Do you know what an influencer is? If you do, then you’ve been staying in the loop, so congrats for being *so on fleek.* But for the rest of us mortals who are finally getting to understand how social media works, an influencer, (or influencer marketing) is a new form of marketing in social media where people play the role of potential users and buyers and review products and services. These influencers are everyday Joes that post some inspiring and stunning photos on their accounts, talking about their days, often rave about products. Well, not too long ago, a clueless dad from Texas asked his daughter what an influencer was. And when she explained the whole concept, he just said, “Pssh, I could do that.” And is it turns out, he was right! But there’s more to this story, so stay tuned until the end!So as any parent would do, he asked his daughter about the term. When she explained the term, he couldn’t help but laugh. Not only did it sound like a dream job, but the gig itself was a total piece of cake…according to him.
Not only did his story went viral, but he was able to rake in over 500,000 followers on Instagram. But before he became a social media sensation, he needed a clever username. Omar came up with @justaconstructionguy and the rest is history! Well, sort of!
It was a total success! The anti-influencer influencer nailed the typical influencer poses, and he did so in style! Most folks online spend hours color-correcting their shots, showering their feed with a glossy aesthetic that draws people in. But Omar’s account is different!
But he didn’t waste time trying to nail the perfect shot in front of a colorful mural. He didn’t photograph himself in front of modern bright walls and didn’t even bother using carefully-staged pink props.
But he also managed to show anyone who wants to become an influencer that humor goes a long way. Clearly, his pics have a lot of sass and he didn’t even need all the artificial ingredients that make a technically good shot on Instagram.
This dad managed to prove to his daughter that anyone can become an influencer if they stay real and find a little humor in everyday life. He’s strong, he’s funny, and he looks amazing in yellow. Only problem? Well, apparently, the whole story was rigged from the beginning.
The narrative of the story is as wholesome as it gets. A clueless dad wants to try his hand on social media and ends up becoming an influencer. Cue in “awww” and “you go, dad!” right? But the entire story ended up being false.
“The whole idea was what we always thought as an influencer, and what we used as an influencer in the past, they don’t always fit our brand,” said Mike McKim, who owns Austin’s Cuvée Coffee.
And he was right! There’s speculation around the web that influencer marketing on Instagram is starting to change. People are sick and tired of getting a filtered and edited version of the truth, so slowly but surely, influencers are starting to get more real. But does that include Omar, too?
They wanted someone to portray a real-life person who didn’t know the first thing about social media but still knew how to “have some fun.” And they found that person in Omar, who’s a real construction working from Austin, Texas.
But who’s Barbra L, the girl who claimed to be Omar’s daughter? Well, the mystery only deepens, as Mike doesn’t even know how that now-famous tweet came to be. The account that originally posted the story, @barbzlovescarbs, has now gone private, so we may never get an answer.
Apparently, Austin’s Cuvée Coffee’s owner was merely hoping to get 1,000 followers at best. You can imagine how hard their jaws must’ve hit the floor when the ad campaign went viral. It was such a hit, it should be used as an example of how powerful social media can be.
“None of us expected this. I think it’s super cool. We’re all having fun with it,” he added. But now that the truth is out, we can clearly see there were a few red flags we may have missed.
A dad who didn’t know what an influencer was would’ve had to Google a lot and study other influencers to parody them. Plus, the shots were captioned #sponcon and the name of the coffee shop also appeared on his pics. Even though the story ended up being made up, the account is seriously hilarious.
Seriously, we need more working class influencers we can relate to! But for now, we’re totally curious about what @justaconstructionguy posts up next!
