An Open Letter from influencers to brands; exposure is overrated

As the use of technology in Tanzania advances, we continue to witness the birth of influencers through social media platforms who openly express themselves and share their lives. These influencers have built rapport with their audiences and communities and as the name suggest, use that branding to advertise experiences, products and places to their niche.

They create content such as videos, photos, reels and many more that connect their followers and these particular brands or places. While influencers make social media seem fun, educational and informative through their content, Tanzanians are yet to grasp the energy that goes into their work and subsequently the power it carries.

In many parts of the world, there are influencers who work full time and are also respected for the creativity they put into their content. Influencers residing in countries like South Africa, Kenya, United States of America and United Kingdom are seen as important assets in marketing products and places.

Life&Style sat down with four travel and lifestyle influencers and had a peek behind the scenes to better understand the nature of the occupation.

Grosvenor Batanyita

When Covid-19 c hit, many careers came to an end. However it also gave rise to a new era of jobs that could be done remotely; influencing being one of them. Trying to cope with the changes that came with the pandemic, Grosvenor began to use his free time actively posting to social media. Little did he know, it would lead him down the path to being a lifestyle influencer,

“I learned a few tricks using some applications and began taking photos of myself and sharing them whenever I had free time. I started getting modelling offers which I wholeheartedly accepted. The modelling gigs that came my way gave me exposure and opened a door for me into the influencing world. Through collaborations, I have worked with different brands as well as other influencers to bring many interesting concepts and ideas to life. I am thankful for the response I have been receiving as well as the engagement on my posts,” he shares.

Speaking on the industry, Grosvenor says that it is still a sprouting one in the country.

“The concept of utilising influencers to a brand’s advantage is still young in Tanzania. The country keeps getting graced by influencers whose niche is fitness, travel and lifestyle among others but many are not quick to maximising their presence to their full potential,” he says.

This has led many brands to use the term ‘for exposure’ to their advantage because they push creators to work with them for little to no pay.

“Work offers that come with exposure can be good for your portfolio but they do not pay any bills. While it can be difficult turning down jobs like these, especially in the beginning, you would rather stand your ground because even a great portfolio will not pay your bills,” Grosvenor emphasises.

He advises brands to give more opportunities to small influencers as opposed to using more celebrities, as is the current status quo.

“Small influencers can deliver their ideas more creatively than people with huge followings because influencing is more than just the number of followers on social media. Influence has its own science to growth and a good first step to that is to start taking it a lot more seriously,” he details.

Doreen Mduma

Shortly before finalizing her Bachelor’s degree in banking and finance at IFM University in 2020, Doreen decided to take a peek into the travel industry. Through her work as a travel influencer, she discovers new places and uses her experience to guide others to making the best travel memories.

“I love being an influencer because I help people to find new spots to explore and make the best out of those places. At first I had planned on becoming a full-time content creator, however, I realized I could not afford my living expenses without another job,” she narrates.

When she started exploring being an influencer, Doreen also established a clothing business where she buys and sells thrift items.

“Most brands use famous people such as musicians to make content for them because they believe that the marketing magic lies in the number of social media followers. But content creation goes beyond those numbers. It is the ability to persuade someone to engage with a certain product or place through either a picture or a video,” she explains.

She further says: “I have come across big brands wanting to work with me without paying me actual money. Most of them offer free products in exchange for content but this is very challenging because creating content costs money, time and energy.”

Doreen advises brands to create more room for small content creators whose understanding of the industry is broader than is perceived.

“I also advise aspiring influencers to be themselves and be patient because that’s how they can get to where they desire to be. It is possible,” she says.

Warda Mansour

One important point in content creation is having a niche. This is akin to an influencer’s use of language that is familiar with their target audience with the explicit intent to attract their interest. It makes the content creation process smoother because an influencer is given room to create things that are authentic to them. A great example is Warda, a project manager who is also a makeup and skincare influencer based in Dar es Salaam.

Her journey to becoming an influencer began in 2014. After a few posts, she noticed a wave of reactions from people who showed interest in her work. In time, Warda realized that she loved the content and wanted to do it consistently. She realized that having a hobby and creating content around it attracted like-minded people with whom she could relate with and to. Later, she extended to skincare after her interest was piqued and began to explore further.

“People began reaching out to ask for makeup recommendations and they would follow them and share their feedback. I got two gigs out of it which pushed me to explore influencing even more,” she says.

According to Warda, an influencer’s work is to be themselves openly because this allows other people to learn a thing or two from them. It can be from the recommendations they offer on products, places to visit, foods to eat or more. However she hints that the concept of this work is still developing at a very slow pace in the country.

During the course of her career, she has been approached by a skincare business that asked for an endorsement without trying the products for herself.

“I rejected that offer because my work requires me to be honest and authentic with the content that I create. I could not recommend products and influence others to use them without knowing how they would react on my own skin. I have to believe in them and understand the particular products before I can recommend them to others,” she says.

She further says: “Brands confuse influencers with salespeople. They want quick money from the products that influencers create content on. However my job is to make the audience understand your products and if they cannot purchase them at that moment, they can at least save them for later.”

Warda calls on audiences to support influencers and their work on social media and she also urges brands to pay content creators instead of wanting to exchange products for their work.

“Tanzania has to take influencers seriously because that’s the only way we can grow the industry. As compared to other countries across the globe, we are not even close to the starting line of this race,” she stresses.

Jamal Abdallah

One travel influencer who has done a tremendous job in promoting tourism, especially in Zanzibar, is Forodhani’s famed diving content creator, Jamal. His work has attracted the likes of music producer, Don Jazzy and actress, Lupita Nyongo who worked with him and visited the island.

His journey in the world of content creation began in 2021 after he posted a video of one his friends diving into the Indian Ocean. The reactions he got pushed him to make more diving content and with no time, his follower count started to increase. Simultaneously, his videos kept going viral, especially on TikTok.

Commenting on the conditions of content creators in Tanzania, Jamal says that the society still does not perceive them as career men and women because they are not connected to ‘real people’.

“In our societies, people do not believe that careers made out of social media are like other jobs because they do not include physical movements between the workplace and home. This has affected the public’s view on influencers. My team, Yess Drivers, and I have been called ‘wauza sura’ more times than I can remember,” he explains.

Jamal says that for the influencing industry to gain recognition in Tanzania, the public’s perception has to change and this will also impact brands’ perceptions of influencers.

“I have come across many young people with creative ideas that can take themselves and brands to the next level through marketing. However most of them get discouraged when they see or experience the true picture of content creation. This should change,” he notes.