Under the Influence

Social media influencers are generally popular or trusted online profiles of people who’s taste you share or trust.

Their job is to essentially be a living, breathing advertisement. Since traditional methods of advertising (cable TV, radio, print media) are competing with the online world, companies vying for your business are paying for the oldest method of advertising in the book: word of mouth.

Now, I don’t know if it’s because I grew up in a town of 600 people in rural Ontario but to this day, I always trust the ‘word of mouth’ method. It works both ways… if my buddy tells me they got bad service somewhere; I’ll spend my money elsewhere. If my buddy tells me they got great service somewhere; I’m gonna check it out & likely, even before checking it out, I’m gonna pass that ‘good service’ rumour on.

The thing that bothers me about online influencing is that, in my opinion, these profiles turn real people like you and me into actors expected to play a role. They are PAID to paint a product, service or brand in a positive light. For example, if Company X gives me $1,000.00 to “share my opinion” on their thing, it better be a favourable opinion. Right? That’s the rub.

There are some questionable methods about how influencers are recruited, too. Have a lot of followers? You’ll need to to get the job. However, a popular method of gaining loads of followers is to pay for them or enlist the use of bots (not real people or cloned profiles) to make it seem like you have legions of fans watching, sharing and consuming your content. This is why hired ‘Word of Mouth’ social influencers, by law, must express that they were paid for their opinion.

Lots of people in my line of work are hired as influencers and it’s not an inherently bad thing. It’s a smart way to market a product and it’s the future of advertising. How does it make you, the consumer, feel about that person? What if you try the product and had a bad experience? Who loses: you, the profile of the hired influencer but not the company who’s product YOU bought or service YOU tried because someone you' trusted told you to.

That’s the issue I am struggling with in terms of being an influencer. I don’t have to worry about it too much though as I don’t have a zillion followers. No one’s knocking at my door to shill their ‘things’. To be honest, I have more than enough people paying attention to my social profiles and this very blog (hi!)! I’m always surprised that that many of you are interested in what I have to say. Flattered, for sure, but surprised all the same. Everyone who follows me is a real person or represents an account or brand (mostly local); someone who is genuinely interested in what I have to say. I have never paid for followers. I have never participated in a ‘follow for follow’ situation. I don’t want fake followers and I don’t ever want to post something persuasive that I don’t genuinely believe in or stand behind.

The internet is not real life. I’ve been lucky enough to be granted opportunities to work with and learn from online marketing agencies and to have been shown the ins and outs of what it takes to be a Social Media Influencer (and the money to be made is pretty wild). I have only ever personally promoted things that I have typically paid for, feel strongly about sharing or positive experiences I’ve had with companies X, Y and Z that align with my interests.

I’m curious to hear about your experiences with Social Media Influencers. Here’s some feedback I’ve received through Instagram when I asked “What has your experience been with Online Influencers? Good, bad or neutral"?”

“Irritating. Fake. Buying followers and using filters.” - Kim, describing a potential consumer’s perspective.

“Good for a small burst of sales… but it doesn’t necessarily create repeat sales or long time customers… a lot of online “influencers” are ridiculous and it can be hard to choose who to work with. But if you can choose someone who authentically lines up with your brand and has the type of followers you want, then it’s worth a try for some sales.” - Caree, with a potential marketing perspective.

Leave a comment below if you have something to say on the topic of being ‘Under the Influence’.

Tom Thomson: the Great Canadian Mystery

For as long as I can remember, my dad’s been totally obsessed with Tom Thomson. As a kid, I thought this was purely based on his art and contributions towards Canada’s ‘Group of 7’ collective. I didn’t know the story and even when it was first told to me, I was like, “Oh. That's sucky." You know? I never paid it much attention.

Lately, an author has really captured my attention and now I find myself obsessed and wanting to know more. Maybe not the truth because I think that those in search of Tom Thomson’s death-related-truth may never be satisfied… but I definitely want to absorb everything that I can (within reason) about this troubled artist.

The author, Tim Bouma, masterfully tells the story (first person, sometimes second or third) of Tom’s final months on Twitter:

Canoe Lake: Residents are in collective shock. The man they knew as an artist is tied to a tree stump floating by a flooded shore.

— Tom Thomson (@TTLastSpring) July 16, 2021

Twitter is my social media go-to, so I easily became completely enamored with the @TTLastSpring account. Give it a follow if you’re interested or, better yet, buy the book ‘Tom Thomson: A Journal of My Last Spring’.

If you know of any other great Canadian mysteries to dive into or have more Tom Thomson related things to satiate my inherited interests, please get in touch!

Free Unicorn NEEDS Accessories!

Gave away a number of free toys this weekend. From my front lawn in Hintonburg, someone grabbed the singing unicorn but neglected to also grab the accessories needed to make the toy work!

Please pass this on to anyone you think might need them!! I’m going to save them in hopes of reuniting the set to make some local kid happy!

Life with an Autoimmune Disease

Hi! Just checking in with some of my new followers. I live with Rheumatoid Arthritis and have been sick for 34 years (possibly born sick? Who knows.)

I’ve been on Enbrel (biologic TNF inhibitor) for 20 years which means I’ve given myself around 1,500 needles 💉.

There’s a lot of misconception about RA out there, so in simple terms:

My body’s immune system spends its energy fighting healthy tissue (ALL bodily tissue: organs, joints, bones & blood) - the drugs tell my immune system to “calm down” and stop fighting. Immune system goes away and stops killing healthy cells. This means I do not have a proper defence against viruses or infections of any kind. If I get the common cold, it has the power to totally take over my body. A paper cut, if not treated, can be the welcome wagon to a life altering infection.

Autoimmune diseases are tough and there are many co-morbidities, shortened life expectancies and mental tolls to juggle every day.

If you’d like to learn more about autoimmune diseases or arthritis, please reach out. I’m happy to share my experiences to educate others.

Going Private on Social Media

A week or so ago I decided I’d hit the Social Media Wall. Y’know - where the quality of interactions is on the wane and you spend more time figuring out how to make your accounts so that A: people can’t find you, or B: only a select few can actually message or interact with your profile?

Yeah.

That’s where I was at.

The news is heavy - the year has been grading (at best) - and I was just finding it hard to see the forest through the trees. Especially in terms of online content consumption and investment.

In my line of work, you have to be Open and Willing to Connect with everyone, all the time. That hasn’t changed. Everyone can connect with me, or attempt to, via this Website and on Twitter.

Facebook was the first to go. Yes, I still have a Page which I use from time to time. Generally to spread awareness about something I’m passionate about. I try to keep my Page fairly empty because, in my experience, Facebook is a magnet for negative interactions which I’m no longer interested in tolerating.

Instagram is private for the time being. Maybe I’ll open it up again but maybe not. I think there’s a real crunch to Have the Most Likes and Be the Most Followed and it starts to spiral into obligations and/or heightened expectations from strangers to spread positivity or ‘influence’ others into thinking some type of way. I like to tell the truth and a lot of the time, Social Media expectations don’t really reflect that.

The observations I’ve made in ‘going private’ have been this:

• more meaningful conversations or interactions with real people and friends

• less spam, bots and targeted ads

• seeing more things on my timeline that make me happy or feel engaged

That’s what I want at this time. Take control of your social media profiles and use it in a way that works for you.