Happy October! This is Amanda Perelli. Welcome back to Insider
It can be hard to land a job at
Instagram offers perks and benefits like free food and long paid leave programs. Its New York headquarters features a gelato bar, library, and made-for-Instagram backdrops.
My colleagues Sydney Bradley and Lauren Johnson spoke with a handful of former employees about what it takes to get through the interview process and land a job at Instagram.
Some key takeaways:
- Hiring managers look for candidates who understand Instagram's products as well as its competitors like
TikTok and Snap. - A former Instagram recruiter from 2016-2019 recommended candidates understand the problems the company is facing and come with solutions to those problems.
- One former employee advised being able to talk about what the company was focused on so they can discuss them in the interview.
Pre-pandemic, candidates would usually be invited to an on-site interview on one day, since applicants may be coming from different cities, with three to five interviews scheduled that day, a former Instagram recruiter said.
Hiring managers are interested in seeing how candidates creatively solve problems and are passionate about working at Instagram.
Read more on how to land a job at Instagram, according to former employees here.
How influencers make money on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok
Some top influencers are earning huge paychecks.
Brand partnerships are the best known way that influencers make money. But there are many others. My colleagues Dan Whateley, Sydney Bradley, and I broke down the main ways influencers make money online.
Some of the ways influencers earn money on and off those platforms include:
- Sponsored content
- Joining a Partner Program or Creator Fund
- Selling branded merchandise or apparel
Many creators go beyond a platforms built-in monetization features, earning additional revenue through app marketing and promoting product sales on other websites like Etsy and Depop. And with the help of a manager or agent, creators can get lucrative sponsorship deals with big consumer brands.
Check out the nine main ways influencers earn money here.
New data shows activewear brands spiking on social media
While the fashion industry at large struggles in the pandemic, activewear is thriving, with sales and engagement spikes across social
Sydney broke down key findings from Traackr's latest report, including top activewear brands and fashion influencer content by category.
The number of influencers mentioning activewear brands rose 101% in the first half of 2020 versus the year-ago period, Traackr reported.
Here's a look at how fashion influencer content has been performing by category, according to Traackr's analysis of the first half of 2020 versus a year earlier:
- Activewear (+331% engagements)
- Sleepwear (+177%)
- Sustainable (+81%)
Read more for the full list and data on the activewear boom here.
5 top-performing skincare brands on social media in the last year
"Skinfluencers" like Skincare By Hyram have gone viral in recent months, promoting brands like CeraVe and The Ordinary in their content.
Sydney broke down the key findings from Traackr's latest report, including the top five skincare brands and "up and coming" skincare influencers with high engagement.
In the first half of 2020, the total number of engagements on skincare-related content increased by 197% versus a year ago, according to Traackr.
"Skinfluencer" favorites, CeraVe and Vaseline led the way and had the highest increase in engagement among the brands in Traackr's data, with CeraVe increasing its engagements by 309% and Vaseline by 377%.
Creators on TikTok have been sharing their skin before and afters using the regimen Skincare By Hyram recommends in his videos.
"He was promoting us as part of a regimen to treat what I would call teenage acne," said Tom Allison, CeraVe's cofounder, and the company has since hired Hyram. "A lot of his followers are that Gen Z-er that's going through those skin issues."
Read more on the top performing skincare brands in the last year here.
More creator industry coverage from Business Insider:
This week from Insider's digital culture team:
How QAnon is hooking Americans with its 'save the children' anti-pedophilia rhetoric
QAnon is a conspiracy movement that's spread among extremists and the far-right.
Their theories center on Donald Trump as the protagonist breaking up a sprawling child trafficking ring run by powerful media figures and Democrats.
Rachel Greenspan from Insider wrote that experts in human trafficking say the QAnon-led charge to save the children is misguided and misinformed.
As early as April, several popular lifestyle influencers on Instagram were spreading the conspiracy theory's messaging by repackaging it as a call to end human trafficking.
The influencers, most of whom are white women, pivoted their content from lifestyle, parenting, and fashion, to home in on QAnon talking points, emphasizing religious or child-rearing angles.
More from Insider:
- The 'Ghost photoshoot' TikTok trend draws criticism (by Palmer Haasch)
Singer Noah Cyrus told people to 'just wear the damn masks' 8 hours before attending a party with DJ Diplo and influencer Tana Mongeau maskless (by Lindsay Dodgson)
Caitlin Covington, the lifestyle blogger who went viral after being featured in the "Christian Girl Autumn" meme, is supporting the trans creator who made her famous (by Margot Harris)
Here's what else we're reading:
- How the Canadian artist Tiagz landed a major record deal by turning memes into tracks (by Cat Zhang, from Pitchfork)
Jewish teens say life on TikTok comes with anti-Semitism (by Kalhan Rosenblatt, from NBC News)
Pinterest launched a group of "creator-first" functions, including new "Story Pins" (by Liz Flora, from Glossy)
Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com