{"id":39238,"date":"2017-08-17T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T10:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.buzzoole.com\/?p=39238"},"modified":"2018-05-28T13:11:47","modified_gmt":"2018-05-28T11:11:47","slug":"i-didnt-know-i-was-an-influencer-stories-of-accidental-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.buzzoole.com\/en\/social-media-trends\/i-didnt-know-i-was-an-influencer-stories-of-accidental-success\/","title":{"rendered":"I Didn’t Know I Was An Influencer: stories of accidental success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most successful blogs and social channels have been built up slowly, with not only great content, but great marketing strategies needed to get an Influencer seen above the rest (for our tips on becoming an Influencer, see our previous article<\/a>). However, there are occasionally times when the social media stratosphere takes things into its own hands, and makes someone a star. We are taking a look at those times the internet has unexpectedly, and rather beautifully, made someone famous.<\/p>\n

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Such as fashion-focused Lyn Slater<\/strong>, Associate Professor of Social Work at Fordham University, who grew to social media fame after her incredible outfits meant that, while meeting a friend for lunch during New York Fashion Week, journalists and photographers mistook her for an industry icon and began snapping photos. Looking at her outfits on Instagram, you can see why. She runs a style blog, aptly named accidentalicon.com<\/a>, where she posts about style for ordinary, fashionable women. Slater has been praised for breaking fashion barriers<\/a> with a new approach to fashion for older women, this is a large part due to the fact that she doesn’t focus on her age at all. In fact, according to Slater’s research<\/a>, a lot of her following is aged between 25 to 35. Her blog is beautifully produced, featuring her favourite brands and many photos of her unique ensembles. Since starting her blog it has rapidly grown in popularity, and Slater has been offered further opportunities to collaborate, including<\/a> a cover and editorial in Grey<\/i> magazine only six months in.<\/p>\n

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Lounging in a deserted city. Heaven. #AgeIsNotAVariable #currentmood #nyc #holiday #pajamas #lounge #home #weekend #soho<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Accidental Icon (@iconaccidental) on

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Another example of perfectly-timed photography leading to fame is the amazing story<\/a> of Jumoke<\/strong> (Olajumoke Orisaguna), now a model after accidentally walking through a photo shoot with Tinnie Tempah and photographer Ty Bello. Jumoke is from Osun, Nigeria and was captured in the image above as she walked through the street. The shot was entirely accidental, and entirely perfect, and led to Bello searching out Jumoke for future modelling work.<\/p>\n

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BEATIFUL MISS X:WHO IS SHE.?Every one has been asking if this lady is a model .. It was just perfect coincidence … She just happened to be walking by while I photographed . It happened so fast .She definitely SHOULD be a model. .. I’m happy to help her build a portfolio if she’s interested .She’s so beautiful and photographed so well. I’ll find a way to track her down somehow . You guys can also help #lagos #doesanyonerecognizeher #okunorentwins #tinietempah @thisdaystyle #lagos<\/a><\/p>\n

Un post condiviso da TY Bello (@tybello) in data:

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Her story has become something of a fairytale, as she was afterwards signed<\/a> by Few Model Management. This year she has released<\/a> her new Vlog Series “Olajumoke Sauce” where she shares her story.<\/p>\n

\"Olajumoke<\/a><\/p>\n

A rather different, and rather strange, example of online fame is Alex from Target<\/strong>, or #alexfromtarget<\/strong>. In 2014 a customer at Target shared a photo of him, it got enough likes and retweets that overnight<\/a> Alex gained over 300,000 followers after his official page was tracked down. It even led to an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Since<\/a> his viral fame in 2014, Alex has quit his job at Target, is now pursuing music and he has launched his YouTube channel. The Alex from Target Twitter<\/a> (really Alex Lee) currently has over 600,000 Twitter followers. He has gained popularity from his posts on Facebook and Twitter, finding this his written content gets him more engagement than the photo content that made him so suddenly famous. Like other accidental stars, Alex is using this moment in the spotlight as an opportunity.<\/p>\n

\"alex<\/a><\/p>\n

Mastanamma Karre<\/strong>,a 106 year old great grandmother and wonderful cook living in India, is another person surprised by sudden online fame. Her and her great grandson’s YouTube channel, Country Foods<\/a>, has grown rapidly in popularity with now over 500,000 subscribers. She cooks traditional recipes and her cooking demonstrations are filmed and uploaded by her great grandson, Laxman K. They are set to calming music and focus on traditional recipes. In an interview with The Huffington Post<\/i><\/a>, Laxman explains that he wanted to maintain the knowledge of traditional cooking techniques, particularly thinking of those living in cities. The pair did not expect the rise to fame the YouTube channel received, and for Mastanamma to become somewhat of a YouTube sensation. One of her most popular videos is her recipe for watermelon chicken, below. While pleased with the popularity, the pair continue to do what they love – cook and share wonderful recipes.
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