The Business of Being Yourself

With the ubiquity of smart phones, and everyone from grandparents to kids looking at different apps and ever-changing social media platforms, and navigating the corresponding algorithms, it’s easy to get lost in the noise of social media. But with fun videos and posts also comes a serious economy that has a major economic impact. And it is a place where students are starting to consider their future career paths.

influencer economy noun

Where online content creators partner with organizations and brands to make an income in exchange for endorsing and mentioning products and services. It includes things like sponsored content, collabs, takeovers, paid partnerships, affiliate commissions and brand ambassadors. Creators can also monetize their own content through specific programs on social media platforms, fan donations and paid subscriptions.

Stefanie Moore, professor, School of Media and Journalism

The influencer economy is something that is being covered in PR classes as a way to prepare students for the new media landscape.

How to become an online creator and how to strategically work with them

From Professor Stefanie Moore

• Invite alumni and friends in these careers to share their experiences and advice on how to get started
• Examine case studies showing successful partnerships with online influencers that have helped brands amplify key messages and reach new audiences
• Teach students about the different tiers of influencers and how brands partner with smaller creators - micro and nano-influencers – to reach highly engaged audiences

Kent State alumni are successfully creating online, with a host of digital influencers in different niches ranging from fashion to baking to celebrity culture and fitness. Here are four alumni who have leveraged social media to further their existing careers, and some who have gone fully into social media and turned it into lucrative careers.

@mrshannonlanier

Shannon LaNier

• 🎓MA ’03, College of Communication and Information
• 👨‍👧‍👦Father first
• 🎙️News Anchor
• 🎬Actor

Why did you come to Kent State?
After I graduated from high school, I was at Kent State doing Academic S.T.A.R.S. [Students Achieving and Reaching for Success] two weeks later, and it was an amazing experience. It changed my life. It made us really realize that we’re not in high school anymore, but it was a transition. We started with maybe six credit hours, maybe eight. Besides the academics of the program, the amazing part of the Academic S.T.A.R.S. program was that it helped automatically form a family. [Those programs] really made Kent feel like a home. I met my wife in that program. Because all the students, we were in there together, we were doing this together, and the concept was to make us a community. And we still talk to those people today. They are still our community today.

It really was a community that helped us survive college because sometimes it could be lonely, especially if you’re coming from another place where you don’t know anyone. We also went through the Rites of Passage program through Oscar Ritchie Hall. It really helped me understand who I was as an African American person in the United States, but also culturally, the connection that I’ve had to my ancestors. Those are lessons I’m still passing down to my kids today.

How did you get started with social media?
I was in news, and it was so depressing. I wanted something else — something fun and light because I’m naturally a fun person. I started doing silly videos, but that was too difficult to do every day. So I thought about what’s organic that I can do every day. I’m a father every day, so I mixed being a dad with news stuff. I did a skit as a news anchor dad where I talk in my news voice to my kids. People loved that. I kept doing family-oriented stuff because I wanted to show that African American dads are present and active in their children’s lives — that’s a fact that is statistically proven. I wanted to show that we’re out here doing the job 365 days a year and loving it.

How much of your career has become managing social media?
I took the leap about a year and a half ago and stepped out. I’m still a television personality, but I don’t do it every day. I’m also an actor now full time. Social media helps fill the gaps when I’m not acting or not on television. It’s very lucrative. I’m about to start doing TikTok Shop too.

What platforms are most important now for you?
Instagram and TikTok. I focus on brand partnerships, so I don’t make a lot of money off views. Instagram is for my brand partnership deals, and then sometimes they’re shared to TikTok. Hopefully TikTok will be my new thing for my TikTok Shop.

What advice would you give to students who want to grow an audience on social media?
Be consistent and be authentic. People want to know what they’re coming to your page for. Don’t talk about your kids today, cooking tomorrow and how to cut the grass the next day. Be consistent with a niche. Whatever your niche is, stick to it. Be consistent with your posting. You don’t post this week and then next month and hope we’re still going to follow. Keep the fire going.

