Next gen: The new guard of online influencers
Melbourne homes are being turned into urban jungles, with “plantfluencers” — horticultural stars of social media — garnering thousands of followers, as people turn away from the vain and vacuous for passion and purpose.
Lifestyle
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Just as new parents once sought advice from mummy influencers on prams, sleep patterns and reflux, aesthetically and environmentally minded Millennials have given rise to a new crop of influencers, with audiences seeking advice on how to care for the humble house plant.
Plants not only boost air quality and mental wellbeing, but buoyed by Instagram, the obsession with turning homes into urban jungles is growing faster than ivy with “plantfluencers” — the horticultural stars of the medium — garnering thousands of followers.
Among the best green thumbs in the biz is Jason Chongue.
His account @theplantsocietyau has gone from zero to 54,000 followers in two years and helped launch a whole new career for the former architect.
“It was never my intention to turn my hobby and love of plants into a full-time business,” says Chongue, who owns a plant store of the same name in Collingwood’s hip Keele St.
“But very quickly, the account got a lot of attention.”
Chongue, whose Abbotsford home is filled with more than 400 plants, says many of his followers look to him for advice and guidance.
“Just as food blogs or beauty tutorials are educational, people see us as the expert for plants,” he says.
“Whether it’s how to re-pot a plant, how often to water one or what types are suitable for indoors, there is no question too stupid.”
And while all those questions mean online engagement is strong, Chongue, 31, is just as passionate about maintaining the community he has built in real life too.
“We want to see those users we engage with become really loyal clients in real life too,” says Chongue, who holds regular “plant socials” at his store.
“We don’t see plants as a trend, we see them as a conversation starter that anyone can join in on.”
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BARGAIN HUNTERS ARE THE NEW FASHION STYLISTS
Less is suddenly so much more when it comes to fashion, with savvy spenders becoming a significant online fashion community.
This group of content creators is not only pointing followers in the right direction of the latest trends, but also how to stay in vogue without breaking the budget.
Melbourne’s Chelsea Thomas, 34, is behind @iheartbargains, one of the first local fashionably frugal accounts. She started it seven years ago and says there are now a lot more influencers occupying that tricky territory between aspirational and affordable.
“Affordable finds — particularly those with a price point action such as nothing over $150 — is a drawcard for followers and engagement,” Thomas (right) says.
“This space has grown so much in recent years and there is a whole lot more competition now, but there is also a lot more engagement now, too.”
Last month, Thomas’ account cracked 100,000 followers, making her technically a macro influencer, but she says because she didn’t take shortcuts in expanding her online community and grew her follower base organically, she can reap the benefits of the same engagement levels.
“We have amazing interactions and really loyal engagement,” she says.
“I think the thing about bargain-driven fashion accounts is that it’s not only news you can use, but they seem to be a less filtered reality.
“I think a lot of social media influencers can forget that their followers aren’t dumb. You shouldn’t treat them like they can’t see through an ad or sponsored post.
“Our feed is less about a gallery of pretty photos and more about longer, elaborate and at times personal posts.”
Thomas says the growing success of her brand also reflects a wider cultural shifts in consumer shopping habits.
“It used to be that if you were wearing discount brands such as Kmart, you wouldn’t tell anyone where your clothes came from, but now women wear bargains like a badge of honour,” she says.
“Not only do they share it but they celebrate it. They’re proud of the
fact that they saved themselves money.”
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PURPOSEFUL TRAVELLERS ARE THE NEW LUXURY HOLIDAY MAKERS
According to research by MMGY, a global leader for behavioural insights in the tourism industry, more than one third of travellers have chosen a holiday destination based on an influencer’s post.
And while social media holiday makers would previously capture the most blissful moments of a vacation — the sun hitting a poolside Aperol spritz, a model underwater in her high-rise bikini, fresh seafood and fancy bathroom mirrors — a shift has started to emerge where instead of chasing sunsets, people are chasing meaning and purpose.
