I totally understand the insane competition artists face getting recognized for their work, and how difficult it is to stand out in the sea of content creators floating about, but is it possible that while we're hash-tagging away merrily in the hopes of getting a few crumbs of paid work, we're mostly just working for brands for free?

We don't work for exposure. Right?

When you spend your weekends in the middle of the street in Obs at golden hour, or against a garage door in Braam, shooting friends dressed in brands you want to impress, and building a name for yourself as 'the guy with persistent use of sneaker handles', are you making something beautiful, that no one's ever seen before? Or are you, shooting high-value local content? Simahla. For free.

The Influencer model is huge, and it’s growing. It’s a great way to make an income, and living the good life, and with 'Creators' officially being named the fastest growing start-up segment in the world, could it be worth taking a beat, and asking yourself if the game you're playing has a solid enough strategy?

Brands really want to align themselves with are creators playing the 'doing truly unique and original things' game. Creators who share values that challenge norms and push boundaries. Brands have cred which is theirs because long ago, they had a totally original idea. They were unique and did something special and they stayed true to their vision through sweat, and blood, and tears, and they want to align themselves with that.

So hashtag away and get those free sneakers and romantic getaways, but remember that there's an entirely other game to be played here too. One where you do the 'being awesome and changing the world', and brands do the searching for people like you to get in on the action.

Stop working for other people who aren't paying you. Work for yourself and they’ll want to work with you.

Food for thought:

Starting noticing how many likes do you get for work-related posts vs a personal project which is all you? Who is liking what?

We’d love to hear from you, email your insights or questions to info@fivetiger.co.za..