Influencer: the new student job?

Politics / SocietyInteractive •• Julie Tadduni02081 views

From the Élysée to the Cannes festival, they are everywhere. Difficult today to miss the influencers. And as often on social networks, the mixture of genres reigns supreme. If Saint-Étienne surveyed young influencers from the Loire region, in order to find out their vision of business and its excesses, faced with a desire to maintain their credibility where some of their elders failed.

They use Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat or Youtube to create content: fashion, beauty, fitness, decoration, there is something for everyone. Appearing on social networks about ten years ago, influencers have become essential. As proof, in February, the President of the Republic himself challenged Youtubers McFly and Carlito to gather 10 million views on a video recalling barrier gestures. The comedians had taken up the challenge in just three days, in exchange for which they had been received in May at the Élysée, to make a video alongside Emmanuel Macron. More recently, it was the influencer Léna Mahfouf, better known under the pseudonym Léna Situations, who made an appearance at the famous Cannes festival. From the Internet to fame, there would only be a few steps? We went to meet Saint-Etienne influencers to better understand this business, the changes they are bringing to it, and their desire not to burn their wings.

A rapid ascent

“I started a year and a half ago on social networks, remembers the one who calls herself lise_navy on Instagram. Before that, I followed influencers, but I didn't publish, my account was private. I thought why not give it a try. I started posting photos with outfits I liked, tagging the brands I wore. Little by little, I had subscribers, and brands offered me unpaid partnerships at first, but which made my community grow, as well as shootings, because I am a photo model next door. At 24, the young influencer has just completed her master's 2, in which she took care to follow the influence strategy option.

A path towards which the influencer quentin_szt, soon to be 19, who has just obtained his baccalaureate and intends to continue his studies to obtain a master 2 in digital marketing is also heading. “I started at the end of the first confinement on Tik Tok, making videos, then I started on Instagram. At 10,000 subscribers, I was contacted by an influencer agency that takes care of finding me partnerships, Agently. Today these two accounts have more than 100,000 subscribers. » Child's play therefore, but which is nevertheless managed in a very professional way.

An editorial profile

The larger a community, the more requests for partnership rain. Should we say yes to everything to attract more brands? “I accept what I want, I prefer quality to quantity, explains quentin_szt. I have worked with businesses in Saint-Etienne such as hair salons for example, but above all with many textile brands. “Same approach for the influencer lise_navy, who sometimes refuses collaborations that do not fall within the editorial line of her profile. “There is everything and anything on social networks. I do not accept everything otherwise I will lose my credibility. I am only on the fashion and beauty universe. Recently I was contacted to promote a dating site, I refused, I don't want to be seen in anything, even if the proposed rate is interesting. Today, she has separated from her London agency to manage her relationships with brands and develop her collaborations.

How to Make a Wooden Cabinet with Dovetail Joints#diy #rt http://t.co/LNrLmGesWO

— Jon Fri Nov 01 19:13:56 +0000 2013

Stay focus

Agents who also play the role of advisor to young influencers, so that they remain credible in the eyes of their subscribers. “The will of our agency is to refuse dropshipping*, explains Louis Carboneill, co-founder of the agency Agently, specialized in influence marketing..” Because the activity, which benefits from a vacuum legal, has been splashed by various scandals: sales of fake health passes, tax investigations, promotion of counterfeits... “We prefer to work with brands that manufacture their products in France, and that are consistent with Quentin's values. We are particularly careful because he is young, he must not overdo it. His agent also warns him against haters, who can do a lot of damage to young people. Here, the goal is therefore not to deviate from the axis of sport, entertainment and textiles, on which the profile of its client is positioned, so as not to accept partnerships that are not related to this editorial line. . “Some agencies have burned themselves out a bit by accepting everything and doing too much,” says the agent. The founder of the Shauna Events agency had gold in her hands, today her model no longer works. If in two years, Quentin has 2 million subscribers, he will have to stay in his line and close to his community. This is essential. »

The new pocket money

The Shauna Events agency has been made famous for managing many profiles of influencers from reality TV, and whose profiles are inundated with all-out partnerships. But not all content creators live in Dubai and charge 50,000 euros for a story, even if collaborations are an opportunity to earn some quick money. “When brands contact me, I have a deadline to do the post or the story, reveals lise_navy. With my number of subscribers, my rates increase. Brands look at my stats, how many people are reached, how old are they, etc. I generally charge the story between 120 and 200 euros. For a post, as it remains on the profile, the rates range from 150 to 300 euros. I don't like when a partnership shows too much, I make sure that it remains discreet and well integrated into the photo. This is also the case for quentin_szt who tells us that he receives between 100 and 500 euros each month thanks to this activity. However, his agent specifies that this could reach 1,500 euros per month if he accepted all the requests and if the agency did not have a strategy for him that is built on the long term.

"A post, depending on the profile, can be paid 30 euros and it can go up to 700 euros or even more," explains Agathe Sivera, social media expert at Crown Agency. This can range from the restaurant to the clothing store, there are even companies that ask for the presence of influencers at the parties they organize. On our side, we choose the influencer that goes with the target. Is Instagram the new 4 by 3 for businesses?

A boon for brands

This highlighting with immediate repercussions has not gone unnoticed by companies which, whatever their size, are increasingly calling on influencers. “Our agency has 30 talents and 250 occasional influencers, in order to be able to respond to advertisers' demand,” specifies Louis Carboneill. On the business side, the benefits are incredible and the value for money is excellent. And for Quentin, these posts are a way to have pocket money, to reinvest and create content. The social media expert at Crown Agency also says that companies see it as a rather quick visibility, financially more advantageous than an advertising campaign. This is why she notes that the practice is tending to become more democratic, and new trends are appearing. “We manage to steer them towards influencers from Saint-Etienne, so that it really stays local. Companies should not neglect micro-influencers who certainly have a small community but often much more targeted and engaged. But it's still hard to understand. Little by little, the sector is therefore becoming more professional.

Don't give in to the siren song

These young influencers seem to have learned lessons from the profiles of some of their elders, for whom reality TV was a springboard towards acquiring a large community. “Between a content creator and a person from TV, there is a big difference, believes quentin_szt. I prefer to work like that, reality TV doesn't interest me, it's not the same job. » A point of view shared by lise_navy who has decided to give herself a year to try to become a photo model for advertisements. “Reality TV, I've been asked to do it for a long time but it doesn't interest me at all except maybe Beijing Express and Beauty Match at a pinch. But otherwise, everything that is Les Marseillais or the Villa of Broken Hearts is no. It doesn't look like looking at social media, but I'm quite reserved, and I wouldn't feel comfortable in those programs. And if she does not succeed, she knows that her great mastery of social networks and community management will be an asset in the search for a job in communication.

Until then, no respite for content creators, even in summer! “Per day, I spend between two and four hours on social networks, it is an organization to have, indicates quentin_szt. I film my day, you have to stay active as much as possible, even on vacation. A vacation yes, but under the influence.

*dropshipping is a form of e-commerce by which the seller site does not have stocks and has the end customer delivered directly by its supplier without, most often, the customer knowing it.