Masoom Minawala on failure, privilege and staying honest on social media

The social media influencer has built a career on being super honest with her 1.2 million followers on Instagram. But when her personality is one that exudes positivity and motivation, can she talk about what’s really up?

The online content creation industry is barely a couple of years old, and is, for the most part, devoid of a road map. We share our entire lives on social media and are trying to make a business out of it—figuring out what works, what doesn’t work, what is safe and what people would like or dislike. We’re all like twenty-something-year-olds without mentors, trying to understand what we can do with the little information we have.

The framework and boundaries aren't in place yet—with each post, like and article—they're being set as we speak. Creators themselves, along with audiences, consumers, brands and industry peers, are currently learning about the power of the content creation industry and what the best and most authentic way to share it could be. It's a work in progress.

I’ve had several failures; I’ve talked about how I created an e-commerce business that just didn’t work. Previously, I’ve tried to build businesses which either couldn’t be sustained or didn’t make the cut. I used to run a portal called Fashion Jobs India, which lasted for two years before I had to close it down. While I’ve had to make pivots, I’ve learned so much along the way, which is why I want to keep talking about them. I once stated something without fact-checking, and was called out for it. It came to me masked as ‘trolling’ and a callout, but when I took the time to really look into it, at the essence of it, it was constructive criticism. It made me upset, but also made me realise that people were picking up and listening to everything I was saying, even the tiniest details. This means my community is very sticky and persistent, which is what we’re looking for, right?

Finding a balance

I know that the failures one might be dealing with may seem quite inconsequential as opposed to more serious problems that others could be facing. For example, I spoke about struggling to keep my YouTube channel going even when I had a plan in place to make it huge. I spoke about not getting to attend a fashion show for years before I finally got to—I reached out to the fashion house for seven seasons, and every time I couldn’t attend, I felt disappointed. It is not lost on me that these issues come from a place of privilege; I now get to go to Paris Fashion Week, after all. It can be tricky to share what one is going through without sounding insensitive or oblivious. In my line of business, we hear the word ‘no’ more often than we hear a ‘yes’—it is just par for the course.

Recently, someone sent me a DM saying that her sister was going through a hard time, and asked her to follow me as she thought it would make her feel better. I get messages such as, “I’m going through a break-up,” or “I’m struggling with my long-distance relationship,” or “I’m feeling stuck with my career,” and they’re looking at me to give them some kind of inspiration or motivation. I think I can inspire or motivate them as I’m happy to share what is difficult for me. I’m able to talk about how I get through these difficulties, or how I tackle them.

Positivity and principles

I’m usually a positive person; I believe that you really have to experience bad days to appreciate the good days, and that mindset helps me get through disappointment most of the time. While I do talk about this online, I make it clear that everything can’t be perfect all the time. I want to make sure that the story and the content I put up gives the viewers a realistic picture of what is going on. This is the reason influencer marketing is so successful. ,It is about having real conversations with real people. It became popular and gained traction because it is not about idolising someone you see on a billboard or trying to be like somebody you’ll never look or be like. Somewhere along the way, several influencers decided to start putting out content that was truer to life—we’re not always traveling, taking photos or hanging out with our hair blow-dried to perfection. That’s not what it is like, and that’s the message I am trying to put forward.

As I started building a following online, I felt a sense of being accountable to my followers. We all make mistakes. I’ve definitely made mistakes and they are open for the world to see and comment on. Somebody will notice something I said or did, comment on it, share it, and eventually it reaches my friends’ and family’s’ WhatsApp groups. I have, however, chosen an industry that puts you in the public eye. If my wins are being celebrated so flamboyantly, then I've got to be okay with my mistakes being discussed with that level of intensity.

Also Read: Why aren’t there more curvy women in beauty campaigns?

Also Read: What does it mean to be a Gen Z beauty brand today?

Also Read: Are digital content creators redefining influencer marketing?