Gigi Robinson is a 25-year-old content creator, patient advocate, and leader in the chronic illness community. She has been creating content for eight years – the last three years as a full-time creator. 

Gigi Robinson shares, “I suffered from chronic illness for years and found a cool way to develop a community online by talking about my patient experience.”

In addition to her work in the chronic illness community, Gigi is a creator economy speaker and leader. She regularly speaks to large social companies and on stage about creator branding, brand-creator relationships, and fueling changes in the creator economy. 

Chronic Illness Advocate & Creator Economy Speaker Gigi Robinson On Building A Long-Lasting Creator Brand

Making Content for Many Platforms

Gigi Robinson has a unique approach to each social media platform. 

With her background in photography, Gigi prioritizes posting professional photography and videography on her Instagram. 

On YouTube, she shows a more intimate, behind-the-scenes side of her business, which she delivers in vlogs. Her podcast focuses on in-depth marketing content and advice, similar to when she presents on stage. 

Gigi Robinson utilizes TikTok to share fun content and short-form vlogs. Sometimes, she’ll hop on trending challenges. On other days, she’ll share about her day or an interesting experience. 

She shares, “Every platform is different, and I think the mistake a lot of people make is just throwing all of the same content everywhere at once. That usually ends up not performing well because people have seen it before.”

@itsgigirobinson

♬ original sound – GIGI

Creating a Cohesive Brand with Many Niches

Gigi Robinson creates content for many niches, including advocacy, photography, and marketing. While popular advice for creators is often to choose one niche, Gigi prefers to be a Jack of all trades. 

She explains, “I really think about everything that I do in a holistic way. If I have the photography skills, I might as well use them and talk about them… You shouldn’t be in a box.”

Gigi conducts a self-audit of herself and what her audience responds to every three to six months to keep her brand cohesive. She usually takes a break for her mental health and reflects on what is most important to her now and how this differs from before. 

Feeling Good About Yourself Even When You’re Struggling with Health Issues

Gigi Robinson was recently featured in Sports Illustrated, openly discussing her chronic illnesses. 

She shares that this experience was pivotal for her and many in the chronic illness community as it demonstrated that you can show up as you are right now – without plastic surgery, extreme workouts, or Botox. 

She adds, “It was extremely important and pivotal for the chronic illness community, and I’m really glad that I got to be the person that elevated that message because I know that it helped many people living with health issues say “You gave me the confidence to go to the beach and not be ashamed of how I look and how I feel and how I’m showing up for myself.” It’s a beautiful thing.”

Gigi’s Monetization Strategy

Gigi Robinson recommends that creators look outside the box for monetization opportunities. 

Her income streams include speaking engagements, being a brand ambassador, monetizing her content with ads, and her children’s book about chronic illness. One of her most significant monetization streams is selling usage rights to her content because she is well-established in the industry, and audiences recognize her. 

Facebook Ambassador Video

In her experience, many brands don’t want to pay creators if they’re giving them an opportunity for exposure, such as speaking on a big stage. However, she advises against working with brands like this. 

She says, “I have never gained value or benefited or seen a paid partnership come out of somebody who doesn’t see my value and doesn’t pay it from the beginning.”

Changing Social Media Strategies

Gigi Robinson frequently pivots to stay on top of social media changes and grow new audiences on different platforms. For example, she realized that she enjoyed writing and began growing her presence on Linkedin. 

Now, she has a significant audience on Linkedin and is a top social media voice on the platform. Another pivot she’s made is speaking and consulting more than she used to, which she almost enjoys more than producing content. 

Gigi shares, “I’m really excited to launch my next project soon. It’s going into the idea of what is the intelligent influencer like. What is the influencer who understands a 360 approach to branding and marketing and can put that across their social media platforms and make their brand so undeniably strong that companies want to invest and partner with them?”

She emphasizes the importance of pivoting when you feel it in your gut. Taking social media breaks can also help you reinvent your brand and reflect on what changes are most important. 

Today Show

Essential Creator Tools

A scheduling tool that reduces the need for third-party logins is a must-have for Gigi to organize her content and cross-post it everywhere. 

Hiring somebody to help you when possible is another essential creator tool for her, as the sooner you can reduce admin work or editing work, the sooner you can focus on becoming a better creator. 

Having a reliable accountant and lawyer are two other jobs that she outsources. Her accountant helps her submit her taxes and ensures she gets any eligible write-offs, while her lawyer reviews brand and entertainment contracts. 

She adds, “I think some tools outside of the content world would be meditation and movement, whatever that looks like for you. It’s really important to disconnect from your phone to be able to function your best.”

When scrolling through social media, dopamine spiking and crashing worsens when you’re not moving and getting the endorphins your body craves. Gigi recommends that creators find some type of movement that works for them. Her favorite is putting her phone on “Do Not Disturb” and walking in nature while listening to a podcast. 

Gigi’s Advice for New Creators

She shares, “Just start and try different things as much as you can… You never know what is going to pop off at any point, so try different things, but also think intentionally and be really intentional with your time. Your content is really important.”

Gigi advises new creators to focus on the long-term goal of building a sustainable brand. This might mean investing in a lawyer or agent and losing a little money right now, but setting your brand up for success for many years to come. 

Upcoming Changes

Gigi is looking forward to speaking on several stages in the near future and is excited about a new company she is launching to bridge the gap between brands and creators. 

She explains, “It’s not a talent agency at all. It’s going to be more strategy and impact-based where different creators are going to be working with me and the brand directly to hopefully shift the brand’s perspective and strategy to working with creators so that it’s more holistic.”