“Social media is all about peer to peer recommendations,” explains Karen Ackerman a digital media consultant who trains people how to use social media. “People listen to their friends and will buy something or use a service because a friend recommends it. Influencers are just an extension of that, young people who are looked up to and regarded as ‘friends’ by millions of young followers.
“If a brand is trying to connect to a young audience they need other young people to recommend, and talk about their brand. If they can find young influencers whom other young people listen to with a large following that’s gold dust to them.”
Scollan, is now one of those influencers. It started out small. Arriving home from school each afternoon, she would head up to her bedroom and lay out her lipsticks, eye liners and shadows and post her images on Instagram. “At that time Instagram wasn’t so big, I just wanted to share my opinion,” recalls Scollan. “I was having fun with the photography and styling. Then I started making videos and tutorials using the products. These were shared on Facebook and one of them got 13 million views.”
Brands took notice quickly. One evening Scollan posted a video using Superdrug products, she woke up to find herself on the homepage of the company’s website. Parcels started arriving every day. “Companies reach out to influencers to pass their message,” explains Scollan. “There’s no obligation to post, but if I’m willing to post their product they will pay me. I wasn’t expecting this attention from cosmetic companies.”
Scollan admits that her fast growing fame can be overwhelming at times. It is widely acknowledged that Instagram, and social media, may be contributing to the increase in teenage mental health issues, with its glossy, filtered images and snapshots of seemingly perfect lives. But for her, the positives outweigh the negatives.
“I like to inspire people,” she says. “I use unusual make up techniques that people notice. I interact with my followers, to show my appreciation.”
You don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of followers to count as an influencers. In fact sometimes companies prefer ‘niche’ accounts, judging that they will be seen as more authentic by consumers. That may be why Sammi Manoff, 17, is approached by restaurants which have spotted her Instagram account @sweetcravings_x.
Manoff has fewer than 3,000 followers for her pictures of sweets and desserts: towering, creamy knickerbocker glories, many layered chocolate cakes, iced gingerbread. She’s studying for her A levels at Kantor King Solomon High School Barkingside. Fascinated by the mechanism of consumer marketing, she and a friend created an Instagram site based solely on the colour blue. “We wanted to see whether something totally random could attract people. We got 1,000 followers! It helped me to understand the power of social media, and inspired me to launch @sweetcravings_x.”
Manoff loves food, “Everything I do is about food. I enjoy cooking and I help my mum with Friday night dinner. But mainly I like desserts. My favourite is a classic chocolate cake. But I would rather eat than cook.” Her recent post from a Tel Aviv ice cream parlour resulted in an invitation from a similar establishment in London to sample and post their desserts.
She believes Instagram works for young people used to having everything “now”, it provides an immediate, visual high . And also, she says her generation are essentially nosy. “Young people love to glimpse what others are doing in their lives. I post images of my home-made desserts, delicacies from The Ivy, or from my holidays. I have some regular followers who comment on every post, saying, ‘keep up the great feed’.”
Exposing your life on Instagram may seem daunting to some but Manoff feels it adds a new dimension to her life and is a way to express herself. “I can be myself on my site and do what I enjoy. Whatever goes on in my life, there will be someone who can relate to it. It feels good to impact people’s lives like this.”
She plans to study marketing at university, “Lately I have been visiting different universities. I speak to lecturers about @sweetcravings_x and most of them find it really cool. One was already a follower! It gave me a real boost.”
For Josh Horus, 17, social media is a way to showcase his passion for magic, and build his career as a magician. He has more than 51,000 followers on his Facebook page, and regularly scores similar numbers of views for his videos. Horus balances his A level studies at JCoss with regular magician gigs at barmitzvahs and corporate events.
Horus is full of drive and ambition. “I really don’t have enough time in the day to do everything!” he exclaims. “My dad brought me up to love sport- tennis, golf, surfing. He instilled a certain discipline in me. I have competed in the tennis three times at the Maccabiah Games and in New York last year I won a silver medal.
“I used to get up half an hour early and cycle to school with my dad. Everything we did was practical. We would put up a plank of mdf and play table tennis and I would practice, practice, practice. On an aeroplane we would spend hours fiddling with plastic plates from the meal making things. This is how I got into hobbies; first yoyo, then origami and juggling and now magic which I take very seriously.”
Horus films Facebook videos of his magic tricks on the streets of London. “Whenever I go out and film, it’s like oxygen for me. It feels amazing. I have discovered a new side to myself and gained confidence.”
Initially viewings on Facebook were modest and then one received eight million viewings in two days as it had been shared by a celebrity. Now they regularly get more than 40,000 views.
His dream is to be a professional magician. “I really want to make something out of this. My parents know I put 100% into everything and they are behind me on this.”
www.facebook.com/JoshHorus
@simplyyykatie
@sweetcravings_x
It’s a world in which teenagers can make their mark more easily than many adults. As their peers are big users of social media, young influencers are wooed with free products and offers, just to post pictures on their feeds.
