Business
Kambe Lovelace
Looking at the local influencer landscape, Business Day quickly realised its complexity – too great to be discussed in one article.
First, on February 29, we set the landscape for content creation and influencing in TT. Now we’ll discuss how influencers navigate the content-creation space and establish themselves as entrepreneurs.
We spoke with local influencers from different fields: Keron Rose, a Newsday columnist, digital strategist and e-commerce specialist of eight years; Anastasia Mootoo, a social-media content-producer and social-media consultant for eight years; and Ayodele Gomez, a travel-content creator of three years.
Establishing value as an influencer
Content creators and influencers are different things.
A content creator can be anyone, but an influencer is a hyper-consumer who can provide unique insight about a product or service to an audience they affect and relate to. Being able to affect an audience and have them take action or demonstrate interest is an influencer’s value and is what separates him or her from a content creator.
Keron Rose, who started as a tech blogger, realised there was a gap in understanding smartphone technology in TT. His content on this topic established him as someone in the know in the tech space.
“When I started teaching about smartphone tech, how to use it and what phones you should get, depending on your lifestyle, that led me to becoming an ‘influencer.’”
His content caused viewers to ask about buying the phones he wrote about, which showed his followers wanted to act on his advice.
Gomez, a casual social media user before becoming a content creator, wanted to document her travels. Her value comes from the unique experiences she highlights in each visit she makes.
“What I aim to do as well is experience something I can only experience in that country: either (an) activity or a type of food.”
Her experience as a woman who travels often helped her establish her brand, The Travelling Woman TT.
Mootoo, who says her content is “basically (her) life in a diary,” provides authentic reviews of products that fit into her lifestyle. She brings people into her life, her journey and her experiences and shares information about a product or service that she knows works.
But, she said, “If I have a bad experience about a place, I’m not going to post about it, because I personally don’t believe in bashing brands on social media. I try to keep it as clean as possible and as authentic as possible.”
Both advised content creators and businesses to understand their brand voice.
Rose said, “If you are a business owner you should definitely be creating content with the mindset of helping people solve a problem.”
Photo by Kambe Lovelace
Establishing your online presence
What matters is the approach to content creation, not the equipment you have.
The influencers said their equipment was limited when they started, but what brought success was their structured approach to content creation and their dedication to learning the digital landscape.
Mootoo said, “Just using my iPhone6 and those phone mounts for cars is really how I got started.”
She created content plans and edited her content in advance. She attributes this approach to discipline acquired when studying biochemistry at UWI, which allowed her a faster turnaround time and flexibility with deadlines.
“Before the month even started I planned out the content for that month.”
Now out of UWI, she batch-produces content on the weekends, ensuring her scripts, makeup looks and outfits are planned beforehand.
“Saturdays are usually my content days, sometimes Sundays. I wake up early and produce as much content as possible.”
Her first paid collaboration was with Fine Soaps, approximately a year into her content-creation career.
“I first started off just reviewing their products because I had really bad acne and they approached me. At the time (the payment) was only $700, which, to me, was so much money.”
Now, eight years on, she charges $4,000-$6,000 per post. She also had a three-year contract with Haagen Dazs, and has worked with over 80 local and international brands.
Rose’s approach was to work smartly, consistently and affordably while maximising his impact.
“I started off with no budget, and the only equipment I had was my computer. I tried to do things that didn’t require me to go and buy equipment, so blogging was the easiest one.”
He started seeing returns in three months, with the first call being from a media house that wanted to feature him. This helped him understand his brand was being recognised.
In terms of monetary returns, he said, “I started getting commissions from affiliate marketing within two-three months.”
Affiliate marketing is when someone earns a commission by promoting a product or service made by another retailer or advertiser using an affiliate link.
His first brand deal was with Huawei, after six months.
“I was putting in like three blogs per day for six months. I had built up an audience, I showcased my expertise. So when Huawei reached out to me, it was a good fit working together to create our series.”
Since then he’s worked with brands like Flow Business, WiPay and IDB TT, and said the most he’s been paid in a single contract so far “has been about US$25,000,” which incorporated a mix of content creation, speaking engagements and workshops.
He now creates content on all forms of media. He has a Newsday Business Day column, a TV segment, a radio show called Digital World, his own podcast – Digipreneur FM – and a blog on Keronrose.com. He also creates content regularly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. He calls this an “omnipresent approach.”
The influencers had tips for upcoming content creators and influencers.
Gomez, who encountered the issue of storage when she first started, said, “Make sure you have something or somewhere to store your content. Your phone only holds a certain amount of memory.”
Mootoo said, “You can just have good lighting, a regular phone and you can shoot content with that. It’s really how you use your items that makes a difference.”
She also recommends free apps like CapCut for editing videos.
Rose said an absolute must-have is a good phone.
“Right now, everybody should invest in their phone. The most versatile piece of equipment you’ll have on you is your phone. Invest in an external microphone as well.”
Monetising your platform
There are multiple ways to monetise your social media platform.
Rose said, “Learn about the variety of different monetisation streams you can create. Creating content with the hope of getting a brand deal or getting a social media platform to pay you is limiting.”
Rose, whose initial monetisation stream was affiliate marketing through Amazon, said this brought additional traffic to his website. He also used Google Adsense to run ads on his website, so he got income from that additional traffic.
Having built a brand on his expertise in technology through his content, he was able to branch out into podcasting and radio hosting as well as creating his own branded merchandise.
Similarly, Gomez created her travel brand, The Travelling Woman TT, which hosts trips and has branded merchandise.
Establishing a digital presence and influence among women interested in travelling allowed her to host events locally. One was The Inception of Adventures, where travel-content creators and female influencers could network. She also hosted a self-improvement event where women were able to create plans and goals for 2024.
Gomez said a full-circle moment for her was the ability to work with the travel agency, The Vacation Connection, where she started off as a client.
Mootoo’s eight years in the business have allowed her to set up her own social-media consultancy business, where she assists businesses with their content-creation strategies.
“I am able to be on both sides – the client’s side as well as the influencer side.”
Mootoo also partners with brands for speaking engagements like Scotiabank for International Day of Girl-Girl Code, as well as becoming a McDonald’s Great Day ambassador in support of The Heroes Foundation.
She said, “I don’t accept brand deals if it doesn’t align with what I do.”
Her main areas of focus when it comes to ambassadorships, appearances and speaking engagements include youth concerns, grooming, navigating social media and navigating business relationships.
