Blogger Or Not, Aren't We All Influencers?

I had this little brain wave for a blog post when one of my neighbours sent me a link for some CF style masks on Messenger. After sending the photo and link to my Mam, she wanted to buy one instantly.


This got me thinking, even if you're not a blogger, are we all an influencer of some sort? Even though my neighbour isn't a blogger, she influenced my Mam to want to buy a mask which she thought she would like. 



Blogger's are seen as influencers by the media, brands, the public, social media etc. We write posts such as PR sample posts where we hope we can influence our readers to consider buying the product or even just look at the brands website. Even if a post is not a PR or sponsored post, we write posts giving our views and opinions, advice on all different aspects of life in hope that the reader could be influenced to listen to your values and thoughts. 


However, you don't need to be a blogger to influence. 


You don't have to have 10,000 followers on Instagram or be paid to post pretty and aesthetically pleasing photos to influence someone. 


You could be sat with a friend (socially distanced) and be influenced to buy a necklace which they're wearing as you love it so much or you would want to buy it for a loved one because you think they're going to like it. It could even be that a loved one is upset and we end up feeling upset too. That's a kind of influence (not a good one I might add).



Like it or not, we're all influencers without even knowing it. We all have that power to sway people to make decisions about what they buy. We all have influential abilities, whether we admit to that or not. For example, when we communicate and interact with another human being, whether it be a loved one or random stranger, we have the power to have an impact at any given moment with the words we say, the actions we take, the expressions on our faces, the decisions we make and what we post online. 


You might be sitting there thinking, "The things I post online or what I say to people don't have an impact on them" - how do you know that? Have you asked them? You could influence Sandra from Birmingham into buying a top which you have posted yourself wearing online. The brand gets exposure and you have just been an influence without even knowing it. See what I mean?



You never know who is paying attention. Even if you're not a blogger, you can strive to become a positive influence to others. We all have the power to influence others in a positive way. Influencing others in a negative way is not the answer. For example, if you go out now without wearing a mask, you could potentially influence someone to do the same as you and then put a lot of people at risk. Hmm, I wouldn't want to be a negative influence in these uncertain times. 


We all have the power of influence, how are you going to use yours? 



Lucy
68 comments
  1. I had never really thought about this before but so often I have bought something off the back of a friends purchases. I am ALWAYS buying stuff I see online in blogs as well, its getting to be a real issue.

    Great post, I just hope I can influence people to be kind x

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    1. It's interesting to think about isn't it Claire? You never think you're influencing someone, whether it's someone you know or someone following you online, it's weird to think about isn't it?! x

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  2. This is definitely something to think about! I agree, we are all influencers in some way, most of the time without even knowing. We as bloggers know that there is a possibility we might influence people, but even when we’re not blogging, we could be influencing someone. Great post!

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    1. Absolutely Chloe! It doesn't matter if you're a blogger or not, we're all influencers! x

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  3. This is such a true point! I try and make sure everything I post and even the things I say to people are positive and helpful as you never know if/when they may need that info or what they can take from it x

    http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/

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    1. Absolutely Della, you never know who you're influencing so it's important to be a positive influence! x

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  4. This is so true. I worked in retail for over 10 years and every day I would be influencing somebody when they asked for my opinion. Unlucky for my boss, I often favoured with the cheaper option to try to save people money. We influence people in everyday life too. As a child, I remember going to a friends house and playing The Sims. When I got home, I begged mum to buy it for me, so surely I was influenced by my friend in some way.

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    1. I would be more inclined to give the customer the cheaper option too Kelly, I sometimes do that in work! Oh I loved The Sims when I was a kid too!

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  5. Thanks for sharing, we all do have an influence on each other, not just in the blogging world, but in the real world, I find that when I do my volunteering how much we can influence the young people we help :)

    Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes

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    1. I think it's so important to have a good and positive influence on young people!

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  6. Yes. Anyone who's ever told their best friend about their favorite book or swooned over the new restaurant or the coffee at the local cafe or subs at the bodega. Yes.

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  7. This is so true - the amount of times I have been influenced to buy/try something from seeing a 'non-influencer' post about it on social media is crazy! You definitely don't need a million followers to influence people, which is actually quite nice. x

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    1. You're spot on Charlotte, you don't need to have millions of followers to have an influence on people x

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  8. I definitely feel influenced by lots of people, I mean simple reviews influence whether you buy a skincare product and you don't even know the person! I just hope I'm a good influence online x

    Emily | emiliamarlowe.co.uk

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    1. Exactly Emily! It's amazing how easily we can be influenced to buy something like a skincare product or a coat! x

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  9. Hi Lucy. You are, of course, completely correct. Influencers have been around long before social media. Before the internet as a whole, even. Anybody who has an audience, be it 1 person or 1 million people, has an opportunity to influence that audience. Media reporters, entertainers, sports stars, teachers and lecturers, and on and on all the way down to the little old lady lives on her own at the end of your road. We should all give some thought to who our audience is and what we are telling them.

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    1. I completely agree Richie, we should give thought to what we say and who our audience is as we never know who we are influencing!

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  10. Word of mouth is by far the most powerful form of influence, and it's most effective when it is paired with an established relationship. We influencer friends, family, coworkers, neighbours, etc. each and every day when we share our favourite snacks, our trip to our go-to coffee shop or the latest sale at the mall. I'm always surprised by how many people don't even realize that they are influencing the decisions of those around them.

