Raffi Ahmad et al

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Job like an influencer famous as YouTuber Mr. Beast, for domestic social media celebrity Raffi Ahmad, is the dream of many people.

However, it turns out that the world of content creation is not as pretty as it looks on your mobile phone screen. The industry is becoming increasingly crowded and causing fierce competition to earn profits.

Platforms are less generous in giving commissions to content creators. Seasonal brands are also more selective to work with an influencer.

At least that’s according to reports The Wall Street Journal. One example is Clint Brantley, who has been a full-time content creator for the past three years.

Brantley shares content with TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch. Most of the content is about trends related to the mobile game Fortnite.

Despite more than 400,000 followers and an average view of his content of more than 100,000, Brantley’s income last year was less than the median annual wage of workers. full time in the USA in 2023 it will be US$ 58,084 or IDR 950 million.

The 29-year-old was not ready to commit to renting a place because of his unstable income. Currently, Brantley still lives with his mother in Washington. “I’m very vulnerable,” he said, quoted from The Wall Street JournalSaturday (26/10/2024).

The Wall Street Journal writes that it is difficult to earn a decent and reliable income as a content creator, and it will become more difficult.

Platforms are increasingly offering money for popular posts. On the other hand, brands are more specific in choosing agreements with an influencer.

This situation is exacerbated by the threat of TikTok being blocked in the US in 2025. Many content creators are concerned about whether they can still earn income from social media if one of the monetized channels will be deleted.

Business An influencer More people

According to a Goldman Sachs report in 2023, hundreds of millions of people around the world will download entertainment and educational content on social media. About 50 million people collect money from it.

The investment bank believes that the number of creators that generate income will grow at an annual rate of 10% to 20% by 2028.

This contributed to an increase in the number of wage earners, although the Department of Labor does not track wages of wage earners an influencer.

On average, it takes months or even years for content creators to collect income from social media platforms, brand collaborations, and affiliate links. However, the more people seek sustenance from this industry, the smaller the ‘cake’ that needs to be shared.

According to NeoReach, in the past year 48% an influencer collected less than US $ 15,000 or Rp. Only 14% collected more than US $ 100,000 or Rp.

Income inequality an influencer This is determined by several factors. For example, whether the influencer works full-time or part-time, the type of content they share, and the length of their career as an influencer.

Several people who became famous during the Covid-19 pandemic and focused on popular topics such as fashion, investment and lifestyles admitted that it was very helpful because the trend was right .

But, behind everything, content creators admit that this work is very energy and mentally draining. They always have to think about what content will appeal to their audience and take the right move.

An influencer spend days planning content, producing it, and going through the editing process to upload it to social media. They also need to interact with fans constantly to stay popular.

“This is a lot of work compared to what most people think,” said Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg.

“Creators who can live by being an influencer has been doing this work for years. “Most of them will not become big in a short period of time,” said the analyst.

Additionally, freelance influencers don’t get the same benefits as office workers. Peacock does not receive health insurance, pension funds or annual bonuses.

In the midst of inflation and economic uncertainty, an influencer with increasingly difficult pressure to secure their finances.

Income from platforms is getting smaller

In 2020-2023, TikTok has a funding program for creators of up to $1 billion. YouTube through the Shorts feature also allows creators to raise around US$100-10,000 per month with a temporary funding program.

Then, Instagram Reels rewards creators in variable amounts. This huge bonus is a tactic to get more people to create content on their platform.

However, now platforms are starting to change payment policies for content creators. Conditions for TikToker income are now extended. There must be at least 10,000 a follower with view 100,000 minimum in a month.

Instagram is also testing an ‘invite only’ program that will reward creators who share Reels and photos with cash.

YouTube introduced an ad revenue sharing program last year for creators of Shorts with at least 1,000 subscriber and 10 million views in 90 days. They will be given a 45% ad revenue share for the content they share.

As time goes by, TikTokers admit that it becomes more difficult to earn money. One of them, Ben-Hyun, said that last March he earned US$200-400 per million views. However, now his income is going down though a followerincrease to 2.9 million.

Ben-Hyun admits that now he only gets $120 for videos that collect 10 million views. It shows, though an influencer you have a large audience, it’s still hard to monetize it if you only hope for income from the platform.

Danisha Carter also shared similar concerns. He said his TikTok has 1.9 million followers.

According to him, content creators have succeeded in bringing an ‘addicted’ audience to online platforms and bringing billions of US dollars in revenue to TikTok et al.

However, pay for an influencer it’s not worth it. He admitted that he received income from TikTok totaling $12,000. To increase his income, he decided to make products and was able to make US$5,000 last year.

“Creators should be paid fairly with a percentage commensurate with the revenue the app generates,” said Carter.

“There needs to be transparency about how we are paid, and the policies need to be consistent,” he advised.

(luck/luck)

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