Today’s Eccentric Cocktail of Influencers
There is no fail-safe equation for reaching the upper echelons of Insta-fame. Some of the most popular social personalities have scrapped the curated, glossy aesthetic for more individual approaches. Rapidly gaining followers by dropping the act, there are many mavericks and individualists in the rising crop of internet influencers.
Amongst a scope as broad as the internet, these offbeat influencers are having no problem sighting in their niche audiences. As more and more eccentric personalities continue to show up on the scene, one thing remains clear: in today’s social media climate, weird is winning.
bootlEGG Influencer Cracks the Code
In perhaps the strangest turn of Insta-events, no longer are influencers needing to be of the human variety. Laying the eggs of anarchy, @world_record_egg hatched a plan to dethrone social media maven, Kylie Jenner. On January 4th of this year a lone, unassuming egg came onto the scene with a single post. Shouting a simple command into the Instagram void, World Record Egg invoked us all to beat “the current world record” of 18 million Instagram likes, “held by Kylie Jenner.” The success of this plan was both unexpected and overwhelming, as the post has now garnered over 53 million likes, cementing its place as the #1 liked picture in Instagram history.
The page has segued its success into a series of animated egg posts, served to their following of 8.2 million accounts. VaynerMedia values the egg’s first brand collaboration to be worth over $10 million dollars. There have also been countless copycats and similar efforts on other social platforms, as a host of perfectly-groomed social stars have tried amassing a similar success. Yet no one has been able to recreate this phenomenon. Each day as the World Record Egg and its achievements remain unscrambled, more fuel is added to the fire of the misfit influencer.
Going for Goldendoodle
On the topic of underdogs, let’s bring an actual dog into the mix. Nelson, Dallas’ most famous goldendoodle, has built a loyal following that is on the precipice of extending beyond the North Texas region. His claim to fame is yet another example of internet oddity striking it big within the hearts of followers. Nelson made waves via his spot in the sidecar of his owner’s silver Vespa. His goggle-adorned face has scored him thousands of fans across Dallas, all hoping to witness him in action as Vespa co-captain.
Nelson has been featured in D Magazine, reached 30k followers on Instagram, and even hosted his own birthday party sponsored by Mutts Cantina. His Twitter page links to BarkShop, where his personal promo code will score followers a sweet discount. It’s a resume that most human professionals would be jealous of. But is Nelson’s success aided or hindered by his canine classification?
As Instagram feeds fill to the brim with influencers pitching products and memberships, it’s easy to see the appeal of canine influencers. Nelson and other accounts that have paved the way, such as Doug the Pug and JiffPom, have mastered the art of leveraging fame without making followers feel like they are being sold to. Advertising through unassuming animals tones down the sales-centric vibe. This allows for the audience to align themselves with the pup before feeling pressure to buy promoted goods. By way of his cascading golden curls, Nelson makes the case for animal influencers as the pressure-free sales presence of the future.
Toying with New Approaches
In a daring approach for a toy company, Superplastic has raised 10 million dollars to jumpstart their trademark line of toys. These toys, however, are more than just your average Beanie Baby. Superplastic is seeking to make their star characters, “Guggimon” and “Janky,” into Instagram phenoms. Branding them as “synthetic superstars,” Superplastic hopes that the social media success of their inanimate influencers will drive sales.
This social strategy has already taken root, blooming with the success that many originally doubted. Superplastic’s Instagram now boasts 112k followers. Further evidence of their success can be seen amongst the brand’s inventory, which is heavily demarcated with the “SOLD OUT,” emblem. The brand’s most popular characters get bought up within 24 hours of launching, granting irrefutable credibility to this island of misfit toys.
Instagram Favors the Individualist
Although these accounts churn out what may seem to be trivial content, the attitude of these efforts reveals a common vein running through the internet-savvy population. We still inherently root for the underdog.
Social media has been a massive force in today’s market. Whether that force is for good or for evil is still up for debate. Yet the access it provides is unmatched. The enablement of instant, personalized posts has given us the ability to share more about our lives (or eggs) than ever before. When it comes to creating content, highly-curated, strictly corporate messaging is no longer a sure-fire way to reach audiences. The army of offbeat influencers varies greatly from one account to the next, yet together they assemble a force that proves the effectiveness of personalized marketing, built to target every possible niche consumers might fit in.
The battle lines have been drawn. Now it’s time to make way for the Infantry of Influencers.