I got on Twitter when it was in its early years. Back then it was like a small-town newsroom where you would see the same people in the news every day. Today, it's more like if you go on the app and just scroll up and down.

I'm not exactly sure why everyone wants to be an influencer, but the fact that everyone is chasing this dream makes it no different. Influencers can be anyone – writers, actors, athletes and more.

Just like any other dream, there are a lot of steps you need to go through to accomplish it.

So, why do people want to be an influencer?

People want attention

Whether it be in their profession or just in a hobby, people always want to be the center of attention.

Where does this desire to be an influencer come from? I think the number one reason people want to be an influencer is because they want to gain more followers on social media and be more successful in their niche.

After the initial liking they are looking for to gain followers, is the marketing and advertising tactics they utilize to make them more successful.

Social media has given people a platform to promote their products and services in a way that they can't now. A lot of businesses try to use influencers as the face of their business, but most do not have a plan for how to do that.

A lot of influencers are selling products and services, like clothing, but that is not what a business needs to do. A business needs to have a plan for how to market and advertise their products and services to create a system that they can use to gain customers.

It is important to understand that influencers do not necessarily have to be the face of your company. They can be the faces of your affiliate program or the face of your marketing team.

An influencer can be an expert in your field or can be someone who is trying to get into your market and try to create a relationship with your consumers. The main thing is that they have a good follow and engage with their audience in a way that can show you exactly how to get in front of them.

Another way that people want to become an influencer is to gain more attention for their website, social media, etc. A lot of bloggers are focusing on getting followers and the likes.

In order to gain more attention, the only thing they need to do is provide quality content to their followers.

I think influencers should focus on keeping their content relevant and engaging with their audience. Keep in mind that a lot of people want the attention, and that's how you gain it.

The better you provide quality content, the more attention you will get.

Last, but not least, it's important to have a plan in place for your business and an affiliate program that you are using to gain more clients and leads. I think influencers can be successful in using affiliate programs for promoting their websites and social media as well as for offering their services for people to purchase.

It is all about being consistent with your marketing and advertising methods, so it will help you to become more successful at doing what you want to do.

Influencer issues and fake news

We are living in an era where information is available to the minute, and yet people still make decisions based on fake news. Take Brexit for example.

People bought into the “world is falling apart” fake news until they were told that actually no, it isn’t and they were wrong to have believed the fake news. The problem is that because the world is more connected the confirmation bias has increased.

People now look to the source of the information to understand whether the source is credible and credible is a tough thing to quantify. Do you trust this information because a credible source claimed it or because the source is a good read?

Social media is often cited as a reason to make these decisions based on fake news, but is it really? This same theory can be used on Instagram and the more famous people are the more you are going to see them.

Does that make it true? It shouldn’t but it doesn’t matter because it has now been backed up by data.

The Waldorf effect

If everyone is going to believe a story that you believe that means that the majority is right and that you are only right by default. This isn’t to say that influencers are doing anything wrong.

We shouldn’t be basing decisions purely on the opinion of the most powerful people on the planet. What we are seeing however is that influencers are being noticed.

When you have hundreds of thousands of followers you are more likely to be recognized, and if you do that more people are going to be influenced by what you do. That is just the way social media works.

Think about this for a second. When did it become “normal” for people to identify you based on how big your brand is?

When you hear of a big name it’s a big name, it doesn’t matter what they have been doing or even if they were in a band or not. It’s a big deal for them regardless.

Influencers are now living and breathing to the size of their “influence”. If you are famous as a writer, painter or actor that’s not a bad thing but if you are as big as the Kardashians and A-list actors and actresses and you share a dress for their fragrance then of course it is going to take off.

It’s not your fault.

People also look to other people for the truth. If you’re famous you have a vested interest in the truth so you will provide a truthful article and create a balance of opinion.

The problem is that when people are looking to a very small circle of influencers for information they can’t find that balance. They will go with the vast majority rather than come to their own conclusion.

The consequences of this is that most people will believe what the majority of influencers are saying and have no idea that the majority may not be right.

I won’t pretend that this isn’t a concern. People are being influenced and drawn into the influencer marketing sphere by the only source they trust and that is not good.

The work of influencers should be about good content and good ideas not about just getting as many likes as possible.