I want to share lessons of empathy, promote awareness of discipline, perseverance, and humanity – all through having fun and being close to my audience.

Milos Kostic / Kimi’s Life

As someone with a public job, with a large audience reach, I am aware of the responsibility that comes with every contact I have with the public. From the very beginning of my career, I was driven by the desire for my appearance and behavior to have a positive impact. The largest chunk of my followers are children, precisely because they are the ones spending most time on social media. I am aware that influencers have a much greater impact on public opinion given the constant activity and interaction with the audience, compared to other types of public figures. Therefore, our followers, and in my case mostly the younger population, perceive us as someone very close to them, or even as a neighbourhood buddy. I try to always have an ethical approach and to set an example of a person who can be interesting and well-liked without engaging in verbal or physical violence, despite having flaws.

Everyone expects influencers to be perfect. I believe that the idea of perfection produces self-criticism, while imperfections spread the awareness that you can be accepted even if you have flaws, that you can be successful, even if you sometimes make mistakes.

Social media and influencers contribute a lot to the way younger generations are growing up today. My videos on YouTube follow my whole days, where I show not only the highlights, but also moments that a person has to fight through. I want to share lessons of empathy, promote awareness of discipline, perseverance, and humanity – all through having fun and being close to my audience.

Social influence is power, which is used by different influencers around the world in different ways, and everyone has a different goal. They have the power to impose a positive or negative opinion on something, sell a product, educate young people or provide entertainment. I try to make people feel positive and motivated after spending time watching my videos, encouraged to think deeper, and I aim for my advice to be honest and well-intentioned.

When your whole career is based on social media posting, it is very difficult for an observer to imagine the whole story behind that one post. The truth is that one video or image is not created by simply turning on a camera and having everything done in a few minutes. It might seem like this job is like a permanent vacation, but the reality is that the working hours of an influencer are 24/7. A post or a partnership requires numerous business agreements if a brand is involved in the project, then meetings, business consciousness, replying to emails, forwarding messages, editing videos and accompanying material, organizing the filming itself, monitoring statistics and current events… With all the preparations it can take several days until the final realization of a project. Despite the fact that we are constantly “at work” and active on social networks, we try our best to fit our private everyday life and other obligations into it all.

Social media jobs and the virtual business sector of life are increasingly accepted today, and the main prejudice is that influencers do nothing and just enjoy their popularity.

Being successful as an influencer means being very disciplined, educated in marketing and business, and being able to negotiate. There are days that are completely dedicated to projects, but also those that I decide to spend with friends and family. Choosing between socializing and the discipline of filming are moments that decide the success of a career. The advantage of this job is freedom, but a lack of activity will definitely not lead to growth, so dedication and consistency are key on the path to success, maintaining what has been achieved, as well as further career progress.

 

Milos Kostic, known as Kimi’s Life, is a popular youtuber whose channel is has close to one million subscribers