I am sure that at some point during the quarantine many of us have found ourselves mindlessly scrolling through our social media feeds, yearning to live the lifestyle of the various influencers cluttering our feed. Within this stream of intriguing images, we catch a glimpse into the seemingly perfect lives of these so-called influencers. Influencers come in a range of different types, from established celebrities (i.e. musicians, actors, athletes) to everyday people who have developed a substantial following based off of the content they post. 

  While most influencers did not create their social media accounts for the sole purpose of becoming social media famous, oftentimes through various formats, they are able to turn social media into a full-time career. One of the many ways influencers are able to earn income off of their posts is by becoming a brand ambassador. Living in the digital age, many companies will oftentimes seek out young people with an online following to promote their products across a multitude of social media platforms. Ambassadorship is most often practiced by small businesses and targets influencers with a smaller following for a lengthy sponsorship (typically lasting for a few months or years at a time). Larger companies and businesses tend to create sponsored posts and seek out influencers with a larger following to promote the products. This can most commonly be seen by companies such as Audible, Sugar Bear Hair, or Function of Beauty, in which they ship their products directly to the influencers and pay them in order to increase revenue from their products. 

  Even though releasing sponsored content from other companies may be a significant aspect in the average income of an influencer, a majority of their success comes from having a large following. The main job of an influencer is to release content that will captivate their followers and grow their following while doing so. Many influencers chose to infiltrate a theme across their social media account, and include many unique touches to allow their account to stand out above other influencers. Junior Ellie Stiller said, “My favorite influencer is probably Selena Gomez because she promotes self confidence in girls and has her own charitable cause against human trafficking. I also like how she has a personal touch to her Instagram, that gives her followers a more inside look into her private life without revealing too many personal details.” 

  An influencer can reach their full potential and social media earnings by becoming verified. This can be symbolized by a small blue check mark appearing next to the user’s name across their social media accounts. The verification badge serves the purpose of helping other users find celebrities, public figures, and brands. The badge also helps guide users into ensuring that the account is an authentic public figure, rather than someone else pretending to be this person. 

  Whether you frequently keep up with the lives of social media influencers or only occasionally see an influencer’s image pop up in your feed, the role of the influencer has truly changed social media. Influencer marketing has taken both the business and social media world by storm. The business is rapidly expanding each year and has truly made an impact in the world of marketing and the way we share information with each other.