Why influencers are under threat
Social Media Influencers are becoming a bigger market every single year, with some earning millions of pounds for promoting brands.
It's the perfect way to maximise brand awareness and target a very specific audience. So, what's wrong with them? Not all influencers earn their following legitimately and now Unilever, a consumer goods giant, has taken a stand. Does this mean that all influencers are under threat?
The Rise Of Influencer Marketing
Companies have always used celebrities or characters to promote their brand but after 2004 a lot started to develop. As people could start utilising new-found social media channels and build an online following, a new market was created. Influencer Marketing. Generally, influencers are authentic people who interact and appreciate their expanding fanbase - which is why big brands like to make deals with them.
As the years passed by, this form of marketing became even more accessible (as more and more young creators began popping up). Platforms like YouTube contributed greatly to the Influencer game with partnerships and brand endorsements. Whilst there is a lot of tension in the YouTube community currently about money, it's no lie that they boosted the possibilities of what an Influencer can become. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram also helped massively.
In fact, laws were put in place by The Federal Trade Commission saying that Influencers must make it clear when working with a company. Using a hashtag like, #ad or #sponsored is usually enough and the FTC have only enforced the rule four times. So, it's not been very successful.
Who remembers the incident where big-name YouTuber Syndicate, Tom Cassell, promoted a gaming betting website to his audience without telling them he partly owned it? This has contributed into tightening the FTC's rules and regulations.
The Good And Bad
As previously mentioned, Influencers are great people and enjoy what they do. Specifically, Micro-Influencers (10-100k followers) can be an effective way to grow brand awareness with genuine people. These smaller guys actually tend to generate more engagement than the bigger Influencers which is much better for a company.
However, since they're all freelancers it makes it hard sometimes to stick with one you like - unless the deal is there. Influencer Marketing is very competitive and each and every one is looking around for better deals, so making sure they have a long contract is critical.
Why They're Under Attack
On Instagram particularly, Influencers are receiving a huge backlash since Unilever decided to take a stand against those who try to cheat. It's not just Instagram though, they threatened to pull ads from Facebook and Google earlier on in the year. The company would like to see "greater transparency" in the industry which will rebuild broken trust issues. It's not just Unilever, the hotel business is starting to get a little irritated.
Using bots to build a following on any social media is clearly wrong and it means that real Influencers get caught up in the crossfire. It damages reputations and eliminates such open opportunity for brand deals. With the Influencer Industry now getting into a hot state, I can imagine more regulations being put in place - as it's now a real option in marketing strategies with millions of pounds at stake.
What's Your Thoughts?
Personally, I love engaging with Influencers across all platforms. In fact, I used to be a small-time Influencer as my YouTube Channel took off. It led to me interacting with brands and gaining a partnership, I understand how much effort it takes to grow on social media. The influencer landscape is simply evolving, and as usual, we’ll all adapt to acommodate.