What advice would you give students who want to do this as a full-time job?
Make sure there is a transition period. Put all your p’s and q’s in place. Actually have followers. Have money saved up so you can have time to do this. Know what type of sales you’re going to do. Are you selling a digital product? Doing brand partnerships? UGC [user-generated content]? Have some of those things in place already. Do some fake ones that make it look like you have brand deals. Once you start doing it for pay, you have examples that show what it would look like. They want to see examples. They want to know you’ve done this before. They want to know you can handle it.

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started?
It’s easier to keep the fire going than to restart it. I started on TikTok when it first came out. If I would have just kept going, I probably would have had 10 million followers by now. But I didn’t want to do that platform. I stopped. After going viral and having two views the next day, I gave up. If I would have just kept going, I could have gone to the roof. It’s so oversaturated now. There are people everywhere, so it’s harder to grow now. Back then, it was much easier. Just keep doing it, be consistent, post daily and keep pushing.

What kind of education do you think would be helpful for students interested in this?
I tell people being multi-marketable is important. If you naturally are good at being on camera and editing, you don’t need a degree [in that]. But a marketing degree, advertising degree or MBA would help because all of it is business. That’s the ultimate goal — to make money. Knowing how to make that money and managing it is more important than the craft. You can always get somebody to edit your videos. You can always get somebody to help you shoot. It’s more important to understand the business side.

@roxycouse

Roxy Couse

• 🎓MS ’17, College of Communication and Information
• 💼Corporate Humor
• 🚀Entrepreneur
• 🤱🏾Motherhood and real life

Why did you choose Kent State?
I chose Kent State for the flexibility of getting my degree on my own terms since I was working full time and also because I found very few programs offering this particular major.

How did you get started with social media?
I just started posting. The thing about social media is if you have a strong POV [point of view], you can cut through the clutter.

How much of your career has become solely about managing your social media presence?
I’m a full-time entrepreneur who makes my living creating content, helping others to grow on social and working with amazing brands. So, I have to show up on social media and maintain my visibility. I don’t feel pressure to do so because this is fun. But if you want to make content a full-time job, it requires being consistent.

How do you balance it with the rest of your career?
I was building my social presence for 3.5 years while working full time in tech. Last August, I quit to focus on building my own business and doing contract work for brands.

How did you learn the skills to become a successful creator?
I just kept showing up. I taught myself how to create better hooks, how to edit and how to be an effective storyteller. It’s really all trial and error and getting lucky with the algorithm.

Did anything you learned at Kent State prepare you for your digital career?
100% getting my master’s in UXD [user experience design] was the best thing to ever happen to my career. I was always in the digital space since I worked in e-commerce before attending. But having my master’s degree opened up doors that I didn’t even think were possible for me. I spent a few short stints leading product design at major companies, such as Whirlpool and Univar Solutions. My degree from Kent State got me in those doors. It also helped me to become a very good consultant. I have consulted many Fortune 500 brands on their UX strategy. Everything I’ve learned from the program and in my career has prepared me to be successful in my career.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started creating for social media?
Don’t shy away from telling your story and being authentic. I used to think I needed to be uber-positive and everything I shared needed to be happy and joyful. Those things are great, but so is being real.

What advice would you give students who want to grow an audience on social media?
Figure out who you want to talk to. Period. Because your audience is very important, and the way you figure out your audience is by thinking about your own journey. You can’t speak from a place you’ve never been. So problems that you struggled with, things you’re facing now, where you currently are in your journey. Figure out who you want to talk to first.

What advice would you give students who want their full-time jobs to be in digital and social content creation?
Learn all the different sides of social and content creation. A big part of the space is how we measure the impact of the work done. I would get very familiar with the analytics behind good social and also learn to identify what good looks like and what makes great social posts and what moves the audience to take an action. It can be very easy to get caught up in the day in the life and the blogs, but there is a whole strategy behind social media. And if you understand strategy, it’s going to go a long way in making you effective in the space.

