How To Show Up For Your Community As An Influencer

There’s a lot more influencers can do than persuade you to buy something.

I got a message from a follower saying how they recently unfollowed a lot of influencers because of two things: 1. Mental health and 2. Their wallet.

Naturally, it REALLY got me thinking. Like holy crap. Well, I was, at first, really flattered that I made the cut. And then I thought about how many other people feel this way. Myself included.

be more than a pretty picture

Back in 2012, it was pretty cool to not put any effort into your Instagram feed or captions. We posted whatever, whenever, and didn’t really think much of it. Now social media and blogging is a completely different game. For a while, we were working towards the “perfect feed”. Whether it was a consistent theme, only posting certain types of photos, or whatever…there was definitely pressure to make things picture perfect. While there are people I absolutely ADORE

Now, I think most people see right through some people on Instagram. No one wants that cookie cutter perfection. I mean, I don’t. I stopped following people who have those kinds of feeds with absolutely nothing behind the photos.

offer more than a link

I think we’re all aware that influencers make commission when they post links. Many influencers make their entire living off of commission. Which is really cool and all, but for me, that’s not what I’m looking to do with my platform. I feel like I sound like a broken record at this point, but I can’t stress how important it is for me to be more than just someone who sends a lot of links to their followers. I mean, of course, linking what I’m wearing or things I use play a huge role in my business.

When I link things, I like showing pieces that I truly LOVE, whether I just bought them or have had them in my closet (and then link similar pieces). I like sharing WHY I love like them. I like sharing HOW they fit my body type (5’2, small waist, wider hips). I also love just trying to show my personality on Instagram and Instagram Stories (and even through my writing here). I talk to you guys how I talk to my friends (although some of them beg to differ LOL). It’s been so much fun just being myself on Instagram and seeing how amazing the response has been! I feel like I’ve gotten so much closer with you guys!

use your platform

In 2020, I realized it was more important for me to speak up instead of posting surface level things. I started speaking out about things like injustice and how I actually never voted before (you bet your ass I’m voting this year). I realized I needed to have (often hard) conversations with people who followed me. I realized I didn’t want to be part of the problem anymore. It’s also very interesting to see who chose to use their platforms and who didn’t. I’m not saying everyone needs to go around preaching their values and/or beliefs. But I did gain a lot of respect for people who chose to not remain silent.