Moet ’n mens gewild wees om geld te maak uit sosiale media? Nee!

Daar ís egter ’n hele rits duur lesse wat verified influencers, of erkende meningsvormers (dáái met die blou regmerkies), almal op die harde manier geleer het.

Tradisionele media speel toenemend tweede viool vir digitale en sosiale media – ’n rewolusie wat aan inhoudskeppers ongekende (en lonende!) nuwe geleenthede bied. Elma Smit het in 2019 as aanbieder die hoogste sport bereik: sy is deur twee globale organisasies gekies om die verteenwoordiger van hul digitale inhoud by twee verskillende wêreldbekertoernooie in minder as ses maande te wees. Tóg het sy in dieselfde tydperk meer munt daaruit geslaan om ’n influencer te wees as uit enigiets anders.

In Word ’n Influencer laat een van SA se topinhoudskeppers en -influencers vir die eerste keer die aap uit die mou oor hoe ’n mens ’n lojale gehoor opbou, hoeveel jy vir geborgde veldtogte kan vra en hoe om die vele slaggate te vermy. Nadia Jaftha, Katinka die Kat, Bouwer Bosch en Rachel Kolisi tel onder die uitgelese geselskap van influencers wat ook hul geheime deel, terwyl plaaslike en oorsese bemarkingsghoeroes verduidelik waarna hulle op soek is wanneer daar op influencers vir veldtogte besluit word.

Do you need to be popular to make money from social media? No!

There are, however, a few important lessons verified influencers (those with the blue ticks and paying clients) have learnt through trial and error. As traditional media keeps losing eyeballs and revenue to digital and indeed social media, this content revolution presents unprecedented opportunities for those who know how to make the most of their interests and smartphones. In 2019, Elma Smit was hand-picked by two global governing bodies as the face of their World Cup content campaigns, in the space of only six months. Yet, she generated more revenue from influencer work in that same period than from anything else.

In Become an Influencer, one of South Africa’s leading content creators and influencers spills the beans on how to build a loyal audience, how to charge for paid campaigns and how to avoid running into a social media meltdown. Maps Maponyane, Rachel Kolisi, Nadia Jaftha and Liesl Laurie and a whole host of other leading influencers also reveal their influencer secrets, tips and hard-won lessons to Elma, while leading strategists who select influencers for global and local campaigns share what they look for in an influencer.