When I first joined Instagram back in 2012, I was like all the other upper teen Austinites. I overused the Valencia filter, underused hashtags, and - if you can believe this - made sure always to add my location so I could have a cute little collage of photos on the map tab of my profile - I so wish they hadn't rid that feature. Anyways, I, like many, saw Instagram as a similar outlet to Twitter or Facebook, except status updates were selfies and food pics instead of words. In some ways, not much has changed in the last eight years. However, in other ways, everything has.

Spring 2013 was when I first started noticing "influencers" popping up. However, there were few and far between. One girl from my high school started a fashion blog and quickly gained a lot of followers, like several thousand. I remember being quite intrigued by her success. She posted pictures in various outfits with #ootd and would tag the stores or designers of said clothing. I started seeing her photos pop up all over the Internet, and not much later, inside a few various stores - which was a "Wow!" moment for me. It was incredible to think that someone could post pictures from a tripod to Instagram and eventually work their way up to being the face of an actual store or clothing line. 

I realized early on that there was huge potential to become "noticed," maybe even famous, thanks to Instagram and other social media apps. For me, it was Pinterest. What started as a way to waste time and cure boredom in college quickly became a way to boost traffic to my blog and potentially make money. I always wanted to give Instafame a shot, but I never was entirely able to commit to the lifestyle. 

Because it is a lifestyle, being an influencer means putting your life out there for everyone to see, one post at a time. It means getting the perfect shot. It means trying to one-up others with the best post, a unique background, an original camera angle. It means commenting, liking, and sharing random photos that you could care less about all in the name of the game. It means putting your real life on pause, so in the meantime, you can edit it, trim it, and upload the faultless version of yourself to playback over and over again. ​

After spending years being intrigued by so many up and coming accounts on Instagram, I started to realize that it's not so much fame that we are pursuing as it is notoriety. Being a "major" influencer doesn't just mean embracing the lifestyle; it means continuing a lifestyle. What I mean by this is that there is one thing each Insta famous user has in common. & no, I'm not talking about their Louis Vuitton purses or desire to share their skincare routines. I'm talking about money — cold, hard cash. ​

I'm not talking about money they've since earned from sponsored posts, growing their brand, or selling various products. I'm talking about money and a lifestyle they inherited the day they were conceived in a most likely 300-thread count Egyptian cotton California king bed. I started thinking about all of the Influencers I know from "real" life - sad that you have to specify that, huh? & it hit me that each one I know grew up in a wealthy neighborhood, came from borderline upper-middle to upper-class families, received an excellent education, and were already successful before their Instafame. Every. Single. One. 

It's not surprising. Since the beginning of time, those who we consider being "influential" are usually the rich, beautiful, and powerful. Why would social media be any different? It's different because everyone has this false illusion that they, too, can be an influencer. However, is that actually obtainable? Can the "average" person with a regular salary and family life ever compete with major Instagrammers? Is it possible to have a rag to riches Instafame story? & beyond that, is it worth it?

I wasn't sure so I started doing some research of my own:

Each of us has a personalized idea of what success looks like. However, on social media, we all can pretty much agree that success includes 100k+ followers, thousands of likes, and the constant possibility of going viral. There are so many categories of accounts one could follow on Instagram - memes, fashion, tech, animals, travel, world events, sports, you name it. Each type comes with criteria for reaching fame, prosperity, and followers. While I'm sure every category has f-ed up ways to get to the top, I decided to research popular Influencers in the fashion world of Instagram. 

After much consideration, I researched three major fashion influencer accounts on Instagram. When I say "major, I'm referring to Influencers that have over 250K followers and an established account - meaning they have been on Instagram for at least four years. I delved up the following facts and compared them side by side to three "average" Instagram users of at least four years. 
                                                                                                                      *Average meaning less than 3K followers

Not shockingly, influencers are posting A LOT. In four years, influencers have posted nearly four times the amount of an average Instagram user. I guess it comes with the territory. However, one has to wonder if the content they are putting out is always worth posting. I think it's also important to note how frequently someone hoping to reach Influencer status must post & be connected to social media. 

This data might not seem significant, but I think it is. Large accounts and influencers follow only .002% of other accounts compared to the number of accounts following them. This is quite a difference from an average Instagram user who follows over a third back or other accounts. Despite being a huge part of the Instagram community and preaching inclusivity, these major accounts don't follow or give back quite like they say they do. 

Instagram Stories have quickly become the number one way to share content + updates with followers and other accounts. Becoming more popular than Snapchat, it makes sense that major influencers would try to capitalize on the feature. For every 1 post the Average Instagram User uploads to their story, a major influencer has uploaded (on average) 16 more! That's A LOT of content and sharing. This equates out to posting roughly 1-2 posts every hour throughout the day.

For a major influencer, this might make total sense. Engaging with your audience is an important part in building your brand. However, the average Instagram user, in many cases, does not have the time to share their trivial daily activities to the Insta community. For those trying to build up a following, this would mean needing to constantly update your story despite also needing to hold down a job, tend to a family, focus on school, etc. - this could add a significant amount of pressure to anyone.

Financially speaking, it is obviously difficult to compare the average Instagram user to a major influencer. Why? Because everyone posts the best of the best on social media. However, given the information above and taking into account other factors, I was able to get a pretty decent idea of the amount of money that goes into being an Influencer. 

