How to Win (or Buy) Friends and Influence People

Building a personal brand online has never been more rewarding— or socially acceptable. In a virtual world where follower counts and engagement metrics are the ultimate clout, industry experts and our influencer friends give their best advice on how to thrive

- Danica Lo

“Regina George is flawless. She has two Fendi purses and a silver Lexus. I hear her hair’s insured for US$10,000. I hear she does car commercials ... in Japan. Her favourite movie is Varsity Blues. One time, she met John Stamos on a plane and he told her she was pretty. One time, she punched me in the face. It was awesome.” — Mean Girls

Time was, before social media and our complicit accept-ance of 21st-century jargon such as “content” and “en-gagement,” influence could be gauged on good oldfashioned herd hierarchy and gut feelings, like fear— think: Michael Corleone in The Godfather or Regina George in Mean Girls. These days, in an interactive digital world, a newfangled, ever-evolving concept of “influencer” has become a bona fide career path—a recent Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of Lego Group found that American and British children aged eight through 12 selected “YouTube star” as their dream job, way ahead of astronaut, musician, teacher, and professional athlete. Now the strategic acquisition of influence can be both quantified and monetised, to the tune of US$8 billion last year alone.