You don’t have to be a “person of influence” to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me.
– Scott Adams
With the rise of Klout, a company that measures influences on social networks which I usually refer as the Social Media Clown, online influencers become the hottest celebrities of the digital age.You have seen these influencers sitting front row at fashion week next to Anna Wintour or walking the red carpet at a movie premiere with George Clooney. Have you ever wondered what they do on daily basis?
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This is a normal day of a social media influencer.
9:49 a.m Tweets “just woke up”. Googles a hangover cure.
10:05 a.m Checks Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Email. Reads online newspapers and blogs to check last night party photos. Sends the editor an email request to removing a photo where “the influencer” looked too fat.
10:35 a.m Tweets about how beautiful “the influencer” is today. Uploads a picture herself on Instagram. Checks in “the influencer’s fabulous office” on Foursquare…..[Incase anyone forgot how important she is].
10:45 a.m Reads a frienemy’s blog and finds out ABC PR agency did not invite the influence to a party. Breaks a vase and tweets ” _____ party is just for influencer-wanna-be”
10:46 a.m Checks Twitter
10:47 a.m Checks Twitter
10:48 a.m Checks Twitter
10:50 a.m Writes a blog post about last night party.
11:30 am Works on the “next viral” Ebook => “How to party and influence people”
12:45 p.m Checks Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest. Counts new followers and fans.
1:00 p.m Eats lunch with another influencer. Spends 20 minutes tweeting back and forth with the other influencer on Twitter so everyone can see that the influencers are eating together.
2:15 p.m Asks restaurant’s manager to cover the bill and promises to write a review. Of course it will be a good one because it was a free meal.
3:00 p.m Pitches to brands and asks for samples…..a lot of samples.
4:00 p.m Takes more pictures and shares them on Instagram.
4:30 p.m Googles “How to gain more Twitter followers”, ” Cheap Facebook Fans”, “How to become influential on social media”
5:00 p.m Drops by ____store to pick up a dress for the many parties of the night. Takes picture and shares on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. [This is what a girl needs to do to borrow a dress!]
6:00 p.m Arrives at party A. Tweets “the influencer has arrived #PartyAbyBCD”
7:00 p.m Open bar => drinks
8:00 p.m Still drinking…it is free
9:00 p.m …..still drinking
10:00 p.m Time to go to party B
11:00 p.m Drinks more
…… Not sure what happens
2:00 a.m Home
This is a joke. Don’t take it too seriously. A lot of people claim to be influencers. Partying day and night, and writing about it the next day does not make you an influencer. Having a high Klout score or a big following does not make you an influencer. Popularity is NOT influence. It takes a lot more work to become a true influencer.
True influencers would never call themselves “influencers” because they are too busy adding value to others’ lives. They use their powers for good not personal gain. These are the only “influencers” we need to know.
Cammi Pham (@cammipham) is a digital marketer by day at ThinkRenegade, writer by night, unlearner 24/7. Cammi lives by her personal motto, “Learn, Unlearn, Relearn.”
Email: hi@cammipham.com