Influencers or under the influence?

On most evenings, Felicity Kawira, a school administrator, snuggles under the cover with her phone, the screen dimmed so her children won’t see as she scrolls on various social media platforms.

She hops from one platform to another, not necessarily in search of anything in particular, but spends a substantial amount of time watching videos on Christmas décor, interior designing and washing machines, a household appliance that she intends to buy before the end of the year.

“There are many options to choose from and each brand has an influencer swearing by it. It has been difficult to make a decision,” said the mother of three. The brands are marketed by individuals in the spotlight and she religiously follows all of them.

Not so long ago, advertisements were restricted to certain mediums such as newspapers, billboards, radio and television channels. It is only if you decided to watch TV or read the newspaper that you are exposed to an advert.

But with the rise of social media and smartphone penetration levels at 53.4 percent according to a 2021 data by the Communications Authority of Kenya, ads have fallen right into our hands.

They are with us everywhere we go, stalking us every step of the way.

At the centre of these, there is now a new breed of celebrity known as influencers. These are people who have amassed a significant following online and use their platform to promote products or services. Using their personal magnetism, we buy moments into their lives and we now can’t buy a product without wondering, “Would my favourite personality use this?”

The evolution of influencers

Until a few years ago, the word influencer was an alien term. Then, we watched the Kardashians become overnight sensations and start to flash dollars from likes and products that were so interwoven into their lives that many bought to belong. We started to pay attention and now, becoming an influencer is one of the coolest jobs for millennials and Gen Zs.

“The first time I was approached with an offer to advertise on my Instagram page, it didn’t make sense to me. That was in 2015 and social media influencing had not created a big ripple in Kenya,” said Anita Nderu, a social media influencer with 490,000 Instagram subscribers.

“Things have really changed in the past three years and I am working with brands that I align with and love. The biggest hit besides sharing my art, stories and creativity is making money from paid partnerships, discovering and working with amazing creatives in Kenya.

For most people, it starts with a dream, as it so often does with social media. To sleep one day and wake up to a video with thousands of views and major brands scampering to offer you endorsement deals; to kick it off with a sudden and unexpected ignition.

Think of comedian Elsa Majimbo who in just two years has gained more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram, has a new home in Los Angeles, is working with brands like Fenty and has Steve Harvey calling her ‘daughter’.

The internet has become a gold mine and most individuals, especially those who aspire to be influencers, and even those that don’t, many hope that their passion projects of content creation will land them into something huge. Influence, fame, fortune and money.

Notably, with the rise of the influencer marketing industry, social media platforms have also found a way to bank on it and increase their income via ad revenue and monetisation plans. Platforms such as Youtube, Tiktok and Facebook have introduced ad revenue sharing plans to attract more influencers and creators on their platform.

No wonder social media has become a game of numbers with the more you have, the higher the opportunity to get gigs and influence.

But underneath the glossy exterior of influencers’ neat lives, is a competitive and cutthroat industry, personal sacrifices and burnout.

“There is a lot that goes into influencing that people don’t see,” said Peter Kabi alias Kabi wa Jesus who together with his wife, Millicent Wambui “Milly wa Jesus” run the Wajesus Family Youtube channel.

“We spend hours shooting, editing, engaging with fans, setting up brand deals and balancing with many other responsibilities,” he said. The couple are full time content creators and influencers.

Their Youtube channel has more than 500k subscribers and 97 million views.

Like many influencers, Kabi shares that when he started, he knew nothing about influencer marketing. “I was just doing what I know best — filming, storytelling and together with Milly, talking about salvation and sharing their marriage journey to inspire other young people.

“The journey has been amazing although we have had trolls and people fighting us with lies on social media. The fact that our lives are out there, it makes it so easy for people to misrepresent us,” he said. The duo works with different brands, which according to Milly, is possible because of being great storytellers, consistent and connecting with the audience.

“The amount of time from conceptualisation to bringing all the creatives and items needed together to execute, say a video, is more time, patience, energy and money than it may seem,” said Anita.

Prepping for her shoots always takes a week or so, then shoot days often run from am to am, sometimes two or three days, then a week or weeks of editing.

“One of the misses of being a social media influencer is putting in all you’ve got to the point of burnout then you find yourself in a creativity lull that seems never ending. There’s also anxiety birthed by sharing your life often,” said the social impact coordinator.

