The Pressures—and Rewards—of Being an Influencer 网红的压力与回报

Michelle Phan says she had to quit making her popular makeup and beauty YouTube videos because she was burned out.

米歇尔·潘表示，她感到精疲力竭，因此不得不停止制作其广受欢迎的化妆和美容优兔视频。

“It became harder and harder for me to pretend to be happy，” she says. “And [as a result] I had become toxic with my relationships and friendships. I had my threshold.”

她说：“假装快乐对我来说越来越难了，（结果）与恋人和朋友相处时我变得很差劲，已经到达崩溃的临界点。”

Ms Phan， 34， is looking back on the period from 2017 to 2019 when she took a break from uploading her tutorial videos.

34岁的潘女士回忆起2017年到2019年这段时间，当时她曾暂停上传美妆教学视频。

A so-called social media influencer or creator， she says she needed time off from the constant pressure to upload ever more content， and chase more and more views and likes.

身为一名所谓的网红，她说自己需要从上传更多的视频、争取更多的播放量和点赞量所带来的持续压力中抽身。

Today her eponymous YouTube channel has 8.84 million subscribers around the world， and Los Angeles-based Ms Phan mentors and supports other people who are making and uploading videos.

如今，以她名字命名的优兔频道在全世界范围内拥有884万订阅用户。身处洛杉矶的潘女士还为其他的视频制作、上传者提供指导和帮助。

She says that many feel stressed about running out of ideas， and compelled to make new content multiple times per day.

她表示，很多人不得不每天连续创作新的内容，因思路枯竭而备感压力。

But what exactly is a social media influencer？

但究竟该如何定义网红呢？

There is no hard and fast definition， but in essence it is someone who has enough followers on social media， and typically YouTube， Instagram or TikTok， that they can monetise it.

对此并没有明确的定义，但从本质上来说，网红是指在优兔、照片墙或TikTok等社交媒体平台上拥有足够数量的粉丝并将其变现的人。

The income comes from two main sources—a share of the advertising revenue， and deals with companies to promote their brands.

网红的收入通常来源于两大渠道，其一是广告收入分成，其二是与公司达成品牌推广协议。

Regarding the former， on YouTube you can apply to start getting a share of the revenues from adverts placed on your videos， if you have more than 1，000 subscribers and 4，000 watched hours.

对于前者，只要博主在优兔上的粉丝数超过1000且视频播放时长超过4000小时，即可申请从植入视频的广告中获得收入分成。

YouTube is tight-lipped about how much you can earn， but according to one report it is typically between $3 to $5 （£2 to £3.60） per 1，000 views of one of your videos.

优兔对于博主的收入秘而不宣，但一篇报道称，单个视频每点击1000次博主通常可以得到3—5美元（2—3.6英镑）的收入。

And， when it comes to deals with brands， it varies according to how many followers you have. On Instagram， if you have more than one million followers， one report says that if a company wants you to promote something， you can earn more than $10，000 for just one post.

对于后者，博主收入的高低取决于粉丝的多少。一篇报道称，如果博主在照片墙上的粉丝超过100万，受托于某家公司进行其产品推广时，博主只需发送一个帖子即可赚到1万多美元。

We spoke to Ms Phan and four other influencers about their experiences.

我们采访了潘女士和其他4位网红，请他们讲述自己的经历。

While there is potentially big money to be made， Ms Phan says that creators “need to know when to draw the line， and take care of themselves” rather than post all the time.

尽管可能有大钱可赚，但潘女士表示，网红们“需要弄清什么时候应当适可而止，做好自我调整”，而不是一味地发帖子。

This concern is echoed by media analyst Rebecca McGrath， of research firm Mintel1， who says that some influencers are chasing revenues so much that they post “even if they don’t have anything new to create or say”.

来自英敏特市场咨询研究公司的媒体分析师丽贝卡·麦格拉思对此也持同样的观点。她表示，某些网红太过追求收入，“即便所做所说毫无新意”他们也要发帖。

Ms Phan also cautions that you have to be able to deal with online trolls2 writing horrible things below your    videos. “You’re also exposed to hateful comments， which I think people aren’t prepared for”.

潘女士还警告说，博主还必须能够应对网络喷子在其发布的视频下发表恶意评论的行为。她说：“博主还会受到仇恨言论的影响，我认为对此人们尚未做好准备。”

This issue was raised back in July by UK social media influencer Em Sheldon， when she spoke before MPs at the House of Commons. A committee of MPs is now continuing to investigate the growth of influencer culture.

2021年7月，英国网红埃姆·谢尔顿在下议院参会时曾向议员们提出了这个问题。目前，一个由议员组成的委员会正持续调查网红文化的发展。

TikTok is the most recent new kid on the block among the big social media sites—having only been available outside China since 2018. It now has more than one billion global users， and people are spending more time watching it than YouTube.

TikTok是大型社交媒体网站中涌现出的新宠，直至2018年才在中国以外的地区上线运行。现在它在全球拥有超过10亿用户，人们在TikTok上刷视频所花时间已经超过了在优兔上。

Brothers Colin and Dylan McFarland， and their father Dan， have been uploading comedy skits and dances to the video app since 2019.

自2019年起，科林·麦克法兰、迪伦·麦克法兰兄弟和他们的父亲丹·麦克法兰就开始在该视频应用上上传喜剧小品和舞蹈作品。

Known as The McFarlands， the trio from Louisville， Kentucky， now have 2.6 million TikTok followers.

这个来自肯塔基州路易斯维尔的三人组合名为“麦克法兰一家”，目前在TikTok上拥有260万粉丝。

“Influencers are a new wave of people you can trust on the internet，” says Colin， 27. “If you’re selling a product， or giving advice， people are going to trust the people they see on their phone every day.”

27岁的科林·麦克法兰说：“网红是互联网上新出现的一波受人信任的人。不论进行商品销售或是提供咨询，大家都会选择相信他们每天在手机上看到的人。”

Dylan， 25， adds that their humour made brands like Colgate and Gillette “want to work with us， and see what we could do， because we are genuinely acting how we are with our family”.