ONE thing is for sure. Social media will continue to provide a massive platform for today’s youth to build their influencer foundations. Access is nearly universal, costing little more than a smartphone, a Wi-Fi hookup, and creativity.
Thus, the number of people we classify as influencers continue to skyrocket — unquestionably a byproduct of global stay-at-home orders that hastened and popularized influencer generation and consumption of influencer content.
Once used to mention to those with significant social followings and advertising contracts, the term “influencer” has grown to represent political leaders, business executives, social justice advocates, dancers, poets, streamers, and many others with a platform.
“Authenticity” is a crucial part of these entrepreneurs’ brands, but the tendency to group them all under the umbrella term “influencer” makes the public lose trust. While the scale of the influencer market continues to grow, the level of confidence in the term doesn’t.
Then, it is time for us to reexamine our vernacular and rebrand the term “influencer” to a more representative title: social media leader and entrepreneur. It’s time for us to bring awareness to the mislabeling of a huge — and growing — portion of society.
Begin phasing out the term in favor of more powerful language that acknowledges the entrepreneurial leadership of these content creators and advocates. To influence is to transform the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. While you can influence without actively purposing to do so, the term is often understood as a binary for “manipulate,” likely contributing to and even labeling the recent dip in trust.
These influencers can come to fame in ways that vary from hustle to luck. But, regardless of how they get there, once they grasp that mainstream level, they become social media leaders and entrepreneurs, and it’s time we recognize them as such.