Although she is just 18, MsNaomi Neo has more than170,000 followers on Instagramand gets $45,000 worth of spon-sorships a year for clothing,

beauty products and gadgets.She is among several other young,

hungry and media-savvy individuals herewho call themselves “influencers”.

“I’m an influencer because of myfollowing and because I have the ability toinfluence how youth think. I impact theirlives,” the second-year Nanyang Academyof Fine Arts student says confidently.

The term “influencer” is a social mediabuzzword that is becoming a phenomenonhere. It has found its way into manythings, from personal bios on Instagram todesignations on namecards.

It is generally used to describe peoplewho have a substantial reach and followingon social media platforms, are trend-settersand can shape the opinions and behaviourof many.

Social media marketing agencies saythey look at what potential influencerspost on social media, their interaction withfollowers and traffic to their social mediachannels to determine if someone haswhat it takes.

The term has been used often in theongoing Xiaxue vs Gushcloud spat. Itstarted after the 30-year-old blogger, whosereal name is Wendy Cheng, alleged about aweek ago that local digital and social mediamarketing company Gushcloud got itsinfluencers to mask paid advertorials asreviews and pump up their blog pageviews, among other accusations.

Gushcloud’s CEO and co-founderVincent Ha, 30, then posted a lengthyreply, refuting her claims. Its co-founderAlthea Lim, 30, also issued an emotionalpersonal statement to Xiaxue, in which shequestioned her intentions, because theblogger is signed with Nuffnang, a rivalcompany.

While the word is most frequently usedto refer to popular bloggers, influencers canalso be actresses, DJs, socialites, gym buffsand even CEOs.

Mr Dennis Toh, 37, says his official titleis that of influencer director and founder ofThe Influencer Network Communications,an influencer marketing and media agencysimilar to Gushcloud and Nuffnang.

He says: “By default, as the founder ofThe Influencer Network Communications,I do need to embody and demonstrate thetraits of an influencer through my workand personal life.

“I manage a core group of writers andbloggers through my network, calibratetheir digital direction and work throughour network’s services and consultancy.”

His company has signed on about 200influencers. Nuffnang has more than60,000 bloggers but says about 100 of themare the more influential ones. Gushcloudsays it has about 200 influencers.

These people have wide-ranginginterests, so their social media feeds show-case everything: their daily lives, what theywear, the beauty products they use, wherethey travel to and even their fitnessregimens.

Ms Flora Isabelle Lim, 29, who is signedon with The Influencer Network, enjoysblogging about make-up and skincare, fash-ion and her life as a newlywed.

She has more than 4,400 Instagramfollowers and says her blog gets about10,000 daily views. She also receives hair,nail and other beauty sponsorships.

Because she is the owner of onlinefashion store ClubCouture, her job andsocial media worlds mesh.

“On Instagram, the pictures that get themost engagement are those of my outfitsand pretty dresses from ClubCouture, and

make-up and skincare brands, as myfriends and followers are mainly female,”she says.

She adds that she writes only aboutproducts and services that she has “triedand tested and actually really like”, andthere are non-sponsored products that shehas written about too.

She estimates that her followers’ agesrange from 20s to late 30s and she believesshe has an impact on them because manye-mail her to ask about the products shepromotes.

One of her followers is engineerTheresse Pereira, 24, who came across herInstagram profile early last year.

“I saw that her pictures were nice andher feed showcased nice clothes, so Idecided to follow her,” she says.

While she has not bought any clothesfrom the online store or any of themake-up products that the blogger pro-motes, she says Ms Lim has shaped hersense of fashion.

“I keep a look out for items that are simi-lar to those Ms Lim sells and get them ifthey are within my budget,” she says.

Young influencers say they appeal tofollowers even younger than they are.

Gushcloud influencer Xavier Ong, 20,says his followers are aged between 12 and

18. He has 12,000 Instagram followers. MsNeo says her followers are between 13 and21 years old.

Mr Ong says he started to see himself asan influencer in late 2012, after he noticedhis followers checking out things or placesthat he had talked about and turning tohim for advice on their problems.

