For Maria Sansone, a kitchen in Marblehead can be a television studio. For Will Lam, a tiny village in Italy can be an office.
Both have ties to Marblehead. Both have built careers around sharing their lives with audiences online. And both are part of a growing industry in which a smartphone, a compelling story and a loyal following can become a full-time business.
But their paths into the world of social media couldn’t be more different.
Sansone, a longtime television journalist and host, has reinvented herself as a content creator, cookbook author and digital entrepreneur, sharing cooking, decorating and coastal New England living with her followers.
Lam, 23, a 2022 Marblehead High School graduate, turned a $20 bet with a friend into a social media career that now takes him around the world, with brands paying him to document his adventures.
Together, they offer a glimpse into the business of influencing — a profession that can look effortless on a phone screen but requires creativity, persistence and an understanding of what makes people stop scrolling.
From TV studio to Marblehead kitchen
Sansone was an early adopter of Facebook and Instagram, using social media to connect with viewers while working full time as a morning television news anchor.
Around 2010, she began sharing glimpses of her home life, cooking and family, discovering that the platforms offered something traditional television couldn’t: a direct, personal connection with her audience.
When Facebook introduced its live video feature, initially making it available to people in the television industry, Sansone jumped in.
She began broadcasting cooking demonstrations from her kitchen, sometimes with her children alongside her. There were mishaps, including a lid flying off during one demonstration, but that spontaneity was part of the appeal.
More importantly, Sansone realized she didn’t need a television studio or a traditional broadcasting job to reach an audience.
When her family moved from Santa Monica, California, to Marblehead, her followers came along virtually, trading a Southern California kitchen for one on the North Shore.
Today, Sansone describes herself as a broadcaster at heart, even as her work has evolved into full-time content creation, consulting and cookbook writing.
She also helps individuals, small businesses and media organizations tell their stories online.
Sansone says she has 140,000 followers across several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and TikTok.
A $20 bet and a million views
Lam’s social media career began much earlier in life, when he repeatedly begged his mother to let him start a YouTube channel.
Eventually, she relented.
Growing up near Devereux Beach, Lam was fascinated by filmmaking. At Marblehead High, he ran cross-country and track, serving as a captain of both teams, while pursuing his interest in video production.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and a friendly wager.
Lam and a friend bet $20 on who could get the most views on a video.
Their early efforts attracted a few hundred views. Then Lam posted a short video of himself writing the word “love” in an unexpected April snowfall, accompanied by a Frank Sinatra song.
It received a million views.
He was hooked.
Lam began studying how social media algorithms worked and how to capture viewers’ attention in the opening seconds of a video.
He continued making videos while attending Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in California, graduating this past May.
Now he creates content full time, with approximately 100,000 TikTok followers, 44,000 on Instagram, 15,000 on Snapchat and 2,000 YouTube subscribers, according to figures he provided during his interview.
His videos typically run 60 to 90 seconds.
And his office is wherever he happens to be.
During his interview with the Current, Lam was in Umbria, Italy, working with a tourism company to promote the region.
The arrangement included accommodations, meals and activities in exchange for social media content.
He has also worked with Visit Florida, Adobe, Bumble, Airbnb and other companies.
His travels have taken him to 22 countries, including Guatemala, where he climbed a volcano with friends.
“I guess the biggest thing about the world is we’re so much more similar than people think we are,” Lam said.
How influencers make money
Behind the picturesque kitchens, exotic destinations and seemingly spontaneous videos is a business model increasingly attracting major advertisers.
Sansone compares her operation to running a miniature television station. She creates content throughout the day, builds relationships with her audience and occasionally incorporates sponsored material.
“That’s what keeps the lights on,” she said.
For roughly a decade, Sansone said, she built her audience without accepting brand partnerships or trying to sell products.
Now she is selective about the companies she promotes, sometimes turning down lucrative opportunities that don’t feel authentic.
Sansone believes advertisers increasingly recognize the value of creators who have established relationships with their followers. Rather than spend their entire advertising budgets on traditional television, companies can partner with multiple smaller influencers who reach targeted audiences.
For Lam, brand partnerships provide most of his income.
He works with a management agency, GoChu, which discovered him online last year. His manager, Mackenzie, helped him negotiate deals and understand what his work was worth.
Before signing with the agency, Lam said he had been significantly undercharging brands.
Now his management team handles much of the business side, allowing him to concentrate on creating videos.
Some partnerships are relatively flexible. In Italy, Lam said, he agreed to produce at least one video and several social media stories each day, tagging the tourism company.
Other arrangements are more demanding.
For Visit Florida, he submits drafts, receives feedback and makes revisions. Some clients provide detailed scripts specifying exactly when and how their products must be mentioned.
Lam declined to disclose his annual income but said social media provides a sustainable career.
“My parents still don’t really think that’s a full-time job, but I’m doing well,” he said.
Two generations, one hometown
For Sansone, Marblehead has become an important part of her professional identity.
Sansone describes the town as a picturesque, almost magical setting, particularly in autumn, when the streets and coastal scenery resemble a holiday movie.
She calls Marblehead a “content jewel box.”
Her posts increasingly showcase what she describes as a coastal lifestyle — cooking, decorating, home renovations and the beauty of New England.
For Lam, Marblehead represents the beginning of a much larger journey.
He remembers being teased and bullied in high school for his interest in filmmaking and social media.
“Growing up in Marblehead, I was made fun of all the time. I was the weird kid in high school. I got bullied a ton,” he said.
But he kept making videos, convinced he could build a career doing something he loved.
Now, after graduating from college, he hopes to eventually settle in San Diego, where he can pursue his love of surfing while continuing to travel and create content.
He plans to return to Marblehead for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but he encourages other young people to venture beyond their hometown.
“Marblehead’s great. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful place. I’m super glad I grew up there. But there’s a lot more in the world than Marblehead and New England,” he said.
His advice is to explore while the opportunity exists.
“You can always come back. Marblehead’s not going anywhere,” he said.
For Lam, the greatest value of his videos may not ultimately be the followers, sponsorships or income. It’s the memories.
“My ultimate life goal is when I’m like 95, 100 years old, and I’m on my deathbed, I want to have a Will Lam marathon and just watch my whole life from my childhood in Marblehead to where I’m ever I am, surfing with my kids and wife and whatnot, just traveling the world,” he said. “Like, I want to watch it all.”
Follow the creators: Maria Sansone shares her work at MariaSansone.com. Lam posts under @will.i.lam on social media.
