Everything you know about being an influencer is wrong. Well, somewhat wrong. Case in point: a huge hit on Netflix is "Inventing Anna", a drama miniseries starring Julia Garner, about the case of Anna "Delvey" Sorokin, a German convicted con artist and fraudster who Instagram-pretended to be a wealthy heiress defrauding banks, hotels, and acquaintances of hundreds of thousands of dollars. How has she stolen "the hearts and money of New York elites" as well as all this attention? Is she a charming fraudster or a genius influencer?

In today’s digital age, there are plenty of legitimate social media influencers who affect the behavior of others due to the mere size of their audience. The largest number of social media followers goes to celebrities who rose to fame through the music industry, television & film, or sports (Cristiano Ronaldo, Justin Beiber, and Ariana Grande are the top 3). Artists account for half of the top 50 largest social media followings with large and diverse fanbases. Advertising follows eyeballs, and the influencer ad industry is projected to expand to a whopping $16.4 billion in 2022. This growth is attributed to the increasing popularity of short video formats on TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube platforms.

However, we also live in an era where people can become famous for being famous. These people attain celebrity status for no clearly identifiable reason (as opposed to fame based on achievement, competence, or talent). Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and Kevin Federline appear to invent their own fame or achieved fame through association with an existing celebrity. Anna Sorokin closely curated her image and associations to produce this illusion, not unlike those in this category. She told 20/20 that she wasn’t delusional,

— “she knew she didn’t have money, and she was trying to change that. The scheme she ran was her version of faking it until you make it. On social media, there’s a word for this: flexing. Influencers will show off their conspicuous consumption in YouTube videos and Instagram posts, flaunting their lavish mansions, closets bursting with Gucci, wrists dripping with Cartier, and Bugattis in the driveway. This opulence is often more evidence of debt than it is wealth, but flexing is a way to get more attention and create more content. An unsustainable lifestyle is a business expense.”

This isn’t real influence; we only struggle to avert our eyes from the train wreck

Without question, Ms. Sorokin has honed the illusion of influence but is missing some key ingredients. While influence, authority, and identity work hand-in-hand, no one can sustain these characteristics without competence, trust, and substantiated value. A valued identity is one in which your invitations, offers, and requests get accepted quickly and at little cost. Without the speed of trust, even former President Trumps’ influence is being diluted by his own accounting firm’s claim that it can no longer vouch for the financial statements it prepared for the company.

According to NBC:

The accounting firm Mazars USA said a decade’s worth of financial statements from the Trump Organization can no longer be viewed as reliable, according to a letter made public Monday by New York Attorney General Letitia James as part of her civil probe into the former president’s company. Mazars also said it will no longer work with the Trump Organization, meaning the company may have to get new financial statements that could complicate its ability to secure loans.

Anna Sorokin’s world collapsed when the banks could not corroborate her heiress claims. “Fake it till you make it” isn’t the same as “lying till they’re buying.” At some point, the evidence doesn’t corroborate the illusion. If we study any one of Cialdini’s levers of influence, we can see Ms. Sorokin applying them all—social proof, reciprocity, scarcity, authority, and more.

Where she gets it wrong (and where most do) is that these levers are applied in hopes no one finds out there is nothing to back them up. This is akin to opening a restaurant and hiring 200 people to make it look popular on opening night; the social proof will work for a few days but only if the food is worthy of continued buzz.

Unethical influence isn’t sustainable, there is always an expiration date.

Since most people seek a shortcut to influence and authority, they might apply these levers with nothing to back them up. We can usually smell it and know we’re being conned. Unfortunately, like moths to a flame, we move towards a highly skilled influencer. For New York’s elite, they bought into Ms. Sorokin’s illusion only to be wildly embarrassed that they’d been bamboozled. This can happen to any of us and often does.

It can be hard to judge competency, trust, and substantiated value from a website, profile, or Instagram account in today’s digital world. True authority, scarcity, and social proof can be found in ratings, reviews, testimonials, and word-of-mouth. Hence, the micro-influencer is on the rise.

So word-of-mouth dominates how contractors and vendors get hired, especially for smaller industries. My prediction is that for these industries, micro-influencers will be more trusted than glossy, Instagram-ready mega-influencers simply because they appear to be more authentic and transparent. Forbes

As most advertisers know, not all social media accounts and followings are comparable. Many influencers with relatively small followings have more consistent engagement and are often able to demand high advertising fees as a result. Experts predict that smaller industries will opt to work with micro-influencers. They exude authenticity, relatability, and credibility, which today’s audiences value.

There is often a chasm between real influence and a wanna-be influencer if you know where to look. People like Anna Sorokin have made us leary of social flexing, brand hype, and unfounded associations. She has served a prison sentence for her fraudulent influence but is gaining attention and income from her moment in the sun, but only a moment it will be. There is nothing sustainable about influence that isn’t substantiated.

There is nothing admirable about the pretense of value where none exists.

If you seek to grab a dose of fame, Anna’s example might be your vibe. If you seek long-term satisfaction, true authority, and real influence, there is no other route than providing valued solutions over time.

AUTHOR

John Patterson
Co-founder and CEO
INFLUENTIAL U
John Patterson co-founded and manages the faculty and consultants of Influential U global. Since 1987, he has led workshops, programs, and conferences for over 100k people in diverse professions, industries, and cultures. His history includes corporate curriculum design focusing on business ecosystems, influence, leadership, and high-performance training and development.