Being a YouTuber puts you in a unique and privileged position. You have the opportunity to share your insights, teach, and inspire others on a massive scale. But what makes your influence meaningful?
It’s the difference between being genuine and simply appearing popular or trendy. Understanding what it means to have real influence, versus superficial, artificial, or authentic influence can help you form deeper connections with your audience.
What Is Genuine Influence?
Genuine influence comes from building trust. It means being transparent, bringing value, and creating content that truly serves your viewers. You want people to follow you not just for entertainment but because they feel a real connection and respect for what you have to say.
Imagine a YouTuber who provides educational content about digital marketing. This person shares case studies, gives honest feedback, and even opens up about their past mistakes. They offer valuable knowledge viewers can immediately apply. As a result, their audience trusts them and feels genuinely influenced.
Contrast this with someone who presents hyped-up trends just for clicks. Their influence is shallow, and people might not return once the buzz fades.
Understanding Types of Influence
To understand genuine influence, you must understand and avoid superficial and artificial influence. Here’s a breakdown:
Artificial Influence
Artificial influence is built on deception or manipulation. It’s when a creator crafts a fake persona, misleading their audience for fame or attention. This kind of influence is transactional, shallow, and often unsustainable.
Characteristics of Artificial Influence:
- Misleading followers with false information.
- Pretending to have skills or experiences you don’t actually possess.
- Using clickbait titles that don’t match your content.
Example: Faking Expertise A travel YouTuber might pretend to be an experienced mountain climber but has never actually climbed. If they recommend gear or give tips that could endanger real climbers, they’re not only misleading but also putting viewers at risk. When the truth comes out, their credibility crumbles.
Superficial Influence
Superficial influence focuses on appearance and short-lived trends. It’s when creators engage their audience with flashy content that lacks depth. While it can make you popular quickly, it rarely leads to lasting, meaningful connections.
Characteristics of Superficial Influence:
- Content driven solely by trending topics or memes.
- Shallow engagement, like using extreme challenges or pranks.
- Short-lived hype that fails to provide long-term value.
Example: Viral Challenges Consider a creator who constantly jumps on viral trends without adding anything new. While they might gain millions of views, they struggle to retain loyal followers because there’s no deeper purpose or substance in their content.
Authentic Influence
Authentic influence is rooted in genuine connection and meaningful content. It’s when creators inspire their audience by staying true to their values, experiences, and unique perspectives. While it may take longer to build, it fosters trust and loyalty, leading to deep and lasting relationships.
Characteristics of Authentic Influence:
- Content that reflects personal values, passions, and expertise.
- Honest communication, including sharing successes and failures.
- Engagement focused on understanding and helping the audience.
Example: Storytelling and Vulnerability
Consider a creator who shares personal stories about overcoming challenges or lessons learned. While their content may not go viral instantly, it resonates deeply with their audience, fostering trust and creating a dedicated, long-term following.
Genuine Influence
Genuine influence goes beyond authenticity by focusing on delivering consistent value to the audience. It’s not just about being real—it’s about being reliable, insightful, and impactful. This type of influence builds a strong foundation of trust, making the creator a dependable source of inspiration and knowledge.
Characteristics of Genuine Influence:
- Regularly providing content that educates, empowers, or solves problems.
- Deep understanding of the audience’s needs and addressing them thoughtfully.
- Building a community through ongoing support and meaningful interactions.
Example: Educational Creators
Consider a creator who consistently shares actionable tips or teaches new skills. Their content isn’t just relatable; it helps their audience grow. Over time, this commitment to value fosters loyalty and positions the creator as a trusted guide in their niche.
Authentic vs. Genuine Influence
While authentic influence is better than being artificial or superficial, there’s still a distinction. Authenticity means being true to who you are, but genuine influence goes a step further. It’s not just about being real; it’s about providing consistent value to your audience.
What Makes Influence Genuine?
- Being open about your experiences and struggles.
- Sharing your knowledge or talents in a way that benefits your viewers.
- Actively listening to your audience and adapting content to meet their needs.
Don’t Steal, Bring Value
One of the worst mistakes a YouTuber can make is stealing or copying other creators’ content. It may seem tempting, but copying won’t earn respect. Your followers expect you to bring something unique to the table.
How to Stand Out and Bring Value:
- Put your own spin on popular ideas. If everyone is talking about a new movie, give your perspective that’s different from the rest.
- Dive deeper into your niche. If you’re in the fitness space, instead of doing the same workout challenges, create content explaining the science behind exercise routines.
- Collaborate to enrich your content. Invite experts or feature community members to add variety and authenticity.
- Add your Unique Insights. Share what you’ve learned through experience, perhaps your failures or unique strategies that work for you.
To be a truly influential YouTuber, you must prioritise genuine influence. It requires you to be real and valuable, while avoiding superficial and artificial strategies. Remember, it’s a privilege to reach people on a global scale, so use your platform wisely. Invest in your audience, share authentic experiences, and never compromise on bringing real value.
Genuine influence stands the test of time, creates lasting connections, and builds a legacy that goes beyond views and likes.
Thank you for reading, and if you found a part of this useful. Share so it can help others.
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