“I realised I have the ability to helpthem tide through whatever they arefacing,” he says.

Ms Neo agrees. She started blogging in2009, but it was not until she started “usingmy fame and power for good” last year thatshe deemed herself an influencer.

She deliberately decided to start slantingher posts to have a self-help, Agony Aunttone and wrote entries on topics such asbullying, being alone and self-acceptance.

She found that many of these entrieswent viral and more teenagers started turn-ing to her for advice.

“Being an influencer is not about mynumber of followers per se, but about beingable to help others,” she says.

Because of their reach, some of theseyoung personalities say it has made themmore mindful of what they post online.

Mr Ong, for instance, says he used to be“pretty emotional online”, but now tries tobe more positive with what he says,

because he recognises it makes a differenceto the reader.

He also tries to advocate having a goodrelationship with family members.

“I believe strongly in having strongfamily ties. Many of my followers have metmy mother at events and I can see thathaving a good relationship with my familymotivates them to maintain a great onewith theirs too,” he says.

With the impact that these influencersexert over their following, it isunderstandable why many sponsors havecome a-knocking.

Lifestyle blogger Benjamin Toh, 25, hasbeen getting his haircuts sponsored byCleo Hair and Make in The Central Mall atClarke Quay for the past 18 months.

The salon’s marketing director,Ms Samantha See, says he was chosenbecause of his significant following online,“boyish looks and healthy and brightimage”.

She adds that since engaging him, thesalon has had more male clients who arekeen to try out the looks they saw on hissocial media feeds.

“Once, we did a rainbow hairdo for him.When we had walk-ins later asking for thattoo, we knew they were his followers, be-cause he was the only one we had done

that colouring for,” she says.One of Ms Lim’s latest sponsors is

Taiwanese make-up and skincare brand1028 Visual Therapy.

The local distributor of the brand,Ms Sharon Wu, says she chose Ms Lim topromote the brand’s mascara last monthbecause of her strong female following.

“I needed someone who could recom-mend the product to other women, tospread the word that the brand was availa-ble in Singapore,” she says, adding that shehas received inquiries since Ms Lim’s postson the product went out.

There are also big companies, such asathletic goods firm Puma, which tap on thereach of influencers as part of their market-ing strategy.

Mr Gabriel Yap, head of marketing atPuma Southeast Asia, says the firm engages“quite a number of them targeted atdifferent segments of the brand”, butdeclined to reveal the exact number.

These individuals are usually “active,enjoy sports, possess their own sense ofstyle, are steadfast in their beliefs, well-connected in their own circles and are notfollowers but trend-setters”.

He adds: “When they embrace thebrand and adopt it as part of their everydaylife, it creates awareness for the brand anddesirability for our products.”

But with the increasing number of self-professed influencers on the scene, howcredible is this new breed of digital natives?

Professor Mohan Dutta, head of theNational University of Singapore’s depart-ment of communications and new media,says the current digital climate sees peoplebeing “immersed in messages seeking ourattention, seeking to influence us and seek-ing to make an impact on us”.

“It is thus increasingly difficult to distin-guish between what is authentic and whatis not,” he says.

To him, the concept of an influencercan be traced back to an earlycommunication theory of the 1940s,which highlighted a multi-channel frame-work of persuasion.

“The term started catching on inSingapore in the last few years, with theincreasing penetration of new media tech-nologies and the growing popularity ofsocial media platforms,” he says.

He points out that the problem with theinfluencer trend is that the networks of rela-tionships and human connections havenow entered the realms of profit-making atan accelerated speed.

“There is a greater need to cultivate acritical approach to consumption, sinceour consumption habits are increasinglybeing shaped by a desire for status and tobe seen with the ‘right thing’,” he says.

“Today’s youth and prospectiveconsumers need to carefully consider con-flicts of interest, source of information,credibility of information and quality ofinformation when considering the recom-mendation made by an influencer.”

In response to that, influencers say thatfreebies and fame aside, it is hard beingthem.

