On Monday of this week, I started my new job in New York. I am continuing to work in Influencer Marketing, which at the moment, is the career path that I want to continue to follow. (Bare in mind I am still only 22, so this is very likely to change).
However, this Influencer Marketing role will not be in the beauty industry. Nor will it be in the fashion industry, the entertainment industry, sports industry or music industry where all of my passions and interests lie.
Instead, I’m going a little rogue and working in Influencer Marketing within the financial industry.
I hadn’t pictured it happening either but this way, I get an insight into B2B Influencer Marketing instead of B2C that I was used to. I’m hoping this will give me a better insight into Influencer Marketing as a whole and make me a better candidate for Influencer Marketing jobs when I finish my post here in a years’ time.
Influencer Marketing in the finance industry?
It confused me a little when I heard it as I didn’t think there could be potential for Influencer Marketing within that kind of sector, but we need to remember that those with influence are usually those that are experts in their fields (my dissertation is bleeding out of me).
Just like fashion influencers have an eye for styling and on-trend pieces, so do the top financial investors for trends in the stock market and the economy. So those that are interested in the stock market and economy will go to these financial influencers for advice and wisdom.
Obviously my blog and job are completely separate so I won’t be posting anything on here specific to the company I am working for. All views are my own etc. etc.
I should be going back to posting my thoughts on Influencer Marketing campaigns, PR dilemmas, student advice and other lifestyle posts very soon as I’m conscious all of my latest posts have been centered around New York. Normal business will commence shortly, but I thought I would just give a brief update on what I’m doing right now job-wise.
Influencer Marketing or PR?
During the first few years of my degree, I was solely focused on a career in PR. I was working in Internal Communications but knew that my PR internships interested me more and I always envisioned myself working in a PR agency.
I didn’t consider Crisis Comms, Corporate Comms or Internal Comms. I just knew that Media Relations and traditional PR was the job for me. But little did I know, that later down the line jobs would be invented that I didn’t yet know of.
I hadn’t heard of Influencer Marketing when I applied for university so it wasn’t known to me at the time as a possible career path that I could end up in. From my year working with the Influencer Marketing team at Coty, and working with influencers themselves, I can really see myself following a career within this specific niche.
We may suggest that these ‘Instagram influencers’ won’t be around forever and that Instagram could shut down tomorrow, but the influencers we see on social media aren’t the only influencers out there.
Influencers are experts in their field or just well known for what they do. Influencers include artists, visionaries, scientists, sports stars and celebrities. Not just Molly Mae from Love Island and Lydia Millen the fashion blogger.
Influencer Marketing and publicity could be seen to be quite similar. I had mentioned before that I had always wanted to work in publicity and manage individual people and I think Influencer Marketing will help me cross the two.
I love Media Relations and PR so my job at Coty, where I got to practice both traditional PR and Influencer Marketing was a dream. However, with the news of Marie Claire magazine ceasing to publish, it may only be a matter of time before the world goes digital.
I’m still in shock at the news as I thought Marie Claire would have been one of the top performing magazines in the UK. I really hope magazine publishing isn’t coming to an end, yet I remember during my placement year it seemed one magazine was closing every other month. I wrote a little piece at the time, questioning whether print journalism has a future.
A future in finance?
It’s only my third day on the job so who knows how my role will pan out. Maybe my thinking that I was suited to the more fashion/entertainment sectors was a bit premature and I could end up following a career in the finance sector.
Only time will tell and I’ll definitely know in 12 months’ time when I’m applying for my next Influencer Marketing position (in Lord knows what country or industry).
You’ll be sure to hear how I’m getting on along the way in the mean time!
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