Instagram Brings 150 Aspiring Creators to Atlanta for Creator Lab Live Event (Exclusive)

Being a content creator on social media can be a successful full-time job. But how does someone become a top creator and make money by posting on a platform like Instagram? PopCulture.com attended Instagram’s Creator Lab Live event in Atlanta where 150 aspiring creators came together and learned how to grow their brand. Atlanta creators Danielle Nekole and Ashley Renee spoke to groups to share their advice. And Hassan Khadair, who has over 328,000 followers on Instagram, was the emcee of the event where he detailed how a creator can make money.

Khadair talked about how he created eight videos a day and earned his money based on views since he was using a licensed character (Mickey Mouse) in his content. “I did that for like a year and a half and it’s a bad idea because it’ll get you to burn out a ton,” he told the creators. “But it really helped me get to where I am today. So in those two and a half years that I’ve been full-time off that view-based model alone. So this is no brand deals, no partnerships, no incentive pays or anything, I made over $350,000 purely off the view-based model. …I achieved success by focusing, putting my own spin on the most popular trends. Then as I grew my influence, I started to create my own trends.”

Nekole, who has over 57,000 followers on Instagram, told the creators to focus on “creating true, inspiring engaging content.” She went on to say, “If you’re focused on how many likes you get, how many view counts you have, who’s watching you, and you’re not focusing on the message that you’re trying to push out, it’s not going to happen. So focus on creating your content. I promise you, it will come.”

Renne has over 128,000 followers and told the creators that “creating a niche” will help them be very successful. “My community became a lot stronger when I built it around my values and then tied who I am as a mother to it,” she said. “So my values, aka my niche, was sustainability and veganism. My personal identity was being a mom. So my niche within a niche, plus my identity became sustainable vegan parenting. What I discovered was the more that I lean into sharing my personal story and sharing who I am as a mom and sharing my lifestyle, how I live my lifestyle from the perspective of a mother, the more deeply people were able to resonate with my experience. And it’s the same thing that you can do.”

Creator Lab Live is based on Instagram’s Creator Lab, which is an edutainment destination for creators can connect, collaborate and level up their career. It was launched in 2022, and the Creator Lab Live in Atlanta was the first of its kind. Future Creator Lab Live events will take place in Miami on Sept. 13 and New York City on Oct. 3.