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Social media strategist and business coach Holly Newman agrees that being an influencer or content creator is harder than it looks.
"Massively. It’s not just “take a cute photo and post it.” It’s strategy, storytelling, consistency, and the mental load of always being “on.” Most people don’t see the backend of it all, the planning, the pitching, the constant testing, the content that flops. It’s a full-time job if you’re doing it properly," she explains.
She believes that the hardest part of being an influencer that most people might not realize is the pressure to perform constantly.
"You’re building a personal brand, and that means your life becomes your content, whether you like it or not. You don’t get to switch off easily. And the algorithm doesn’t care if you’re burnt out or going through something."
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Not to mention the fact that if you're an influencer, you're competing with 127 million other influencers, which can put quite a bit of pressure to do the craziest things to stand out.
"Some people go to wild extremes, and I get it. The space is saturated. But for me, strategy always wins over shock value. If you know your audience and show up with a purpose, you don’t need to rely on stunts. But yes, some people will literally do anything for a like, and no, the goal doesn’t always justify the method," says Newman.
Newman believes that when these influencers are acting foolish for content, most know exactly what they're doing.
"And if they don’t, someone in the comments will tell them pretty quickly. But when likes = money, people start to blur the lines. That’s where it gets messy."
The people who seek attention and fame by behaving in ways that are considered desperate, foolish, degrading, or dangerous were named by internet users as "clout chasers." Such a catchy phrase likely emerged around 2015–2018 with the rise of social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and later TikTok. It came to describe someone who seeks attention by doing outrageous things online.
While "influencer" is quite a neutral way to refer to content creators, the term "clout chaser" is almost always used negatively and implies heavy criticism of the person it's applied to, according to Dictionary.com.
"A person may be referred to as a clout chaser because they’re attempting to become what’s known as an influencer," the website explains.
