Am I an Influencer Now?
Some time ago I received an email from Amino’s Marketing
team. In very vague words, they complimented my videos (that’s the exact word
they used, videos, even though majority of what I share on the Lolita Amino is written
things) and invited me to join the Creators Space. This was supplemented by an
offer of a fixed rate payment for the first two videos and, should they prove
appropriate for that app, I could carry on adding videos there at their
standard rate (which depends heavily on how many views you get).
Although I have been active on the Lolita Amino since
(apparently) the beginnings of that group, I don’t use Amino for anything else.
For one, there are no other communities there that interest me, and for another
– I much prefer traditional blogging format, which I can do on my laptop (doing too much on my phone is just uncomfortable). However, I accepted their offer
because not only I felt flattered and noticed (I may be a very active lolita,
but I don’t exactly have an influencer’s following), but also because I thought
this would be a great opportunity to grow and learn something new.
The format of Amino Stories is something between Instagram
Stories and a YouTube video, specifically intended to be viewed on mobile phones. Probably more like TikTok, though since I have no
first-hand experience of that platform, I am hesitant about making that comparison.
Amino Stories rely heavily on a storyboard and are formatted around scenes to
produce a short video of up to 2.5 minutes. As such they’re not fit for
ramblings like Instagram Stories are and they’re much more of a snapshot than
YouTube video’s, even those heavily scripted, are. It’s a format that requires
dynamic editing, which simultaneously feels a little less daunting thanks to it
being limited to such short form and a little bit more daunting as it’s simply a way of thinking that I’m not used to.
Despite the Lolita Amino having a long-standing and strong
presence on the app, as far as I’ve gathered there isn’t much original
lolita-specific content on Amino Stories. There are a lot of related topics,
such as wider alternative and kawaii fashion, K-pop and culture, lots of makeup
tutorials and general fashion tips/hacks/lookbooks. Yet majority of
lolita-specific content is contained within the Lolita Amino itself rather than
the Global one, which is where Stories can get enough views to earn some money.
Now, I’m not vain enough to think that I alone can fill that
void. Like I said, I know my strengths and I realise that however active I may
be, I am not yet at the level of influencers such as Lovely Lor, Pinkii or Oh
So Kawaii (who are just some of the Amino creators who I know are also involved in
lolita fashion). Having said this, I am excited to try my hand at this and to try to
bring something more than just lookbooks and makeup. Granted, this other
content may not number that many Stories, considering how not all of my ideas
translate well into video format, particularly such a short one, nonetheless I
want to give it a go.
And so that I’m not all brag and no show, below are those
first two video Stories that I was invited to do. If you have an account on
Amino, it would mean a lot if you could give them a view via my global profile there and for everyone else I am uploading them here.
If you have any ideas on Story topics that you’d like me to
tackle, let me know, please! I do have some ideas and do want to focus on
things beyond just what’s easy to do, although there will be some of that
there too.
Oooooh that's exciting! I've never been on Amino, lol, but I do like your videos ^__^
ReplyDeleteI personally like Amino. Or, to be specific, the Lolita Amino, since I'm not a member of any other communities there (though one of my friends moderates the Alt Fashion Amino). It can be a bit full of newbies, but this only bothers me on my worse days, normally I feel like the volume of newbies there kind of keeps the pure joy of the fashion going, if that makes sense?
DeleteAnd thank you so much. I'm thinking of maybe sharing those videos via IGTV, I'm just not sure if they're maybe too short for that...