What new platforms do you think are important to the field?
LinkedIn is so important. LinkedIn is not a new platform, but there is this emergence of corporate creators and knowledge creators, and I would be watching a space like LinkedIn because they are heavily investing in their creator programs and will continue to do so. Another platform that I feel is worth watching is Threads because Threads is a gold mine for idea generation.

How do you stay up to date on trends and new platforms?
I personally love Google Trends reports and following a few people on LinkedIn who are always reporting on trends. Sprout Social is a company that I like to follow because they are the experts at trends and emerging platforms.

@dannypellegrino

Danny Pellegrino

• 🎓BS ’07, College of Communication and Information
• 📚NYT Bestselling Author
• 🎙️Host/Producer of Everything Iconic podcast
• 🎭Actor
• 🎬Screenwriter

Why did you choose Kent State?
I grew up in Solon and have two older brothers who graduated from KSU. One of my older brothers played basketball. He was on the team when they went to the Elite 8, so I spent a lot of my teenage years going to games and spending time on campus. Ohio is so beautiful. I feel very fortunate I got to grow up and go to school there.

Why did you choose your major?
I always knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry, and journalism/mass communication seemed like the perfect fit as I figured out who I was and what I wanted to do for a living.

Did you have any mentors or faculty who made a big impact on you?
Barbara Hipsman Springer had a huge impact on me during my senior year. She encouraged my writing and also informed the way I view media. Barbara is retired now, but I hope she knows how influential she was to me (and so many others). She was the type of professor who inspires for a lifetime. She made me realize I wanted to be a creative writer, and I don’t think I ever would have written my books if it weren’t for her.

How did you get started with social media?
I started making memes and posting content on social media around 2015 as a way to bring attention to my other work. I was trying to write books and movies, as well as act and host, and I realized early on that the entertainment ecosystem was changing. A lot of the gatekeepers were starting to look at follower counts and how big your profile is before hiring or taking a chance on new talent. It was also a way to express myself creatively in a new way and find my voice.

How much of your career has become solely about managing your social media presence? How do you balance it with the rest of your career?
When I first started, I made an effort to post new content every single day. It helped me hone my creative voice, which helped me in my other creative pursuits. Once my social media started taking off, it led to a podcast, which led to multiple bestselling books, a Christmas movie called “Deck the Walls” for the Hallmark Channel that I wrote and starred in, and hosting red carpets and TV appearances. As my workload started to grow, it became more difficult to focus solely on social media, but social media was an outlet to share those works with people who might be interested.

How did you learn the skills to become a successful creator?
Trial and error. In any creative endeavor, you have to find your voice and the thing you bring to it that no one else can. I believe you can only do that if you try and fail a bunch of times. I also spent a lot of nights and weekends learning about Instagram and GarageBand and any other apps and programs that would be able to help me make my creative stuff.

Did anything you learned at Kent State prepare you for your digital career?
I remember working for the campus news station during the end of my time at Kent, and producing stories for campus helped me understand an audience and how to give the audience what they want while also staying true to your own voice. Professor Barbara Hipsman Springer and Professor Jan Leach also taught me how to decipher media and news, what’s real and what’s propaganda, and the ethics of media that I still hold with me today.

What advice would you give students who want to grow an audience on social media?
Be consistent. If you are going to post every day, you have to post every day. That will make it easy for the audience to find you and make you part of their routine. Unfortunately, that also means you can’t take weeks off at a time. I also think it’s important to not simply post to create division. A lot of people have success by posting controversial takes simply for views or follows, but I believe it’s not sustainable in the long term, and we need to be mindful of how the division is ruining these ecosystems and turning people off from social media in the long run.

What advice would you give students who want their full-time jobs to be in digital and social content creation?
Just know that the consistency I mentioned is not for everyone because it can be draining, especially in the beginning when you have to have other jobs to pay your bills. I’d also say to only do it if you have something to say or a reason aside from money or fame. The audience will see through you if you are only posting stuff to be famous or controversial, and I personally don’t think that will build a sustainable career. Ask yourself why you want to do this. Do you want to make people laugh? Think? Are you an artist who wants people to find your other work? I think the why has to go beyond money or fame.

