Picture this: you open TikTok, desiring a cure for boredom. With the swipe of a thumb, you see a girl, her manicured hands waving, welcoming you to her channel. She wastes no time, quickly unboxing piles of gifts — seemingly unlimited free products sent from brands. 

When watching these ‘hauls,’ some wonder what ‘PR’ packages actually are, and more importantly, how you get them. Many Menlo students think becoming a popular influencer might seem impossible, but on a smaller scale, it is more accessible than you think. People in your community, or even members of your immediate Menlo friend group, may be affiliated with or receive brand deals and products. 

At first, TikTok and Instagram were just fun ways to spend time with friends and watch videos for junior Libby Vitro. However, when Vitro started curating her Instagram content, posting photos and videos both for herself and also thinking about her audience, she delved into the world of brand deals.

According to Vitro, a social media manager of the clothing brand Edikted messaged her through Instagram, offering $300 of store credit and a discount code under Vitro’s name in exchange for Instagram posts of Vitro promoting the brand. Vitro was very happy and had a lot of fun picking out her clothes and posting online. 

It might seem obvious to post on the most popular social media apps — like Instagram or TikTok — but sophomore Lana Khan has experienced success posting photos on Pinterest. Over winter break, Khan posted a pin, which quickly gained traction. Khan’s post gained 172k impressions, or the amount of times her picture showed up on other users’ screens. “I got 100k impressions, and then it just kept going up,” Khan said. For Khan, the moment when she saw her pin, a picture of her and her friends styling matching outfits on a TikTok video collage with 100k likes, was when she realized the impact of her virality. “Myself, [on] my for you page, that’s so cool.”

Although the allure of free products and media presence sounds amazing, both Vitro and Khan warn people to proceed with caution. “If you do have a public account, it’s totally a good idea to remove followers, block people that are weird, anything like that, and just [make] sure that the people that are watching [your] things are the right people,” Vitro said. Khan also points out that posted content could be seen by anyone and to be mindful. “Everyone at Menlo is very much on social media.”

According to Vitro, her experience with social media has positively affected her life. Khan highlighted the positive ways social media has changed her life and also how to stay safe when having a social media presence. “It’s just a super fun environment,” Vitro said.