Which kinds of influencers are you following these days? And on Tiktok, Instagram or Twitter? Or Linkedin maybe? Do you ever take a step back and ask what sort of tangible effect they’re having on your life or mindset? Or are you still in denial thinking the answer to that question is ‘none’.
Regardless, influencers are getting smarter and more and more frequent - with that comes the inevitable monetization of their content. After all, do you really think anyone consistently and intentionally providing significant insight into their life is not benefitting from that financially? So yes, there’s the standard brand partnership monetization, and then there’s one step further. With the rise of tools like Squarespace and SHopify, it is now easier than ever for influencers to create a guide or course of sorts and market it to their following. A trend I’m also seeing is the rise of influencers’ inclination to make their following gravitate towards that of a cult following.
The more obsessed a following is with their leader, the more they’re likely to follow that person’s advice. If the person’s advice is to “buy their course”, or in some cases that I’m seeing lately, their “merch” - well then a good portion of them likely will.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve bought a couple of these personal courses - the merch I will be avoiding like the plague, as a seasoned shopper with more experience than I care to admit. Courses I’ve bought include one about monetizing your social media following, another about starting your own personal business, and a course for getting started in the fashion industry. That last one was non influencer related, although I found out about it through an instagram ad.
Am I the only one following influencers of a certain niche with the vaguest wishful thinking that just following them will have a correlated effect on me? For example, if I’m curious about starting a side hustle, will I click the red (+) icon on a tiktok influencer who pops up on my feed showing her numbers of profit for each month of the year? Or maybe a personal stylist telling me how to organize my closet to improve my ability to dress myself? Perhaps I’m more gullible than the average human scrolling on these apps, although a large part of me thinks that I’m not so unique and there may be others with these same thoughts.
Let’s talk about this “merch” I’ve been seeing splashed over tiktok by a couple influencers with followings of 500K+ people. I mention the follow count because I think it’s safe to say with a following of this size you’ve established your personal brand, have a devoted following and are already benefiting quite largely from brand partnerships. I think on average that merch (I’ve seen two examples rip but could find more if pressured!) will be a basic sweatsuit with some sort of punchline you’ll recognize if you have followed that particular influencer previously. For example, if said influencer will have had a particularly viral series, perhaps the merch will resonate with said series.
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The more obsessed a following is with their leader, the more they’re likely to follow that person’s advice.
“Am I the only one following influencers of a certain niche with the vaguest wishful thinking that just following them will have a correlated effect on me? ” — RM
I’m going to say something here and it’s going to be controversial! Do we really need to be putting more mindless sweatsuits into the world? Look, I will be the first to applaud these influencers who have built their following with a speed and vengeance that most of us can only hope to do with anything - and I mean that as a wannabe influencer myself. HOWEVER, that does not mean you need to create a merch line of basic crewnecks and sweats. Since I am out here critiquing, I suppose it’s only right to propose a few solutions to the problem at hand. Problem being overconsumption.
To the influencer specializing in photography and feel good antics, might we focus on directing that energy towards a non profit for mental health or some sort of product that resolves an issue in the photography / at home influencer space (if the intent is further monetization of your brand). To me, this would provide tangible value in a space that could be lacking.
To the corporate jokester influencer, perhaps a guide for purposeful corporate world navigation. This is a bit overdone but with a mastered tone of someone dominating this space, it could be something good. Since podcasts are all the rage, I think this would be perfect for someone with a legitimate brand already established around their personality and sense of humor.
Look, if you’re wildly successful in an emerging space such as social media, it really isn’t up to me on how you utilize that success. Utilizing your platform at all should be applauded if anything. But besides the fact that we should not be promoting overconsumption in a fashion industry still largely dominated by fast fashion, I genuinely think working on a product that relates closely to your brand will provide further dividends in the future and has a better opportunity cost than a basic merch line. Dare I say, the world has been there done that. Think profitability, and if that’s not the focus what is? Contributing value to your followers? In that case my point is proven twofold.
Let me provide an example of a product I’ve seen by an influencer that I think provides value to her following as well as potential profit for the future of her brand. Let’s look at @EMMAROSEALGER, the founder of a new tech app called “The Scout App” where influencers can share their location in cities around the world for other influencers to use as photo ops. This is a pioneering product and is increasingly relevant in a world where digital nomad / fashion blogger / travel influencers are no longer an anomaly. I think this is a smart use of her brand and following.
Back to the courses that I have fell for. I think the real issue is that I buy the course with the same philosophy as when I buy that silk dress I imagine myself rocking at some “black tie event” that I’ll surely attend this year. Don’t know when I’ll really wear it but it’s gorgeous, so I’ll make it happen. Similarly, I don’t know when I’ll find the time or motivation to take this course but if I buy it surely I will make it happen. Or will the course sit collecting digital dust in my email inbox until the subject itself is deprecated from the industry (in the case of social media influencer marketing).
Let’s look at this scenario - I want to start my own business. As for what that business will be, well I’m simply not sure. But I’ve bought a “guide” to starting your own business by a financial feminist influencer who I obviously support because women in finance is a yes. Have I been duped, or am I just being a loyal follower? What even is a loyal follower, and is there any reason for me to be one? It’s not like the person I’m following is loyal to me? Or are they? Regardless, those questions are rarely to be asked let alone answered. So what am I really doing here? It’s been around two months since I bought said guide, and for some reason I just haven’t found the time or energy within myself to even open it despite having spent a pretty penny on it.
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