Influencer or Influenced, Which Are You?

Social media undoubtedly has become a part of our daily lives. It alters the way we live, in ways that have a real impact on society. In this day of age, it is hard to think of someone that doesn't have a social media account. Even my grandmother who is 76 year old, is on social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkend. So does myself! Based on my Iphone Screen report, I spend at least 3.5 hour/day on social media channels. I’m a business owner, so for each social media platform I have two accounts, a personal and a business: two Facebook, two Twitter and two Instagram accounts.

In my personal account, I consider myself an information follower of what others share to see what is going on in the world. In my business accounts, I’m more of an opinion leader sharing new trends with my customers. I look through a lot of memes, quirky images and trending pics on instagram. I search trending hashtags on twitter and news and heartfelt stories on Facebook. After that, I use the information I gather to post on my business page to keep up with trends and motivate people to buy my products. 

To give an example, one of my social media accounts has become an influencer to others. I have an instagram account, Po_Dachshund that has about 3000 followers. It mainly follows my dog’s life. I post all activities that he does each day: brushing his teeth, taking bath, going to the park, etc. He has become famous in the dachshund world. There were dog toy companies, dog clothes and dog toothpaste companies contacting us to have him use their products on Po’s instagram account. His fans would direct message us and ask where to buy products as soon as I post it. Not to mention, these fans are all over the world. When he was sick, many sent well wishes and expressed that they are also sad to see him not well. I’m surprised that he has so much impact on those who follow him on social media.

Social media has given us such an enormous power to reach audiences everywhere in the world. It can be both ways positive and negative. On the positive side, you feel  close to others without ever seeing them. If you choose to post positive information widely it can affect someone's life in a good way. On the other hand, it can invade your privacy, people just persistently asking for more content. It can be very addictive, if we don’t know when to stop.

After all, we don’t need to be validated by using social media whether you are a follower or an influencer.