My husband Ian came home this evening and inquired about whether I had finished writing my column. We had previously discussed the urgency of meeting a Pageantry editorial deadline. I had resolutely promised him that I would focus on the task at hand and “dash it off in no time.” As a response, I quoted Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and said, “This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back in.” His eyebrows were raised. I was going to write about how the modeling industry was being affected by lnstagrarn and other online search tools that models, clients, agents, and managers use. I had interviewed several industry experts and done much research and was surprised at the many diverse opinions. Agents, managers, scouts, models, school directors, and parents had expressed interest, enthusiasm, despair, denial, confusion, speculation, and anxiety as a result of the industry’s explosion of social media. I was aware of the plethora of questions I had received from readers who were also in a predicament, which added to the turmoil for both myself and my mission. Some of them were as follows: “Can a newcomer establish a profile on Instagram? Is it safe to do this? Are managers and agents required? What does it mean to be an “influencer?” The list is extensive. According to my sources, there did not appear to be any definitive answers at this time. People had experienced a variety of effects as a result of the numerous advantages and disadvantages, the relatively recent nature of this phenomenon, and its rapid emergence. There is no doubt that some professionals in the industry are extremely worried about their future. While others intend to ignore the online revolution in the hope that it will self-destruct, many realize they cannot ignore it. However, a growing number of agents around the world now have a social media department on staff. Some agents have been true pioneers and successful businesspeople because they have embraced it from the beginning. For a number of years, the renown IMG Models agency has utilized Instagram for scouting all over the world. They recently established a specific division known as “We Love Your Genes” (#WLYG), which quickly became a popular global scouting tool. The traditional method of scouting is comparable to this type. Scouts follow a model’s Instagram account to obtain additional information, such as location and statistics. An agent will pay the model a visit if he or she has potential. The number of models using #WLYG increased dramatically, and IMG appointed a digital scout to handle the program.
A group of highly successful models, known as “influencers,” have emerged as a result of all of this online activity. We have all been following the incredible success of the Kardashian family, who used the internet to build careers worth millions of dollars. They had an impact on the entire modeling and fashion industry. The term “influencer” refers to the fans or followers who continued to influence our preferences and business practices. The celebrity needs to have millions of followers to be extremely successful and reach this level of status.
