Peak COVID has exposed the insecurity in many business sectors this year. With a GFC imminent, social media influencers are experiencing one of the hardest hits due to mainstream marketing budget cuts across the world. With 2021 on the horizon, how will people in this line of work adapt to derive an income.
Lachlan Delchau-Jones & Taylor Reilly who are two ecommerce consultants from Brisbane, Australia have shared with us their thoughts on how influencers are going to transition their content into a revenue stream. The pair have worked with some of Australia’s top social media influencers and have also created a handful of subscription programs.
Content creators have experienced a paradigm shift in the way their content is delivered. Having hundreds of thousand of fans makes it easier than ever to transition these followers to Netflix style subscription based content. 21’ will be the year every mainstream creator whether you’re an instagram model or a YouTuber moves to this line of work. Our focus of 2020 was learning how to develop the appropriate systems through mainstream platforms such as Shopify and then grow paid subscriber bases.” Regarded Taylor.
“Influencers are able to have a subscription service they can call their own where they get paid every single month as opposed to promoting brands for a one-hit pay-check where the recurring income isn’t guaranteed. That’s the scariest thing for anyone who is self- employed; when your next pay-check is. This model takes the uncertainty out of it which is why we are going to see such a big shift in this in 2021.” Lachlan added.
The biggest question most outsiders have on this is why would someone pay the equivalent to a gym membership for exclusive content. The answer lies in the loyalty and trust factor and influencers audience has. “With the right fan base behind you, they’ll follow you across every project you do” Taylor commented.
If you would like to set up your own subscription service, platforms like Shopify handle all the backend needed to deliver content and recurring payments. Although initial setups may be tricky at first, there is copious amounts of video and written content online which teaches you how.
If you would like to connect with the pair, Follow them on Instagram.
Lachlan Delchau-Jones on Instagram @lachiedj or https://www.instagram.com/lachiedj
Taylor Reilly on Instagram @taylorbreilly or https://www.instagram.com/taylorbreilly