From TikTok to Instagram and YouTube, these members of Generation Z enter the workforce with aspirations different from what they once envisioned for themselves.
By | Emma Carpenter, Madison Maronde, Jack Rahill, Antonette Kamara
“Social media influencer” is a phrase most people would not have understood ten years ago. Today, some internet celebrities have made it seem like a viable career option and aspiration, and it has become an attainable profession for anyone willing to publicize themselves online. Like any job, young adults breaking into influencer marketing face their own challenges. Some of these challenges are unique to their age and mobility as Minnesotans. From this small pool of young, Minnesota-based influencers comes a few stories that highlight these challenges and give a glimpse into the future.
Fametta Zubah films content for Victoria’s Secret Pink outside Coffman Memorial Union on April 14. (Antonette Kamara)
“Being a content creator is really just through my love of social media, so I can see myself working with the social media team of an ad agency or a specific brand.”
– Fametta Zubah, content creator
“I went to bed thinking nothing of it and then I woke up and it had like 300k views or something and I was like, what the heck.”
– Grace Kroells, content creator
“People are going to follow you regardless of where you live if you have a good personality, if you have a cool vibe to you, or if you are sharing valuable things people are going to want to follow along. I think that in order for social media to be a viable income that will last, you always need to have something new and fresh going on.”
– Lauren Snyder, YouTuber and content creator
Gophers on Influencers
To many, social media and Generation Z go hand in hand. As members of Gen Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – get older, they continue to gain cultural and purchasing power. The majority of Gen Z are digital natives, meaning they have little to no memory of a world without smartphones. More than 50% of Gen-Zers spend at least 4 hours a day on social media. It is no surprise that content creation and influencer marketing have become viable career options for many Gen-Zers, with one out of four aspiring to become an influencer, according to Forbes.
Minnesota, not exactly a state known as an influencer destination, reflected these nationwide statistics. We sent out a survey on how Gen Z uses social media, more than half of University of Minnesota students and recent graduates said that they follow social media influencers. However, about half of the respondents stated they do not see influencer marketing as a viable income source that will last.