Her way of dealing with burnout is to get off from regular programming until she is ready to absorb and create again. “It involves a lot of alone time, sleep, travel and cooking,” she said.
Expectations not met.

To be an influencer, you have to work hard at it. While some have succeeded by virtue of being attractive, or due to their professional backgrounds, others have had it rough even after putting much effort into their work. With their expectations being not met, some influencers have resulted in desperate, degrading and sometimes, dangerous ways to gain followers.

Take for instance, Ian Asunya, alias “Nduru man”, a 23-year-old content creator. Just like the name, he makes loud piercing cries in places where there is a gathering of people, including outside police stations.

“I do this because I want people to know more about me and give me business. I am a deliveryman and an errands boy in Nairobi and its environs. With a family to feed and limited access to job opportunities, that is one way of marketing my services. Occasionally, I get advertisement opportunities,” he shares.

However, his quest to become a social media influencer has landed him in trouble many times and has since been forced to lie low. “I recently had a life threatening experience after I got arrested for screaming near President Ruto’s home on the day he was sworn in. I am scared and traumatised so I decided to give it a break which now means that errands are hard to come by,” he said.

Recently, socialite Vera Sidika was the talk of the internet when she posted on her Instagram page that she had undergone surgery to remove butt implants.

“I will be posting my surgery journey videos here, for those who have been thinking of getting booty surgery or changing anything on their bodies this might change your mind,” read part of her post against a photo of her flat butt. Days later, she released a song.

Another influencer who requested anonymity for fear of mockery said that she uses her friend’s travel photos to create an illusion that she is well travelled and dines in fine places.

“I know what I am doing is wrong. There are many times that I feel guilty about it but I need to survive and since I have a good following on social media, I decided that this was the way. What I earn from deals and partnerships is barely enough for me to get by,” she said.

As the year comes to an end, if there is a group that Kenyans are fed up with are corny clout chasers. From faking breakups, relationships to fake pleas so they earn attention.

“It’s entertaining and shocking to see the extent that people go to to clout-chase but if it brings them joy, let them do it,” added the media personality. Kabi laughed it off and said it is something that they wouldn’t do as a couple. “Create quality content and be consistent in marketing it,” he said.

Dominic Agesa, the founder of Fredrick Bittiner (bittinerwearke) regularly works with influencers to market their Kenyan fashion brand online.

“I started with big influencers who have huge following but it did not work. Most of them have fans who cannot be converted to clients. Nowadays, we focus on micro influencers who are ready to listen, learn and grow with the brand,” he said.

Before engaging an influencer, Dominic said that his form does a pilot for a day or week to track the engagement and set the deliverables.

“I don’t like influencers who think they are doing the brand a favour by partnering with us. Most influencers haven't mastered the art of converting followers to fans. Nowadays we do partnership type of influencing. We are more focused on how you interact with your followers and the type of content you produce,” he said.

Dos of being an influencer

● Engage with the content of brands that gives you gigs.
● Focus on building your personal brand and community. As you build it, focus on entertaining, educating and informing your followers. A great influencer empowers their audience with knowledge.
● Be helpful. At the end of the day, brands want to work with influencers who help audiences find things, solve their problems and communicate in the language they understand. Be that influencer who people look up to for help.
● Build yourself a niche. Let people tell who you are from your content and what you stand for. This will also help brands know if they can work with you or not. Don’t be all over. Work with brands that resonate with your niche and are relevant to your audience.
● Create a rate card and be flexible with it depending on the brand you’re working with. Be open to negotiations as long as you’re getting the value you are okay with. At the end of the day, strive to create relationships with a brand and open room for long term collaborations.

Don’ts of being an influencer

● Don’t be a jack of all trades as an influencer. Choose the categories of brands you want to build your influence in.
● Don’t be a billboard. You are an influencer. Learn to create conversations with your audiences. It’s not all about posting about brands only on your timeline. Create other types of content.
● Don’t ignore the power of value addition to brands. This is a game changer. Brands love to work with influencers who can give value addition in their collaborations.
● Don’t stop learning. Keep perfecting your art. One exciting thing about social media and influencer marketing is that it gives you a chance to explore daily knowledge, trends and a chance to try our new strategies and grow.
● Don’t peg everything on money. Know when to give value to others without money being involved. It can be in terms of knowledge.

Janet Machuka, co-founder Sparks Corporates Marketing Agency