Sarah Jane Adams has 180,000 Instagram followers, and attracts thousands of likes on her posts. She follows the most up-to-date fashion trends, and frequently does high-value photo-shoots. This may sound like the template of a 20-something fitness model, but Adams is in her early 60s, and uses her age as a tool of empowerment, rather than a setback.
Natalie Giddings, Marketing Director at The Remarkables Group, says the digital landscape is diversifying, and allowing for these types of influencers to gain popularity. “Our research has found there are more than 700,000 over-45’s now on Instagram in Australia. And the over 50’s age group is actually one of the fastest-growing groups,” said Giddings. “They are a diverse audience actively seeking like-minded people with an engaging take on their interests and life stage. This surge of users is, in turn, stimulating the rise of the more ‘mature’ social influencer.”
“All of this means that we are seeing really exciting opportunities from companies for people over the age of 50 with audiences in this age group,” said Giddings. “They can be very lucrative. For example if you have a sizeable following, like 100,000 plus followers, you can be looking at earning $1000 per post.”
Giddings said there are key rules for becoming an influencer, one of them being to express something different about you because “what makes social media and Instagram in particular so popular isn’t the platform itself, but the individuals who express themselves through it,” she said. Another rule is to choose a niche as people are looking to connect on social media and one of the easiest ways to do that is to use your passion to build a like-minded community.
The most important rule however is to believe in your self and your own timing. “Don’t think it’s too late. Age should, if anything, be a motivator rather than a setback,” said Giddings.
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