Part of being a social media influencer is knowing your niche. But what if your lifestyle no longer fits into the niche that originally built your following? This is a question that former Gopher women’s hockey player, Makayla Pahl, has been trying to answer for herself over the last few weeks.
Pahl was interested in influencer marketing before the change in the rule regarding monetization of NIL (name, image and likeness) for collegiate athletes, but she began taking it seriously when TikTok gained popularity and the NCAA rule changed in 2020. Pahl also said that the change in NIL caused others to take advantage of influencer marketing and it helped her feel more comfortable.
“I always looked up to it. I wanted to be like those girls, those influencers,” Pahl said. “Sophomore year of college I started taking it more seriously and kind of got over the embarrassment of being a social media influencer.”
Pahl said that she’s learned while growing on social media that every influencer has a niche. You learn what your niche is based off of the type of content that reaches a high amount of likes and views. There are social media algorithms that will show content of accounts you don’t follow if they think you might enjoy it. This is how accounts can reach a larger audience and gain more followers and fans.
“My more popular videos would be my media day posts or dancing in my equipment or getting ready [for a hockey game]. That was when I knew that that was my niche. And I’ve been worried about it,” Pahl said, “When I was going to be done with hockey, like, ‘what am I going to post?’”
Pahl said that niches matter to the point that even if you continue to post but it doesn’t fall within your specific type of content, it could hurt your brand and potential to make money off of social media. The truth of it all is this: the more followers you have, the more potential there is for lucrative deals.
“As far as brands go and what they’re paying, when your platform starts growing more and more, it’s crazy how much [money] brands will put down for you to sponsor their brand,” Pahl said, “Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money.”
Makayla Pahl poses inside Tony’s Diner located in Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota Campus on Thursday, April 27. (Antonette Kamara)
Pahl just finished her final season as a senior on the Golden Gophers women’s hockey team and knows that she wants to pursue a career in social media. One question remains. With her competitive hockey days behind her, where does she go from here?
“My niche is playing for the Gopher women’s hockey team, so I kind of find that as a challenge now. Now that I’m done with hockey, like, what are people into? Before they were into me being a goalie for one of the top hockey teams in the nation.”
Pahl said that she has been very pleased with the traction she’s gained off of her posts about Golden Gophers hockey, although she realizes she’s reached a very specific audience.
“Hockey is very hard to gain traction from because it’s mainly a thing in the midwest and out east.”
However, Pahl said that while her hockey posts have performed the best, she has also gained traction on ones that show off her personality outside of hockey. She has posted several videos of her dancing and singing to her favorite songs, or playing games with her friends.
“I always wanted to be one of those girls, those influencers,” Pahl said.
It was something that she dreamed of even at a young age, and there is no doubt that Pahl will continue to shine on social media. Passion is half the battle won for this young social media star.