Myths About Influencers

There are a lot of myths surrounding influencers and what they do.  Some people might imagine them as having perfect lives, no problems at all, and looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.  But they would be wrong!  Influencers are normal people, just like us.  That’s why we like them and why we believe what they say.  If you continue  reading, we’ll dispel these and other urban legends about influencers.  Because influencers are real people and, as consumers, we like them.

• They’ll work for any brand that gives them money.   A good influencer will always act in accordance with their own criteria when given the opportunity to collaborate with a brand.  They’re faithful to their values and they try to participate in campaigns that bring something of value to their community of fans.
• They always look fantastic 24×7.  Even though they look divine in their Instagram photos, influencers are mortals like us.  They wake up with sleep in their eyes and go to bed wearing flannel pajamas.
• They’re part of a perfect couple.  People think that their partners are also perfect, their pictures together are beautiful, they share big dreams and they never argue. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Influencers get hurt in love just like us, and need to mend their broken hearts.
• They never wear the same clothes twice.  It’s normal for influencers to show off their best looks on social media and show off clothes they’re wearing for the first time.  But in their daily lives, they wear the same clothes more than once, just like everybody else.
• They always eat in restaurants.   From their pictures, it looks like influencers never eat at home.    The best thing about this is that we discover great new places to dine.
• They eat healthy breakfasts.   Avocado, chia seeds, kale.  These are essential, photogenic foods for the influencer breakfast.    Because they’re definitely not going to post a picture of burnt toast on social media.
• They only have friends who are also influences.   While they have a lot in common with other influencers, they also have friends from childhood, friends from work, friends from college.  These friends are also important to them.
• They don’t have a second job.  Creating an online community, generating quality content, being consistent and having other people interested in what you have to say is hard work.  But very few influencers can do this as their only job.  Most influencers have another job and they use their free time to invest in developing their personal brand online.
• What they do is easy. Every message posted on social media by an influencer is weighed, thought about and curated.  Being an influencer involves hours of work and a lot of experience.
• Being an influencer means you have a lot of followers.  The quality of the influencer’s content is what’s really most important, more important than their number of followers.  A true influencer needs to focus on having a strong engagement rate on their social media channels.  Because that’s the real indicator of the influence they have with their audience.    Brands become suspicious when there’s a gap between the number of followers and the number of interactions on an account, because it’s clear that the influencer bought their followers.  It’s much better to create a faithful community of followers than have a lot of “fake followers” who aren’t interested in your content.  Their community is what makes micro-influencers so valuable.

So, having dispelled some of these urban legends, what becomes clear is that influencers are just normal people who take great care with their image on social media and who’ve developed a community of faithful followers.