An influencer?

I have to admit, when I first heard the term “influencer”, I thought what is that? Most influencers have amassed a massive social media following by creating content that promotes brands, with the aim of gaining attention from those brands (Glucksman, 2017). They’re usually posting about products such as make-up, handbags, or clothing and providing their followers with reviews. If a brand likes what they see, the individual can potentially become a paid spokesperson for the brand.

Marketing experts know that if they want to reach the most people possible, they must have a strong social media presence. The popularity of social media has certainly presented a new avenue for brands to advertise (Glucksman, 2017). Ads on Facebook are not the only way brands are attempting to reach and influence individuals; they are paying people to promote their brands on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter…did I get them all? That’s where an influencer fits in all of thisInfluencer marketing has taken off  and it has proven to be widely successful (Glucksman, 2017). A top executive for Estee Lauder, hinted to the fact that they use approximately 50% of their marketing budget on influencers (Cho, 2018). That’s a big deal. As it appears, there is money to be made as an influencer, so what am I doing here!?

Influencers can be great for business. Alex Bolen, chief executive for Oscar De La Renta, said that influencers have had a positive impact in the brand’s handbag division (Cho, 2018). Their production has nearly doubled, all thanks to influencers.

But is it all good news?

The answer is no! In case you missed it, there were two documentaries on the doomed Fyre Festival on Netflix and Hulu.  Top influencers were enlisted by McFarland to promote this festival that was supposed to take place in the Bahamas (Pampell, 2019). It was supposed to be an awesome music festival with with A-list performers and luxury villas-none of it came to fruition. Along with influencers, promotional videos with well-recognized models were also used to drive ticket sales (Pampell, 2019). If not for influencers, they may not have sold as many tickets. But they did, and people were duped into spending thousands of dollars.

Buyer, beware!

 

References

Cho, A. (2018). The rise of social-media influencers. CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-rise-of-social-media-influencers/

Glucksman, M. (2017). The rise of social-media influencer marketing on lifestyle branding: A case study of Luci Fink. Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 8(2), 77-87

Pampell, J. (2019).Three truths the Fyre Festival documentary proved about influencer marketing. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/03/08/three-truths-the-fyre-festival-documentary-proved-about-influencer-marketing/#5afc772619b3

1 comment

  1. Jessica Kramer

    Well put! I was just talking about this yesterday, how people are sponsored to promote certain brands on Youtube and on the various social medias. Every video advertisement that interrupts the video you are watching on Youtube is placed there on purpose and part of the profit goes to the Youtuber. Celebrities are constantly pushing certain brands on their pages because they get a stipend from it. In the end, so many people are driven by the money for these products. How can we stop influencers from clogging our feeds, should there be policies enforced against this? Do you believe sponsored posts should have disclaimers on them ? Freberg, Freberg, Graham, and McGaughey (2011) bring up a great point when discussing social media influencers by describing that it’s not about quantity of how many posts one does, it is about the quality. Influencers may have negative experiences with certain brands products when reviewing them, meanwhile others may have very positive experiences (Freberg et al., 2011). When looking at a social influencers account it is important to evaluate the overall message they trying to give you whether it is advice for the product or are they just trying to persuade you to buy it (Freberg et al., 2011)?
    References
    Freberg, L. A., Freberg, K., Graham, K., & McGaughey, K. (2011). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 90-92. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.11.001

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