Influencing Others: Social Media’s Impact
Influencing Others: Social Media’s Impact
Social media has become an integral part of our lives. With billions of users across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more, social media has changed the way we communicate, get our news, and even shop. One significant impact that social media has had is on influencing others. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have allowed regular people to amass large followings and leverage that to promote products, share ideas, or cause change.
1. The Rise of Influencers
A new category of celebrity has emerged from social media called influencers. Influencers are people who have built up dedicated followers and audiences around their persona on social media platforms. Beauty bloggers, travel vloggers, fitness trainers – there is an influencer for almost every niche. Brands have realized the marketing potential of influencers that have strong connections with their audience. Influencer Marketing Hub estimates the industry was worth $13.8 billion in 2021 alone. Top influencers can earn anywhere from $10,000 for a single social media post.
2. Thought Leadership & Movements
Beyond pure commercial interests, social media has also enabled the emergence of thought leaders who shape opinions, champion causes, and mobilize people towards change. Public figures and subject matter experts in areas like racial justice, climate change, and more have managed to grow significant followings from their social media presence alone. Their leadership steering public discourse results in changed minds, donations, and activism in the real world.
3. The Bandwagon Effect
Social media exacerbates what psychologists call the “bandwagon effect” – the tendency of people to think and act in alignment with the people around them. On social media, ideas, memes, content, and products can quickly gain momentum as more users see others engaging with them. Strategic uses of influencers supplements this network effect further. This herd mentality is why viral social media campaigns can result in 100 million views or why products featured on YouTube hauls experience a temporary surge in sales.
4. FOMO Marketing
The innate human desire to join trends and fear of missing out (FOMO) is another psychological trigger strategically used on social media to influence people. Limited edition product drops announced on Twitter, spectacular vacation photos on Instagram, and TikTok videos showing the latest viral drink or dance move all tap into FOMO. The feeling of exclusion and urge to participate drives user engagement and sales.
5. Staying Critical
However, it is also important that social media users retain their critical thinking abilities and not believe everything they see online. Influencers may exaggerate or hide unsavory realities if it interferes with their aspirational personal branding. Thought leaders can sometimes be too ideological. Virality does not always signify quality or truth. With more awareness, social media users can enjoy the perks while also mitigating cons like misinformation and predatory marketing practices.
Relevant SaaS Products
- Hootsuite is a popular social media management platform that helps brands and marketers streamline publishing and analytics across social channels.
- Iconosquare provides Instagram analytics and planning tools tailored towards influencers and creators themselves looking to grow their account.
- Splash is a white label platform for managing influencer campaigns from discovery to tracking impressions and sales.
- HypeAuditor analyzes Instagram accounts to detect fake followers and provide influencer marketing fraud protection.
- Julius leverages AI to generate authentic sounding messages and content for consistent social media engagement.
Unlock Deals and Take Control with Subscribed.fyi
At Subscribed.fyi, we provide all freelancers, agencies, and teams the ideal platform to understand, compare, and manage SaaS tools – including social media related services.
Unlock member-only deals on 100+ top products, saving $100,000+ per year. Our secret deals provide exclusive discounts and extended free trials. You get to try tools longer and pay less for the services you end up sticking with – whether its social media tools or other categories.
Sign up today to take control of your subscriptions!
