Influencers
I’ve always seen myself as someone who can more than easily rise above influencer marketing. I felt like I would never be persuaded my social media and I would never follow trends…obviously that did not work out.
Influencer marketing, an area that I am particularly interested in as a career, is something new, something that changes every day. When Instagram didn’t exist and TikTok was just the noise a clock made, everything was different. This new form of capitalization and entrepreneurship-centered work is an amazing way to grow awareness for a brand and appeal to a specific audience.
Here’s an example… when I was in high school, I absolutely loved makeup. I would watch videos all day and night, trying to do pink eyeshadow looks or contour my 15-year-old face. I never wore it out in public, I just did it for fun at home. One of the YouTubers I watched suddenly struck a brand deal with Tarth cosmetics, a luxury beauty brand with lines of skin and eye makeup. Her idea behind it was to give people the confidence they needed to wear their makeup out in public without fear…I obviously bought this. It was meant for me. I went on to buy anything she told me to buy. Not only because I was an impressionable teenager, but also because I felt like she appealed toward something I really believed in and needed: confidence.
The idea behind Tarte’s brilliant partnership and collaboration with this YouTuber was the direction their voice went. They gave their brand an identity that drew younger girls into the world of beauty and makeup and were able to capitalize off of that. Once I first realized what happened many years later, I was a little hurt! I felt used and almost preyed upon by a huge makeup corporation, but things have since changed. I see influencer marketing as one of the smartest and most useful forms of publicity, increased revenue, and overall awareness. I love to be the consumer now and I can honestly evaluate my purchases or decisions based on my own fruition, but I love to see what influencers have to say.
I now follow mostly younger “fashion icon” celebrities and small businesses. I will say, the fashion-forward influencers that are very close in age to me are where I look to for everything. If they post a new sweater and tag the shop the purchased it from, I always click the link. If they recommend using Pintrest or TikTok to find local businesses to support, I’ll try it myself. This is the epitome of influencer marketing and I love it. My favorite fashion influencers are Emma Chamberlain and Victoria Paris. Both go against the grain of what is popular or trendy to wear and I’ll likely buy anything they recommend.
