Do you want to make a career as an influencer and catch the eye of a great brand? Instagram offered for the first time in France a training course for its users most eager to “make it their job”.
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Conferences, meetings with influential agencies or “speed dating with brands” were on the program of the Creative Campus, which was held until November 14 in Paris. Shimmering colors, pastel neon lights, all-out screens… Everything was thought of to make the former barracks in the 10th arrondissement an Instagrammable paradise.
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The event was dedicated to “creative people” who have “desire to learn and know the platform”, explains Guillaume Thevenin, Head of Partnerships at Instagram. Invited or selected after sending a simple Reel, these beginner influencers could thus improve their interactions with the media or learn how to produce content.
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But above all, benefit from advice on how to generate income from their production, by creating partnerships with brands, “main source of monetization for influencers”. “Do we have to sell a product that we don’t have?”, asks Wissam Malki, 25, during a merchandising workshop.
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Ex-law student, she took “a sabbatical year” for “develop [son] potential” and break into modeling, via social networks, by being spotted by brands. A hope nourished by the presence of some twenty brands and organizations on campus, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Aigle and L’Oréal.
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Present at speed dates, these brands explained their challenges, while remaining attentive to the emergence of new talents. “We really like creative people”, smiles the representative of a major brand, who requires anonymity. Influencers allow themselves to speak “the right language” of “youngest audiences”, he explains, and thus ensure better visibility of advertising, because otherwise “people are zapping”.
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“It’s a lot, a lot of work”
Some little prodigies, put forward by Instagram, such as Ahmet Furkan Kay, alias Fukay, 770,000 subscribers to the counter, even manage to make a living from these partnerships. All smiles, the 24-year-old Belgian offers “pranks” and challenges and has managed to make a living from them ever since. “a year, a year and a half”.
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If he declares today, in a burst of laughter, win “between one euro a month and three billion”, he assures us that three years ago, at his beginnings, he did not know “that there was a euro to take on these platforms”.
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“I didn’t have the same speech five years ago”, adds William Carnimolla, 41, former television host on M6, model and stylist, present on campus. “But now I think we can create something from A to Z with Instagram and make money”, he says, before warning: “It’s possible, but it’s a real job.”
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“It’s a lot, a lot of work”, insists Sophie Tran, 29, who made her business “Lyon can do it” flourish on Instagram. His account, which highlights creators and events, has allowed him in four years to have “a corner at Galeries Lafayette” and publish “un city guide”, she enthuses.
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His career, like that of Ahmet, arouses vocations. According to a YouGov study commissioned by Instagram and carried out among 1,010 young people in November 2021, more than half of 18-34 year-olds believe that influencing networks is a profession of the future.
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But recklessness is not enough: you have to be able to stand out and have a dose of luck. “Of all the people who are here today, there are maybe only two or three who will be successful,” admet William Carnimolla.
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And at what cost? The question of income, although central, remains unclear. “If it’s their job, they have to be able to monetize”, defends Guillaume Thevenin. Instagram is therefore working to provide professional content creators with new funding levers. The platform is thus experimenting “in the United States, in the United Kingdom and now in France” a paid subscription system.
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