5 Unpopular Social Media Roles to explore in 2027

For as long as we all can remember, content creation and influencing have taken over our feeds and lives one way or the other. The camera in your face at every event you attend, aesthetic content, lifestyle vlogs, big brands giving out multi-million deals to influencers, on and on it goes.

We get it, it has a lot of hype and seems to be a fun digital career to work in. But not everyone can be chasing the same viral job titles when there are other opportunities you can pursue within the social media space. So if you’re social-media savvy, but not exactly looking to become the next big face out there, then these roles might just be what you need.

Here are 5 Unpopular Social Media Roles to explore in 2027. No fame required, decent pay attached, and way less competition. 

1. Growth Strategist

Every brand wants more followers, more engagement, more presence and market reach. However, very few people actually know how to push that purpose for a brand online. That’s where a growth strategist comes in! This role is less about posting curated content like a social media manager does, and more about reading the data: what’s working, what’s flopping, and why. As a growth strategist you’re basically the behind-the-scenes brain shaping how a brand can go from a few hundred followers to a real audience. 

2. AI Domain Expert

Chatgpt, Claude, Gemini and all these new generative AI tools are everywhere now. While these AI tools seem knowledgeable enough to give us the answers to our pressing questions, they simply are a reflection of human expertise. And that right there is a role you can pursue online – A remote AI domain expert. Platforms like Outlier, Mercor AI, Micro AI, Pareto, Stellar AI and a lot more are willing to pay the big bucks for your knowledge.

As an AI domain expert, you get to bring real, specialized knowledge like healthcare, finance, fashion, engineering, data analysis etc. to help train or fact-check AI-generated content. This is a fast growing online space you can tap into now!

3. Partner Program 

Brands don’t just work with only big influencers anymore. Now, they want entire ecosystems of creators and organizations working together. A Partner Program runs various programs like affiliates, referrals, reseller programs to upsell its products or services, extend its customer base and gain more revenue streams. It’s much easier to register to become an affiliate or join a partner program than it is to go viral and attract brand deals.

4. Newsletter Writer/Editors

Newsletters are still very much a thing. It’s arguably more relevant now than ever with platforms like Substack growing its writer and reader base. With more people getting exhausted with algorithm-driven feeds and opting for more curated content that lands directly in their inbox, it’s no surprise that Substack alone has 50 million active subscriptions, with 5 million of those paid.

As a Newsletter writer on Substack (or alternative platforms) you get to build a genuine, loyal audience without needing to dance on camera or chase crazy viral trends to be noticed. If you can write with personality and consistency, this is one of the most sustainable and lucrative corners of the creator economy right now. 

5. Live Seller

Most people online know Live selling as a sales trend that many Chinese accounts engage in to sell products quickly. They went viral for the put- together production they use to sell; Green screens, AI translations and automated response bots. With Digipreneurs and small businesses quietly adopting this model using Tiktok live, you can also position yourself as a Live seller. Become someone who does real-time products showcase, answer questions, hyping up limited drops and live shopping directly through the platform and get paid for it. Not everyone is a good sales person, so if it’s your thing, why don’t you create a market for it in your country or niche. 

Read more: Are you a Content Creator or Influencer?

The creator economy is growing each and every day! it isn’t just about who has the most followers anymore. People are building stable career paths on social media. We’ve known about the video editors, social media managers, copywriters and community managers. Now we can get introduced to many more roles; the growth strategists, partner program roles, newsletter writers, live sellers and AI domain experts.

So if the spotlight has never really been your thing, don’t count yourself out yet. Pick any of the social media roles listed in this article, build the skill and let 2027 be the year you grow your own career in the creator economy.