Now let me say one thing right off the bat…I hate the term ‘influencer’, lol, it just makes me cringe a bit if I’m honest! I’ve been around in the blogging world for a long time (10+ years now would you believe!) and I swear that term did not exist when I started! We were all bloggers back then, who used social media to help us promote our blogs and websites. I still wouldn’t call myself an influencer in any way (although friends in the real world do jokingly call me it!) I am a blogger and a content creator. But now there is also a whole host of new influencers simply based on social media….and some of them are seriously bossing it and I think it is a great thing.
The Growth of the Mummy Influencer
I think one of the biggest and fastest growing fields, especially in the last year or so has been that of the Parenting/Mummy Influencers (although there is also the fitness market that is booming thanks to social media!). Parenting is hard, and at times motherhood can be incredibly isolating and lonely, so social media has been an amazing tool for so many mums to connect with others. This was even more prevalent during the last year of covid lockdowns. As a mum who had a newborn in the middle of the first lock down I cant explain just how important it was to me to see other mums in similar boats and to be able to chat to other parents feeling the stresses and strains the same as me.
Social media has given many Mums a platform to speak honestly and openly about the ups and downs of parenting life. Those willing to give advise and tips on parenting or are willing to open the door on the reality of life with kids have become hugely popular. They provide support and info to new parents which is hugely beneficial.
Why Are Social Media Influencers Great
Whats crazy is that most influencers are just everyday people, yes ok you have the celebs out there (or the sudo celebs, love islanders etc) who are able to promote and work with huge brands who have the marketing budget. But the majority of influencers, the ones who are really doing the brand work, product promotions and marketing for companies are every day people! And I kinda love that fact. If I’m honest I am far more likely to trust my fellow bloggers and instagram friends opinions on a product than that of a celeb! And that is the big thing about social media influencers, being down earth normal people usually makes them more relatable for the majority of people and more trustworthy (as long as they are honest and upfront when disclosing ads!) So for brands, working with a number of micro influencers, who have genuine loyal followers can be great for business
Why Businesses Should Harness the Power of Influencers
Influencer Marketing has become a huge business and so it should be. Magazine and newspaper marketing is no longer what it used to be, most of us have become desensitised to the traditional forms of advertising and marketing, after years of seeing the same content being recycled. Plus the cost of something like a national magazine campaign can be far more than many brands can afford. But those who are savvy enough to realise the power on the social media influencer, will realise they can reach a far more targeted audience for a far small budget by working with micro influencers. This has allowed smaller brands and individual creatives to tap into a huge amount of marketing that used to be out of their financial reach and allowed their businesses to reach new customers and grow.