If You're An Influencer, Stay Away From Filming In These Stores

To influence or not to influence? That is the question. Well, for many, influencing is not a question because it is a profitable business. That's right. What was once a popular tactic used to gain friends on the playground, has now become a large part of the marketing strategy in many industries. According to some experts, the influencer marketing industry will be worth more than $15 billion by 2022 (via Forbes).

Of course, not all influencers get an equal slice of the very large cash pie. The Rock, Selena Gomez, and lets just say every member of the Kardashian family — Rob included — are taking the larger slices (per HireInfluence). But if you're looking to make a decent chunk of change by swaying others, you might want to consider dabbling in the business of influence. Use your charm, your quick wit, and your savvy business sense. But no matter how established your social media platforms are, or how large your fan base becomes, please oh please, stay away from filming these types of stories.

The first lesson in "Influencer 101" is to not use a natural disaster to help you promote a product or yourself. Why? Because it is distasteful and you will receive backlash. Take, for example, the influencers who posted photos of themselves or of merch and used the hashtags: "#californiafires, #woolseyfire, and #malibufires" (per Kubbco). Remember, the stuff you post on the internet can reappear at any time in the future. We can imagine it is more difficult to find future sponsors if you use this tasteless tactic of promotion.

Speaking of promotion videos that lack sensitivity, social media influencers should stay away from using racist language and breaking the law. You could lose followers and potentially your power. And we mean 'power' literally. When TikToker Bryce Hall kept posting videos of large parties happening at his Los Angeles pad during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor of the city promptly cut the power to his estate (via Buzzfeed).

The moral of this what-to-avoid guide for navigating your influencer business/brand is simple: Be sensitive to the times, and don't break the law in your stories. If you can avoid this, you'll likely get a larger slice of that cash pie in the future.