Want to learn something new in 2021? 2020 was definitely a year full of challenges and events that shook up the system. The coronavirus pandemic forced people to change their routines, take up new hobbies, or learn new skills. And the political and social unrest that ignited in various parts of the world may have opened people’s eyes to new ways of thinking or challenged long-held beliefs.
Throughout all of this, social media played a vital part in connecting people to information, and to other people. Influencers obviously had a big role in this, and some even saw their profiles really take off during a time when more people were online.
Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of some educational Instagram influencers and Youtube influencers who can help you learn something new in 2021. Keep reading to learn a bit about who they are, and how educational content can help brands market their products.
Learn something new about your pandemic bread hobby with Joshua Weissman (Joshua Weissman)
Did you take up sourdough bread baking while locked up at home during quarantine? If so, you’re not alone. And if 2021 finds you trying to develop your skills as a baker, Joshua Weissman has plenty of educational content to help you do just that.
Joshua is a self-proclaimed bread nut, though he shares recipes about other foods too. A lot of his recipes show you how to copy restaurant or supermarket products at home. Visit his Youtube and try your hand at making Doritos at home, or copying Krispy Kreme glazed donuts right from the comfort of your own kitchen.
Influencer stats:
- Subscribers: 3.4M
- Total views: 290M
- Average views: 970K per most recent videos
- Latest video: 2 days ago (see above)
- Other – Joshua is known on TikTok as @flakeysalt, and he has 4.3M followers.
Learn something new about society with Blair Imani (@blairimani)
Blair’s profile says she is an educational influencer and historian, and also notes that she identifies as black, bisexual, Muslim and uses the pronouns she/her. She regularly covers topics like race, gender and religion and how they intersect.
Blair hit it off with her #SmarterinSeconds series. She uses Instagram Reels to give short, to-the-point answers about all types of sensitive questions and issues. What are pronouns? What is African-American English? These may sound like basic questions, but could also be confusing for social media users trying to keep up with the rapidly changing jargon found across Instagram, Twitter and so on.
While this type of content may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it definitely offers a clear perspective and demonstrates a high level of effort and care with respect to its production. And while you may not agree with Blair on everything, sometimes it can be useful to get a different point of view.
Influencer stats:
- Followers – 318K
- Engagement rate – 3.3% (high)
- Follower growth – 1.8% in the last four weeks
- Audience authenticity – 91% authentic
- Other – Her Smarter in Seconds Reels regularly get upwards of 200K views, sometimes reaching into the millions!
Learn something new from data courtesy of Mona Chalabi (@monachalabi)
Mona is a data journalist from London who currently lives in New York. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian and more. Mona takes data, and through analysis and illustration, makes it easy to understand. She usually covers socio political topics like the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests, politics, or race.
Mona’s profile really took off back in June 2020 after she released drawings based on data related to the Black Lives Matter protests (see the above image). Her work was also featured in the World Trade Center in October and November. For that piece she drew 100 New Yorkers, based on demographic data from the city.
Influencer stats:
- Followers – 431K
- Engagement rate – 2.7% (high)
- Follower growth – -0.3% in the last four weeks
- Audience authenticity – 92% authentic
- Other – Most of her audience comes from anglophone countries like the US, UK, India, Ireland and Canada.
Learn something new about learning alongside Jessica Holsman (Study With Jess)
High school years can be some of the most difficult, and now with virtual learning students are faced with even more challenges than before. Fortunately, someone is on their side.
Jessica Holsman has a post graduate diploma in psychology, and Study with Jess is her Youtube channel that helps students maintain their wellbeing. She offers tips about productivity, organization, and mental health.
Jessica also wrote a book, The High School Survival Guide, and has her own line of stationery, @educationery, specifically designed for students.
Influencer stats:
- Subscribers: 420K
- Total views: 27M
- Average views: 12K per most recent videos
- Latest video: 2 days ago (see above)
- Other – Jess also has 42.8K followers on Instagram
Learn something new about bees with Erika Thompson (@texasbeeworks)
Love honey? Love bees? Want to learn something new about one of the most important factors in global food production? Erika Thompson can help.
Erika is a professional beekeeper whose Instagram page is full of educational content related to bees, how they live and work, and how they interact with us. Jessica removes unwanted beehives from buildings and advocates for bees and other types of animals (she’s rescued dogs and birds).
Beekeeping may be something that many of us never gave a second thought, but Erika shares some truly interesting bits of info. For example, did you know that beekeepers can’t eat bananas just before working with bees? If you want to learn more, check out this post.
Influencer stats:
- Followers – 200K
- Engagement rate – 5.8% (very high)
- Follower growth – 2.2% in the last four weeks
- Audience authenticity – 91% authentic
- Other – 66% of Erika’s audience is male, and her audience is primarily between the ages of 25-35.
Why does educational content matter for brands?
When influencers share information that is somehow useful, it reinforces the value of their profile in the minds of their followers. If influencers share educational content that somehow integrates your brand or its products, that can leave social media followers with a meaningful experience that includes awareness of your brand.
We’ve already covered how this can help cultivate organic Instagram growth. But it could positively affect your brand in other ways. Maybe a product shown to be effective in a cooking video could help drive sales among followers. Or maybe if your product helps an influencer in a difficult or dangerous situation (like beekeeping), it may create a sense of reliability for your brand.
Further, and to change perspective a bit, brand accountability is more important than ever. With the Internet and smartphones, it’s easier to watch how brands handle (or don’t handle) difficult situations and tough topics. Even back in 2017, a study showed that 81% of people thought social media increased brand accountability, with primary concerns being unfair treatment, transparency and amplifying issues.
Last year brought a whole other bag of issues. After 2020, we’ve seen brands be held accountable for inclusion and diversity, racial and gender discussions, and pandemic conditions. So, if your brand is struggling with how to be accountable, influencers could potentially help you fine-tune your message. Collaborating with them can help position your brand as one who is willing to support the people who are having the hard conversations.
Conclusion
These are just five examples of influencers who provide educational content to their followers. For more, Heepsy can help you find influencers from various categories or locations.
