When Taste-Making Comes from the Guy Next Door

Quick… name someone whose opinion you trust when purchasing a new item. More than likely, that person is not someone you know directly, but rather a social influencer whose taste you like. You probably follow their Instagram posts, check out their Snaps, listen to their podcast, follow them on Twitter, or watch their YouTube videos. The best part… they seem to be always accessible to you, and always exposing you to something new. Cool!

Welcome to the era of the taste-making influencer, where personal fame has taken on a whole new level of value. Those ever-popular social influencers are becoming more and more ubiquitous. And brands can benefit greatly by understanding who they are.

Who would have thought that posting a “look of the day,” or casually mentioning a favorite shaving cream, or talking about an airline experience, or about the food at a hole in the wall restaurant, would lead to not only influence but authority. It’s something to be able to make people aware of an idea. It’s something else entirely to motivate people to do something about that idea. That’s what taste-making influencers do.

It starts with leveraging access to credible information to generate authority. People trust them because they have an inside track even though they are just like us. And when they use their social media megaphone to broadcast their opinions and recommendations, they have a passion and commitment that’s hard to resist… triggering actions and responses. This is the formula behind their power.

At the top of the pecking order are the uber influencers, that handful of individuals who count millions among their devoted followers. One post from them can cause an item to sell out, an event to be flooded, a boycott to get traction, or a trend to be born. They can help a brand scale reach and engagement with a new product, flavor, service offering or branch location. They’re gonna cost you, but what they drive during a limited time will blow your socks off. They’ll look for lots of autonomy, so the key is to make sure you develop a true partnership right from the beginning.

Next up are the rising stars. Hundreds of thousands follow their ebbs and flows, maybe even single digit millions. These folks are churning away on regular content updates… multiple posts a week, varied content per channel. Most of the these folks are just starting to be self-supported through their content journeys too (endorsements, sponsored content, invites to trial new products), meaning they have more time to dedicate to a partnership. If they find their unique voice, they’ll catapult to the next rung. More than likely their stars will burn for a while and then fade out. Catch them while you can. Not everyone can become an uber influencer. As a marketer, follow your gut to uncover that unique creator and help propel them to the next level. They tend to be highly devoted and grateful for the leg up. Think of it as a truncated long-game. Can you help create the next uber influencer?

The most pervasive of the taste-making influencers are the social grinders. They command hundreds of thousands of followers, and they work very hard to keep them happy and engaged: they comment back on posts, they re-tweet, post personalized messages, like their follower’s content, do “following sprees.” And they love to create. They’re always hungry to do more. They understand what it means to put the work in. To the world at large they may not be known, and that’s okay. We need these folks and their supporters. They are the loyal working force that lift up brand messages, that promote new campaigns, that bring awareness to new opportunities, usually at a reasonable cost.
The influence of socially connected individuals has never been more critical for brand success. No other source of recommendation is as trusted by its active users. Look around, the next taste-making influencer might be sitting right beside you.