By: Priya Kumar
You may have heard the term “influencer” floating around, but what exactly does that mean? An influencer is a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media. In other words, an influencer is someone others look up to in a particular niche or industry who has specialized knowledge, authority or insight on a specific subject. Their pre-existing presence in a niche makes them a useful launching pad for brands in search of credibility.
Some examples of influencers include celebrities, athletes, bloggers or motivational speakers to name a few. They impact thoughts and behaviors in their industries. An influencer is focused on the results. They can partner with large companies and inspire their followers to buy a certain product or service, behave a certain way, dress a particular way or even think the way they want them to think.
What makes influencers have this kind of power? Trust. An influencer may show a product or service that has improved their lives. Their followers who can relate to their story will most likely be interested in purchasing the same product or service in hopes of having a similar result as the influencer.
For example, a make-up artist may compare different products by applying them on and rating their favorite. Their followers will most likely buy the products that were more favorable according to the influencer.
Someone who is trying to lose weight may discover an influencer who is having success on their weight-loss journey, follow them and copy their diet and workout plan. We have even seen trends of people copying influencers who have obtained plastic surgery in order to enhance how they look and feel about their bodies.
Not all influence is positive. We have not only seen people get influenced to buy certain products and services, but also get influenced to vote for certain representatives or causes without doing much research on their own or with very little understanding of the impact to their communities. How often have you done research on the ultimate impact of a ballot measure when voting? Probably not that often or none at all. News may use fear to influence communities on certain policies and changes. And because of the trust that we have in these influencers, we take their opinions, thoughts and perceptions as truths without taking the time out to do the due diligence of determining how it could impact our lives.
Can we prevent being influenced?
No. The only time we are not influenced by anyone or anything is when we are completely disconnected from this world. From the time we are born, we are influenced. It’s a part of human life. It’s human nature to imitate what we like (that’s just another form of flattery). While there’s a lot we don’t have control over, we do have the power to decide what kind of influence we want to invite in our lives. The best thing one can do is take inspiration from their own experience. We have the power to decide what we want to be influenced by or whether or not we’re just taking someone else’s word for it. Decide for yourself what you desire to have in your life and let that be the core of what you choose to be receptive to in your life.
Priya Kumar is a Financial Literacy Coach educating and empowering women on how to create financial security, freedom, and success. Her program offers financial trauma healing and a step-by-step process to rebuilding and growing.