What do you think is the future of content creation?
I think communities will always find each other, so as platforms and algorithms change, I hope that new platforms and algorithms will emerge that will help like-minded people find each other in healthy ways that don’t promote hate or division.

@camaircases

Camille Kutz

• 🎓BS ’23, College of Education, Health and Human Services
• 📱Airbrush phone cases
• 🚀Business owner

How did you start your business?
I have always loved fashion and art and creating with my hands. I was stuck at home doing school online during COVID. Tie-dye was huge at the time, so I airbrushed a few shirts. My dad said to start with 10 and see how it goes on Etsy. I knew nothing about business, marketing or fashion, but I learned every single day. The first year or two was very cringe, looking back, but I started with custom orders for friends and family and would post on Instagram. No budget, no investors. My parents didn’t give me a cent. I started with maybe $100 to $200 in my bank account.

Fast-forward two and a half years, phone cases came along. This is what really started my business. I was able to scale it. Before, everything was handmade — hats, tote bags, everything. Now, I have pre-done cases, and I’m also doing live airbrushing. My business has transformed into a combo of the two, which people love for the customization aspect.

How did you get started with social media?
I started a business account and started posting my work. I gained a following through TikTok especially. I would go live doing orders and talk to comments while airbrushing. People really got to see what I’m actually doing, how my business works, who I am. Early on, TikTok really helped. The video component and seeing it live shaped my business early on for the better.

When did things really start to pick up?
In 2023 specifically, sending phone cases to influencers and people with millions of followers. That influencer marketing aspect really got my brand going, especially with no investors, no mentors, no basically anything.

What did you learn at Kent State that helped with your business?
Time management. You have to plan your own schedule. You can’t screw around. I have a business to run. Also from speech pathology, learning how to communicate with others more effectively. The skills I learned genuinely help me, even though it’s not what I’m doing directly. The communication aspect helps me carry conversations with customers.

What platforms are most important for you?
Instagram and TikTok, with TikTok probably being No. 1. People love the video scroll. I’ve definitely directed my focus there. I also do Pinterest and YouTube Shorts. Facebook and Meta are linked, so everything on Instagram goes to Facebook, which is nice. My demographic isn’t on Facebook, but it’s good for a new audience. I also need to start Substack, but I’m still figuring that out.

What do you think the future of content creation is?
People obviously will still have their favorite influencers and celebrities. But I genuinely think regular people who still have a 9-to-5 and are grinding — these people who genuinely have real skills and passion — they’re going to be the new influencers. When you’re filming just brand deals for a living, who wants to see that? I think regular people are going to be the new influencers. People who actually care about their audiences, commenting back and engaging with comments. You see big influencers post, and they don’t respond to anyone. I’ve been more selective about who I gift to now. I’d rather gift to actual customers who put their hard-earned money behind my brand.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started creating for social media?
Put yourself out there so much more. Don’t be afraid to do so. Within the past year or so, I’ve pitched myself to so many more brands — food brands, hotel brands, apartment complexes. It’s crazy how many say no, but those few yeses can completely change your future opportunities. You never know who’s going to reach out after. I didn’t put myself out there as much by taking time to write an email or a DM. I could have had more opportunity maybe in the past if I had done that. Also take breaks when needed. This is creative work, so don’t get burned out. Scale back if you think you’re doing too much. Mental health is everything. It’s a 24/7 thing, so take breaks physically, mentally and emotionally. A bad review or issue can really screw you up because it’s personal. But don’t take it too personally because life goes on and you learn from it.

What advice would you give to students interested in content creation?
You have to be passionate about it. People want to see something different. Everything is oversaturated now. Find a niche, but you are the niche. Don’t try to be someone else. People can see through it. The social media consumer these days can really tell quickly if you’re authentic. Be you and stay consistent.