I do a lot of panels about working in media and my #1 piece of advice — besides networking and, of course, developing your skills as a reporter, writer, and editor — is to be flexible. Media is ever-changing, as evidenced by my career alone: I started out as an assistant at a print magazine and back then, people thought I was crazy for starting a blog, creating a Twitter account, or contributing to websites as a freelancer. If you want a long career in this industry, you have to be willing to pivot. And that is especially true in the influencer space. Recently, a TikTok ban threatened to upend the influencer economy, effectively cutting off a source of income for thousands of entrepreneurs on the platform. I felt for these folks as someone who remembers Myspace, Vine, and the list goes on and on.
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When we started this blog, we built a huge following on Facebook and Twitter that was instrumental in promoting our posts and gaining readers. Later, we pivoted to Instagram as our readers embraced the platform and then TikTok — and now, we’re building up our presence on YouTube shorts. Along the way, we’ve gained some followers and lost others but we’ve been able to keep the brand afloat and that staying power is due to the lessons below. Keep scrolling for some tried-and-true tips we’ve learned the hard way about surviving the rise and fall of social media platforms as an influencer.
Tips for Pivoting Influencer Strategy When Social Media Platforms Change:
1. Diversify your social media platforms as an influencer.
If you grow a following on one social media platform, give yourself all the kudos and credit but don’t stop there! Focus your attention on others too so your livelihood isn’t solely tied to one platform that can go away. Bonus: be consistent with your name so it’s easy for followers to find you.
2. Start an email list.
An email list is an ideal way to communicate with your supporters, on your terms. For example, if you miss the window to post before a social media platform closes, you can always go to your email list to reach out to followers and tell them where else they can find your content. This is my #1 goal for us in 2025 and influencers who have an email list and newsletter highly recommend it.
3. Create a site.
Though people aren’t consuming traditional media as much, it’s still important to grab a site and domain so you have a piece of the internet that you own and can always direct followers and brands to. Whether that’s a site that houses your portfolio, or a blog like this where you write articles, it’s not impacted by the unpredictable social media landscape.