NEW YORK — It’s not all about you. The word “demure” is used to describe almost everything online these days.
It all started earlier this month, when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take over social media. The hair and makeup she wears to work? Very understated. And paired with a vanilla perfume scent? How mindful.
In just a few weeks, Lebron’s words have become the latest vocabulary Defining the internet this summer. In addition to her own viral content that continues to describe various daily, allegedly reserved activities with adjectives like “modest,” “mindful,” and “cute,” several big names have also jumped on the trend. Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez And Penn Badgley have shared their own playful views, and even the White House used the words to boast the Biden-Harris administration’s recent efforts to alleviate student debt.
The skyrocketing fame of LeBron’s “very thoughtful, very understated” influence also matters to the TikToker herself. LeBron, who identifies as a transgender woman, said in a message last week that she can now finance the rest of her transition.
“One day I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now I fly around the country hosting events,” Lebron said in the video, noting that her experience on the platform has changed her life.
She’s not alone. In recent years, a handful of online creators have meaningful income found after they became famous on social media — but it’s still incredibly rare and not an easy feat for most to maintain.
This is what some experts say.
There is not one recipe.
Finding the means to work full-time as a creator “isn’t as rare as it was years ago,” notes Erin Kristyniak, VP of global partnerships at marketing collaboration firm Partnerize. But you still have to create content that speaks to the moment — and there’s a lot to juggle if you want to make money.
On TikTok, most users who make money pursue a combination of hustles. Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, explains that those accepted into TikTok’s Creator Marketplace — the platform’s space for collaborations between brands and creators — “can earn a kickback from views of TikTok expressly,” though it typically doesn’t pay very well.
Other ways to make money include direct brand sponsorships, creating merchandise to sell, fundraising during livestreams, and collecting “tips” or “gifts” through features available to users who reach a certain follower threshold. Much of it also comes down to off-platform work.
And creators are increasingly working to build their social media presence across multiple platforms, especially in an era when potential TikTok ban in the US, which is currently in a legal battleDuffy notes that many are working to develop this broader online presence so they “still have a financial lifeline” in case a revenue stream disappears.
It’s already hard to get a handle on the macrocosm that is the Internet, and while some have both respond to trends that resonate and found sources of compensation that enable them to give up their nine-to-five jobsthere is still a lot of work needed to keep it running.
“These viral bursts of fame don’t necessarily translate into a stable, long-term career,” Duffy said. “On the surface, it’s pretty widely hyped as a dream job … But I see that as a very superficial understanding of how the career works.”
Duffy, who has been creating social media content for a decade, said she’s heard of creators who have months of making huge amounts of money from various revenue streams — and then months of nothing at all. “It’s similar to a gig economy job in the lack of stability,” she explained.
“Most creators aren’t working full-time,” adds Eric Dahan, CEO and founder of influencer marketing agency Mighty Joy.
Burnout is also common. It can take a lot of emotional labor to cut content out of your life, Duffy said, and the pressure to maintain relationships with brands or the potential for losing viewers if you take a break can be intense. There are also ongoing risks of potential exposure to hate or online harassment.
As with everything online, the landscape for creators is constantly changing.
Demand is also growing. More and more platforms are focusing not just on attracting users, but specifically bringing aspiring creators to their sites. And that coincides with an increased focus on marketing goods and brands in these spaces.
Companies are doubling down on “meeting consumers where they are,” said Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. YouTube and other social media platforms, such as Instagram, have also developed offerings in recent years to attract this kind of content, but — for now — it’s “TikTok’s day in the sun,” she added, noting the continued dominance in the market.
And for aspiring creators looking to make it big, Dahan’s advice is to start somewhere. As LeBron’s success shows, he added, “You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
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AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, California.