On Deciding to Become A Social Media Influencer in My Mid-Thirties

You never know who needs to hear the message that you have to share unless you put it out there.

I sit on the generational intersection of Millennial and Generation X. It’s a fuzzy grey area in the generational timeline that has come to be known as the Xennials (the generation born between 1977 and 1983 on the cusp of Generation X and the Millennials — USA TODAY). As an Xennial I have some unique characteristics not held by the older or younger generations before and after me. For instance, I can remember life without high speed internet, cell phones, social media, and instant access to information. However, I was introduced to the aforementioned technology at an age young enough that I’ve been able to adopt it with relative ease (although nowhere near with the efficacy of my younger Millennial peers who seem to navigate the internet as though it is an extension of their palms).

To put this into a clearer context, I was in college when Facebook was ONLY accessible to people with university email addresses. I’ve literally watched the platform grown into global dominance since day one. However, my understanding of it up until a few years ago was that it was simply a place for old friends to share updates about their evolving lives.

With this explanation in mind, it will likely make sense that the term ‘social media influencer’ was not something I was familiar with until one fateful day. It was about three years ago and a younger Millennial aged friend of mine was explaining Instagram to me. This friend gave me the run down on how ‘influencers’ could build partnerships with brands to market their products and take commission on any sales made.

As an Xennial who thought Instagram was just an extension of Facebook, this blew my mind. You see one thing I should have mentioned about Xennials is that we can also be fairly entrepreneurially minded. I had already started a number of business by this juncture in my life (consulting, vacation rentals, restaurants, investing, and various fitness groups) and I was always curious about ways to earn extra income doing things I would be doing anyway. So, I figured “if these 20-something-year-olds can do it, why can’t I?” Once I did a bit of research, I realized I fit all of the criteria of a good influencer: really into fitness, healthy eating, and I was inarguably a borderline narcissist who loved taking photos and videos of myself doing cool stuff.

So, I downloaded the Instagram App, set up an account and got to work. I was under the impression that I’d post a few fancy food photos and some slick workout videos and the followers and affiliates would just come rolling in. Take it from me, that’s not how it works. It’s more like a rabbit hole of stress and anxiety about constantly generating valuable content, wondering how many engagements you get, timing your stories and posts to create continuity in the message you are sending, and the feared question: how many followers do I have?

Now, I realize now that all of this sounds like the plot to a midlife coming of age story. In spite of these stressors, I have continued to evolve my social media presence. It has been a transformative experience. Here are just a few reasons why.

Community

I’ve always believed in the power of community. Being online has had the unexpected benefit of removing the limitations of just how many amazing people you can connect with if you limit yourself to your local environment. Whether you goal is fitness, nutrition, writing, entrepreneurship, injury recovery, or literally anything else, I have found communities of amazing, supportive, and encouraging people to learn from and be inspired by.

Some of you might think, “but isn’t it limiting to only hold these relationships and participate in these communities in a virtual space?” My answer is it depends on how you look at it. I remember a year ago, I was travelling home from a trip to Portugal and I had a layover at JFK. I knew one of my social media friends was local to New York, so I reached out. I ended up getting a personal lunch in New York City with a local whom I never would have met had it not been for my social media presence.

And on the flip side of that coin, I am involved in multiple social media communities filled with people I very well may never meet in person. To name just a few: Badass Digital Nomads, Rock ’n’ Roll Virtual Running Club, The Health Coach’s Clubhouse, and of course my own group: The Happy Healthy Living Clubhouse. Participating in these communities is both rewarding and inspiring as I get to see people from all over the world sharing their journey’s together and inspiring one another. This holds especially true during times like these when face to face interaction is being limited by COVID every single day.

Personal Development

Being online is a form of accountability like no other. While you have to avoid becoming obsessive (which I don’t always succeed at), the communities of people online mentioned in the last point inspire me to put my best out there every day. If I don’t show up, they ask where I am. When I do show up, they are the first to cheer me on.

I’ve never been the type who needed an accountability partner to reach my goals. However, expanding my social media presence has taught me that accountability from like-minded peers and mentors is a very good thing. It inspires me every day to maintain my course, develop my skills and continue to try to excel towards my own goals. This goes far beyond my original goal of getting in shape and eating healthy… but I’ll discuss this in the following point.

Creativity

I never thought of myself as a creative person. Frankly, prior to my social media days, many would have considered me your classic left-brained analytic who always saw things in a linear path. The thought of ‘creating content’ was intimidating and something I always left for my more artistically minded friends.

As I have evolved my social media presence, I have also become braver in my creative expression. A few years ago, when I took my first photo of a well plated healthy meal I cooked it took everything I had to put a photo filter on it, write a small blurb about the recipe, type up some hashtags and post it. 3 years later, here I am consistently pumping out fully edited YouTube cooking videos and 2000-word Medium articles. Whether a piece of content gets 3 views or 300 is irrelevant. What matters to me now is that I have learned to be artistic in my own way and not be afraid to share what I create with the world. This has been a truly freeing experience for me that has provided multiple new outlets for me to process and understand the world around me.

Business Development

I am a product of the gig economy. Like I mentioned earlier in this article, I have an entrepreneurial spirit and have never been afraid to try my hand at new business ventures. Building a solid social media brand across multiple platforms has helped me to tie what once were a variety of free-floating side hustles into one contiguous business message… and then market the hell out of it.

My personal brand has evolved to encompass happy and healthy living without the gimmicks. Through this brand, I am able to market my vacation rentals, my affiliate partner products (all of which are in alignment with my personal brand’s mission), and my health coaching services. I’ve watched my businesses grow in direct correlation with my social media presence.

I would tell anyone who is hustling their way through life right now, that if they aren’t leveraging social media to grow their business or personal brand, they need to be.

Conclusion

I am an Xennial who decided to become a social media influencer in my mid-thirties. When I say it out loud, it sounds like the plot to a bad comedy film, but it’s the truth. Building my online brand has connected me to thousands of inspiring people worldwide. It has helped me to grow as a professional and as a human being. It has offered financial opportunities along with opportunities for creative outlet and expression. It has been transformative.

My last bit of advice to anyone interested in growing a social media brand is this: Don’t be afraid to start posting and sharing today. You never know who needs to hear the message that you have to share unless you put it out there.

Joey Szolowicz is a Nutrition and Health Blogger and Vlogger. For daily tips join, his community here.