The Dangers of Being an Influencer - What You Need to Know & How to Stay Safe

THE DANGERS OF BEING AN INFLUENCER - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW & HOW TO STAY SAFE

As both a true crime junkie and an influencer in the public eye, personal safety is something I think about every day. Influencer’s lives include many aspects of physical safety that you wouldn't have to worry about if you didn’t have a following, including public solo shoots, meeting up with photographers, and posting your daily life, but online safety can’t be forgotten either: account security, social media scams, and the legal security of your content. Today we’re doing a deep dive into everything you should be aware of to stay safe as a content creator.

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Today’s discussion is separated into three sections: offline safety, internet safety, and legal safety.

Offline Safety: Shooting in Public

Whether you’re using your tripod in a new city, traveling and creating content with a friend, or just shooting in your home city, these tips will help ensure you and your belongings make it through the content creation session together.

Do your research. Don’t take unnecessary risks just to get a certain shot- no image is ever worth sacrificing your safety. Avoid areas with high rates of pickpocketing or crime: a quick Google search should provide you with the information you need.
Don’t shoot in a crowd. When an area is busy and chaotic, it’ll be easier for someone to take off with your things. You don’t want to be entirely alone, but you want to be able to very clearly identify who is around you or who may be approaching you. Be aware of your surroundings, and take note of where security cameras are,, just in case.
Always keep your belongings in your line of sight. If you can see your things, you’ll be able to see if they get taken, and even if you only turn your back for a second, that second could be the moment you get robbed.
Tell someone where you’re going and what you’re doing. If you do lose contact with your friends and family, they will at least have a place to start looking. Traveling solo can feel very spontaneous and freeing, but it’s also important to let people know your plans!
Always make sure your phone is fully charged. A portable charger can literally be a lifesaver if you get lost in a foreign city with your battery at 5%, and if your friends and family have your location, they’ll be able to find you using that.
Purchase insurance for your camera gear, particularly if it’s expensive. On the off chance that something does happen, your insurance company will be able to cover the replacement costs.
Consider investing in Airtags. Airtags are a relatively new Apple product, a small tag that you can attach to your camera or your backpack that allows you to track its location if it gets lost or stolen. I will say, if you do track stolen property, make sure you are fully prepared to face whoever has taken your items (as a female I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to do this alone!).

Note: Something I’m NOT worried about is someone stealing my camera and tripod, as it's quite a bulky setup and I think it’d be pretty difficult to run away with a fully extended tripod while also balancing a camera on top.

Offline Safety: Networking and Meeting New People

When I was first starting out, I didn’t really have any influencer connections, so I would look for photographers to work with on Craigslist. Sounds scary, I know, but for the most part the outcomes were positive (one of the photographers I met even ended up shooting my wedding!). Here are some guidelines I followed to stay safe for these meetups.

Always pick the location yourself. Choose a public location that you know well, particularly for the first few meetups. If things do go wrong, you’ll be better off in an area you know rather than an unfamiliar location.
Check out their credentials. Look at their online footprint: LinkedIn profile, photography portfolio, website, etc. While this information could be faked if they really wanted to, it’s one extra thing you can do to get a read on this person (and can help you judge whether or not things feel “right”).
Don’t drink or eat anything they offer you. This is just general life safety advice, but when you meet new people alone make sure you get your own food and drinks and never leave anything unattended.

Internet Safety: Sharing content

A question I often hear new influencers asking is “How can I build an online personal brand while still keeping things private?”. Everyone has their own comfort levels, and some influencers share every detail of their lives, while others don’t even show their faces (check out Valentine in Paris for a great example of this). That being said, the less you share, the harder it will be to connect with your audience and grow. Here are some things to keep in mind when sharing your daily life online.

