E-Learning: YouTube and Instagram Adding Influencers:

When it comes to learning something new, we all tend to Google the future prospects of that particular skill, degree, specialization, or certification. We also research these points on Yahoo, Quora, and Twitter. However, all of these platforms are quite informal, you can definitely find your answer if you were confused on any issue. For learning a new skill or craft, we are now blessed with standardized online education, or more popularly known as eLearning, just a mere click away.

I was recently watching interviews with YouTube and Instagram influencers on my charter spectrum TV, and the stories they shared left me intrigued. As Jim Ron, an American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker, once stated “formal education will make you a living; but self-education will make you a fortune.” There is a world out there that needs to be explored and learned about, but only if we pay attention to the infinite online horizons from where we can learn from the experts who are there to impart their knowledge and expertise. In this article, I will share my research on how YouTube and Instagram are adding influences from and e-learning point of view.

Let’s talk about formal online education, where teachers give lectures and you get a certification or degree after following the prerequisites. Udacity, Brainscape, Grad Proof, edX, Khan Academy, iTunes U, Adobe Captivate (2017 Release), Elucidate, Articulate Storyline 360, Gomo Learning, ITyStudio, Obsidian Black, BranchTrack, Easygenerator, IFTTT, Scoop it, Momentum, Camtasia, Storify, Paper.li – just to mention a few notable and widely acknowledged forums from where anyone can learn online.  Besides this, there is a list of apps which you can use to learn new things, make something, and take inspiration depending on your curiosity and how much you are receptive to it.

Influencer marketing is the new media mainstream trend these days. Before we dive into extensive details, let’s first comprehend the concept of influencers and how it works. The concept of influencers is similar to brand ambassadors, in which marketing influencers act as spokespeople for a brand for a shorter-term campaign. During which, inside information is shared and their pay varies on the size of the impact they make on the audience; whereas brand ambassadors represent a brand for longer terms and are on a contractual basis. Nevertheless, influencers are the core reason for the evolution of conventional media to social media. Influencers are typically found on social media predominantly on YouTube and/or Instagram. They may or may not have a massive amount of followers, but as long as they can engage and are able to create an impact, influence customer views and behaviors, and bring quantifiable results, they will remain an influencer.

YouTube is known for its viral videos, music videos, funny clips and by and large serves as a source of entertainment. Apart from that, it provides a wide range of instructional videos, tips, reviews, and DIY videos on anything you can think of. YouTube is one of the oldest websites on the internet dealing with videos exclusively like charter spectrum – if you wanted to watch all the videos on YouTube it would take 1000 years to do it. When we talk about e-learning, it’s anything as basic things as fixing a fan to things as advanced as building a car. But the best part of the zillions of educational channels and tutorials on YouTube is the fact that most of it is free.

You can learn something from any type of video, be it a motivational or failure, success stories of all types are shared by influential people from around the world. The easiest and most popular place is TED, which familiarize us with captivating presentations and unique ideas coming from education revolutionaries, tech masterminds, business experts, musical legends, and the like.

The same is the case with Instagram influencers, they are the new marketers that are creating an online impact by becoming their own personal brand. Not only are they encouraging ordinary people to find this field as a brand new profession but digital marketers are getting better at endorsing their brands. Instagram stories, in particular, are seeing a spectacular rise, which reinstates the fact that the more visual approach you choose, the better it performs. The general public is now more apt to recognize online campaigns more than anything else. Just remember that 89% of people choose a brand from word of mouth and influencer marketing supports this type of promotion.