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The Difference Between “Influencer” and “Influential”
What is a traditional social media influencer? You can picture them, right? Beautiful people in exotic places. Magnetic pop stars. Incredible athletes. The wickedly fashionable. They have an elevated profile, they’re good at internetting, they have a ton of followers. They’re an “influencer.” So of course they’re influential. But are they really?
What if someone had half the followers, or even just a quarter. Does that mean they are one-fourth as influential? They don’t appear to be famous. In fact, they seem pretty normal. What if it turns out they’re actually a much more powerful influencer?
In order to understand what a true social media influencer is, we first have to understand true influence, and its effect on us. Because there is no influencer without the influenced.
INFLUENCE – the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.
Influencer vs. Influential… We wrote this handbook to help brands understand how influential consumer groups spread ideas that shape public perception and drive decision-making.
WHAT IS TRUE ONLINE INFLUENCE?
Influence is the ability to change behaviors or beliefs — to actually impact thinking and preferences. Traditionally, brands have used online influencer metrics like “likes” and “shares” to track an influencer’s impact (and to use as a basis for influencer compensation). But those metrics have become more fragile, easier to game, and not really representative of impact. See what happened with Kathy Ireland where fake followers were purchased to increase her following by almost 10x.
For brands, there are now more modern ways to look at influence using impact rather than simple engagement, and reach over volume. How much are you changing the behavior of the people you’re targeting? Are you getting a simple like, or are you getting deeper engagement, like a reply or a retweet? And the holy grail — are you seeing a measurable change in behavior like adoption of language, attendance at your event, hashtag spread to ideologically different factions, or increased advocacy?
HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY INFLUENCE?
So who really has influence and why?
Let’s say that Super Cool Traditional Influencer #1 gets a deal with a brand, and they put out a tweet to their ten million followers to buy that brand’s product. It’s a loud shot from a single person. Their followers will see the post, scroll past it, or maybe give it a like. But they’re being sold to, and they know it.
Now, what if you get the attention of a “micro-influencer” — someone who may only have a fraction of Super Cool’s followers, but they’re deeply and authentically embedded in your target community? They are dedicated to the same values your brand cares about and people likely trust them. This micro-influencer disseminates highly reputable information that is felt and picked up by other micro-influencers and likely some number of traditional influencers. Before you know it, it’s not just one high-profile person trying to sell something. It’s ten people from a trusted online circle who are advocating on behalf of your brand, sharing something they believe is truly worthy. This is authentic influence that has the ability to impact people’s perspectives and behaviors over a longer period of time.
Moreover, in times of crisis — when misinformation, false narrative, or negative reviews about your brand spread — those communities will be the first to stand up with your brand and for you.
THE INFLUENTIAL ROAD AHEAD
This evolution in the understanding of impact makes for a very exciting time for brands! Rather than working up a deal with a famous celeb to spread their message, brands can now connect directly with communities of the most highly-aligned, highly-influential people. And, brands have the ability to use the internet to listen to those communities, allowing themselves to be the ones who are guided and influenced!
How can you get better insights into micro-influencers and the subcultures that are relevant to your brand? How do they connect and drive narratives that impact you ?
