Women’s History Month is dedicated to recognising the achievements of women across the globe, with this year’s theme dedicated to ‘celebrating women who tell our stories’. We, therefore, think it's more important than ever to celebrate the female influencers that utilise their platforms as resources for education and to promote positive messages - and most importantly, to tell their individual, inspiring stories too. In this blog, we’ll be discussing the importance of making social media a more positive and healthy space; and, we’ll be shedding light on some of the female influencers we admire on Room Unlocked’s platform for doing just that, as well as the three steps influencers are taking to make social media a more positive and healthy space.
We recently commissioned some nationwide research and found that social media users highly resonate with influencers who post content that, to an extent, caters to their own beliefs and values - women specifically, with 1 in 4 women saying this is one of the main factors they look for in those they follow! With that in mind, let’s see how female influencers are inspiring their audiences and helping to make social media a more authentic space.
Have you ever been scrolling on social media and landed on the notorious ‘clickbait’ workout videos? The caption is often something along the lines of ‘Try this workout for 5 days and watch your body transform’ – great clickbait, right? However, this type of content can have detrimental effects on people who struggle with their body image or who struggle to reach their workout goals.
Luckily, we’ve seen a huge shift away from these types of videos recently. More influencers are now motivating people to be kinder to themselves, busting workout myths and spreading awareness of the toxicity of clickbait videos. We think this rise in honesty is great for workout communities on socials as it gives space for body positivity to come forward as well as realistic goals and training routines, rather than toxic and incorrect workout advice.
To show the impact that consumerism can have on social media users, and in an attempt to be more authentic with their following base, many influencers have been sharing their true, unfiltered opinions on products that have been trending, stating whether they think they are worth purchasing - deinfluencing their followers. Acting as the antithesis to traditional influencing, this trend is being referred to as #deinfluencing and has generated millions of videos on TikTok!
Its popularity comes as no surprise - influencers are more relatable when they are ‘real’ with their audiences, so when an authentic creator says a product is not worth the hype, their word is taken seriously. This authenticity is exactly what we want to see more of on social media, as we believe it’ll help influencers build a closer and more genuine relationship with their community.
Filters started emerging in the social media space around 2011 and blew up in 2013, causing a widespread use of filters on all social media platforms; from the iconic flower crown filter on Snapchat, all the way to various ‘glowy skin’ filters on Instagram, we’ve seen it all! Unfortunately, filters have been known to contribute to poor self-esteem and a distorted body image amongst users, especially the younger audience. But thankfully, ‘face-fixing’ filters are slowly losing their appeal as creators are beginning to advocate for a more relatable and body-positive look.
There has been a rise of TikTok creators that are turning off beauty filters on their posts to show their real skin texture and flaws, reminding their followers just how common ‘non-perfect’ skin is. This new wave of genuine, authentic content on TikTok stands against unattainable beauty standards and we are definitely here for it!
Lucy Dawson, aka @luuudaw, is a disabled model and activist after contracting a rare brain disease called encephalitis in 2016. Featured in numerous campaigns with major fashion brands, she has been an advocate for disability awareness joining movements such as the #DisabledAndSexycampaign, and the #BabesWithMobilityAidshashtag.
Jelena Fairweather, aka @into.trends, is a food and lifestyle influencer with a following of over 20,000. You might recognise her appearance in Masterchef in 2019. She encourages women to be the best and healthiest version of themselves through her healthy food recipes and fun cocktails.
Charlotte Pemberto, aka @lifeofcharliejames, is a mother of two boys documenting cute outfit pics of her sons Charlie and James and meal prep ideas for mothers. Her content also aims to help women who are new to motherhood and how to navigate processes such as weaning.
Gemma Baker, aka @gemmagoesgloba, a luxury travel and lifestyle creator. From Abu Dhabi to Argentina, Gemma travels to all corners of the world. As a solo female traveller, she gives her top tips on the best food, activities and places to visit.
We hope this blog helped bring awareness to the ways inspirational female influencers are adding authenticity and positivity to the social media space. By joining movements that encourage real and unfiltered content, creators are creating a space for genuine communities to be built.
This allows brands to feel confident that their chosen influencers will promote their products because they actually love them and are excited to share them with their audience, and not just for the money. If you’re looking to source authentic advocates for your brand, find out more here.
