Influencers Aren't Dying Out, They're Reality Stars






There are lots of different views on digital influencers, some thinking it's not a real job and others becoming huge successes from collaborating with brands and staying true to their ever growing following. Here's why (in my opinion) they are pretty much reality stars and they aren't going anywhere, whether you like it or not...

Since the launch of Instagram, it has been used as a way to edit and filter your life, showing your 'highlight reel' and revealing what you want others to see. But this has also proved a huge platform for brands to connect with their consumers, however small or large the company. With some help along the way of course from digital influencers, who have the saucy new job title for those professional 'grammers that are always picture perfect and pretty much have a photographer follow them around all day long. For a long time promoting products was limited to celebs that were in Rimmel London adverts, but this then filtered through to reality stars from shows like Made in Chelsea and Towie. But now its gone even further and these digital influencers have created a whole new type of celebrity that could literally be anyone, as long as your feed looks like an online version of a Vogue magazine of course. I work in social media running my own Digital Styling agency and help brands make themselves look good online, but for a while even I was doubtful that these influencers wouldn't last and that the huge rise in full time influencers would suddenly leave them all lost and jobless as soon as the next app came along. But I have actually proved myself wrong by digging through Instagram a little more. With the success of Love Island 2016, it's shown me that there is absolutely no way that people are ignoring what the reality stars wear or do. The amount of times I would watch the show and then scroll one of their Instagram accounts (in which some have amassed over 600K loyal fans ?!?! Sharesies ?!?!) and see endless comments saying "I love love your top where is it from?" or "I HAVE to have those shades". It was this that reminded me why these people are so popular, because everyone WANTS them to be! They wouldn't have so many followers if people didn't want to follow them, and they wouldn't be paid to promote products if there wasn't something in it, as PR people are not stupid! There is some controversy and some other comments that poopie on the fact they are promoting brands saying things like "oh another product pusher" or "wow they are promoting brands already" but this is obviously not a wide enough view otherwise it wouldn't still be a thing. So all in all I am confident they are going to be influencing for a long time to come, and too right! It's a new way of life and a new outlook on advertising and I like it. So the next time you buy a product you love because you found it on Instagram, be thankful for those perfectly styled dreamboats whose feeds we scroll through everyday.



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