The hustle behind the glamour! Aarhan Siddique, sheds light on the life of a talent manager

Aarhan Siddique, Talent Representative, OpraahFx, talks to us about the life of a talent representative and the hustle behind all that glamour.

22-year-old Aarhan Siddique, a talent manager at OpraahFx represents some of the fastest-growing micro and macro-influencers. He possesses expertise in mentoring and generating business for digital talents. ‘Micro-influencer segment is the new age version of grass-root level marketing for better ROI’ is what he believes. Being one of the youngest in the industry, Aarhan has mentored and managed influencers across sectors – fitness, sports, gaming, fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment. He envisions creating a platform-agnostic presence for all the influencers and creators that he represents and here's what he has to share about the life behind all that glamour!

It was in late 2016 when ‘influencers’ made their debut on various digital platforms. People started following the feeds of unknown people purely for the content they created with unique and impeccable style and taste. Instantly taking over the internet, influencers became a great medium for brand promotions, and ‘influencer marketing’ emerged as an industry. Along with the proliferation of influencer marketing, came the need for ‘influencer/talent representative’ to manage the day-in-day-out work of these digital celebs. Witnessing the need for talent representatives to be a connecting link between the creators and brands, many leading influencer marketing agencies launched a talent management wing in early 2017. 

Five years since then, the role of talent representative or talent manager is still misunderstood by many. With no formal education on the subject and less awareness about the profile, many people mistake it to be similar to other management and marketing roles. While the core responsibilities may be the same, the attitude and approach are highly different. Glamorous as it may seem and glamorous as it is, the life of a talent representative is full of all things fun and hustle. Taking a closer look at what does a life of talent representative look like, here are five key things I learned in the starting 30 days of my career as a talent representative: 

Be a good observer

Knowing and understanding the medium, sector, and competitive market that the talent operates in is extremely important for one to be a proactive thinker and a go-getter. Having an eagle’s eye on all the developments in the industry and platforms will help one make informed decisions at the right times. A well-informed manager will help their talents unleash the best opportunities and scale strategically. 

Anticipate everything 

Being in a highly volatile industry of media, one has to anticipate if not all, at least the major forthcomings. Both opportunities and hurdles can come one’s way anytime anywhere. Letting go of opportunities and sitting over hurdles forever is not a choice, and delay in any of these can directly make or break the talent’s digital career. Therefore, a talent representative will have to be farsighted to help creators seamlessly execute their work in time.  

Record and respond

Handling multiple queries for many talents can be overwhelming for many. One has to maintain a record of all things done, in the process, and upcoming to keep a fine track of all activities. Missing out on one deliverable is a cost, so one has to be extremely detail-oriented while getting the work done. 

Also, managing the talent’s communication one has to actively be available on emails and/or social media handles to respond to the queries promptly. Many talents follow a standard TAT of 24 business hours. A process-oriented manager will create a better brand image of the talent in the industry. 

Befriend the talent  

Extremely important! A formal relation with talents will only take you both so far. Nurturing a friendly relation with talents will help you both execute all the campaigns seamlessly. One has to invest some time in understanding the talent, their work, and their approach. Give them advice and suggestions where needed. A formal work setup will only make things transactional and provide a limited scope of growth for both of you. 

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