Be particular about what you share regarding your home. While I used to share my apartment views freely, lately I’ve been holding back, because the more you share, the easier it is for someone to figure out your location, and just because nothing bad has never happened before doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Be cautious of revealing your address. Unboxing videos are probably the easiest way to make this mistake, but you could also compromise your privacy in house tours or by sharing email screenshots. I always make sure to rip off my address before doing unboxing videos, and don’t talk about my apartment’s floor or house number.
Respect the privacy of those in your life. As you probably already know, my husband doesn’t want his first or last name as public information, and I refer to him as Mr. D on social media to respect this wish. If you have children, you should have a discussion with your partner on how much information you’re comfortable with sharing about them. Internet predators ARE out there, and you would never want to compromise your children’s safety.
Consider going by a nickname or alternate name. I go by my English name on social media, but it’s actually not my legal name. My Chinese name is spelled and pronounced completely differently, and all legal documents are under this name rather than Tina Lee.

Internet Safety: Account Security

You can never be too careful with your account security, and I’d hate to see you lose all your hard work to a hacker. These tips will help keep your account safe and secure.

Use a secure password. Use a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and special symbols, and don’t use personal information that could be easily guessed.
Turn on two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your account. When you log in, you’ll get a code on an authenticator app, or a text message on your phone, to ensure it's really you who is logging in. To turn it on, head to settings, then security, then two-factor authentication.
Turn on login requests. This will enable you to approve new devices to log into your account. While you’re turning on two-factor authentication, you can select “Additional methods” and turn on login requests.
Write down your backup codes. Backup codes can be used if you’ve lost access to your account and have no other options for recovery. You can find them in the two-factor authentication section of settings, under "additional methods.” Make sure to write the login codes down physically and store them in a safe place.
Use two different emails for your account. The contact email in your bio should not be the same email you use to log in to your account. Use a personal email as your login email, and a professional email for collaborations and other brand communications.

Internet Safety: Instagram Scams

There are LOTS of scams out there targeting influencers and aspiring content creators. Don’t fall for these tricks!

“Copyright infringement” DM scam. These messages come from accounts that may look official, but Instagram would never DM you to tell you about an issue with your account. All official communication from Instagram comes from email.
Emails from Instagram scams. You can confirm the authenticity of emails from Instagram by going into settings, then security, then “Emails from Instagram.” If you don’t see the email here, it wasn’t from Instagram.
Brand ambassador scams. These fake brands contact you through DMs or emails and say they want to collab with you, and will offer you free product and all you have to do in return is cover the shipping cost. If you are ever collaborating with a company, you should NEVER have to pay for shipping fees, and if a brand ever asks you for money, it’s a scam. Ignore and block!
Fake link scams. If you receive a strange email with a link, do NOT click on the link! Hover over it to make sure it’s a legit link, because if it's not, clicking on that link could compromise your account.
Other brand collab scams. Before jumping for joy at your newest collab offer, ask yourself these questions: Does the email address you by name? Does the email mention something specific about your account to show that this email has been specifically tailored for you? Does the brand email address align with the brand’s name? Does the brand’s website look legit? If you answer no to any of these questions, proceed with caution.

Intellectual Property Safety: Image rights

Every time you create content, you own 100% of what you’ve made: it's YOUR intellectual property. When you collaborate with brands, make sure to read the contract before signing. If you see the words “universal”, “perpetual”, or “irrevocable”, push back. This language means you’re giving away the rights to your content for good, forever, and you deserve appropriate compensation for that. The reason why this is so important is because it is your image, and they have the rights to keep using it forever. Imagine in 5 years you have a million followers, or you’ve moved in a different direction with your content, or even moved on from influencing completely, and this brand is still using your image to make money.

Legal Safety: Proper Ad Disclosure

As influencers, we must tell our audience when we are being paid to talk about a product or service. In the US, the FTC governs the laws surrounding the disclosure of advertisements, and they require influencers to disclose in terms that people will see AND understand: putting it in a prominent location, spelling #AD or #sponsored correctly, and generally making sure your audience is aware that this is an ad. You can read the full PDF about FTC disclosures here! Disclosure varies from country to country, so make sure you’re aware of your responsibilities to avoid getting into legal trouble.

As a final note, I’d like to add that this information is not meant to scare you or stress you out. For the majority of the time, taking general precautions and being aware of your surroundings is more than enough, but I have outlined a variety of options here just so you are equipped with the knowledge and can make your own decisions about what’s best for your own privacy.