Influencers

A short time ago, social media introduced us to people referred to as influencers. An influencer is a person on a social media platform who has built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific object/topic. Influencers impact our decision on whether to try products or trust a specific brand. Being an influencer can seem like an easy job, but it also means having to build an audience naturally and over time. As an influencer, it is your job to get people interested in the product at hand. The role includes both understanding your audience and engaging with them. You have to build a platform where you can be regular and consistent. The most popular influencers constantly engage with their audience and do things such as polls, questions and answers, and giveaways. 

There are by far many different types of influencers. For example, there are Youtube influencers, Instagram models, Tiktok influencers, etc… Being an influencer can be more challenging than it seems. Having to constantly post high-value content can be stressful. The online space is already competitive enough, influencers must stand out and be different enough to gain more popularity. The success rate of an influencer is determined by their popularity status. Being an influencer is very time-consuming, which means that it’s not for everyone, especially those who cannot handle hate comments. The social media world can be very intense, you could be popular one day and canceled the next. It is easy to get canceled if what you do or say, as a public figure, may have caused harm to a person or group. Influencers must gain a positive reputation to avoid situations like being canceled or dragged on the internet. 

My favorite influencer is Laura Mellado, her Instagram is @lauramellado and @laurasboutique. I started following Laura on social media platforms in 2015. Since then, she and her family have grown in terms of popularity on Instagram and their amount of followers. I think she's one of my favorites because she has always been so genuine with her followers and tried to give back. Laura often does giveaways and is always interacting with her audience, whether it's through Youtube, Instagram, or Tiktok. Throughout following Laura on social media platforms, I realized how humble she was as a person and how she did not let fame change her. Unlike other influencers, she doesn't act like she's better than anyone else just because she has money. That's one of my favorite things about Laura, she shows us that she is human like everyone else and struggles too. I think a major part of being an influencer is being authentic and unique, Laura is both. Make sure to follow her! :) 

- VANESSA