EOTO Influencers

 

Online influencers have taken the world by storm, especially the younger generation. Although there are both micro and macro influencers, these people usually have a large following base to at least some extent, from a few thousand all the way to Charli D'Amelio with an absolutely unbelievable 100 million followers and celebrity status with a net worth of over 15 million dollars at age 17. An online influencer uses their followers for brand deals and social media marketing, typically in order to monetize their content through advertisements. This career and marketing tactic began in 2013 when Instagram began pushing paid ads as well as YouTube's decision to put ads within their videos. (https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/) The current biggest platforms for online influencing are Tik Tok and Instagram. 

Some very surprising statistics about online influencing are 

Last year, online influencing was estimated to be around a 13.8 BILLION dollar industry

and 

In 2021, 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations.

This is absolutely incredible that there is this much credibility and this much money in influencing. 

Some of the major implications of this sector of marketing is that when these influencers get a brand deal with a company, they do not have to actually use the product or support it, even if they are making it seem like they do, just like an actual advertisement. These people can being pushing products and brands they do not believe in on social media because they are getting a large monetary cut for their promotion. Also, influencers do not have to come right out and make their content ads, but use product placement just like it can be seen in movies in television to be even more discreet about advertising.

Also, influencer marketing can make or break brands. Recently, there has been talk about "cancel culture" and holding influencers accountable for the things they say or do. After allegations of mega influencer David Dobrik with a net worth of 25 million dollars at age 25 covering up sexual assault on his Youtube channel, over 10 brands decided to drop him from his brand deals in hopes to cover up the potential negative image that could come with sponsoring someone of this nature. (David Dobrik) There needs to be intense influencer training, accountability, and background checks when choosing people to represent brands because their image can be detrimental to the companies that associate themselves with people of that nature.

Influencer marketing can really impact people my age and younger because of how easy it is to be susceptible to people like this. When influencers show so much of their own personal life, it is easy to trust them and almost feel close to them rather than looking at product promotion seriously and as just another advertisement. Since this is largely on social media, it is mostly important for younger people to be educated about how important it is to be cautious with influencer advertising.

Before 2020, influencers were mostly not diverse, however, since the pandemic and events throughout, there seems to be a more diverse look into influencer marketing, however, largely the biggest influencers are still white. In 2020, though

"For the first time ever, African American influencers earned the most per sponsored post in 2020." 

This is certainly a step in the right direction that Gen Z are shaping tomorrow's celebrities and their influencers in a diverse light, however there is still a ways to go and a need to monitor progress and influencers impact on young people as a whole.