Beauty and social media influencer, Mihlali Ndamase, shares what sparked the desire to start her YouTube channel and how to build a successful career as a social media influencer
With two million followers on Instagram, 1.2 million on Twitter and over 400 000 subscribers on YouTube, this multi-award winning digital entrepreneur knows a thing or two on how to make money through social media. Here are her tips:
What sparked you to start your beauty YouTube channel?
I have always been passionate about make-up from a young age, so I’ve been watching American beauty bloggers, such as Nicole Guerriero, since the age of 15. I always wanted to branch into that space as well, even though it wasn’t a big thing in South Africa and I wasn’t sure about how to go about it, and also I was discouraged along the way because people were not sure about what I wanted to do. I got the courage to go ahead with it on Instagram, where people asked me how I did my make-up. That’s how the YouTube channel started.
For someone who is considering being a social media influencer, how can they grow their audience and building themselves as a brand?
The most important thing is to be yourself because people fall in love with you before the content you produce, as there is a high chance of someone else doing what you want to do already. People must buy into your authenticity and that’s what will keep them coming back. You also have to be consistent, determined and be yourself.
How can one collaborate with brands they want to work with?
What you first need to do is identify what space you want to be in. On YouTube, you can have a channel about anything, so it’s important to find out how you will distinguish yourself and be consistent with your content. Once brands see that you are doing well with what you are doing, they can invest in your brand because a lot of industries are already saturated and difficult to break into. Don’t focus on the money when you start, focus on your passion and growing your audience and improving your content.
How do you define success and do you feel you have reached it?
I know I am not where I want to be but I acknowledge that I have done well so far. There are a lot of things I want to achieve as well. To me, success means being content with yourself and being happy with who you are, which will reflect on everything else you do.
What are your success tips for young people?
Be confident with yourself and be your number one supporter because no one else will believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself and in your brand. Mostly, people will doubt you or laugh at you, so push yourself no matter what comes your way. You will have times where you feel tired or like giving up, but remember why you started. I have a supportive audience and family, as well as the vision I have for myself and how many lives I want to impact in the process, and that keeps me going.
Connect with Mihlali on:
Instagram: @mihlalii_n
Twitter: @mihlalii_n
