Update: Turns out, it was just a clever ad campaign. Scroll down for the update.

Unfollow everyone on Instagram. This is the only account you’re gonna need to get your daily dose of awesome. To paraphrase one of his admirers, he is everything one can be: strong, funny, and looks great in yellow. Instagram influencer Omar from Austin, Texas has been taking over Instagram like a tornado. Even though he only recently found out what influencing actually is.

More info: Instagram

Even though this construction worker just found out what influencing actually is, he’s already nailing it

Image credits: barbzlovescarbs

Not so long ago, Omar asked his daughter what it means to be a social media influencer. “Pssh, I could do that,” was his response after she explained. Soon after, he created the Instagram account @justaconstructionguy and started posting carefully curated snapshots of his daily life. Omar posted his first Instagram photo on May 4, 2019 and as of this article, roughly a month later, this cool dad already has over 333,000 followers.

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Omar posted his first picture on May 4, 2019 and as of this article, roughly a month later, he already has over 333,000 followers

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Roughly a decade ago, the influencer marketing arena was limited to top-tier celebrities and a few dedicated bloggers. As Taylor Lorenz pointed out on the Atlantic, at first, Instagrammers were after a very particular look: bright walls, artfully arranged lattes, and avocado toast, all with that carefully staged, color-corrected, glossy-looking aesthetic. Now, however, the platform has grown to more than 1 billion monthly users and the rules have changed.

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

While Millennial influencers dragged around DSLR cameras and mastered the art of photo editing to get the perfect shot, the generation that came after largely post directly from their mobile phones

“Previously, influencers used to say, ‘Oh, that’s not on brand,’ or only post things shot in a certain light or with a commonality,” Lynsey Eaton, a co-founder of the influencer-marketing agency Estate Five said. “For the younger generation, those rules don’t apply at all.”

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Take Reese Blutstein for example. This 22-year-old influencer has amassed more than 238,000 followers in just over a year by posting unfiltered pictures of herself in quirky outfits. She  doesn’t even worry about posting almost the exact same photo twice in a row, something first-wave influencers would hiss at. “I’m not afraid to over-post. I don’t think, Oh, will this mess up how my feed looks,” she said. “I don’t think too much about it. If I like an image, I just post it.”

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

And this looks like the direction where the whole market is heading. Anything that feels staged is a lot more undesirable than it was just a few years ago. This also explains the huge increase of the Instagram vs. Reality photos that we’ve been seeing lately. Omar’s feed, even the entire reason why he created his account in the first place, really highlights these trends.

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

Image credits: justaconstructionguy

People had a lot to say about influencer Omar’s influencing

Update: It’s just a marketing trick

Unfortunately, this whole thing was entirely staged. Omar, the smiling construction worker and an awesome dad with his DIY approach to becoming an influencer was nothing but a cleverly executed marketing campaign. But for what product? Coffee, of course. Judging from his photos, Omar’s love for coffee really starts catching your eye. Because of its aim – to advertise Cuvée Coffee, a coffee brand that, unsurprisingly, Omar is supposed to be a huge fan of.

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