The rise of the Influencer |
Posted: June 21, 2019 |
Instagram has become a creators playground and a place of great self expression. People flock to Instagram to find connections and like minded people who share a love for their passions, ideas, creations and styles. A place to become inspired by others and a place in turn to inspire others. Over time and with the development of new features such as ‘Stories', Instagram has enabled an on hand, quick and easy way to broadcast and share. Did you know? Instagram has plans to roll out a new camera design that will boast a creative mode where you will be able to add effects and interactive stickers with more ease. Instagram has always been a great place for small, unusual businesses and in May a new account @shop was launched by Instagram, an account with hopes to give more exposure to small businesses and their creators. Instagram ensures that products pictured are a real time reflection of the current, top interests in shopping categories like fashion and beauty. Featured products are all hooked up with the new shopping features that allow for a direct link to purchase any product pictured. Along with its appreciation for small businesses, Instagram also wants to improve its global user experience. The team have worked together with its users to improve the ‘Explore’and ‘Stories’ sections of Instagram,now allowing users to discover more relevant content based around their interests and browsing patterns.With its 500 million users daily, Stories will also be pushed into the new Explore grid allowing for even more content sharing. When using Instagram you will now notice a new navigation bar in the Explore tab, with new filters such as shopping and Instagram TV. Aside from this there are now additional topical channels sorted by genre which match your interests, for exampleFood, Travel, Art, Architecture etc. If you click the option of ‘IGTV’ you will notice a new hub where you can explore a feed of tailored videos from accounts you follow, and in turn content from similar accounts that may be of interest to you. On the other hand choosing ‘Shop’ will bring you to a layout similar to that of the explore tab with the option to filter by genre relating to what you’re on the lookout for. For users that can't see the filter options this may be due to a later roll out date in your country, equally the grid that appears in the older versions work in the same way as the Explore tab, filtering and surfacing things which Instagram believes will be of an interest to you. This year IGTV will also be receiving a reform after pleas from users to incorporate the possibility to share landscape videos. Instagram is focusing on listening more to what it's users want, seeing an increase in popularity after having included the option to post a preview of IGTV videos in users regular feeds, later directing them to the full video if they wish to continue viewing.Following suit from it's move in 2015 allowing users to upload photos that weren’t just square, Instagram hopes that opening up a landscape option in IGTV will prove for more natural viewing and possibility for new types of content, that in turn will be more easy to view on any type of device. Some users of Instagram that really know how to reap the benefits of this globally connected platform are Influencers. Influencing is a concept that has blossomed in the last decade, these are individuals who have come into fame for doing things they love, this could include unboxing and reviews of products, tutorials, fitness or fashion to name but a few. One example of an Influencer who has successfully launched on Instagram is Huda Kattan. Originally a blogger, Kattan moved to Instagram and was a real hit with other users. In March an Article published by the New York Times questioned, “Is Huda Kattan the most influential beauty blogger in the world?” In retrospect, it only takes one look at her profile to understand why. @Hudabeautyhas over 37million followers and Instagram continues to provide her with the perfect platform for sharing her tutorials. Another thing to note is that Huda is very successful in noticing and utilizing makeup trends of the moment and reviews of newly released products that people are eager to see. As a result of her success Huda has been able to go on and create her own range of make up products. Another example is @michelle_lewin who is in the sector of fitness. Her account provides fitness tips and inspiration as well as advice on how to properly perform exercises and which parts of the body you are working.The Venezuelan model has converted in a star of the fitness world, now based in South Florida and living a life of fitness and travel. She uploads daily and provides inspiration for her followers using stories. Influencer is @muradosmann, Moscow based photographer well known for his range of #followmeto images which feature a woman photographed from behind leading the viewer through a scenic landscape. These cinematic images stir viewers to want to delve into and experience for their own the many locations and cultures pictured. And in reality this is the key that Influencers have uncovered, they live their lifestyle of showcasing and utilizing technology and advances in the use of social media they have been able to take advantage of this job of ease. In doing what they love and sharing some even receive sponsorship from companies, free products etc, in turn they are broadcasting freely and advertising the services or products. As well as influencers that share a materialist take on life, there are others like fitness experts or comedians who share their own message. Becoming a Influencer has its work behind the lens it has to be said and each of them will have their own schedules and work routines, no matter how much their sponsorship seems to fit with their lifestyle as though it were real. Having said that Influencers that gain more attention from brands etc are those who have a substantial number of followers and as this can be difficult you can always opt to buy followers for Instagram. Who knows who will be the next big name on Instagram.
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