If you went to bed and suddenly gained a phyllian pollowers, it's a good one.

Dear Hollywood, The Truth About Influencers and brand deals.

All right, this is going to get a little spicy and maybe risk my job, but I want to explain the inside scoop on influencers and brand deals.

I'm also going to pose several ethical questions around being a pawn on a capitalist

chess board, especially if it's a kid who's the mouthpiece for a corporate marketing campaign.

And of course, we'll look at kid influencers, family bloggers, and what it means for new generations to be growing up in public.

First, what is your honest opinion of seeing hashtag sponsored content from influencers.

If it's something you like, do you try the product?

Do you instantly skip the ad?

What's your general response to the way social media has become so saturated with corporate

advertising?

Well, here's a little bit about how it feels from the inside as an influencer.

And if you missed the previous episode, definitely watch that first because it lays the

foundation for this.

Just like actors are mostly auditioning back to back with no job or paycheck,

influencers are typically spending their time cranking out content for free or for whatever they can make from monetizing views or selling

merch. Like actors, they are often holding down side jobs, hoping someday a company will hire them in this case to represent their product

or service via a brand partnership. So when your first brand deal offer comes in, this is an exciting, rare, and special occasion.

It's kind of like finally booking the commercial.

For actors, you're suddenly not just an aspiring actor, you're a working actor.

For influencers, you're not just a content creator, you're a paid creator.

Your effort and talent are validated by capitalism and proximity to power and a part of your rent is hopefully covered this month.

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