay a small fee in return for a boost of your post to a larger audience. After a certain amount of engagement is reached, creators are then paid for their post. Additionally, brands send out PR (free products) to creators in return for them using their platform to promote the item, then a creator can earn commission on every sale their post leads to.
However, although there are many benefits, using social media as a full time job still requires a lot of hard work, and a demanding schedule. Although essentially working from home, you must ensure to; keep up with trends to create interesting new content, monitor popular hashtags to gain recognition from wider audiences, post regularly and in different formats to stay relevant, create strong images so you catch the eye of passers buy, and create unique work so you stand out from the crowd.
Although it can be hard, and time consuming to first start out, once recognised individuals could become hugely successful. Some social media stars, such as NikkieTutorials and Abby Roberts, have gained huge fame from their platforms and have since worked on TV and been recognised by huge brands. NikkieTutorials even hosted the Eurovision Song contest in 2021.
Although salary varies, the average entry level wage for a beauty content creator is around £26,599 per year, with more experienced creators earning upwards of £45,000 per year. There are also many benefits that come along with this job, such as free tickets to shows and concerts, VIP access, paid travel and stay, and free products.
Megan Hoff 