A ‘social influencer’ is the newest (and most sought-after) title to have these days. It’s what a new-age marketing specialist is seen as — not just someone who tells you what products to buy, books to read, movies to see, but someone who influences you enough to actually make you buy, read, see and do all those things. But this term didn’t exist a couple of years ago. Yes, blogging was a thing even a decade back, but blogs were more a personal online diary than a marketing tool, and blogging was certainly not a full-fledged career. Social media was alive, but wasn’t as advanced and omnipresent as it is today. Here we look at 4 reasons for the rise of the ‘social influencer’.
By Team Savant
Image: Laura Chouette
1. Print to Digital: The Role of the Mobile Phone
While nothing can be more enticing than the written word in a physical book or magazine or newspaper, the truth is that the print medium has been dying a slow death for some years now. With the power and reach of the Internet, everything from newspapers to books is going digital. And one can see why — it is far more accessible to a larger number of people.
While mobile phones were only available to a select rich few around twenty years ago, today, everyone, from early teens to our grandparents, possess a mobile phone. And not just a mobile phone but the latest, swankiest one! It has become common and accessible to all and the telecom industry boom is largely responsible for this change.
2. Social Media Boom
And with everyone possessing a mobile phone now, it’s very easy to make one’s presence felt on social media platforms. Social media is all-consuming, addictive, and so easy to use that it is understandably growing in leaps and bounds. The range of social media platforms available make it ridiculously easy for a social influencer to make his or her presence felt, and market their product to a large fan following.
3. Visually Appealing
Even if the pen is mightier than the sword and the power of the written word remains, one cannot deny the fact that visual imagery is as (if not more in some cases) important. People’s attention spans are decreasing; they want more information in a lesser amount of time. And, a picture does speak a thousand words, doesn’t it? What an article states in three hundred words, an infographic shows in one image. What needs paragraphs to be described can be seen and understood instantly through one clear image. People want instant gratification online — there couldn’t be a more valid example than that of Instagram!
4. The Changing Face of Marketing
If someone has over twenty thousand followers across a range of social media platforms — readers who check in every day to see their Instagram feeds and status messages — and there is genuine engagement with the readers, it is a no-brainer for a company to promote their brand through this person’s social media than by way of a traditional print ad. The reach will be massive, especially when multiplied by using a number of social influencers. And thus, social influencers a.k.a. the new faces of marketing, are born.