How to explain “internet clout” to your grandparents
The explanation nobody asked for...
*To all the grandparent readers I have, close your ears for this one, unless you want a sneak peek at your Thanksgiving conversation topic.
*In the context of this blog, internet clout means popularity on a digital platform (Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, etc.). If you have a large following on these platforms, you’ve got internet clout.
Turkey Day Shenanigans
With Turkey Day right around the corner, I can hardly contain my excitement for the interesting and confusing conversations we are about to embark on with our family and friends as we gulp down the yams and gravy. If there comes a time where the older generations corner you into an interrogation, sorry, conversation, about what you are doing with your life or when the grandkids are coming, have no fear, I’ve got an alternative topic of conversation you can leverage: explaining the power of the “internet clout” to your grandparents.
Now, while this might not be the most important topic of conversation at the dinner table, imagine the good we could do if we can get the older generations to understand the rise of Tik Tok influencers and how “internet clout” creates real-world value for these folks. Additionally, if you work in influencer marketing or anywhere in the social media world it could help to validate how the work you do is valuable. And isn’t that what we are all seeking, validation from distant relatives.
Rocking Chairs
My intuition says that if you showed any of your lovely grandparents a video of Charli D’Amelio dancing in her house and then went on to explain that these sorts of videos have earned her 100 million followers and millions of dollars, they might just fall out of their rocking chairs.
“Why in the hell would I watch this girl hit the “woah” in her pajamas and how the hell are they making all this money?”
Great questions grandma! Now let’s get into it.
Establishing Trust
People are fascinated by other people’s lives. It’s a fact. It’s why reality TV works. It’s why everybody always knows who Pete Davidson is dating. Humans fascinate humans. We like hearing about their problems. We like the drama, the ups the downs, the stories, etc. The more people share, the more their followers trust them. So when people open up their lives on social media, it can create a compelling narrative that people want to be a part of. You come for the dance moves but stay for the story. The story of an overnight sensation. The story of a star in the making. Once a large enough group of people are following along this story, you begin to develop “influence.” These people trust you and are now susceptible to being influenced by your messages and persuaded to buy things you promote. With great influence, comes great responsibility.
Amplifying Reach Through Social Media
Back in the day if you had a message to spread, something for people to identify with, you’d have to go speak in city centers, write a book, or send a letter by owl. But these days, it’s almost too easy to put your message out there. The barrier to entry is near zero and anybody with an internet connection can start preaching anything they want.
To exemplify the relative ease of earning an audience in today’s digital climate let’s compare two media giants: The New York Times and Charli D’Amelio (a 17-year-old Tik Toker). In 2020, The New York Times, which has been around for 170 years, had about 100 million registered users. It took them 170 years and generations of talented writers and editors to grow that audience. Also in 2020, Charli D’Amelio passed 100 million followers. She had been on Tik Tok for less than 2 years and was able to build her massive following from the comfort of her own home and with no employees. This is the power of social media.
Leveraging the Audience to Monetize
Once an influencer gains a massive following, how does that translate into moolah ($$$)? There are many ways for them to monetize, but two of the most common ones are: selling their audience’s attention to advertisers OR creating and selling their own branded products or services. By offering products or services that they have either created or put their stamp of approval on they can generate millions in sales to their audiences who trust them dearly. It’s all a numbers game. If you are blasting out these promotions to 100 million people at a time, and only .001% of people convert, that is still 10,000 sales. You can start to see how this could become quite lucrative. It’s like QVC on steroids.
Wrap Up
The influencer marketing industry is a $13.8 billion industry. We have seen agencies, media companies, software tools, and more all created to capture some of the value surrounding these influencers. “Internet clout” is real and these teenagers are making more money than all of us. Awesome!
Hopefully, this has been an interesting little breakdown into how these influencers are creating real value in the world. I know this article is a little different than my usual, but I’m currently experimenting with a lot of different topics and formats to see what my readers like best.
To that end, it would be awesome to get some feedback from you all! If you’ve made it this far, would you mind answering these few questions:
Are you interested in business topics?
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Are you interested in mental models/breakdowns of how I think about things?
Are you interested in finance?
Are you interested in the future?
How old are you?
What time of day do you read my blogs typically?
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If you don’t hear from me before Thanksgiving, I hope you all have a great holiday! Thanks again for reading!
Until next time,
Flickman