I used to find myself looking at ‘Influencers’ in a sort of negative light. I looked at every influencer as the same; promoting free products that they would “use day to day” within their praised routine and lifestyle.
Fast forward two years and I just happened to become one myself! This time though, I’d make sure to go against influencer characteristics I once recognised as a member of their audience.
With this in mind, I created a personal brand whereby visual boundaries would be pushed and typical influencer aesthetics would be ignored. Instead, deserved acknowledgement of unique brands/work/art/style/lifestyle would be expressed in a way that my audience would not anticipate. Now with an established audience of its own, this influencer brand is known as ‘Molly Eliza’.
Travel Influencers
As a fashion and lifestyle influencer, I travel often. I mainly travel for work; whether this is commuting to meetings, connecting with people within the industry or travelling to shoot locations.
I avoid primarily labelling myself as a ‘travel influencer’, as this isn’t what I specialise in. However, being able to include characteristics of a typical travel influencer within my brand is something I allow to sneak in. My career and brand as Molly Eliza is a journey that, along the way, artistically promotes locations within our world in a unique way.
Lifestyle Influencers
Each lifestyle influencer is visually different in their own way. The characteristics of my brand as a lifestyle influencer involve uniquely focused content/aesthetics that others may not choose to hero.
I try not to limit myself when finding lifestyle content to promote. As a lifestyle influencer, I post a vast and varied amount of content within this area. But what doesn’t change, is the resounding sense of unusual, yet effective, choice of focus .
English Fashion Influencer
I am an English fashion influencer, loud and proud! England is full of such classic fashion history and identity. However, I tend to play around with having the classic pale english rose look, whilst also allowing my look/brand to have a sense of being atypical.
When ‘english fashion influencers’ is typed into the google search bar, there is a definite sense of classic, polished and clean fashion. I find pleasure and amusement in my brand being completely outside of these definitions. The only thing that separates me as an English fashion influencer is simply my location. My identity and brand has few limits regarding embracing brand origins, visual aesthetics and style choices.
Micro Fashion Influencers
I very much like to still regard myself as a ‘micro’ fashion influencer, simply because authenticity and relatability are important to me when it comes to choosing which specific brands I work with. Unlike hugely wide known influencers, I make sure to have a sense of more personal contact with my audience. I choose who I work with depending on what items/brand identity I have true passion and excitement towards.
Without the genuine enthusiasm between the brand and myself for each other’s work, there is far less attraction and trust between not only the collaborating brand and influencer, but the influencer and its audience also. Whilst working with a micro influencer has many benefits for the brand, the micro influencer themself tends to be rewarded with an audience that is more targeted and dedicated to them.
Female Fashion Influencer
Being a female fashion influencer is exciting for me, as I do not conform to the way in which the majority of female influencers identify themselves. Whilst having huge respect for the visually popular female fashion influencer, unlike my brand as Molly Eliza, they tend to be minimally diverse in the way they present themselves.
Whilst I like to broaden my visual identity to menswear, unusual style and less widespread and common trends. This brings me pleasure as due to there being far more female fashion influencers than male, being on a completely different wavelength is important to me!
Popular Fashion Influencers
Being a renowned, widely known and popular fashion influencer is in no way important to me. From the beginning of my journey as an influencer, I wanted to hero brands, companies and names that were extremely original yet flying under the radar.
In this way, it would express the way I like to identify myself; being less of a ‘sheep’ and instead, having a love for expressing individuality. There is so much to discover out there, popular or not, and by choosing brands that are not widely praised, ironically, it excites its audience.
Style Influencer On Instagram
Being a style influencer on Instagram in particular, is special to me as Instagram is an app i have grown up with since being a teenager. I used Instagram when it was simply a social app you had a profile on, of which your peers around you would recognise as ‘yourself’.
Now, Instagram being the huge business it is, it is a work location for me that feels incredibly familiar! Whilst new and popular Tik Tok and youtube influencers constantly pop up around me, I find nostalgia in working through an app I have naturally developed on since I was a teenager.