Investing in yourself – not a platform

FORD: When we asked a number of women about their life on the internet last year, many said that their entire income was sustained by just one social media platform. And I thought, with so many young women going into careers as digital content creators, this is something I’d love to examine a little bit. As it happened, when we were putting that episode together all of the Elon Musk Twitter drama was in full-swing, and it just felt like a visceral reminder of how new and precarious these platforms really are. At the same time there’s also been lay-offs across the tech industry, ever-present whispers of a TikTok ban… Changing attitudes in regards to social media and mental health… Changing expectations among creators… 

You are one of the women in that camp – whose income largely revolves around one platform – so I’m curious to understand how you’re feeling about that in this moment. Does it feel risky to you? How are you approaching your choices?

JORDAN: I have a little bit more of a relaxed approach, honestly, because I’m fortunate to be 10 years into my career at this point. I’ve built a strong network and have supportive connections in Los Angeles, and I have money saved, which helps a lot. But you’re reminding me of this Women’s Health article where the writer, Madeline Howard, talks about the instability of social media… She says, “Social media companies incentivize content creators to live online, without offering much in return.” And goes on to talk about how creators drive so much traffic to these platforms, without any benefits or protections. Only after reading that did I begin to realize how much my life would drastically change if Instagram became irrelevant – which isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

I know that the smart move would be to be well-versed in multiple platforms in case one goes under, but to me, it’s like having a whole other job. When TikTok came onto the scene, everyone was telling me that I need to build a following there and that a lot of money will soon be pouring into TikTok. And they were right – brand budgets are decreasing on Instagram and there’s been reports of just how much TikTok creators are making. While many did make that jump, I was slow to. I’ve been in social media for 10 years now and it felt exhausting to get on that hamster wheel of churning out more content, this time video, and have to know the ins and outs of what’s trending on TikTok, how to maximize it and try to grow a following on there, or go viral, on top of having to keep up with all that’s happening on Instagram. I’m feeling a bit apathetic. The same goes for my social media consulting – if I was more money-minded, I would have become well-versed in TikTok in order to consult with brands for that platform, too, but I pretty immediately decided that I would take a back seat on TikTok consulting and gave myself permission to stick to one platform. 

Long story short, I do think it’s more beneficial to invest in multiple platforms – income-wise, that is. But I do think at some point it takes a hit mentally, emotionally, to try to keep up with all of it, especially with the amount of content these platforms require of us to post. 

FORD: I wouldn’t underestimate the latter half of your point though. We’re seeing so many reports of influencers, YouTubers, etc., either fully quitting, or substantially stepping away from successful careers due to mental health issues. And I think in the future we’re going to see that the people who were able to sustain healthy, long term careers on social media were the people who set a lot of boundaries and protected their peace. You have a natural instinct for that, and while you might be taking a financial hit in the short term, I think in the long term you’re probably not.

It’s funny though, I think I see you and your career on social media really differently than you do. Tell me if I am completely off, but when I look at you I actually see social media as your vehicle not as your passion. Like you’re not passionate about learning all the new platforms and features. I think you’re passionate about building community around the things you care about – books, voting, women’s issues – you’re passionate about certain causes, like drunk driving prevention – and you have a strong visual point of view that you are passionate about sharing. I think you look at Instagram and you see its potential to help you develop… explore… share those interests, and that’s why you love it. You look at TikTok and you see its potential to make you money, but I don’t think you see it as an investment in yourself, which is why I would guess you don’t love it. So I don’t know, I think this whole question is less about – is it bad to invest in just one platform? And more about – are you investing in yourself? Whether that’s developing a meaningful real-life community and network, or your skills as a public speaker, or skills writing, or storytelling, or just as a tool to explore yourself – any number of different things.

JORDAN: Social media is my vehicle, not my passion… I like that. I actually came to terms with this a few years ago. I was speaking to a friend who I met while we were doing social media for similar brands and I was telling her how dissatisfied I felt with the social media space. I told her I didn’t know what was wrong with me - why I felt so uninspired and unmotivated and she said to me, “maybe you don’t find fulfillment in social media – in your work, and that you find it in other things.” And that was the first time it really occurred to me that, like you said, it’s not social media I’m passionate about – it’s the stuff I get to share on social media. 

With that said, I think that’s probably what many of us are forgetting – that while our focus on social media tends to be how to grow - grow our numbers, grow our income, what is important is growing our curiosities and our passions, whether or not that gets shown on Instagram, TikTok, whatever. There needs to be a genuine interest in exploring the things that really matter to us, which transcends whatever platform is in at the moment.

For example, because I really love connecting people and getting to know new people, I have tried to do that using my social media. A little over a year ago, I started Seen Library, a community for readers and book lovers to come together. Admittedly, when I first thought about creating it, my initial instinct was to think about how to monetize it, which I soon shot down because I didn’t want another job. I wanted to start it because I wanted a new hobby, something that I would enjoy. I began doing in person book exchanges with friends and acquaintances in order to connect with people and build community outside of social media. From there, I began doing book drives and was able to see how Seen Library could be a tool to give back to underserved communities. And while I’m careful to not put pressure on myself to monetize it, it has been able to translate into financial opportunities – whether brands want to sponsor a Seen Library book exchange, or I use what I’ve learned from Seen Library to inform my work with clients. With one of my fashion clients, I applied this community building mindset to their brand and thought about the ways we could bring people together in a way that made sense for them.

Ford: I love that. I think we’re seeing a lot of people now who’ve explored their interests on social media and it led to unexpected career opportunities that were born out of an authentic, curious place. Social media is really interesting to me when I think about it more in terms of a process of discovery, and less in terms of sharing a finished product. Like for you, Seen Library started as something different – it was just “Seen” and it was a place to simply highlight diverse creators. After a while you saw its limitations but you also stayed open to opportunities to pivot, you allowed it to change with you and to let yourself try things, and eventually the concept became more specific. The internet was a part of the process of working it out. 

