Why I Quit Instagram Influencer Marketing
I never intended to become an Instagram influencer and social media content creator. Paid to post sponsored content on behalf of brands. I had gained a decent following simply by posting my art and photography on Instagram and brands seemed to like what I was doing. They wanted to give me free stuff and even better, money, just to feature their products - cool!
For a while, it was a job that brought me a good living. However, it wasn’t until my digital sabbatical last year that I realised the damaging effects social media was having on my mental health.
So in January 2020, I quit my job as an Instagram influencer. The sense of relief has been immense. I also took a digital detox and the results were life-changing.
In this post, I want to share why I quit and why I think we should question the influencer marketing industry as a whole.
Like any addiction, it’s been very hard and I wouldn’t say I’m 100% clean yet.
What Is An Influencer Anyway?
The term ‘influencer’ in itself, makes me cringe. It is simultaneously an insult and an aspiration - as beautifully put in Wired’s Guide to Influencers.
Essentially anyone with a social media presence can be an influencer. Just in case you’re in any doubt as to what a social media influencer is though, here’s a good definition (via the influencer marketing hub):
“Influencers in social media are people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic. They make regular posts about that topic on their preferred social media channels and generate large followings of enthusiastic, engaged people who pay close attention to their views.
Brands love social media influencers because they can create trends and encourage their followers to buy products they promote.”
My influence on Instagram wasn’t on a grand scale. I was what is termed as a ‘Macro-Influencer’ - someone who has a following of between 40,000 and 1 million followers.
At my height, I reached approximately 48,000. I chased 50,000 for a long time but Alas, it alluded me! Much to my despair and disappointment at the time. Worse still, when my ‘popularity’ declined and people unfollowed me (or Instagram just deleted a shed load of bot accounts), my sanity declined with it. Losing followers, felt like a punch in the gut.
Still, I made a tidy amount of money, especially in the last couple of years. At my pinnacle, I was taken on as ‘talent’ with a leading Influencer platform. I had a dedicated account manager whose responsibility was to find influencer work and negotiate a fee, taking 20% for their effort. I created stop motion animations and creative photographs for some big household brands - all great for my portfolio, I told myself.
It was brilliant. For a time.
Affording me the satisfaction of treating my family to things like a holiday, saving for Christmas and generally feeling like I was making a decent contribution to my family’s income. Taking the pressure off my stressed-out husband.
The Turning Point
Over 7 years, I had many highs and wonderful experiences as a result of Instagram. Influencer work enabled me to be flexible with my time as well. I could pick my daughter up from school, be on call for my teenage sons and essentially work part-time.
Actually, the reality was, this career was anything but part-time. Looking back at my diary entries for the past couple of years, I realised that Instagram was occupying my waking and sleeping thoughts.
The constant strain to keep my feed up to date and engage on Instagram, led to massive bouts of anxiety and insomnia. I’d worry that I would be dropped by the influencer platforms I was signed up to, who found me work, thus losing my income and putting my family under a huge amount of financial pressure.
At the beginning of 2019, I remember walking into the bathroom, like a zombie after another sleepless night worrying about my engagement and my work. My hubby was in there shaving and I broke down in tears. I finally admitted to him I just couldn’t go on feeling like this anymore. My anxiety was out of control. My hubby was brilliant and reassured me my mental health was more important than money. We’d find a way out of my black hole.
I’d love to say that was the turning point but I carried on. The spiral of creating, posting and feeling anxious continued, when a post didn’t do well or if there was a quiet lull in my email inbox.
In order to help control my racing thoughts and insomnia, I’d heard about Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) as way of coping with anxiety and depression. I signed up to the 8 week MBCT course at the Brighton Buddhist Centre.
This course changed my life, for the better.
Social media was 100% bad for my mental health
It was a result of my mindfulness practice, that I could see where my anxiety was coming from and I needed to reclaim my brain. It was abundantly clear to me social media was 100% bad for my mental health.
To try and understand what was happening to my brain, I began to read more about the technology and corporations behind the social media platforms. Platforms that are designed to make addicts of us all and rob us of our focus and attention.
I wasn’t alone in my anxiety either. At Insta meets, the overwhelming topic of conversation was one full of Instagram angst over likes, engagement, the algorithm, what to post, what not to post, self-doubt…. oh my word so much self-doubt!! When our posts didn’t do well, it was affecting our self-worth and making us feel our work wasn’t good enough.
