Like it or not, being an influencer could mean big money (though it might be a tad tricky now with COVID-19 drying up every company’s advertising funds).
The influencer marketing industry is set to be worth up to USD$15 billion by 2022—not sure if COVID-19 has derailed that figure but you get the gist: like any industry, if you perform well, you can get wealthy from being an influencer.
So wealthy that you can, like, buy a Lambo.
24-year-old Naomi Neo, a Singaporean blogger and social media influencer, made it to the news recently after she posted a video of her latest purchase: a Lamborghini Huracan.
The entire video is all about how she purchased the supercar and then a long monologue of her opening up to her audience she recounts her journey as a social media influencer and how her perseverance has enabled her to achieve her dreams. She then urged her viewers to follow their dreams as well and hope that her achievements have inspired others.
Needless to say, while comments on her YouTube channel and Instagram have been positive, people on Facebook have been criticising her pointedly.
Some claimed that she was being boastful while others think that now is not a good time to show off the purchase since everyone’s losing this or her job.
So, as an influencer who should be used to haters’ comments, did she just brush them off, or was she so affected that she sold off the car and donated all the money to charity?
Influencer Naomi Neo Responds to Criticism of Her Buying a Lambo & Posting a Video About It
It turns out that she was affected by the comments after all.
In an interview with 8days.sg, she mentioned that she had expected the backlash but didn’t expect to draw so much flak, and so she started to feel “upset about something that was meant to make myself happy.”
She had done the video because she…wanted to create content as that’s what content creators do: they create content.
The reason for doing the video is to inspire others to go for their dreams, and hope that it “kind of serves as an inspiration or motivation to people who felt like me, whether they are a mum, or if they relate to my life ‘cos I was constantly looked down on by the people around me.”
She said that she has contributed to the less privileged as well, but it would sound weird if she spoke about it. After much probing, she revealed that during the Circuit Breaker Period, she didn’t just buy a car; she and her family also distributed 100 bags of food and essentials to underprivileged households.
Man, she should have done a Rebecca Lim:
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施比受更有福。❤️❤️❤️ I hope you spread love and choose kindness. We will get there ❤️?? #SGcares #SGUnited