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    1. It really is Britt, word of mouth is such a powerful source of influence! It's easy to influence so many people, including loved ones!

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  11. I was thinking about this the other day actually, I definitely can see how we all can influence people without realising. I've definitely bought stuff or tried certain foods because other people have talked about it or I've seen them with it! x

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    1. I've been the same Chloe, I've bought stuff cause I've seen them talk about it or given high praise towards it! x

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  12. This post is bang on. We are all influencers and influenced. I am always buying bits my sister buys because they look so good on her!

    Rosie

    https://www.loverosiee.co.uk

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    1. Your sister has a definite positive influence on you Rosie!

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  13. This is such a valid point that I had never really thought about. Loved reading this x

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  14. I agree, we are all influencers in some way or another! x

    Zoey | www.zoeyolivia.com

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  15. This is such an interesting blog post to discuss and you're absolutely right, everyone has some level of influence, whether they realise it or not!

    aglassofice.com x

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    1. Thank you Gabrielle, we all have that power of influence, even if a person knows it or not! x

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  16. Influencers get such a bad rep and yet you're totally right we're all influencing people in one way or another it's important we use it wisely

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    1. I agree lovely, influencers do get a bad rep for influencing when we all influence people in our lives anyway!

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  17. This is really interesting, you're right - we all influence one way or another. We just need to make sure it's for the good xx

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    1. Absolutely Alice, we all need to be a positive influence on others xx

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  18. I agree with every word of this. I did a post very similar to this last year! Mine was along the lines of 'we all have influence over someone and it's probably more than you think' and gave examples of friends or people you know in real life, similar to your situation with your neighbour. Even if you are a blogger, you never know. Even if no one has ever used your aff link you might have encouraged someone to buy something when they saw it in person. I think we're immune to noticing it the majority of the time if it doesn't happen through a screen x

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. You're right Sophie, we don't notice the influence we have on other people when it's not through a screen, it's something we all need to remember! x

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  19. Well said, we are all influencers, and have been influenced by so many wonderful ppl in our lives. Celeb influencers who promote anything for a pound don't get my engagement!

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    1. Thank you Fiona! One thing I wish that some celeb influencers would do is declare an ad properly!

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  20. This really gets you thinking!

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  21. I have never thought of it like that before but you are absolutely right. We are all influenced by each other.

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    1. We really are Sarah, it's amazing the power of influence we can and do have on people!

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  22. This post has been super motivating Lucy. I feel like its so important whatever your profession to be a positive role model and influence to other people. I think helping people through blogging and spreading awareness is definitely one of my main aims. Amazing and thought-provoking post!

    -Rachel (https://rachtalksbusiness.com/)

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    1. Thank you Rachel! You're right, it's so important to be a positive role model and be a positive influence! x

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  23. This is true, we all have some influence on each other and should always be aware of this. Thank you for sharing.

    Lauren

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    1. We really do Lauren, we should all use that influence we have on others in a positive way x

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  24. Love this perspective, it's so true you never know what people might take from you!

    Nicola | nicoladaletraining@gmail.com

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  25. I'd never really thought about it like that before, but I definitely agree we all influence each other at some point!

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    1. We definitely do Ellie, hopefully we can all influence people in a positive way!

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  26. This is so true and something that I tell people all the time. I hate seeing on Twitter and Facebook when people slag off 'influencers' because there is such a negative connotation around the word. But like my boyfriend influenced me to try a new smoothie - he doesn't have thousands of followers but he still influenced me. Thats why I can't stand the word!
    https://www.emilyclareskinner.com

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    1. There really is a negativity surrounding the word 'influencer' which is wrong. I remember reading your post about the word influencer and I agreed with every word you said!

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  27. I adore this blog post and I honestly couldn't agree with everything that you have said more!

    Danielle xx
    https://www.thereluctantblogger.co.uk/

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  28. The power of influence is interesting, right? When I studied a bit of psychology I learnt a lot about behaviour copying through the influence of others. Sometimes we don't even realize we are being influenced because it's natural have your opinions and actions influenced by others in daily conversation.

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    1. It really is Emma! That's such a good point, we are even influenced in general conversation!

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  29. loved this! It really made me think! And yeah... I even get influenced be people who walk past me on the street!

    Katie | katieemmabeauty.com

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  30. This is actually so true! Even as a blogger I've never really thought of myself as an influencer, but after reading your post I actually see that we're all influencers in some way. Even if we are only influencing one friend or family member x

    https://www.femaleoriginal.com

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    1. Yeah it's so weird to think that we're all influencing someone in some way! x

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  31. I've never thought of it like this before, we're all influencer it just differs on what scale. It's weird to think about xx

    Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/

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    1. Yeah it is weird to think about isn't it Hannah?! xx

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  32. What an interesting post! I haven't thought about this before, but it is so very true!

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    1. Yeah it is when you think about it isn't it?!

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  33. This is beautifully written✨You could not have said it any better. We all have the ability to influence others both positive and negative. In these uncertain times we need to act right and thrive to be better.

    Oh Lucy —I am loving reading your posts🧡

    https://smallmomentsofwonder.wordpress.com/

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    1. Thank you so much lovely! That's so kind of you! x

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  34. This is so true, everything we do has the power to influence others which is kinda scary in a way but also quite exciting when you start thinking of all the positive ways we can influence each other

    www.thealicemayedit.com

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    1. Absolutely Alice, it's so important to have a positive influence on others!

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