Who are the New Influentials?

More and more social media tools are breaking the surface, and thanks to these developments more people online are exerting a new kind of influence. Called by social media analysts as the New influentials, their popularity in every nook and cranny of the Web has caught the attention of marketers as well.  They now target this group of buzz makers to become the extension of their marketing campaigns using their tremendous influence within their own audience.

Take for instance Justine Ezarik, the celebrity behind iJustine, who was recently tapped by GE to work on their project titled Healthymagination, which to this day has more than 11 million views. Fast Company launched an online experiment recently on its website called The Influence Project, and Ezarik topped the results for recruiting 15% of the project’s 33,000 participants. Another notable online celebrity who’s helped propel a brand is Gary Vaynerchuk of the famous WineLibraryTV, who, by the way has even landed a guest appearance on Conan O’Brien, and Jonah Peretti of Buzzfeed.

Even people like me with smaller audiences than those two are able to attract brands.  I’ve had companies sponsor my videos with product placement and/or giveaways so they can tap into my audience of regular viewers who know, like, and trust me.  It just makes sense because as I’m sure you can imagine, I’m a lot more influential on my subscribers than a brand would be with their own commercial.

It does take a lot of effort for these people to have made it online, but the thing about it is, anyone can do it.  If you have an account in any social media site—Facebook, Twitter, Myspace—and a network of friends then you’re off to a great start. Just make sure to keep these things in mind: know your audience, have a good eye on recurring trends, choose subjects that are well within your interests, and take part in discussions. You’ll be surprised at how high your status could shoot up.  And then of course, start a YouTube channel and regularly make videos – that’s the best medium for becoming a top followed influencial!

—

YouTube Comment of the Day:

rainbow2sexxy has made a comment on Are you gay?:
jaja makes me laugh how people care if he is gay or not helloooooooo his vids are awasome who cares if he is or not!!!! he is like one of the funiest ppl aliveee !!! joshh keep up the good work i really enjoy your videoss!!! and just for fun im gayyyyyyy!!! jajaj xD