Grandfluencers: The New Age Of Social Media Marketing

From fashion to fun, health, parenting and career, you can bet there’s an influencer for it! I’m talking about the people you see on social media with 2 million, 10 million, 100 million followers. The more people you have following you, the more money you earn.

The influencer marketing industry reached $16 billion this year.

In fact, 93% of all marketers chose to use influencers in the past year.

The top influencer is Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best Portuguese soccer players in the world, with 443 million followers. He is followed by Kylie Jenner, of the Kardashian family, with 339 million followers.

Now there is a new group of influencers taking social media by storm.

“Grandfluencers” are changing the face of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Eighty-one-year-old Sandra Sallin has 30,000 loyal fans.

“They told me that they, that I make them happy. That they like to see a woman my age still wearing lipstick, that I care about the world and that I haven’t given up,” says Salin.

Lonni Pike is going through gray hair and tattoos.

“The bolder and brighter and the bolder I get, the more colorful I get,” Pike said.

In just three years, Lonni has attracted 1.5 million followers on TikTok. The 58-year-old says most of them are millennials.

“I have 1,442,000 women between the ages of 18 and 35 following me,” Pike said.

And for some, Lonni’s message is a lifesaver.

“‘You reaffirmed my commitment to loving myself and my tattoos,'” she says.

Lonni and Sandra are just two of a growing number of major influencers. The Old Gay Guys have over 2 million followers. Joan MacDonald turned her life around with her first visit to the gym at age 71. Now at 75, she has 1.4 million people following her fitness journey.

And although all their themes are different, their messages are very similar.

“I hope that I can inspire women not to give up,” said Sallin. “I am not invisible, and I will not let anyone think that I am invisible.”

By using their social media, you might be able to show the world that you can love the age you are, be relevant and still have something to say.

“You can be just as bright and just as bold and just as fierce at 50 as you can be at 20,” Pike said.

“It’s just to let people know that they can still live and be alive and be curious and that you don’t have to be, what, 14, 18 or a Kardashian,” Sallin said.

How much money you can make as a micro-influencer is up for debate. A popular formula is $100 per post for every 10,000 followers.

Lonni’s latest venture is doing a podcast with her sons, Robert, and Brandon. It’s called, “We’re in Trouble Now.” You can find it on Spotify and iTunes.