I’m exploring something new on this episode of the podcast. Each Monday, as I have the time to do so, I’m going to post a shorter episode that isn’t an interview, but my take on an issue within influence and influence marketing that has been on my mind. In some cases, like today, the topic is going to be inspired by something I’ve written, either at JasonFalls.com, on Entrepreneur.com or elsewhere. In some cases, it will be one of my fun rants about a given thing. 
The thought process here is to share my perspective occasionally so the podcast is more than just an interview series. I’ve had some feedback from a few of you that this kind of observation might be appreciated. So here’s my first offering in this new commentary episode I’m just calling my commentary for now. If you have a good idea for a catchy title to distinguish these types of episodes, let me know. 
Today, I’d like to share some of my own thoughts on the fallacy of achieving influence. We live in a get-rich-quick world where everyone is in search of the easy button. Thanks Staples. That’s the reason we have bots that automatically generate thousands of followers and tons of engagement on social channels. Someone knows there are dreamers and schemers out there who will pay for the perception a social media account is worth more than it really is. 
That’s the reason that high school kids today are setting their life goal of being an influencer. They see the posers on Instagram living their best life, oblivious to the fact that either that best life is staged or it takes a hell of a lot of work to reach, then maintain the kind of lifestyle that looks fab online, so they think … I just want to reach influencer status and then life will be easy.
Well, I’ve got news for you. Influence is not and end goal of a journey. It’s not a college degree that you work hard for over a period of time, then you always have it. 
Influence is not static. I’ll explain why in today’s commentary.
This episode of Winfluence, the podcast, is sponsored by Julius. If you’ve read my book, you know I’ve depended on Julius for influencer discovery and campaign management for some time now. When I’m looking for the right influencer for my clients, Julius allows me to search across Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogs and more. When I click into an influencer’s profile, I can see their audience demographics, what other networks they have reach through and quickly scan their recent posts to decide if they’re a right influencer for my brand. All the pieces of campaign management are there, too. Julius allows you to reach out, document contracts, share and approve influencer content and, of course, measure the ROI of each campaign, influencer or post. You owe it to your brand or agency to do a demo of Julius today. Go to jason.online/julius and request one. That’s jason.online/julius.

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