The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Your Life

According to Google Trends, the number of searches for “influencer marketing” increases at a consistent rate of 5000% per month. The following statistics on social media influencers and influencer marketing support this data: 

• The worth of influencer marketing grew steadily from a mere $3.0B to a staggering $13.8B in 2021. 

• Rakuten’s data revealed that 3 in 4 consumers are willing to purchase products worth up to $625 provided that these are items recommended or purchased by influencers. 

• A study done by Nielsen Catalina Studios shows that influencer marketing generates over 11 times more ROI compared to banner ads.

Influencer marketing is overtaking traditional brand marketing methods at a fast and steady pace, but, is this all there is to the impact of social media platforms and digital influencers? Why should there be more discussions about the way this particular industry affects people and brands in general? 

Photo by SHVETS production from Pexels

Social Media Influencers: Who are they?

A social media influencer is someone with the capacity to persuade a customer’s buying preferences. They have massive followers who religiously engage with their posts and keep a close eye on their next move.

Influencers can cover almost any niche, or industry. They can be brand ambassadors for beauty products, or serve as advocates for adopting a sustainable lifestyle. Some use their platform to spread awareness on different social issues, others start trends or post entertaining content, while the rest are more inclined to share honest product reviews.

Is there a secret formula to their seemingly limitless superpower?

The truth is there is a powerhouse combination of tools in every social media influencer starter kit: Visual content, social media, and the crucial element of human touch.

Visual content is more effective at capturing audience attention than text-based content. A good eye in design balances the use of colors, graphic elements, and illustrations to invoke the right emotions from a targeted demographic. An in-depth understanding of how certain visual elements in a motion picture can trigger a myriad of emotions from the audience is what makes short video clips go viral in days.

Social media has been found to stimulate and affect multiple functions in the brain. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is an example. VTA is primarily responsible for regulating an individual’s internal rewards system. When a person receives a positive comment or multiple heart emojis on their profile photo, it triggers the release of happy hormones like dopamine and oxytocin in their brain.

Human touch is extremely important in today’s marketing setup. People tend to trust a brand more if their testaments are coupled with genuine human experience. It underscores the unmatched power of word-of-mouth marketing.

Use these three together and the result is a multifunctional resource to build a thriving online community and put any idea into action.

Four ways influencers leave an imprint on your life

Photo by George Milton from Pexels

Now that the influencers’ side of the equation has been expounded, it’s time to concentrate on who’s at the receiving end of influencer marketing: YOU.

Here are four major ways they integrate into your big and small life decisions:

They can help boost or diminish your self-esteem.

Social media has a dark side. If it is capable of triggering positive emotions, then it can also do the same to self-defeating perceptions. People suffering from low self-esteem, depression, social anxiety are more predisposed to social media’s negative effects. 

Teenagers are impressionable. They base music, clothing, and lifestyle choices on the people they idolize. If they follow influencers supporting destructive relationships, these young audiences will likely follow their example.

In contrast, influencers create content that uplift people’s moods and self-confidence drive people to improve how they view themselves and accept their flaws.

They expand or narrow your perspective.

Consider the following scenarios:

• A 30-second clip featuring a tone-deaf opinion on privilege is enough to start endless debates and a series of video responses. 

• The propagation of fake news has led to misguided judgment and assumptions on both national and international matters. 

• Social media’s tendency to project a perfectionist aesthetic can make people feel dissatisfied with where they currently are in life.

The messages conveyed on influencers’ posts will either reaffirm or question established points-of-view. It can push people to change political views, accept a body of knowledge as fact, or turn their eyes away from reality.

They rationalize or exaggerate your expenses.

Yes, influencers make customers more critical of the brands they support. Looking at it more closely, it also implies affecting how people manage their expenditures.

If you’re an avid TikTok user, you may have encountered the “TikTok Made Me Buy It” trend, which features useful products at budget-friendly prices.

The said TikTok trend begs the question, does it make the audience weigh their needs and wants whenever they feel strongly compelled to purchase the featured product? Impulsive buying can be traced to a person’s distinct behavioral patterns. Conversely, recommendations from influencers test a person’s definition of reasonable or worthless purchase.

They can improve or worsen life in general.

The first year of Covid-19 was quite a rollercoaster ride. Several influencers were publicly roasted for blatantly violating health and safety protocols meant to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Their dismissive disposition on the health risks of the coronavirus spawned waves upon waves of global mass infection.

Not all influencers are irresponsible and selfish.

There are still influencers who use their voice to educate people and actively counter erroneous and potentially harmful influencer content. They advocate for mental health and shed light on typical misconceptions about mental health disorders. Some commit themselves to debunk backward mindset on what it means to fight for the rights of women and LGBTQ equality.  

Everyone is entitled to choose which influencers to follow. The next time you feel like hitting the “Subscribe” or “Follow” button, just remember this food for thought: What type of influence are you allowing into your life? Is it helping you achieve anything or does it keep on pulling you back to square one?