Look, I'm no math expert, but I do know that every girl on the face of the Earth could relate to Lizzie Mcguire when Kate Sanders called her out for repeating an outfit. Many of us wouldn't want to be caught dead in the same dress we wore to another event, especially on Instagram. Insanity, I know. In other words, I did the math and these influencers have probably purchased 2,000+ outfits in over four years. TWO THOUSAND.

I dug through their accounts and hardly saw the same bottoms repeated, much less an entire outfit. Sure, maybe they shared the occasional top or jacket a few times, but I can tell you that a large portion of their posts featured an entirely new outfit. They each have posted roughly 2,188 posts over the course of about four years on Instagram. If you break this down, that's nearly 1-2 posts a day. Those two posts a day probably consist of at least one new outfit - complete with shoes and accessories. 

Let's just say, at the bare minimum, these outfits cost a total of $20. That's over $40,000 spent on CLOTHING alone since 2015. This isn't even including the fancy vacations, nice cars, food/drinks, beauty products, and other luxury items that are usually featured in each post. I assume this number is actually much much higher, with each influencer promoting expensive designer outfits and accessories in every post. I would venture to say their outfits probably cost more like $60-100 per post. Making this number likely over one hundred thousand dollars spent in four years. While many of these products may be paid for or sponsored in major influencer's recent posts, it's important to consider how long it would have taken each account to reach that status. 

Not only is that an insane amount of money, but so incredibly wasteful. We look at influencers that we follow to be someone that we relate to, and, in many cases, someone we would want to be friends with. They seem relatable while their lifestyle is absolutely not. & there is nothing inherently wrong with that. However, I think the average Instagram user needs to realize that these images we are constantly bombarded with as we scroll our feeds are not a representation of a normal life. The average person cannot afford to drop $10K a year on clothing alone - particularly if they have a family or other expenses. 

Even for those who have money, time, creative mindsets, etc. - the influencer life is an incredibly unrealistic lifestyle. How can you seriously build a life when you spend 1/4 of your income on clothing, jet set around the globe multiple times a month, and post every second of your life for everyone to see?

I want to clarify that there's is nothing wrong with traveling, shopping, or posting. I would be the biggest hypocrite if that was my stance. However, I do think there is something wrong with the mentality that "if you don't post it, it didn't happen." & the feelings that so many have of "making it." Why don't we strive to make it at a "normal" job? Or strive to make it in our community? Or strive to make it as a real life influencer - without the need for the app?

For anyone trying to make it big on Instagram, you need to develop a plan. Your account needs to be run like a business. Most importantly, you need to account for finances. It is not worth risking your future financial security just so you can get a few thousand followers. Moving forward, anyone intrigued by this career path should consider the doing the following:
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• THINK CONTENT: I browsed several fashion influencer accounts, and I hate to say it but there is not much original content. We can only look at the same plaid flannel shirts, left leg out poses so much before we want to delete the app entirely. Instagram needs original content. Think outside the box. Ask yourself: What can you bring to Instagram that is different.  
• USE INSTAGRAM AS A TOOL FOR REAL LIFE: Making connections in real life is honestly probably 10x more useful. Go to networking events, attend activities that pertain to your niche, host Meetups, get out there. Some of the most successful people in certain industries only have a handful of followers on social media. Social media popularity does NOT transfer to real life popularity. 
• SET BOUNDARIES: Nip the desire to share every single event in your life in the bud now. I know, I know, easier said than done. If you do make it big (or even if you don't), you need to make sure that some parts of your life are just for you. If you go on a vacation, spend at least a few days photo free. If you get all dressed up, maybe enjoy the evening without needing to add it to your stories. I forget who said it but they were correct - some events are too special to share on social media.
• DRESSING UP ISN'T A TALENT: I love clothing more than almost anyone. For me, clothing has always been an art form and an amazing way of self-expression. That being said, wearing nice clothes isn't resumé qualifying (sigh, I wish it was too). When it comes to self-branding on social media, think about what you're good at and go from there. Build a business and brand around all of your strengths. Incorporate your education, your skills, and your mindset. As Instagram becomes more saturated, users will look to follow accounts that stand out and are unique. 
• ASK YOURSELF "WHY?": Why are you doing this? For fame? For money? Because if it's for those two reasons alone you need to back away now. Going viral on social media isn't a get rich quick scheme. It takes time, money, patience, and planning - just like any other career path. That's why so many major influencers already had money and "success" before their accounts made it big. They were able to front the lifestyle until they made it.

The research I conducted concludes that being an Instagram influencer takes a helluva lot of time, energy, focus, and dedication. It also, in most cases, takes a lot of money and creativity. Deciding if the work is worth the benefits is a serious question to be asked by anyone attempting to join this trendy gig. With the amount of competition, the decision to start down the path to Instafame isn't one to take lightly. 

All good things do come to an end, viewing Instagram influencing as a career path seems like a huge risk to make if it means putting an actual career on hold. Investing over 10k a year on outfits, trips, and pretty places could potentially hurt a lot of dreams down the road. However, sometimes you do have to bet on yourself. Whatever careers and dreams we decide to pursue, there will always be obstacles and challenges to overcome. It's up to us to decide what is and isn't worth it. So, is Instagram influencing worth it? I'll let you be the judge of that. 

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