There are hundreds of thousands of creators who started making content out of boredom. But Instagram wants the class of 2022 to see it as a viable career path.
A new 60-second video from Instagram is a series of clips found on the app, encouraging this year's graduates to pursue their dreams of becoming content creators. The spot is part of Instagram’s $1 billion investment in creators—everyone featured in the spot was paid for their video’s use.
The ad, which will run on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, is set to an excerpt of a 2012 commencement speech by author Neil Gaiman, where he advises the new grads to “make good art.” “Sometimes life is hard,” Gaiman said. “Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do—make good art.”
The spot was created by CreativeX, Meta’s in-house agency, and Johannes Leonardo, and is the second part of the brand’s “Your’s to Make” campaign that launched in April.
According to an April 2020 Morning Consult survey, 54% of new graduates said they would become an influencer if given the opportunity. There are institutions that are trying to meet this demand and give grads the tools to succeed. Duke University has a “Building Global Audiences” class that lays the groundwork for being an influencer, focusing on the marketing and business components of social media. Kellogg’s Executive Education program at Northwestern University offers an influencer marketing strategy program. There are even summer camps for kids who want to try out being creators or YouTubers.
Growth in the creator economy has exploded, with brands and platforms vying for authentic relationships with influencers. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest and YouTube have all started creator funds as a way to lure the best creators, and their content, onto their platforms. Demand for creators has led to increased fees and non-competes. But as several brands have found, there are always fans who organically want to work with them and talk about their products.
