The Art of the Influence

Abstract

The Art of the Influence is a case study on social media influencing and how to market yourself online. Through this project I will attempt to market myself as a social media influencer on Instagram, using design and marketing skills to build a brand for myself. This will be an experimental journey to discover the necessary tools needed to be a social media influencer and content creator in today’s society. I will be looking at this project with both a design and marketing lens by applying knowledge and skills that I have developed through my studies to amass a social media following. 

Introduction

Our senior thesis class has been continuously reading the book, Designing Your Life, which has inspired us to reinvent our thinking about our future and subsequent plans. The chapter entitled, “Design Your Life”, asked us to come up with three “Odyssey plans” which are alternatives to our current envisioned endeavors. The last of the three Odyssey plans asked us to develop an alternative life where we can live carefree of what others think of us and our own self-image. It was enlightening to think of all the different lives I could possibly live if what others think did not possess some kind of influence over my decisions and life choices.

I wrote that I would consider being a fitness content creator if there were no pressure coming from outside sources. In fact, over this past summer I created a health and fitness Instagram page that I never wound up doing anything with. It was not necessarily the negative feedback from others that I was afraid of, but more my lack of knowledge and resources needed in order to grow the account. However, I believe this would be an intriguing concept to explore for my senior thesis project where I can put my already developed design skills and my knowledge of social media marketing to the test. These skills would be crucial throughout the process in order to build my Instagram account to create a brand for myself online. Ultimately, this would be a unique challenge that would provide me insight into the new and up-incoming world of micro-influencing and content creation. Through such a journey, I would be able to learn the skills, tools, strategies, and personal characteristics that would be needed to build a self-made brand and online following.

Historical Context

The term “influencer” was added to the English dictionary in 2019 which had been long overdue because influencer marketing is far from a new concept. When it comes to the brands and products that we know and love, we learn closely from the experiences of those that we trust such as family and friends. Aside from this word-of-mouth influence, we often turn to the opinions of aspirational figures to inspire us on what to buy. According to Social Media Today, the first noted “influencer” collaboration dates back to 1760, when a, “…potter by the name Wedgwood made a tea set for the Queen of England” (Brooks, 2019). The monarchy was one of, if not, the most important families of this time, therefore, Wedgwood’s company became the first royal-approved brand on the market, which is still enjoyed today. Wedgewood’s inventive thinking in exploiting the monarchy’s influence afforded his business with luxury status and unmatched brand awareness. 

(A Brief History of Influence timeline, Source: socialmediatoday.com)

Influencer marketing has changed in many ways since the 1760s, however, the most current and distinguished development is the impact of social media. Social media platforms now allow anyone to amass a following, where they can share their recommendations almost instantaneously with the rest of the world. This has translated into a multi-billion-dollar industry where influencers collaborate with brands to promote their products and services online through social media content. Today, influencers have the power to sell directly over platforms like Instagram through online tools like shoppable tags. Overall, social media has expanded the existence of influencer marketing, giving people across the globe the opportunity to build a brand for themselves online. Now, you don’t have to be the Queen of England to be an aspirational figure, all you need is a social media account. 

Leaders in the Field

There are several different types of leaders in the social media influencing field that have inspired my project. For instance, health and fitness video content creator, Stephanie Buttermore, has been a role model for how I want to speak to, and connect with, my intended audience. Buttermore was a competitive bodybuilder who had an extreme passion for food. Her intense and constant hunger forced her to forgo her competitive fitness lifestyle in order to take better care of her overall health. Her “all in” fitness journey has been really inspiring to watch online as Stephanie journals and copes with weight gain, stigma, and mental health. Buttermore is very real and relatable on her social media accounts, providing a true representation of the struggles many women face in maintaining a body-positive and healthy lifestyle. What I would like to take away from Stephanie Buttermore’s approach toward social media influencing is her authenticity. It is easy to stretch reality and perfect the truth using editing tools and software; however, I want to keep my content as unique to me as possible.

Another leader in the social media influencing field that has inspired my project would be Courtney Allen, a mom from Texas who runs a Keto maintenance Instagram blog with over 75,000 followers. Allen’s platform is a food journal documenting her over 150lbs. weight loss journey on the Keto diet. Her content is simple, posting easy food recipes that almost anyone can follow. Her content is not overly edited, and she is not sponsored by big-name food brands. Although my content will not focus specifically on food, I would like it to be something I touch upon on my account. Allen’s Instagram has shown me that you do not need to make your content look fancy in order for people to enjoy it.

Lastly, Instagram content creators, Kendra and Kathryn, are fitness influencers with almost 1 million followers online. Both sisters are fitness models for the popular athletic apparel brand, Gymshark, who often post sponsored content on their platform. I have learned a lot about how paid promotions work on Instagram through following their account. Specifically, a lot of their content is created for the intent of advertising products for fitness related brands. I have gained a lot of knowledge on how to make eye-catching and original content that does not naturally come off as an advertisement from following them online. My hope is to use similar tactics in order to accommodate the needs of micro-brands through my project.

Industry Events

In researching my senior thesis topic, I decided to locate online groups for current or aspiring Instagram influencers. These communities were designed to assist individuals in learning and sharing social media tips for success in the online world of micro-marketing. I came across several Facebook groups created for social media influencers as a means of communicating ideas, asking questions, and breaching current topics. In joining these Facebook groups, I realized that many required zero experience or knowledge on the topic in order to become a member. For example, the group entitled, “Instagram Influencer Squad”, was established by Lucy Gasparyan, a micro-influencer and internet blogger, who has created an email-subscription based service that provides advice on how to grow your personal brand online.

I was able to establish many insightful, new leads while rummaging through the posts on these Facebook groups. Many of the posts that could be found on these pages were influencers asking advice on how to grow their followership, engagement, and reach. For example, below is a screenshot of a post made by a newly started Instagram influencer looking to grow her platform. 

