You are Influencing

Now entering the Twitterverse

This week I reintroduced myself to the wild and wacky world of Twitter. Over recent years, Twitter has solidified itself into Internet history, through various hashtag movements and hashtag boycotts as well as the quantification of trending topics. Although, I have to admit that I find Twitter to be a polarising social media platform, where content often gets misrepresented. I’ve previously opted to take the passenger seat when it comes to publishing on the micro-blogging site and after my week of exploring the Twitterverse, I think that’s where I belong. 

Here are some of the tweets I’ve posted.

While exploring and searching my topic of social media influencers, I found that more times than less users were not using hashtags. My search terms included influencer, influencer culture, social authenticity, social media and lastly cancel culture. I first noticed the large presence of news sites and marketing companies using multiple hashtags while most individual users did not. This made it difficult for me to find tweets that offered a more nuanced opinion. For example, when you search #authenticity, scattered throughout the results are some of the most inauthentic tweets also known as advertising spam. I couldn’t help but showcase the one below as it contains all the clear signs. 

I then moved on to retweeting. As I don’t consider myself to be a connoisseur of words, I think retweeting is a great tool for users to connect with others work and opinions. I found that users often conveyed their thoughts and feelings via quick-witted humour. While some users did use hashtags or emojis in their posts, they often they were unrelated to my topic of social media influencers.

https://millenniallifecrisis.org/2019/09/15/why-i-dislike-influencers/

Social media influencers continue to gain news notoriety because of ‘online drama’ and Instagram influencer Caroline Calloway has stolen headlines, in yet another controversy. Previously being labelled a ‘scammer’ and ‘digital sellout’, this time Caroline is capturing the public's attention because of her toxic female friendship and her mental illness. The Internet loves drama and as an online audience, users always have an opinion and are always present. So, it's no surprise that the Internet blew up when Natalie Beach published her expose article outing Caroline as inauthentic. 

You may or may not know the name Caroline Calloway, but it doesn't matter. All you need to know is that she's an attention-seeking American millennial, a self-acclaimed writer and Instagram influencer with a 725k following. Her Instagram account infamously features photos displaying the ‘perfect life’ with lengthy essay-like captions. However, Caroline continues to receive heavy backlash due to past controversies and currently her online persona is being further pulled apart and publicly examined. 

So why does everyone care so much? Well, it's a tale as old as time, Fraud: ‘deception for personal and monetary gains’ or as Twitter user @KaraRBrown says ‘that white lady scammer story’. It's clear from a quick internet search that neither Caroline or Natalie are scammers but that hasn't stopped the public's speculation or online discourse. Caroline was even quoted in The Guardian's article writing that “scamming is [her] brand right now, but it’s a narrative [she] would like to be excluded from”.

So why does the Internet care about Instagram influencers? Simply put, true-life drama sells. Social media fosters a toxic online community who have given prevalence to cancel culture. The article so eloquently describes the millennial mindset of “grabbing the popcorn and watching [it] unfold”.

Cancel culture is a relatively new term described by Evans as “the phenomenon whereby well-known individuals are berated and erased from public life on account of something inappropriate that they have said or done in the past”.

The Internet has birthed a digital society of users who are constantly outraged. These users thrive on viral debate and gossip as they take pride in destroying the status of others. Although, online audiences evolve rapidly as Twitter trends generally have a short lifespan and are replaced, sometimes within hours. Digital personas are constantly fighting for relevancy and attention in an oversaturated influencer market. 

First and foremost, let’s get the facts straight.

The influencer industry is roughly worth between $4.1 and $8.2 billion

People are 10 times more likely to be influenced by a non-celebrity blogger than a celebrity

78% of social influencers used Instagram as their primary social media platform

66% of influencers used sponsored social media posts to generate revenue

Roughly two years ago the influencer phenomenon became mainstream. Influencers are now completely ubiquitous and are accepted in everyday culture. Today, social media influencers use their online image and personal brand to market to their audience.  Many millennial influencers were born in a DIY bedroom culture and due to the low barrier of entry, it’s easier than ever before to publish and write online.

Freberg et. al (2011) explains that influencers “represent a new type of independent third party endorser who shape audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media."

While Chernev (2019) provides an updated version stating that an influencer is "an individual who’s capable of affecting people’s purchase decisions because of his/her knowledge or authority”.

For me, both of these descriptions accurately describe the influencer phenomenon. Although, I think Chernev’s definition best describes the current  'state of play' regarding influencers. 

Influencer trends have recently shifted towards micro-influencers since they appeal to specific niche audiences by focusing on everyday relatable content. Micro-influencers have audiences that range anywhere between 1k to 50k. And because of their smaller following, micro-influencers tend to have deeper connections with online audiences who in return find them more relatable.

Biggins (2018) predicts that “influencing will become the most popular side hustle” and I can’t help but think that he’s right. This is partly due to the mass influx of influencers in recent years - after all, you don’t need to be human to become an Instagrammer. From kids to family pets to even inanimate objects and virtual influencer; if you can amass a following then you too can be an influencer.

Influencer culture is not all fame and fortune as questions regarding authenticity gain news notoriety. Digital content creators face harsher backlash and criticism from the general public often due to their lack of transparency regarding brand advertising and promotional content. And let’s not forget that social media burnout is on the rise as many influencers face mental health impacts. Let’s hope that Instagram’s latest move to hide ‘like’ counts will improve the wellbeing of users.

Influence equals power and power equals money.

The topic of influencers interests me for many reasons. As a millennial, I can relate and understand the appeal of becoming a social media influencer. I applaud the entrepreneurial ambition and creativity that goes into making shareable content online – even the absurd. The size of online audiences grows every day as more people join the Internet and therefore, we've only seen the tip of the iceberg regarding the influencer economy. 

If you told me two years ago that a picture of an egg would be the most 'liked' post on Instagram, well I wouldn't have believed you. But 53 million likes later and here we are. Social networking sites are no longer just a fad amongst the youth. A report released in March this year confirmed that Instagram alone is a 1.7 billion dollar industry. 

A lot has changed though since your teenager created their Instagram account back in 2009. I am fascinated by the growing power that social media holds in our society.  I first began looking at influencers when I joined social media channels. Actually, as a matter of fact, I got a Facebook notification a few days ago celebrating my 12-year Facebook anniversary. Social media influencers have evolved since a decade ago, with more niche communities, larger audiences and now that profitability is existent. Digital monetisation has changed the game for social media influencers, as more users are being solely drawn in for financial gain which tends to result in higher amounts of inauthentic content. 

Today, basically anyone can be an influencer as the barrier of entry is so low. It’s never been easier to create online content, to grow an audience following and to earn dollar bills. The age-old line, ‘I could do that’ perfectly describes the acceptance of the influencer movement. I would first like to showcase @justaconstructionguy, who as of this post has just over 500k followers on Instagram. A handful more than the 75 followers he had four months ago. 

Social media influencers can grow an online presence in a short timeframe and gain a widespread following on platforms like Instagram. They are renowned for uploading #sponsored content and can earn up to  $1,000 per 100,000 followers.  I don’t know about you but that’s a pretty significant economical shift from a decade ago.