What is an influencer?
Influencers act as a voice of authority through content creation. Voice of authority doesn’t mean formal education. It can stem from having a passion for a particular niche. The ability to influence an audience through content creation is an essential quality. The focus isn’t about you; it is about providing valuable content to your followers. As a fashion influencer, I am always getting feedback from my followers on what content can provide more value. Here is a list of things people assume about what we do that isn’t accurate.
3 myths about about influencers
All we do is post pictures for likes.
People underestimate the amount of work that goes into creating content. Researching, planning photoshoots, hiring a photographer, editing pictures, creating graphics, editing videos, learning SEO; the list continues. I’m no stranger to pulling all-nighters working on content. This is not a 9 to 5 job where you have weekends off. I am always learning and taking courses to learn new skills. It is a lot of work, but being passionate makes it a lot easier to keep going. Growing your following and maintaining your social media platform is a ton of work. Companies hire social media managers just to run their social media accounts because it takes a special set of skills. As an influencer, you are your own social media manager. You need to understand the concept of building a community.
It’s not a real job
Being an influencer is running your own business. You need to learn the art of the hustle to make a living. We have to pitch to brands, submit a media kit, and outline strategies. No brand will pay you just because you posted cute pictures. They look into your demographics, analytics if you have a blog, engagement rate, and quality of your content. Your Instagram, blog, or social media platform is like a portfolio.
We are superficial
I do not know every single influencer, but we get an unfair judgment and generalizations. Never judge a book by its cover. Most of us started because we were passionate about the field. It is so humbling to see that people found me inspirational enough to follow me or read my blog. Just like everyone else, we come with our own set of insecurities and weaknesses. Support from our followers to keep me going. We are human, just like everyone.
What do you think about influencers? I would be curious to hear your thoughts in the comments.
