How I Learned Social Influencers Rule the World

It was a normal Tuesday evening a few days before Halloween.  I was answering customers’ questions on my computer, and I heard the usual “cha ching” sound, letting me know I had a sale.  I went to my purchases page and saw a vanilla extract label template was sold, and I sent the customer the customary thank you message that includes some basic instructions.  Then, I heard the “cha ching” again and experienced a little deja vu, since the order was for the same product.  Moments later, one “cha ching” interrupted another, creating an odd “cha cha ching” sound.  All purchases were for the same product.  At this point, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t feel like I’ve had a lot of sales for that item before.’  A quick look at my product statistics confirmed that — since release — that item had only one or two sales per week.  Interrupting my research, “cha ching.” 

I started receiving questions about the item as well, and so I responded with answers to their questions along with a question of my own: “How did you hear about this item?”  I learned that a social influencer on Instagram posted a video about making your own vanilla extract and included my label template. 

I checked out her page (Daryl-Ann Denner at instagram.com/darylanndenner) and saw that she had over 600,000 followers (at that time; now her tally is getting close to 800,000!).  I found the video and watched as Daryl-Ann and her mother (a very likable duo) show how to make vanilla extract and talk about my labels in the process.

I have to admit, I felt a bit starstruck.  I acknowledged the silliness; a product of mine was shown on someone else’s Instagram page; big deal.  Enter perspective.  Still, this person had over 600,000 followers, and she included me in her little world.  And in her world, when Daryl-Ann Denner says vanilla extract is a “Best DIY Christmas Gift,” her followers listen.  In that first 24-hour period, there would be over 300 “cha chings” for vanilla extract labels.  Since then, the total count has grown to 2,829 orders at the time of this writing (October 27th through December 29th).  The total sales since originally releasing the item on January 1st, 2020 is 2,865, so a whopping 36 sales had occurred in the ten months prior to the product being featured.

I don’t believe any advertising could have yielded anything close to these results.  So, that’s how I learned that – as the title of this post suggests – social influencers rule the world . . . or at least the small piece of the world in which they reign. 

So how, as small business owners, do we benefit from this recognition?  Obviously, I would love to replicate this success.  And sure, it would be wonderful for another social influencer to simply stumble upon one of my products and decide to feature it, but I don’t think I’m lucky enough for lightning to just strike twice.  I also don’t know if I have the ability to compel lightning . . . but I’m definitely going to try.  I will be spending a good chunk of time researching and doing some trial and error of my own on the best ways to approach social influencers.  If I come up with a winning combination, you will be the first to know!  Stay tuned!