Likes. Comments. Shares. Retweets. Followers. Subbies. These are all things that every social media influencer thrives off of, right? Many believe that those factors are how you make it big as content creator. Yes, this is somewhat true. There are many of who have found various levels of success. I myself have dibbled and dabbled in the social media influencer world working with smaller brands, so I respect the grind that one puts into creating content consistently because let me tell you it is NOT easy! Let me be the first to tell you if you don’t know, likes and followers aren’t the be all end all of life as an influencer.

For those who may or may not know, I work for a major natural hair care brand. The cool thing about my position is that I get to talk about a few of my favorite things: natural hair, empowering women of color to love themselves, and content creation. In this role I am always scouting out new talent. Whether it be on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or on the streets when I am out and about. I was once extremely shy and would never walk up to strangers to introduce myself but this job has helped me to get out of my shell.

Recently, I was out running errands in my hometown of Chicago. I stopped into my favorite breakfast spot after I wrapped up a little session of retail therapy. Usually there is a 1-2 hour wait at this particular place but in my opinion it is worth it. Seeing that I was solo dolo that day I knew that my wait would not be that long.

Once I arrived the front door attendant seated me at the “community table”. This is where they will sit you if you are alone or have a small party of no more than 3 people. I get to my seat and I am getting settled in, I noticed a familiar face sitting across from me. Instantly realized I had seen the face of this influencer over the years from watching YouTube. Before I could focus my eyes to scan over the menu, she asks me what seemed to be a forced Zsa Zsa Gabor meets the cult classic “Clueless” voice, “Uhmmm may I see your menu?” I politely said, “Yes.” for 2 reasons. The first reason being that I’m a friendly person and the second reason being that she is my Soror (Soror = sorority sister).

As she glances over the menu I mention that I recognized her face and again in a very exaggerated Hollywood tone she responds, “Oh I don’t know. Hmmm.” I was a bit thrown off from her vibe because I’m thinking that she can’t possibly behave this way because of YouTube subs and a few speaking engagements being under her belt.

Still being friendly ol’ optimistic me I retorted, “Oh yeah. You’re from YouTube.” Now what she did next blew my mind and made me crack up! She then takes a dramatic deep breath, flips her hair, and says “Mmmm! Oh yeah”. To contain my amusement from laughing in her face from how she obviously took herself entirely too seriously I ended the conversation by saying, “Well it was nice meeting you Soror!”I finished my breakfast in silence and pondered about a few things.

In life we must remember that always maintaining a healthy amount of humility in our arsenal of life skills will always be a key factor in consistent progress. If she had been a bit more personable, I would have opened up the floor to mention that I think she would be great to collaborate with the brand but that never happened due to the lack of space in the room from an enlarged ego. I won’t even mention how disheartening it was to have that type of interaction with a Soror.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the hype of having followers and likes because it can provide a false sense of importance. In the wrong hands, social media popularity can cause one to interact with others as if anyone they come into contact with is a fan. As someone who is an influencer outside of my 9-5, I know how it can be a hustle to connect with brands and I am sure all influencers can feel me when I say that. Being a brand influencer, just like any other aspect in life, is all about relationships. It’s about who you know, how you interact with them and your ability to nurture those professional relationships.

I have met quite a few influencers. Maybe those ladies spoiled me with their warm personalities and humility but LAWD I wasn’t expecting to encounter such an experience with a familiar face. Now in no way do I take myself as seriously as she did or seriously enough to view myself as the gatekeeper of the brand I work for but remember you never know who you may be speaking to. You literally never know who you’re talking to or what opportunity you may be throwing away because you decided to be with “the shits” on any given day of the week.

Here’s my suggested starter kit for any aspiring social media influencers:

• Canon T6 or Nikon D7000 (Your iPhone works too)
• Lighting Kit (a window with lots of natural light will do the trick too)
• Editing Software (iMovie or FinalCut Pro)
• Creative Ideas
• Humility

So remember kids, God doesn’t like ugly!

-TheMonaLita 💋

Business Inquiry: contact@themonalita.com