Why You Should Never Call Yourself An Influencer
Just about anyone can call themselves an “influencer” today.
It’s a word with a confusing definition. After all, what really defines being an influencer?
Is it your number of followers? I’d argue there are plenty of influential people with small, niche followings.
Is it how many views you get on your content? Well, popularity doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as influence.
There are plenty of metrics that can help us measure someone’s reach, engagement, and ability to spread targeted awareness on social media, but again, is that true influence? Will that person’s content move someone to take action, instill a belief, or reinforce a decision?
I became interested in the influencer marketing space long before there was even a word for it. Go back 5, 6, 7 years ago, and there was no such thing as “influencer marketing.” People with large, targeted social followings didn’t see the true value they had. Brands weren’t even considering how these individuals could potentially be one of their greatest assets for awareness and messaging. And truthfully, being someone who wanted to connect those two worlds, my first step into the industry was developing a platform that could manage and measure influencer campaigns in a way that hadn’t been done before — which is the platform we use today at theAmplify, called Reach.
I wanted to define what makes someone an “influencer.”
But here’s something I’ve learned, that I think more people should consider:
If you call yourself an influencer, you’re missing the fundamental principle of what makes someone influential.
For example: you don’t see leaders of companies saying, “I’m an influencer and that’s why you should listen to me.” Because they know influence, like leadership, isn’t a self-proclaimed title. It’s earned by putting others before yourself.
The people who become influential — whether it’s on a small scale or all across the globe — share one thing in common, and it’s their ability to look at their audience and understand the value they bring each and every one of those people.
They don’t focus on themselves. They focus on who they’re talking to.
Let me give you a very simple example:
This woman on YouTube has built a following of close to 10 million subscribers by creating videos that do one thing and one thing only: show children toys. Some videos show her unboxing new toys, other videos show children what toys look and sound like — but all of her videos put the audience member first. Parents park their kids in front of these unboxing videos and they sit there wide-eyed and engaged.
She’s not your typical social media influencer, but she’s the perfect example of someone who thought of an audience, thought about what would effectively resonate, and kept the focus solely on delivering that specific value.
Notice, she doesn’t create videos talking about how she’s influential. If anything, she is probably a mom herself, and wanted to create content kids could watch so other parents could take a little break.
And it worked.
The people who become influential online don’t think about themselves as much as they think about what’s going to hit home with their audience. They create lot of different types of content, delete the things that don’t work, and then make more of the things that do work. That process, in itself, is not a selfish one. It puts the viewer ahead of the creator.
Over the years, I have learned that the way people talk about their social following is a very good indicator for how they see what they do — and the level of influence they hold.
Because the people who spend all their time and energy thinking about how to create even better content today than they did yesterday tend to be the ones who do establish themselves as influential voices in their industry.
And the ones who are more in love with the idea of being known as an influencer are the ones who struggle to build a real following with any sort of loyalty.
You should never call yourself an “influencer.”
Remember, people follow you because of the value you provide them.
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Please comment below if this resonated with you, and reach out to me on Twitter or by email (justin@theAmplify.com) to tell me your thoughts.
