When Sofia Elizabeth was 17 years old, a manager asked her to promote his clients music.
So when the manager told her it was important to be sexy in the video, she listened.
I was young and I didnt know any better, Elizabeth, now 21, says.
Certain followers, it seemed, erroneously took her suggestive persona as permission to break boundaries.
I was like, I dont want to be seen like that anymore, she says.
Shes continued to make videos reintroducing her new selfas recently as July, to keep followers in the loop.
These videos have earned praise from viewers, but also anger.
Top 3 worst business decisions, another said.
Former lifestyle influencer Lee Tilghman (@leefromamerica) faced this in 2019.
She lost 180,000 followers.
People called me Britney Spears, which was hurtful and meant to be an insult.
They thought I was struggling because I was posting goofy comedy clips out of nowhere.
Knowing its time to rebrand is step one.
Im like, I dont want to do this anymore.
His rebrand is still ongoing.
The best creators evolve, saysBesidone Amoruwa, who works in partnerships at Instagram.
The severity of the backlash may vary, and any drastic online rebrand will elicit a negative audience reaction.
That always gets found out because its like, all of a sudden you want to cook?
Its like, Babe, you were the DoorDash queen, whats going on?
Thats exactly what Elizabeth wanted to avoid.
What avenues within myself, within my own passions and interests, can I bring to the table?
And theres always that option available, but I dont want that to be my future.
When Tilghman attempted to return to Instagram authentically, she realized her problem was social media itself.
But it would be boring for me to stay the same.
This article was originally published onSep.
