What is an Influencer?

By Bianca Orellana

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​Influencer in·​flu·​enc·​er | \ ˈin-ˌflü-ən(t)-sər A person who inspires or guides the actions of others. (Merriam-Webster dictionary)

Influencers have become one of the newest and most efficient ways to help businesses grow and gain exposure. We are constantly seeing more and more people using their social media platforms as a marketing/PR platform, attracting more people to the brands they are wearing or the location that they posted content.

There are several types of influencers. One way to define them is by the amount of people that follow them. Nano- influencers have from 1,000- 5,000 followers. Micro-influencers have 5,000-100,000 followers. Macro- influencers have 1000,000- 1 million followers. And mega influencers have more than 1 million followers. 

Being an influencer comes with some perks such receiving free products in exchange for posting about them on your page to free trips for documenting your journey on social media.  Some influencers not only receive free products, but also get paid to post about the company as well. receiving payment for content usually happens when you are at the size of a macro- or mega- influencer, like a celebrity like Kim Kardashian. Public figures of that caliber don’t post about brands for free, they charge even to unbox PR packages on their insta-stories. Pay scales for posts range depending on the celebrity’s followers and amount of influence they have over them.

A lot of people think that being a “walking billboard” is the easiest career in the world. However that’s not really the case. Behind the glam and shots on Instagram that look “natural” there is a team of people that contribute to making the perfect content. If you want to be an influencer or work for an influencer, make sure to have good photo editing, video editing, organizational and strategy skills. Being an influencer can get draining, and hard to keep up most of the time. Yet it can open many doors and other opportunities you may not have had. 

Lele Pons, who came from Vine and took over Instagram with her friends constantly creating content, is now moving towards a music career. She became well established in the Latin television market where she gained a spot as a red carpet reporter for awards shows and took on collaborations with huge makeup brands. Another great example of this is Bretman Rock. He has used his influencer platforms in the same way, and it has led him to a reality show on MTV and multiple makeup brand collaborations. Like I said, being a good influencer can open many doors. 

Anyone can be an influencer! Be original, be different and be authentic. You never where your social media platforms might take you!