Blog Basics- What is an Influencer Anyway?

Hello world! Welcome to my first blog post.  If you’re confused about what Generation #Z is really about- Generation #Z is a blog about blogs.  If you want to find out more- have a gander on the ‘ABOUT‘ page and hopefully you’ll get up to speed. It’s a well known fact that the world we live in today is shifting away from the physical and slowly becoming more and more digitalised. According to The Telegraph–

“The average person has five social media accounts and spends around 1 hour and 40 minutes browsing these networks every day.”

Isn’t this crazy? When you consider this amount of time over the space of a year- think of how you might have used those hours differently. That’s not to say that social media is wholly negative as a platform; it has a whelm of benefits (which I’m sure I’ll discuss at some point!) What I’m trying to say is; when you’re online for that amount of time over the day, think of what your’e consuming. The odd meme here or a depressing news update somewhere else might be the usual drawl, but within each pixel, each megabyte of data, every click, like and share is being tracked.

Relax, you’re not in an episode of ‘Black Mirror’ (although I understand your confusion- yes Brexit did happen and don’t get me started on the situation across the pond).  But it’s true. You may or not be aware of it, but you’re data is logged and sold on to advertisers from the very networks you spend that 1 hour and 40 minutes of your day on. Ever wondered why when scrolling Facebook you see an advertisement for that pair of shoes you had in your basket earlier? Data. The introduction of Snoopers Charter isn’t the only thing you have to be worried about. The very platforms we use to escape and explore the world around us are slowly being manipulated into another way of getting us to spend the pennies which we don’t necessarily have to spare.

What else could you be doing with the time you spend on social media?

So, What exactly is an Influencer?

It’s all very well talking about digital data; but the latest arsenal which brands are adopting are people like you and me. Heck, you, my fellow reader, might even be one yourself. The latest craze in online marketing is using bloggers as a way of selling products. A more effective term would be influencers.

Anyone can own a blog. That’s the beauty of the internet. We as individuals have an opportunity to say what we want and now, with the evolution of social media, when we want to. Obviously there are some restrictions; but the point is everyone has a voice and the potential to use it, whatever for. Blogging is slowly becoming an increasingly popular way of doing just that.  Influencers however are a slightly different ball game. When a person has a more sustainable social media following; they can be classed as an influencer. If it’s not obvious enough; being an influencer means that you are somewhat reputable for having an effect on followers decisions. Why you may ask? Well there’s any number of reasons.

It could be said that influencers who are bloggers are more relatable than your run-of-the-mill celebrity. Unlike other A-Listers who’s Instagrams we lust after and million dollar lifestyles we crave; bloggers offer a more achievable  aesthetic which we feel we can access more easily. Especially in the genres of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle- the wide scope of budgets and tastes means that there is usually something for everyone. The best thing is that if you don’t find anything which gets you going you can just create your own!

Some people just blog for the freedom of it, but more and more individuals are turning to it as a career. How do you make a career out of blogging? It’s more than having a likeable persona and an interesting feed. One of the key things about blogging isn’t just writing interesting content; it’s making that content engaging. After all, it’s all very well splurging out posts like there’s no tomorrow but if no one reads them then you won’t get anywhere. I’ll be discussing this later so stay tuned folks!

I think the rather long winded point which I’m trying to make is that it’s becoming easier for brands and businesses to tailor their advertising and marketing strategies to us in a much more personal way. But is this really ethical? If it’s the case where our own peers have the power to market certain products and lifestyles to us- is there ever any escape from the world of advertising? That’s what I’m going to be exploring through out this project.

Use the hashtag #GenerationZ to let me know your thoughts!