I’m an influencer not for money but impact —Rere Ayodele

I’m an influencer not for money but impact —Rere AyodeleRere Ayodele is young blogger turned social media influencer who has become the toast of events and brands around the South-West. He tells ROTIMI IGE his journey so far. Excerpts.

 

Background

Although I hail from Osun State, I was bred in Ibadan. I am the second child in a family of four. I started school at Omolara Nursery and Primary School, Oluyole, and continued at The Concord school. I completed my junior secondary schooling at Sacred Heart, before finally moving to Oladipo Alayande School of Science for my senior secondary schooling. I am currently an undergraduate  in the University of Ibadan.

 

Influences

A lot of people have had influence on me. I look up to a lot of people not just in this business, but in other walks of life. I think one of the greatest influences is my mother. She is a great person and I owe her a lot. I envy her passion to do anything she’s determined to. And when it is work related, I look up to the likes of Paul Alasiri, Mazi Ibe and Pamilerin. Those are my top three in the influencer market. I’m also a fan of Omoyele Sowore.

 

How I started

Well, I started off as a blogger. I started building websites while in JSS 2, but I really focused on blogging when I resumed 100 level. I was working with a partner then on his own blog. That was where I learnt what blogging entails, coming up with contents and making search engines pick up your blog and posts.

We later had to split so I moved to social media. I started on WhatsApp in 2018, then I later continued on instagram and twitter. I was known on instagram for pushing upcoming talents with my reach. I grew to having over 10,000 followers in less than a year.

Before I knew it, I started getting offers from brands that wanted to work with me. I got contacted by several entertainment brands that wanted me to host their platforms. God and hard work brought me this far.

 

My motivation

Most people think influencers are being driven by the money involved in the business, which is very wrong. I’m not into influencing because of the money but to  impact positively, people’s lives. Helping others and empowering people is what motivates me the most. It doesn’t matter whether it is a colleague, friend or relative.

There are times when the people around your need that extra drive to get going. I relish the opportunity to reach out to such people. It gives me a sense of confidence and belief that I can be of some help. The idea that I might provide a solution to someone’s problem is what motivates me to do a good job. To understand and empathise with people is crucial.

You do not want to make them feel inferior or incapable of solving their own problems. I simply try to show them an alternate and less resistant path as a solution to their difficulty. This not only makes them feel better but also allows them to introspect and to think logically. I try to be positive myself. This allows me to instill the same optimism into others when they need it the most. Lending a helping hand is about making the person feel upbeat, energetic and positive.

 

How I became an influencer

I’ll firstly want to define who an influencer is, so the clearer picture of  social media influencing can be gotten. Basically, an influencer could be anybody not necessarily someone who uses social media. Our parents are influencers too because they have, at a point, impacted on our lives. Relating it to social media, an influencer is someone who has earned the trust of his audience over time. An influencer makes sure their audience or followers trust them on certain aspects of life. For example, leadership skills, expertise, originality and lots more. An influencer is someone who has the ability to shift people’s minds towards certain things and makes sure that their opinions about that thing is what you can reason with. Influencers are manipulators. So, social media influencing is the basic way of using social media to control people. That’s what we leverage on.

 

Clients I have worked with

Over the few years, I’ve worked with quite a number of brands and personalities in Nigeria. I worked with Omoyele Sowore in my 200 level,when he was contesting for presidency. I was in charge of the movement at the University of Ibadan. I’ve worked with brands like First Bank, Redbull, Bolt, Itel Mobile, etc. I ran a series of campaign for Multichoice earlier this year. I was on the team of influencers who publicised Mayorkun’s concert and MI’s CBN tour hosted by the Ibadan Countdown Festival, Young John Fest, and also Trace in the City 1 and 2, all held in Ibadan.

 

Hobbies

My number one hobby is pressing my phone (Laughs). I’m always on my phone 24/7. I also love playing football and video games which I am a pro at.

 

Future plans

My next plan is to keep growing. I want to meet with a lot of people who would love to work with me. I want to network with brands,  personalities and possibly forge business connections for as long as possible. I have plans to establish my own business later on. I plan on focusing on social media influencing after school. It’s something I have passion for and I see no reason not to continue with it.