The 'Influencer' career: Why it's much harder than you think

Being a social media influencer is not an easy job.

If you take away the glamorous life and the huge money that one could possibly earn by pursuing this career, you will find out that it is in fact challenging.

From managing your multiple social media accounts to creating content that netizens want to engage with--it's all about hard work, and perhaps a little bit of luck and perfect timing.

Former Mr. Chinatown contestant Jason Dy Tan can attest to this.

In his interview with GMANetwork.com, he said that authenticity plays a big role if you want to establish a career as an influencer. You have to be ready to show the "real you" online.

The chinito model explained, “For me the only advice I could give is just be you. Just be yourself. Don't go out there pretending to be someone you're not. Eventually, if you do it'll just backfire on you.

“Remember social media influencers are just people living their normal life with a camera.”

Meanwhile, social media bae Tom Reuh Tacwigan, who became popular after a television show featured his inspiring weight loss journey, emphasized that follower count is not something that you should obsess over.

He flat-out said that it "doesn't matter," and that you should focus on the things you want to share with your audience.

“Don't focus on the follower count. It doesn't matter. It's just a number. Focus on what you want to share with your audience.

“Eventually, brands will want to work with you because of YOU and not for your follower count.

"People will respect and adore you not because of your follower count, but because of how you affected their lives. That, for me, is more valuable. No amount of followers can be worth more than helping people change their lives and making them feel good in their own skin."

In addition, he pointed out that the message you share in your social media accounts should inspire people, too.

“Use Instagram as a tool to inspire people. Use it to share a message. If you're real and you keep being yourself. You're good,” he explained.

“Lastly, think of how someone would feel after looking at your profile. Would they feel insecure, jealous or envious? Would it bring out the worst in them? Or would it make them feel empowered and inspired? That's a choice you have to make,' Tom added.

Chef Gerick Manalo, a celebrity guest in several Kapuso shows like Pop Talk, Good News, Day Off and Unang Hirit, decided to pursue a career as an influencer because he wanted to maximize his creativity by creating his own content.

He encouraged those who dreams of getting into this career to always "think outside the box."

Gerick added that living in this fast-paced world, you should be ready to adapt to the changing trends as well.

“I guess the most important value that I can share with the aspiring ones is to never stay hanging on your comfort zone, explore and think out of the box.”

“In this field, everything changes drastically and people always seek for something new, learning never stops and you just have to adapt whatever change there is to occur.”

Now that you know that the "influencer life" is not as glamorous as you thought, would you still pursue it?