A true social media influencer takes what they do seriously and engages with everyone and everything anywhere. This means social media influencers have to have both online and offline social skills.
Not only do they need to know how to tell a story and engage with everything online they also need to know how to talk, tell stories and carry on a conversation offline.
Trust Factor Building
The same image a social influencer produces on-line needs to be amplified offline. This means they need to talk better and carry on conversations with ease when they or offline. Building trust with the people, places and things on-line carry over to offline events social media influencers attend….and they need to attend offline events to build trust with the people they influence.
Last month I went to a local event. There were three social media influencers attended who I know online but never met offline.
I was surprised how one of the more popular social influencers looked and acted nothing like their online presence. They seemed to gravitate to the door or hanging outside the room with two other people all focused on their mobile device, not being social at all. The influencer was dressed more down than the occasion called for and nothing like they appear online.
I also noticed the other people who came up to them to introduce themselves were pushed off by either the influencer or one of the others in the entourage would engage with them instead.
It was easy to see by their body language they were not comfortable in real life social events. Even though their posts to their digital footprint showed headshot selfie photos appearing to be having a lot of fun, it was clear to anyone standing around them they were not…it appeared to be an act.
Meanwhile, the other two social media influencers were the exact opposite. One of the online stars even searched me out and we had a very nice conversation. The online celebrity was circling the room like they had a dance card and wanted to talk to everyone. Both influencers were fashionably dressed up for the event which actually was better than their more casual online image. It was obvious it was paying off for them.
It was clear the two, more socially adapted, social media influencers truly influenced a lot of people from how they enjoyed being around real people…which is what their sponsors and online followers expect. For the social media influencer who was not social in real life, I am sure I am not alone in questioning why they are so influential online but not offline.
Which of these influencers are you going to trust in influencing you in how you think or what you do?
Top Influencers are NOT
There are way too many social influencers listed in articles titled the Top 10 Best Social Media Influencers who really are not. Many of them know the buttons to push online and hire tons of people to write about them to prop them up as a social influencer online. Whereas there are many other people online who are much more of an influence over a much larger number of real people both online and offline.
The difference being, the more social Influencers know the importance of building trust and are truly more social both online and offline. Too many of the online social influencers being promoted as Top Social Media Influencers are considered Top Influencers from the image they only have online which, like a video or movie, can be manipulated in many ways.
A true social media influencers have to be social both online and office.
Let me know how I can help!
