The Future of Influencers
Prior to March 2020, if you were to drop the word “influencer” into a conversation or even Google it, the presumptive response or search result would have been references to lifestyle wonks touting everything from high fashion to makeup, food, vacations, and even more generally, lavish lifestyles.
The irony of the most popular of these individuals’ endorsements was that they were rarely based on formal training or cultivated expertise.
It’s amazing what a difference a few months can make. Since COVID-19 —and more recently, social justice reforms— have taken over the news cycle, information consumers have had more time on their hands to scrutinize what influence means and what exactly they need from influencers.
Anecdotally, the verdict seems to be substance. Consumers want substantive, thoughtful guidance from anyone boasting the right or ability to steer the masses.
Arielle Charnas, a New York-based influencer with more than one million Instagram followers before the novel coronavirus set in, suffered intense backlash from followers who realized that little she had to opine on would make them feel secure or better prepared to survive the crisis.Further, Charnas was criticized for promoting a message of unity in combating the virus on her social media pages, while at the same time retreating to the relative safety of a luxurious home in the Hamptons and using her high profile connections to “skip” over Average Joes and Janes and get a rapid-result COVID-19 test. She ultimately tested positive, then faced additional criticism for apparently not following quarantine guidelines, which include limiting travel and exposure to others.
Vanity Fair described what happened with Charnas in April as a terrible collision between authenticity and lack of self-awareness that is compelling some businesses to try harder to create and disseminate “purposeful messaging.”
Indeed, while some “old” influencers may be experiencing uncomfortable scrutiny, our new reality —that we live in a state of fluctuating crisis— has presented an opportunity for more practical influencers to step up.
“I…think so many of us stayed at home during the height of COVID-19 that we had the time to sample more influencers and to decide which influencers’ recommendations really fit our lives best,” said Steve Greenberg, author of Gadget Nation: A Journey Through The Eccentric World of Invention, and a product influencer who regularly appears on NBC’s Today Show. “Those are the influencers that should rise to the top.”
Greenberg believes business leaders must make themselves desirable by speaking specifically and directly to the needs and concerns of their average stakeholders. Instead of high fashion, whose biggest asset is how it looks, there’s practical clothing that lasts longer. Instead of the latest handheld technology, whose biggest claim to fame is that it costs more than the previous version, there’s virtual communications technology that allows medical practitioners to connect better with remote patients. Sumptuous foods? Maybe, but only if they’re accompanied by instructions on the safest, most cost-effective ways to have them delivered.
These days, brands ranging from AliExpress, Alibaba’s international shopper marketplace, to watchmaker Daniel Wellington and Bigelow Tea, are in the hunt for effective influencers, in the form of credible storytellers.
Agencies can assist in that mission via brand journalism — helping companies “own” the narrative about their products, services and topical expertise, and not waiting for a TV network, newspaper or magazine to declare them influential.
