3 Reasons You Should Not Call Yourself a Social Media Influencer

How do you introduce yourself? Do you say that you're a social media influencer? It turns out, if you're doing this you may actually be cutting yourself off at the knees. Here are a few reasons why calling yourself a social media influencer can limit your growth:

You don't own your channel

What do you think of when someone says "social media"?

Probably Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...basically channels you can have a presence on.

Here's the thing - you don't OWN those channels. There are a lot of things that can happen to your profiles when you use social media platforms:

1. They can change terms and conditions

2. They can close your account whenever they please

3. They can show your content to whomever they want

If you own a domain name and have your own website, you own your platform. In media, they call this O&O - owned and operated. Your content belongs to you - no platform can decide to delete all of your hard work. This is a great way to ensure the longevity of your brand.

You're limiting your reach

I always encourage my students to refer to themselves as an influencer - this is a broad term that can cover all aspects of your business.

What is an influencer? Simply put, it's someone who has an INFLUENCE on others. Oprah is an influencer. GaryVee is an influencer. Speakers, leaders, digital influencers - they all have an influence. 

 The #1 mistake influencers are making 

 There's one mindset mistake that influencers are making that is limiting their growth - not thinking of their business as a whole. 

Influencers may want to post on Instagram and get free stuff - but isn't that a short-sighted way of thinking?

Imagine your business as a tall building and you're at the top. When you look down on your business, what do you want to see? Maybe your separate channels, the events you cover, the sponsorships, the affiliate marketing - the possibilities are endless!

How to maximize your presence

So we learned you shouldn't call yourself a social media influencer - what should you call yourself?

It's best to position yourself as a member of the media - this can encompass all of your channels from speaking engagements to online shop to Instagram.