As the conversations went on like this, at every meetup I attended, it occurred to me how ridiculous this was. Instead of doubting ourselves, or trying to play the Instagram algorithm game, shouldn’t we just be concentrating on our creative work instead?
Community Over Competition?
Everyone agreed that we loved the community and connecting with like-minded creatives. When I originally joined Instagram back in 2012, it really was a lovely place to be. Supportive and friendly.
There’s a hashtag on Instagram #communityovercompetition. However, unfortunately, there’s a certain irony in this tag as there is also the inevitable bitchiness too. Luckily never in the circles, I moved in but certainly among others Instagrammer conversations I witnessed both on and offline.
Usually, it consisted of pulling apart another Instagrammers success, convinced that @xyz had clearly bought fake followers. Or accusations of stolen ideas, content copying etc.
In recent years, Instagram began to resemble the school playground in fact. The cliques, social hierarchy, popular people, the hanger on-ers, and know it alls.
At social events, I would witness how ‘grammers would literally fall over themselves to have a selfie taken with big @xyz Instagrammer. Telling their followers on their live Insta story what a great, amazing time they were having with big @xyz Instagram star.
In fact, many Instagrammers are socially awkward and these amazing events, are actually quiet, standard gatherings. They just have a goodie bag at the end.
Mostly I noticed how different the world of Instagram and people are online and off. It all started feeling vacuous and false.
As I said, this doesn’t apply to everyone. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with some wonderful, creative people as a result of Instagram. But the social media climbers and bullshitters were very real too and it’s a world I would rather not be associated with.
Walking Talking Billboards
As the influencer industry continues to grow, so it becomes more lucrative, with brands predicted to spend $15 billion on influencer marketing by 2022, with Instagram set to attract the most.
Understandably, the market has become saturated with people wanting to jump on the Instagram influencer bandwagon. And why not? You can receive cool free products, invitations to special events and hard cash. However, for most, income will be sporadic and jobs competitive.
On a personal level, I relied on Instagram for my creative validation and a regular income and it left me feeling despondent and burnt out.
I had become a walking talking brand billboard.
Taking Responsibility
My problem with influencer marketing now, is brands are taking advantage of social media platforms, capitalising on addicted app users all in order to sell more of the brands products.
In addition, the business model of social media platforms are designed to engage its users in an endless scroll; to addict you and monetise your attention to advertisers. These platforms are using behavioural techniques similar to those employed by the gambling industry to create psychological dependencies.
And no one, it seems wants to take any responsibility or acknowledge this, within the influencer industry. I’ve never witnessed it anyway. The influencer agencies who act as the middle man between the influencer and the brand, certainly don’t care. As long as the messages the influencers post are on brand, job done, transaction enabled, everyone, is happy.
On a positive note, I think, I hope, that we as a public, are becoming more aware of this precarious form of advertising because disappointingly, the rise of influencer fraud, fake engagement and fake followers is on the rise again.
I’ve never bought a follower but I’ll admit to posting sponsored content on my feed (now deleted) purely because I wanted the money, not because I genuinely believed in the product. If I’m the only influencer to have done this, I’ll eat my hat.
The Social Media Paradox
Of course, the paradox is, for every dodgy influencer, there are also a myriad people and organisations promoting great causes or useful products on Instagram. Not to mention the communities and meeting of like-minded folk that happens as a result of the platform. I’m still struggling with this and haven’t found the solution yet, because ultimately, it’s still an addictive digital environment and that’s never healthy.
I haven’t quite managed to walk away from Instagram yet. I do enjoy connecting with the amazing artists, creatives, small businesses and charities on there whose work is important and deserves to be seen.
But I have made my decision to quit Instagram influencer marketing. I’ve walked away from my income to facilitate a career change.
Just because an industry is worth millions, friendships have been formed or I’ve entertained people with my posts, does that make it right? I’m not sure it does. That’s why I’ve decided to find a new way.
I’m hopeful that during this personal quest, I’ll find healthy ways of using social media for good, rather than just another way to sell products and line the pockets of the tech giants through advertising.
With the rise of people like me, questioning the tech companies behind the social apps, I hope we’ll start seeing apps in the future designed to augment our online relationships in positive ways rather than purely for the $$$.
I’ll report back when I do.
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Since writing this post I am now pleased to be able to say I have now qualified as a digital wellbeing coach, and have a Consciously Digital Diploma. I now aim to help other creators reclaim their brains and creativity :)