Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly McAdam.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Molly. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started my journey in the fall of 2013 when I unexpectedly signed with a modeling agency in San Francisco. I was standing in line at a Starbucks when the owner of the agency approached me. At the time, I was invested in sports and friends and had never considered modeling, but thought maybe my long limbs and tall figure had uses other than perfecting my blocks in Volleyball. So the next week, I went into the agency, took some headshots and did a few turns on the catwalk; next thing I was officially a model. Over the next two years I found myself spending hours at editorial photoshoots, heading to designer showcases, and strutting down runways. It was a fast-paced world that offered a wealth of insights into the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries, but by the end of my two years, I knew it was not a world I wanted to spend any more time in. There would be days when I wouldn’t speak once on set and I constantly felt like I was a walking mannequin. I knew I had more to offer the world than just my looks. At the time, Instagram was about three years old and people called “influencers” started to make a name for themselves.
It didn’t take long to follow my first blogger. Her name was Shea Marie and she taught me how to blow dry my hair, what tanning lotions would last, and how to style shoes with trousers. I was hooked. I began sharing my modeling photos on my own account and, lo and behold, I started to gain a following. And when I began to apply the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips I had learned from modeling to my social media account, I gained that many more followers! My knowledge of the fashion and beauty industries was great, but I knew I needed to learn more about the business side of marketing so I went off to one of the best Communication schools in the country, Elon University. There I earned a degree in Strategic Communications with an emphasis on social media. I gained skills in video editing, contract negotiation, strategic writing, media law, etc. When I graduated in 2018, I felt like I had the perfect combination of education and passion to launch my own business. I now run my own beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog and have social media handles on Instagram and Tik Tok that I use to market brands I am passionate about to an incredibly engaged and dedicated audience of followers.
Has it been a smooth road?
If an influencer were to tell me their journey has been fully smooth, I wouldn’t believe them. Starting ANY business is going to be hard, but especially in an industry that is as new and changing as quickly as this one is. In short, the world of influencer marketing has challenged me every single day. Three aspects of the business have proven especially challenging. The first was the almost total lack of information about influencer marketing when I started out. At the time I launched my social media account, the term “influencer” was largely undefined. Trying to google how to get started or to find “industry standards” was impossible. The FCC hadn’t even created marketing guidelines yet. I often describe these times as the Wild West where there were few rules and almost no readily available information on how to get started. As a result, I spent hours researching everything from posting rates, to media kits, to blogging domains. Now there seems to be much more information about the industry, but since it’s growing so rapidly, and evolving all the time, it can be very challenging to keep up with all aspects of it.
A second challenging aspect of this particular industry is the need to be your own advocate and manager. It was the creative side of the business that drew me to influencer marketing, but very quickly you realize you have to handle the business side as well. This means sending invoices, drafting contracts, and negotiating rates. I have improved at all of these tasks since starting, but it remains difficult to balance these administrative tasks with my creative work.
But the last, and probably biggest, challenge is simply that influencers have to always “be on”. This is definitely NOT a 9 to 5 job, where you stop thinking about visual content or blog topics when you “leave” work. That’s because you’re basically always working. I think most people assume that influencers spend most of their time hanging around, having fun, and going to cool events. Now don’t get me wrong, this job is so much fun! But what I wish more people understood is that although it’s fun, it’s also pretty much non-stop. There is really no such thing as “down time” or vacation days because even on trips we’re vlogging, blogging, or shooting. I even find it challenging to spend extended periods of time with friends and family who are not in the industry because I feel guilty at the amount of time I spend on my devices. But if I didn’t, I would then fall further and further behind. It’s a pretty difficult balancing act at times, but I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. I wake up every morning SO excited to learn and create more! I am especially grateful for the community of followers I have who encourage me to keep going when I am feeling low or overwhelmed.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Although the social media marketing industry is fairly new, it has quickly become flooded with talented creative people. It’s important now more than ever to find ways to stand out. How I choose to do this is through video content across all mediums. It’s because of my educational training in video editing that I feel comfortable creating unique content that inspires, educates, and entertains my followers. I discovered that although “in feed” pictures are powerful and incredibly important, almost nothing is more personal and descriptive than a well-edited video. I have created video content ranging from beauty tutorials, try on haul, editorial fashion, food recipes, etc. I believe that, especially with the launch of Tik Tok, video content will only continue to grow in importance and I feel confident that I have already gotten my foot in that particular door. Most importantly, I think what sets me apart from other bloggers is the fact that I truly care about providing substance to my followers. Especially when it comes to my blog posts and IG stories, it’s essential that I am posting information that I feel will positively impact their lives. I’m constantly listening to their feedback, answering dm’s, and posting content THEY want, rather than what I’m interested in.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I actually just moved full time to Los Angeles this November, so it could be that I’m still in the honeymoon phase but I am absolutely in love with this weird city. Even the dirtiest, most traffic congested corners of it appeal to me. There’s a creative energy completely unmatched by any other place in the world. The residents of LA are people who have dreams and I appreciate surrounding myself with others who believe they can achieve anything they put their minds to. No one is similar or wants to be and because of that there is never a dull day here. This city thrives off of connections and networking and I feel like I do as well. I crave the hustle and bustle and thrive on finding ways to connect with others who have a passion they want to explore. Plus palm trees, the beach, and sunshine is REALLY hard to complain about…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mollymcadam.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollsmcadam/?hl=en
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