Ms Neo says she gets haters who say sheis attention-seeking and urge her to “coverup” and refrain from dressing in revealingoutfits which show her cleavage and otherbody parts, since she has young followers.

“I tell my haters there is nothing wrongwith dressing a certain way. It’s up to me.It’s my body. It’s just boobs,” she says.

She adds, however, that being an influ-encer has made her “really think” beforeposting her comments.

“I can’t just tweet anything on impulse.It could get me into trouble,” she says.

Mr Ong agrees. He says the pressure ofbeing an influencer is that he has to watchhis actions in public.

“I can’t get all drunk when I go out andparty anymore because there are haterswho pick on every small thing I do wrongand magnify it by a hundred times tryingto put me down. That’s just one of themany things I changed along the way, nowthat people are watching,” he says.

“I always remind myself that I have tobe a good influence, a good example. Withgreat influence comes great responsibility.”

brynasim@sph.com.sg

What do you think of the reach ofinfluencers? E-mail stlife@sph.com.sg

With his flawless complexion and pretty-boy face, Mr Benjamin Toh oozes charm.The 25-year old “full-time influencer” hasabout 37,000 followers on Instagram andhis blog gets about 76,000 views a month.

He signed on to be a blogger withNuffnang in 2008, but it was not until 2010that he felt he could call himself aninfluencer.

“Being an influencer is not just aboutthe numbers. It’s only when you have credi-bility that I think you can call yourself aninfluencer,” he says.

How does he know he is credible?

He says his gauge is when his followerstell him they buy the products he endorses,when he gets more and more projects fromclients and when clients engage him morethan once for product endorsements.

He gets sponsorships worth about$2,000 every month for his hair, skincare,dental care, clothing and accessories.

These can be seen on his various socialmedia feeds, where he is seen modellingthe items in his posts.

Mr Toh says there is much interactionbetween himself and his followers, who aregenerally aged between 15 and 27.

While most send tweets to him viaTwitter, asking him about everything fromwhere he gets his hair done to the camerahe uses, a good number also likes to e-mailhim about their problems.

“I have shared very openly about mydifficulties with friends and in my love lifeon my blog, and once wrote a post onstudy tips, which were all very wellreceived,” he says.

“I really like it that they respond tothese and end up sharing with me abouttheir lives. This shows me that they canrelate to my posts. I make it a point to replythem.”

He tries to tweet every day and writesblog posts two to three times a week.

“I like to take pictures and I like sharingthings with people,” he says of his motiva-tion to keep posting.

“It’s not just about earning money orbeing popular. It’s about using myinfluence in the right way.”

He has partnered the SingaporeKindness Movement to write posts onneighbourliness and self-printed a T-shirtfor sale for charity.

It upsets him, he says, when influencersare accused of being freebie-grabbers.

“People say we just take free things andanyhow take photos. But we do spend a lotof time understanding the brands and edit-ing pictures,” he says.

He adds that “more demands” are madeof influencers these days.

“In the past, it was just about writingposts. But these days, with companies andadvertisers picking up on this influencerthing, we also have to attend events andlaunches and premieres,” he says.

He says he has learnt a lot in the processof being an influencer.

“I have learnt to work with clients,learnt what it means to be street smart andI know that I’ve to be responsible for allthat I do and say and advertise becausepeople are looking up to me.

“I definitely enjoy being an influencer.”

The online spat betweenblogger Xiaxue and socialmedia marketing firmGushcloud has highlightedthe already buzzing term

Bryna Singh

RISE OF THE INFLUENCER

PHOTOS: XAVIER ONG, FLORA ISABELLE LIM, NAOMI NEO

(Clockwise from top) Mr Xavier Ong, 20, Ms Flora Isabelle Lim, 29, and Ms Naomi Neo, 18, have a wide sphere of influence.

‘It’s a demanding job’

INFLUENCER(Noun) A person whohas a substantial reachand following onsocial mediaplatforms, is atrend-setter and canshape the opinionsand behaviour ofmany.

PHOTO: BENJAMIN TOH

2 livethesundaytimes January 4, 2015