I'm not sure there is anyone on Steem who would really register as having significant influence compared to those on YouTube and Instagram. It seems you need millions of followers to be taken seriously and get sponsored to talk about products. But they all start somewhere. I should think in many cases they are posting about what they are into and somehow acquire a big following that allows them to profit from it. Steem just doesn't have enough users for that to happen, yet, but we have other ways to earn.
I wonder what would happen if one of these big influencers decided to use Steem and push it to their followers. What the followers really care about is entertaining content, not being advertised to. If they can also be earning then that ought to be attractive. Steem is one of the few platforms that makes that possible. Otherwise it's only the people at the top of the tree who earn.
We have seen some people with big followings elsewhere join Steem, but not stick around for various reasons. Some got chased away by trolls.
Steem needs people who can bring in thousands more. That means celebrities or influencers. It may just take one to kick things off.
Steem on.