Ever since the country went into lockdown, my Instagram has looked VERY different. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that the slowdown has hit the influencer economy as well. In my 22 days of pointlessly scrolling through Instagram, I’ve realised that the current situation is a double-edged sword for these influencers.
Earlier, I would get spammed by my chosen influencers as they went about the country, keeping me updated with the latest of everything. Keeping the FOMO aside, I still enjoyed their content. It was the right amount of aspirational and sometimes, even added actual value to my life. But now, all of that is gone! However, the lack of new content is forcing influencers to really rack their brains for new ways to create content. It seems as if coronavirus has birthed new influencer personalities.
1. The One Who Won’t Stop Recycling Old Travel Photos
#Wanderlust is having a really long and desperate moment right now. The situation is especially bad for travel bloggers. Now, how do you spot one of these on Instagram right now? Just go to their feed and it’ll look exactly the same! I’ve seen plenty of such influencers unearth memories from their oldest trips and repost with new packaging and a really long semi-inspirational, sort-of-nostalgic caption. For them, it’s #ThrowbackThursday every day.
2. The Instagram-Turned-Tiktok Influencer
Well, well, well. This one needs no explanation now, does it?
I bet we all have at least one influencer on our Instagram who has successfully graduated to TikTok and won’t stop cross-sharing their TikTok videos on Instagram.
While yours truly is very much guilty of accidentally going down this rabbit hole (10/10 for creativity), I still find a little annoying. But it is what it is.
3. The Selfie Influencer
In my personal opinion, The Selfie Influencer existed before coronavirus as well but in the recent past, they’ve only gotten more..aggressive. Leaving me with no option but to hit MUTE.
The Selfie Influencer spends 70% of their time posting selfies and oversharing details about their life. The selfies vary depending on the shade of lipstick, the clothes they’re wearing, and the kind of thoughts they wish to share. Except lately the thoughts are uninteresting and repetitive, and their lack of content - evident. Also, an important feature of these selfies is giving out the lipstick name even before anyone has asked.
4. The Influencer-Turned-Political Activist
In the wake of coronavirus lockdown, many influencers have temporarily given up their past lives and forged a new identity. They’ve gotten vocal about their politics and share at least 5 news articles per day. They also regularly keep their followers updated with all COVID-19 related advisories and information. Once in a while they might slip; they might even go back to their occasional brand endorsement life but I think they’re allowed, no?
5. The One Who Won’t Stop Going Live
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know that Instagram Lives are the new thing that. Everyone’s doing it. From poetry readings to musical performances, Instagram Live is where it’s at y’all and naturally, some Instagram influencers don’t want to be left behind. So here’s what they do - they go live...without any purpose. Their live sessions are quite frankly pointless. All they do is read comments and attempt to make silly small talk with their followers. To them I want to say: please stop before the Instagram Live feature breaks.
6. The Pet Parent Influencer
You know that influencer who spends their day time posting about their work but once they’re home - their pet rules. Yep. These influencers are truly having the time of their lives right now. Their new content strategy (posting 24x7 about their pet) is bang on - it’s the need of the hour, relatable, and just perfect right now. Who doesn’t want 29379 photos of someone’s pet cat or dog to look at all day, right? To be honest, if I was an influencer, I’d be a Pet Parent Influencer too.
7. The Good Old (Now, Bored) Fashion Influencer
Fashion bloggers on Instagram are having a tough time and I totally get it. Every day when I wake up with the sole intention of changing from one pair of pyjamas to another, my fancy outdoor clothes die a little bit on the inside (of my wardrobe). So I understand. But it’s been interesting to see just how well (or not) fashion bloggers are coping.
Most of them seem to be recycling old photos. Others are spicing it up with personalised skincare routines and recommendations that no one seems to have asked for. Some are still busy with their “last-minute outfit hack” videos that presently serve no purpose.
8. The Influencer Who Thinks They Discovered ‘House Chores’
I don’t think it’s fair to say that any of the influencers I’ve mentioned so far, including this one, exist in isolation. Lately, plenty of influencers have been behaving like they discovered house chores. They keep putting up stories of themselves mopping the floor, doing dishes, laundry etc. every day. Some fitness bloggers even sprinkle it with a little bit of workout motivation by telling their followers that doing house chores will help burn off some calories.
9. The Home Workout Influencer
This one doesn’t need much explaining. Previously, fitness bloggers, these influencers can’t stop posting about their workout routines. They’ve even had a couple or more live sessions where they encourage their followers to tune in and workout with them. Good thing is that they’ve stopped promoting protein shakes and putting up post-workout selfies at the gym. They sometimes also virtually collab with their fitness buddies and are always seem to be dressed in workout clothes because you know...vibe.
10. The Oversharing Influencer
These kinds of influencers often refer to themselves as ‘honest’ and ‘candid’. They display an overwhelming need to overshare every little detail of their life. While earlier it was all about the rickshaw selfies every time they stepped out. Now it’s more about what they’re cooking for lunch or what they’re watching on Netflix. Their brand is all about being ‘relatable’ and there’s no time like right now to capitalise on that.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)