(Screenshot from the Instagram Influencer Facebook Group)

Many of the comments left by fellow influencers were useful in suggesting other Facebook groups to join for more advice and applications to use as tools to improve social media management. For example, one member suggested utilizing the app LIKEtoKNOW.it which was designed to be an easy way for followers to shop for clothing styled by influencers. This can be used to enlist promotions and attend to follower interests within specific online niches. In addition, to track more intuitive and advanced profile statistics, many members suggested using Instagram Creator Studio, a service which provides analytic tools needed to effectively post, manage, monetize, and measure content across Instagram accounts. This service also helps you take advantage of new features and monetization opportunities your account may be eligible for. 

Furthermore, many posts involved advice for gaining and maintaining the use of paid promotions. In fact, many small brands are members of these Facebook groups and use these pages as a way to find micro-influencers to collaborate with to promote their products. For example, the screenshot below is a post made by the brand, Eko Beach Life, who was recently looking for social media influencers to promote their new eco-friendly swimwear line through the creation of an Instagram post and story in exchange for free products. 

(Screenshot of paid promotion from the Instagram Influencer Facebook Group)

In reading this post and several others, I realized that paid promotion can be difficult to obtain through micro-marketing. Many influencers use their platforms to promote brands and products in exchange for other valuables such as free products and services. Many collaborations involve brands sending products to influencers for them to try and show on their social media accounts which brings them positive publicity and a broadened reach. This relates to another important aspect that I learned through joining social media influencer communities which was that influencers often have to advertise themselves to small brands. This is done through the creation of something called a media kit. For instance, below is an example of a media kit created by a member of one of the social media influencer communities that I joined.

(Influencer Media Kit from the Instagram Influencer Facebook Group)

Many influencers post their media kits to these groups to get revisions and advice on how to improve and design them. These media kits act similarly to resumes and are one-page infographics that positively promote a social media account to a small company. Many include elements such as example posts, a short bio, contact information and important profile statistics.

Prototype

Materials list

–          Camera (iPhone 11 and/or an actual camera)

–          Ring light

–          Fitness apparel (leggings, sneakers, etc.)

Software:

o   Adobe Photoshop

o   Creator Studio

Applications:

o   Adobe Lightroom

o   Unum

o   Snapseed

o   Retouch

o   In shot

Budget

My total budget is around $500. This money would be set aside for any equipment I find necessary throughout this process such as a camera or any other related items such as lighting and a camera stand. This money would also be for buying fitness related items or clothing that I feel would be useful to promote or showcase through my photography. This would include items like leggings, sneakers, mats, dumbbells, etc.

Timeline

Now – mid November: I will mainly use this time to experiment with how I want the Instagram account to look (mood, atmosphere, style) and the niche I would like to cater to (fitness, lifestyle, food, health). This time would also be used to research any information I would need to help better equip myself for growing my brand. I want to learn about all the software and mobile applications I can use, and how to expand my reach.

December – the beginning of Winter Break: This will be the first implementation stage of my Senior Thesis project where I will start posting to my Instagram account and actively try to network and create content. This time will be used to create my sizzle video, finish my proposal, and develop preliminary content to share at AIMM After Dark which should highlight the direction I want to take with my project moving forward. 

Winter Break: This time will be used for content creation and to perfect the direction I want to take for my Instagram account. I want this time to be experimental with photo editing and strategic intent. I want to learn what works and what does not in order to amass a following and improve engagement and interactivity with my platform. I will mainly use this spare time to create content to be posted later on throughout the Spring semester.

Early Spring Semester: This time will be used to perfect strategic initiatives taken to amass a following. This would also be the first steps toward collaborating with other Instagram accounts and establishing relationships with micro-brands. I will reach out to small companies who might be interested in collaborating with me to promote their products. This would be the time I create my media kit and actively search for brands that are comparative to my platform and following.

End of Spring Semester: This time will be used to continue collaborating with others and actively searching for opportunities for paid promotions or paid sponsorships. I would actively be working toward perfecting engagement and interactivity on my platform. In addition, I would also take this time to prepare for the Senior Showcase and create content, presentation materials, and other related information for this event. 

Initial Prototypes

(Screenshots of Prototype in Adobe Lightroom)

I began to practice photo editing and image retouching by experimenting in Adobe Lightroom. This app allowed me to play with color correction and other retouching capabilities which assisted me in establishing elements like mood, lighting, theme, and atmosphere. Each of these elements will need to be consistent throughout my content moving forward. Through this experimentation, I played with the lighting and color mixing to make brighter and more vibrant fall colors. I did so by brightening the whites, deepening the blacks, and individually correcting each color within the image. I then saved my changes to a preset, so I can reuse the same settings again in future content to maintain consistency. 

(Screenshots of Prototype in Snapseed)

Through my research I learned that many influencers and content creators use the mobile photo editing app, Snapseed. I experimented with this app by using its spot healing capabilities. Instead of bringing my picture into Photoshop to get rid of unwanted imagery, I used this app instead to do this quickly and seamlessly on my phone. Snapseed’s healing tool allowed me to get rid of the lights in the bottom left corner of my photo by simply tracing over them with my finger. This deleted the imagery and covered the space with surrounding details. The image now looks as if the lights were never there.  

(Screenshots of Instagram content creation)

I then posted my created image to my Instagram account and began experimenting with Instagram stories. I decided to create a story theme for food where I posted healthy meals that I made for myself along with how I made them. I categorized these stories under a highlight entitled “food”. I used these stories as a way of familiarizing myself with Instagram story-making tools that are currently available on the app such as filters, effects, images, fonts, and colors. This will help me better determine what features I want to utilize in my content moving forward.