You encouraged us to approach this newsletter in the same way – as an exploration – and it has made the whole process so much healthier for me. I can see now that, before we launched, I was trying so hard to know exactly what this was, and package it all up – I guess that probably made me feel safer or something. But in hindsight, I can see that we really didn’t know, and our intentions are different now that we’ve explored it. So now I’m just letting it unfold, and I’m learning, and that’s so much more fun. As someone who didn’t see a place for themselves online, that switch made a big difference and new possibilities are now opening up in my mind. And I think that’s the thing – it’s important to be aware of how the internet might provide new opportunities to explore yourself, your interests, your community, and your career, but we just have to be careful not to get lost in the platforms themselves.

Can you share a bit about how Substack has served your unique wants, needs, interests, and personality type at this point in your life? Also, what are some other platforms you think people should look into as they explore the ways that social media can serve them best?

JORDAN: Substack allows for longer-form copy and the ability to share links and more in-depth thoughts. I found myself wanting to share my feelings on my career or this industry or books I was reading or products I was using and didn’t feel Instagram was the appropriate place to do it, as people there want visuals or quick, short captions. I saw how many more clicks a link to my shoes would get vs. the book I was reading and that was discouraging to me, even though I understood it. Most people follow me for my clothes or lifestyle, not my thoughts. And while I still want to use Instagram to showcase my interests, and I still share books I’m reading on there, I realized that maybe it wasn’t the place to share everything I want to share in full. Which is why I went to Substack. People who subscribe to Substack are craving - or at least, open to - flushed out thoughts and reading more copy. And those who subscribe to my Substack care enough to read what I have to say. And it’s kind of nice to be able to reserve some of that stuff for them, instead of putting it all on Instagram, where it felt like I was screaming into a void. Or into an already too-crowded space. 

I think platforms that people should look into are really dependent on their personality types and how they feel most comfortable. While Substack works for me, I don’t think it works for everyone - not everyone likes writing or sharing in that format. TikTok is obviously a popular platform that people feel drawn to - it feels more candid and casual - which is great for the people who feel at odds with how curated Instagram tends to be. Some people don’t want to be on camera at all and like short, funny or informational tidbits - maybe that’s where Twitter comes in. I’m not too familiar with Patreon, but I know most of the content is behind a paywall, which is nice as it allows for more substantial or honest content reserved for those who are willing to pay for it.

FORD: Twenty years ago, becoming an influencer was not a career option at all, but now it’s a highly sought-after job. In what ways do you think this is an empowering economic choice for women and in what ways do you think it’s a disempowering economic choice?

JORDAN: Influencing definitely has the ability to bring in money and lots of it. There are influencers who make millions of dollars each year and many who make in the hundreds of thousands on brand deals alone. And then, of course, there are some who create their own brands and are able to make even more money off of that, instead of lending their face to other brands. The amount of money that could be made from influencing allows for a lot of personal freedom, too – being able to step away and go on nice vacations or setting your own hours. But I think it’s important to remember that this isn’t the case for every influencer. I’m not sure what the statistics are but I can only imagine that that type of money is only coming in for a very small percentage, especially knowing how many influencers and creators are out there now. 

But as much money as it has the potential to bring in, I think people need to think about the risks, too. Influencing, a lot of the time is based on looks, and what happens when that feels too hard to upkeep or when you get older? It’s sad, but I think it’s hard to know how long a career in influencing can actually last. This is the first generation of people making a money off of this profession and while in normal careers, the more experience you have and the more years you put into it usually means more income and more career opportunities, in influencing, I wonder if it’s a bit like modeling - that the growth and projects diminish as you get older. I hope not. I also think like you mentioned earlier - about the unreliability of these platforms - things change so fast in social media and a career on a specific platform isn’t necessarily guaranteed. I remember during the Vine days, I was coordinating sponsored posts for certain creators, and when Vine became obsolete, some of those creators were able to move their audience to a new platform and make money there, but a lot of others creators didn’t see that same success. I think we’re actually seeing this with the platforms we’re familiar with now – influencer ad spend is already changing. We’re seeing a lot of the budget that was once reserved for Instagram go to TikTok. And I think with this whole de-influencing movement that’s top of mind in the industry at the moment, I can see influencer ad spend start to dwindle and go to other places – whether it’s retargeting ads on Facebook or paid search advertising on Google.

FORD: Older generations often scoff at millennial “indecision” – we change employers every 2-3 years whereas boomers often stayed at the same job for 40 years. We change career paths, looking for the thing that’s going to most align with our passions. We want more from our work and if we can’t have that then a lot of us are becoming comfortable with working a lot less. This too is sometimes met with confusion. But in the world we live in, worker productivity has far outpaced worker compensation. Most of our paychecks go to rent and many of us will never be able to buy a home. College costs more than ever and wracks young people with crippling lifelong debt, yet employers increasingly say that college graduates are unprepared for the workforce. On top of that, many of the jobs millennials find themselves in didn’t even exist when they went to college. 

I’ve been reading a lot of Yuval Noah Harari lately, and in his “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” he predicts that technology will continue to change at such a rapid pace that in the future, people will need to change careers every decade to keep up with the pace, and that the defining characteristic of success in the future will be an ability to deal with change. So it strikes me that what many boomers see as weakness or indecision might be just a completely valid and even vital response to the rapidly changing world we’ve inherited. 

It made me think about some of the stuff you’ve written about quitting jobs and being quick to move on to find better opportunities. In what ways do you think your ability to quit/pivot/change has helped you?