ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Alicia Lund, who posts to her blog
and social media from her East
Sacramento home, has more than
90,400 followers on Instagram
and nearly 155,000 on Facebook.
After helping to document the
release of the Mustang across the world,
producing video clips that were featured
in the globally aired commercial,
Diamond gained experience and an impressive
portfolio piece, not to mention
royalties he continues to collect.
Diamond describes the current
landscape as much more crowded, with
an emerging attitude of entitlement. “A
lot of people who are hitting up brands
— these huge companies that have been
around since before we were born — are
acting like they have the true influence,”
he says, “when it’s the other way around.”
Diamond believes in confidence but also
humility, and he approaches brands “as a
fan” when pitching a partnership, rather
than touting any sort of “influence.” In
addition to creating content for brands
(not necessarily for publishing on his own
channels), he advises other influencers
on how to interact with companies and
helps facilitate their personal brand in
the right direction.
Diamond’s photography-forward
content, with its focus on art and
California landmarks, is more about
creating a vibe than letting followers
into his personal thoughts and experiences.
It’s decidedly on the more private
side. According to Burns, Diamond’s
point of view might fall in the “visually
stunning” category of influencers, the
space where many photographers and
content creators fall. She describes a
second archetype that’s more personality
driven (a celebrity like Britney
Spears, for example, who is heavy on
the personality, light on the aesthetics)
and a third type who, like Lund, “wants
to communicate their lifestyle to you.”
The latter is where the tastemakers fall,
the category Burns describes as the
most likely to be moneymakers.
The tide seems to be turning among
these tastemakers, however, with audiences
no longer satisfied with an impeccably
styled photo of a brunch outfit.
In an April 2019 article, The Guardian
reported that we’ve entered a new “era
of authenticity,” where influencers
“must display passion.” The sheer volume
of digital content and consumer fatigue
from scrolling through a sheen of
perfection has people longing for more
substance. The pendulum has swung
toward realness and honesty. And with
the 2016 introduction of Instagram
Stories, the feature that expires after 24
hours and requires very little production
or editing, influencers are able to
show behind-the-scenes content and
the less glossy snippets of daily life.
Titus attributes the cultural transformation
to the audience’s appetite
for authenticity. “I think entering into
the fashion-blogging world when there
wasn’t a lot of story, it was just kind of
stunting different brands or doing things
for likes or for (a consistent color palette),”
she says. “After a while, I think the
community really wanted to get to know
people and their stories and the ‘why’
behind their creations. The audience
kind of pulled it out of us, and the whole
industry took a turn for authenticity.”
Lund says this shift has challenged
her to show her personality more. “Now
people want the connection with the
person,” she says. “The (influencers)
that seem to be truly authentic are
really doing the best because it shines
through. I’m really trying to force
myself to do that right now because
I’m someone who hasn’t been so into
talking to the camera and putting my
face forward in that way.” Ironically,
72 comstocksmag.com | July 2020