Are influencers inspiring your New Year’s resolutions?

As is traditional at this time of year, many of us here at Dynam are setting ourselves goals for self-improvement in 2021. But as our consumption of influencers grows, are we being influenced by others when it comes to setting goals? Here’s why we would say a firm yes.

The global influencer marketing industry is estimated to be worth a staggering $5.5 billion and is forecasted to quadruple in the next four years. Whether you’re a hobbyist blogger or multi-millionaire influencer, there are opportunities for anyone to get involved. And with influencer-endorsed product posts often receiving more engagement than a sales post, companies turn to influencers to resonate with fans in ways they couldn’t afford to do back in the days of expensive celebrity endorsements.

Most importantly though, influencers are changing our perception of who is a ‘celebrity’, with social media stars now appearing on shows like Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity. These shows often feature well-known faces from TV and entertainment, but alongside Shane Ritchie and Caroline Quentin, we’re now seeing the likes of Saffron Barker and Joe Suggs joining the ranks.

With so much of the media we consume inundated with influencers, it’s almost impossible not to be swayed by them in some way. Given the nature of influencers and the way they interact with their followers, you could be forgiven for seeing them as friends. As we follow their lives, we begin to trust them - and that trust extends to the products or brands they recommend. So it’s easy to see how influencers really do impact our decisions. This can be a positive thing when they inspire us to set goals for the year ahead.

After a year like no other, the Dynam team’s list of resolutions for 2021 ranges from the everyday - eat less sugar, keep plants alive, read a book a month, be more positive, spread kindness, spend less and be smarter with money - to the more ambitious: climb more Munros, do more wild swimming, buy a first home.

And it seems our resolutions broadly match current online conversations. Our research - using social listening tools - shows that in the UK, people are focused on mindfulness, weight loss, healthy eating and fitness when it comes to goal-setting for 2021.

Influencers can positively impact our lives and encourage us to do something different - your New Year’s resolution might be to squat like Joe Wicks, bake like Mary Berry or create art like paperboyo. Maybe just try and refrain from buying everything they suggest, or that goal for saving more money in 2021 may be short-lived...