Where it all begins...
Updated: Jun 6
My name is Ryan Doehring, and this is my first blog post ever. Three weeks ago, I didn’t even imagine I’d ever write one; but, here I am. This is part of a summer course I am taking called Promotion and Branding Strategies. As a marketing major, I signed up for this course to learn strategies used in advertising, promotion, and sales. I’m glad I’m in this class. It’s helping me to understand how today’s marketing world works, especially from an integrated communications point of view.
Go to Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube and X/Twitter and what do you see that all four have in common? Individuals attempting to influence others. They are, in fact, now known as influencers. Across social media platforms, no matter what your age, becoming an “influencer” has become a pathway to professional success. People grow their personal brands thru blogs, videos, shorts, and posts. They interact with their audiences so their followers feel vested in the life…of their influencer.
Why does this topic interest me so much? I plan on getting into sales. My grandfather told me sales are what make the world go round, and it appears to be true. By learning and using these social media techniques, I hope to amplify what I’m doing to the world around me. I want to get out there in front of it, bring my audience a good product and make more money in the process. And while I’m not on all of the Big Four (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, and Facebook), I am on Instagram. And I’ve also got a webpage, and a blog. I hope to use this blog to break down what an influencer does to be successful and, at the same time, become one myself.
These blog posts will be driven by a book I’ve read recently called, Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media. It was written by the former Senior Director of Influence Strategy and Talent Partnerships at Hearst Magazines Digital Media, Brittany Hennessey. In her job Hennessey oversaw the research, gathering, and hiring of influencers for marketing campaigns. Drawing on her years of experience, her book is basically the bible to being an influencer.
Hennessey starts by defining the different types of influencers across the digital spectrum and the initial baby-steps you’ll need to take at the start of this path such as setting up a domain, blogging, making videos and posting, and creating content across social platforms.
💡 Optimistic Insight
I can become an influencer, and you can, too! You need to put in the work and have the determination to make it so!
In my next post, we’ll talk about how we develop an audience and the steps involved. Til then...
P.S. Sidemen, Jesser, and KSI are the earliest influencers I remember from when I was
young, somewhere between 6 and 12 years of age. Thought you might find that
interesting.
My favorite part of your blog is the "Optimistic Insight". I love the motivation and drive you show through your content. Your optimism is an inspiration to others.
It is crazy how much personal branding matters for sales nowadays. Your grandfather is 100% right about sales making the world go round.
Hi Ryan! I really liked your first post and how you connected social media platforms to the idea of influencers. It’s interesting how you pointed out that Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X all function as spaces where people are actively building personal brands and influencing others, not just sharing content.
Hey Ryan! I think it's cool that we have the opportunity to blog about whatever we want! I didn't imagine myself doing something like this for a class either! I appreciated how you explained that really anyone can be an influencer as long as they are attempting to influence someone without the intention of really being known as an "influencer". I agree that this has become a new pathway for professional success and find it really interesting how we now define success as well. I believe this is just the beginning of influencing as a career and that it could still evolve over time!