Under The Influence Rise of Social Media Influencers

if you’re anything like me

you probably spend a considerable amount

of time on social media

let’s be real we’ve all found ourselves

scrolling

endlessly through images of the same

company logos on linkedin

of people announcing their summer

internships or

we found ourselves wanting a very

clearly randomized instagram filter

to tell us which disney villain we are

it happens we’ve all been there

but i definitely spend the majority of

my social media time

on instagram i’ll come across my

friend’s vacation photos

the occasional meme a cool dance video

and sometimes i’ll come across a

sponsored post promoting some type of

product

by an influencer you’ve probably heard

of the word influencer

or even come across their posts and

cringed at their captions

that constantly remind you to use my

code for 10

off but what does it mean really

the term influencer is one of those

words that’s just so overused and

misunderstood

that it doesn’t really mean anything

anymore like blockchain

influencer can be an insult but also a

marketing method

or a career path but also that thing

that my friend does for fun

essentially an influencer is someone who

possesses the power to affect purchasing

decisions of others

based on their knowledge credibility and

relationship with their audience

within the context of social media an

influencer promotes a brand or product

to their follower base

through digital content in exchange for

monetary compensation

oh i know what you’re talking about now

you’re talking about those obnoxious

people on instagram who get paid for

posting

and make ridiculous amounts of money

without putting in any real effort

well not quite i’ve always been

interested in how the influencer

industry actually works

this past year i decided to give it a

shot

with just over a thousand followers on

instagram i jumped on the hype train

of becoming an influencer

i absolutely without a doubt love

fashion

and for the past few years i’ve

particularly enjoyed shopping with a

local boutique

that’s become my one stop shop dress up

last year when i heard that the branch

was recruiting brand ambassadors

from georgia tech i was immediately

interested

not for the perks but for the

opportunity to be affiliated with a

brand that i held close to my heart

now i’m a computer science major so i

have no professional knowledge of

communication strategies

or marketing practices all that i know

about social media marketing stems from

my own experiences

and what i enjoy viewing and engaging

with

but with one passionate application and

some luck i got the gig

all i had to do was post regularly

according to the loose guidelines

and watch the perks roll in i’m an

active instagram user i know how to do

this

how hard can it be turns out

it’s a lot harder to be authentic

relevant engaging consistent active and

unique

than you would think brands are tapping

into

the communities of influencers who are

experts in their respective niches

but who have also harnessed the

accessibility of social media

to create personal connections and trust

with their followers

now we can see with business insider

that in 2019

the influencer marketing industry was

worth 8 billion

and it’s projected to be worth up to 15

billion dollars

by 2022. so it’s very clear

that influencer marketing is becoming a

huge aspect within the industry

in 2019 mac cosmetics initiated the most

successful ad campaign with influencers

on tick tock

to boost their profile amongst gen z

that collected over 2.3 billion views

in 2018 lyft became the most mentioned

brand

on instagram through a series of

influencer campaigns

promoting ride sharing and active

engagement

in 2017 nike gained significant buzz for

the launch of the air vapor max

on youtube through a viral video

campaign promoting their shoe and what’s

inside the shoe by influencers

so as you can see these are just three

of the several brands that

that have invested heavily into

influencer marketing

so it’s clear that these companies are

now investing

heavily into this type of field and it’s

important to consider

in 2017 rihanna launched her makeup

brand fenty beauty that launched huge

success commercially

fenty beauty launched 40 shades of

foundation ranging from the lightest

skin tones

to the deepest that were all marketed by

beauty influencers of varying skin tones

ethnic backgrounds and follower counts

this launch truly set the precedent for

inclusive marketing

and now we’re seeing that marketing is

becoming much more authentic

relevant and relatable we as consumers

are so diverse not only in terms of

thoughts but also

in terms of our opinions our looks and

our backgrounds

so it’s important that we’re able to

look up to people who are

similar to us cassie hoe is an asian

american fitness influencer

who created her brand blogilates as a

way to promote living a healthy

and balanced lifestyle her quick at-home

workouts cater to women

who are looking for fun and creative

ways to stay active

without needing a gym cassie spreads

messages of body positivity within women

who

might not look like the mainstream image

of fit women but who can be

just as active toned and healthy

anchil ceda is an indian british beauty

influencer

who shares her love for makeup while

embracing her culture

and her heritage her recommendations and

tutorials

cater to women who don’t see

representations of their cultural looks

and deeper skin tones in mainstream

marketing

ancho inspires ethnic women to feel

comfortable in their own skin

and to feel just as beautiful in their

cultural looks as they do

in their everyday looks justine zarick

more

commonly known as ijustine is a

technology influencer

who reviews all the latest gadgets and

shares key comparisons

reviews and reactions in an engaging and

easy to understand way

her content caters to people who might

not keep up with tech on their own

but who are still interested in keeping

up with the latest trends

and the latest releases justine’s earned

a spot

as one of the most influential people

within the tech space through her own

style

without fitting the mold of being a

stereotypical tech nerd

and the list goes on and on these

influencers are all representing the

niches that they come from

and they’re driving inclusion within the

marketing space

when you think about it now influencers

are serving a much higher purpose than

just

getting you the best discount right

influencers are no longer

the new kids on the block they’ve

completely disrupted the marketing

industry

and completely transformed it by

capitalizing on their authenticity

and their niche if you think being an

influencer seems like a permanent

vacation

that couldn’t be further from the truth

these creators are putting in hours of

hard work

and working to represent people of every

age

gender nationality and sexual background

so what does this mean for you

when you see a sponsored post by an

influencer don’t

automatically roll your eyes at them

take a second to understand

where they’re coming from and what their

messages

if you can relate to that mission then

support them

and engage with their content so that

they can continue to create more content

but even if you don’t relate to their

mission

don’t put them down you never know who’s

positively impacted by their message

influencers are here to stay whether

you’re on board or not

so let’s support them as they make

strides in bringing diversity and

inclusion to traditional marketing

let’s make way for these new age

entrepreneurs

thank you