What is a mentor? What is an Influencer? Why do I need
one? How will a mentor help me in my journey as a Creative Entrepreneur?
What is a mentor?
Mentorship is a
mutually beneficial professional relationship in which an experienced
individual (the mentor) imparts knowledge, expertise and wisdom to a less
experienced person (the mentee) while simultaneously honing their mentoring
skills.
An effective mentor
can guide the mentee professionally while maintaining a friendly and supportive
relationship. A mentor should always have the mentee’s best interests in mind
and tailor their mentorship style to meet their needs.
What
qualities does a good mentor have?
It is essential to
choose wisely when selecting a mentor. A mentor should be someone you look up
to and aspire to be like. With that said, all good mentors share several
qualities.
·
Experience
and success: At the most
basic level, your mentor should have more experience than you and a track
record of success.
·
Excellent
character: One should look
for mentors who are authentic, empathetic, creative and honest. You need
someone who’s caring and interested in your professional growth, but also
someone who will speak truth to you.
·
Similar
values to your own: A mentor should
be in the same business area or have a Leadership style that you aspire too. It
is important to make sure that the mentor shares a similar value system in
leadership and management similar to you.
Social Media Influencers and Followers
So what is the difference between and Influencer and a
Mentor? An influencer is essentially the same as Mentor but is more applicable
to social media context.
·
Influencer is someone who has - the power to affect
the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge,
position, or relationship with his or her audience.
·
Followers refers to- an audience or a following in a distinct niche, with
whom he or she actively engages. The size of the following depends on the size
of his/her topic of the niche.
The wide spread use and influence of Social Media
sites like Facebook, Youtube, Instragram, Twitter, LinkedInn means that individuals are not merely marketing tools,
but rather social relationship assets with which many major brands can
collaborate to achieve their marketing objectives.
Influencers in social media are people who have built a reputation for their
knowledge and expertise on a specific topic. They make regular posts about that
topic on their preferred social media channels and generate large followings of
enthusiastic, engaged people who pay close attention to their views. Brands
love social media influencers because they can create trends and encourage
their followers to buy products they promote.
|
Type
of Influencer |
Definition |
Number
of followers |
|
Mega Influencer |
People with a vast number of followers on their
social networks. Although there are no fixed rules there are boundaries
between the different numbers of followers |
≥ 1million followers on at least 1 social platform |
|
Macro Influencer |
Macro-influencers are one step down from the
mega-influencers, and maybe more accessible as influencer marketers. They are
either B-grade celebrities, who haven't yet made it to the big time. Or they
are successful online experts, who have built up more significant followings
than the typical micro-influencers. |
You would consider people with followers in the
range between 40,000 and 1 million followers on a social network to be
macro-influencers |
|
Micro Influencer |
Micro
influencers are ordinary everyday people who have become known for their
knowledge about some specialist niche. As such, they have usually gained a
sizable social media following amongst devotees of that niche. |
1,000 and 40,000 followers on a single social platform |
|
Nano Influencer |
The newest influencer-type to gain recognition is
the nano-influencer. These people only have a small number of followers, but
they tend to be experts in an obscure or highly specialized field. You can
think of nano-influencers as being the proverbial big fish in a small pond. |
In many cases, they have fewer than 1,000
followers – but they will be keen and interested followers, willing to engage
with the nano-influencer, and listen to his/her opinions |
Summary
As a Creative Entrepreneur, mentors may not
readily be available physically but thanks to the social media there is a wide
range of influencers available on any niche you can think of. This is the
unfortunate case in Papua New Guinea, but from my journey, so far in the world
of Books and Self-Publishing, from my personal experience here are the mentors
I follow:
|
Influencer |
Subject/Niche |
Platforms |
|
Dale Roberts |
Self-Publishing |
Self-Publishing with Dave, You Tube |
|
Dave Chesson |
Self-Publishing software and marketing tools |
You Tube, Kindlepreneur Blog |
|
Julie Broad |
Non-Fiction Books, Writing and formatting |
Book Launchers,You Tube |
|
Keith Wheeler |
Children’s’ Books, Writing and Formatting |
Keith Wheeler Books, You tube |
Conclusion
So to recap on what has been covered so far:
1. Determine your creative vibe
2. Determine your business goals and business model
3. Identify your mentors or Influencers you want to follow
Now what are your thoughts on Mentors and
Influencers? and Social Media platforms? Who do you follow and why? Please let
me know in the comments below and check out the links below for more
information
Links
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6248-how-to-find-mentor.html
https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/
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