A COUPLE of years ago I wrote a column about how I, at the age of 58, could put myself to use as an influencer.

It was, of course, a joke. I knew that in reality that no-one would take a blind bit of notice were a woman nearing 60 to post pictures of herself on Instagram.

A female of my age surely couldn’t influence anyone to buy or to do anything.

So it came as something of a shock this week to learn that older social media users aged from their mid-50s - and even as old as their 90s - are building up huge followings as influencers.

In the same way as glamorous young people are paid to use products, older folk - known as ‘granfluencers’ - are earning a fortune in sponsorship deals.

Helen Ruth Elam, 92, who goes by the name Baddie Winkle on Instagram, has 3.5 million followers who love her distinctive style. Also gaining fame for her fashion sense, Lyn Slater, 67, has 749,000 Instagram followers, while Grece Granem, 56, has 529,000.

Others document their travels or their fitness regimens, like Joan McDonald, 74, who has 1.1. million followers.

Not since B&Q blazed a trail in employing the over 50s have I heard such great news.

Oldies no longer think Tik Tok is the sound a clock makes - they have a voice and are putting themselves out there and getting heard. They can teach younger people so much about life, and that includes prime influencer territory: fashion and make-up.

Had she been alive now, my nana would have embraced life as an influencer. A natty dresser, she look good well into old age. She would have set Instagram alight with pictures snapped along Scarborough sea front, of her in her heels, handbag swinging. I can just see her at Harbour Bar enjoying a knickerbocker glory, capturing selfies to send to her followers around the globe.

She would have given great tips on how to keep a great head of hair - she swore by Bay Rum - and she would have offered advice on how to maintain a tan (wear summer clothes even in winter) and how to find great gear at bargain prices: she loved a good car boot.

Had she got WiFi, at almost 92, my friend and neighbour Betty would be up there with the best as an influencer. She could offer advice on anything and everything, from what face cream to use to minimise wrinkles - Boots Fragrance-Free Moisturising Cream £1.50 a tub - to how to team up a skirt with a jacket to perfect effect, to how make a tasty ginger cake (practice makes perfect).

Sadly she doesn’t have, and doesn’t want, an internet connection but if she were to succumb she could make a killing.

Many older people have lived through a world war - which puts Covid in the shade in terms of self-sacrifice. We can learn so much from them.

However, although I am officially an older person I don’t think I would move mountains were I to chance my arm as an influencer.

The growing crop of granfluencers dress up in fabulous outfits, travel the world - when they can - and show younger audiences how to live life to the full.

I doubt very much whether images of me enjoying a cup of Tetley with a custard cream in the afternoon or taking a constitutional around the block before bed will bring me any lucrative deals (Tetley, if you’re reading this, a year’s supply would be most welcome) nor bring me more than a one-man-and-his-dog following on social media.

Come to think of it, maybe I can learn from these granfluencers myself.