Melbourne-based Lucy Owens, 23, who runs travel blog and Instagram account @traveltextbook while in her final year of studying medicine, says that a growing number of her followers are seeking ways to travel with purpose.
“People are seeking out more meaningful and fulfilling vacations,” she says.
“There’s definitely been a shift away from the traditional travel influencers in flowy dresses, because that filtered market became so saturated. Now followers are responding to things on a much deeper level.
“People are responding and interacting more on the posts and stories that have a real human element.”
While these influencer tourists still holiday with phone in hand, they are also capturing moments with an emphasis on growing and learning from their experiences and telling stories with social, cultural and environmental awareness.
Owens started sharing her own experiences during her first year of university when she wanted somewhere to express her trips while volunteering and working abroad.
“Through university, I applied to travel to Bangalore, India with the organisation 40K Globe to set up a sustainable education facility that employs local staff,” she says.
“Our team was based in the community for a month and we were welcomed with open arms into daily life.”
With “voluntourism” also on the rise and more people seeking out travel experiences with a difference that make a difference, influencers in this niche space are expected to impact people’s travel decisions.
“Even on a smaller level it’s about showing the difference you can make just by supporting local tour guides over global companies, or eating at local restaurants to support the locals,” Owens says.
“It’s also about authenticity. I don’t actively seek out partnerships or paid collaborations because I prefer to take my followers off the beaten track to places that don’t get as much of the tourist flow.”
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THE NEW GUARD OF INFLUENCERS WITH PASSION AND PURPOSE
The meteoric rise of social media site Instagram has seen influencer marketing become mainstream in recent years. But the idea that the bigger the following, the bigger the influence is changing.
With the influencer market expected to be worth up to $10 billion by 2020, digital celebrities will continue to impact their followers’ decision-making. But there is a New Guard of taste-making, trendsetting tribes emerging.
Natalie McKenna, program leader of strategic communications at La Trobe University, says as the influencer segments get more saturated, it paves the way for new micro-communities and nano-influencers to emerge.
“We still have our big, overarching segments of social media such as food, beauty, fashion, travel, and health and fitness, but we’re seeing more niche groups and nuanced accounts appear under these larger categories,” McKenna says.
“Consumers of online content are becoming fatigued of large, obvious influencers and are seeking out like-minded accounts of people who share their interests and passions.”
For example, under the popular banner of food, an account dedicated solely to jelly (@thejellyrevolution) has garnered a following of 5000.
While wellness is a huge category of influence, pages dedicated just to essential oils, rather than wholistic wellness, are gaining in popularity, too.
Con Stavros, RMIT associate marketing professor, says the idea of a community influencer is nothing new, but society is adjusting to seeing it presented in this platform.
“Influencers have existed in the past, but it’s been the person in the schoolyard or in the church yard or the sporting club who has been a bit of an opinion leader,” Stavros says.
“But now the online community has allowed us to create these particular type of online niches.”
Stavros says the idea of what constitutes an influencer is also evolving.
“There was a time you needed to have 10,000 followers, but now, even if you have 500 passionate, involved people that might be enough for your brand.”
McKenna agrees that since Instagram removed the number of “likes” so they could no longer be viewed publicly, engagement will become the new metric on which influence is measured.
“It’s about whether they respond to people’s comments and queries and if they engage with the wider online community — e-word of mouth is just as important,” she says
Stavros agrees that engagement will be a valuable tool in asserting influence, and that nano or micro influencers have the advantage.
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Pru Corrigan, talent manager and founder of One Daydream PR, agrees brands will partner with influencers who demonstrate authenticity.
“Storytelling is crucial to success,” Corrigan says. “But if you spot a fake story in your feed, chances are you will keep scrolling and that influencer will lose your trust.
“People love people watching, and people also want to feel a part of something and this new wave of social media needs to connect to the consumer. To stay in the game, followers need to feel like they can relate to you.”
However, Corrigan is adamant the power of the influencer will not diminish.
“Influencers have become our new celebrities, and the possibilities are endless. It ain’t business as usual anymore.”
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