Guess who's an influencer?

Last year, just for fun, we did The Most Random Gift Guide in Ever. It was just a fun post right before Christmas. We had everything from lint removers to harpoons. It was just the stuff each person on our team really liked- liked enough to share it on this list. And, guess what happened? People bought the stuff based on our recommendations. This was not our goal. Which is precisely why it worked. So, yeah, we are influencers.

Webster’s Dictionary defines (I’ve never written that before, but I knew my time would come) social media influencer as a person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media. But, I prefer the original, old school definition of influencer; one who exerts influence: a person who inspires or guides the actions of others.

I thought about titling this post, “I’m an influencer,“ but all my old butthead friends would never let me live that one down. But, I am an influencer, buttheads. And so are you guys (except Brent). I also thought about titling this post “Rise of the Micro-Influencer.“ But, that is already a thing. A micro-influencer is someone who has between 10,000 to 100,000 followers says that little drop-down menu Google now provides and I trust as dogma. A nano-influencer is someone between 1,000 to 10,000 followers. But, we don’t even have that many followers. So, I am talking about the pico-influencer. A pico-influencer is defined as someone with 100-1,000 followers, says me right now because who’s going to stop me? Sorry folks with less than 100 followers, but we have to draw the line somewhere.

Love ya mom!

I’ll take it a step further and say a micro, nano or pico-influencer is just as valuable as a mega-influencer. When gauging the value of any influencer one should look for the metric that is infinitely more valuable than followers. Trust. Which is the single most important thing in marketing, and business, and probably love and life and the whole kit and caboodle. With trust established, anyone is an influencer.

I am an influencer when I talk about what software we use to manage projects. We use Basecamp. Or the latest in plain T-shirts, and despite the name, I am digging Buck Mason these days. Because my small audience trusts me to talk about project management software and soft muted-tone tees. Just like my mom is trusted on Facebook for her in-depth reviews of “Shrimp and Stuff.”

What does this mean? Does it mean we are all going to get paid by brands and all become walking, talking, posting ads? No, we’re not going to become them- we already are them. When you drive your Jeep® around people see you. They see your age, hair, skin and alumni stickers and think she looks like me and I like what she’s driving. When you wear a tshirt you’re a freaking advertisment. We’ve all been doing and even if we don’t realize it, it’s important that we start to realize it. Because you will be approached by a brand to be an influencer.

Be ready for the day when you get a free sample of Biolage in the mail and it says, “Share your Biolage experience on social media and we’ll send you more for free” don’t be freaked out. You’re an influencer. It’s coming. We’re all influencers. And, we always have been. Social media is just the newest way to show it.

Except, Brent. He’s not.