SEEN’s creative community resource Snapflulence is adding a podcast to its lineup of offerings.
“Our mission with Snapfluence is to inspire and inform the up and coming creative community, and this is another piece of that puzzle,” says SEEN CEO Brian Zuercher.
Titled Social Humans, the podcast goes behind the scenes with social media creators, demystifying what it means to be an influencer and getting the inside scoop on what the life is like.
While many creatives listen to podcasts, most don’t flip the mike to talk to the creators themselves.
“No one has really asked them about their behind the scenes story, their path to their current journey,” Zuercher says.
Much of an influencer’s content is visual – seen and not heard. Snapchat or Instagram Stories might give some peeks behind the scenes, “But ultimately what you get is a very highly curated feed,” says SEEN Creative Community Director Ami Iannone.
The podcast trades seconds for minutes, creating a feature-length opportunity for a creator to tell their story in their own voice – a very powerful thing Iannone adds.
The eight episodes of the first season of Social Humans highlight the spectrum of individuals in the influencer space and their different ages, mediums, and thoughts on brand work.
One episode features Ed Cooper, an 80-year-old photographer who has been snapping since the 50s and does little brand work. Another episode dives in with a young Elise Swopes, whose heavily manipulated photographs are on a feed full of brand work.
A lineup of local influencers also share their stories. Ross Smith of Vine with Ross & Granny discusses shifting platforms and the challenges of influencer fame. Rebecca Ritchey talks @eatingb00ks, gentlemen’s fashion influencer Brent Whaley takes to the mike, and SEEN’s own Sarah Al-Khayyal shares more about her side hustles.
“It’s really interesting to see kind of the different content areas and then each person’s motivation for why they do it,” says Iannone.
Passion plays a pivotal role in each influencer’s story, with their individual personalities reflected in their work. The creators also discuss topics like the sustainability of their field, responding to followers, and how to make branded content they feel good about.
Aspiring social media influencers are just one audience for the Social Humans podcast. While many think it’s an ‘I’ll get followers on Instagram and then I can make money’ game, “This helps kind of demystify that,” Zuercher says. “It’s way more the creative passion, artistic work that’s driving the brand interest in being partnered with them.”
That insight is also valuable to businesses and marketers. A business isn’t just investing in a product placement post with an influencer, “It’s about how do they creatively tell the story of your product and brand in someone’s life,” Zuercher continues.
CLICK HERE to learn more and listen to the Social Humans podcast.
