The Professionalization of the Influencer Career
Social media influencers (SMIs) are a type of micro-celebrity (Nouri, 2018) that act as “independent third-party endorsers” with a large following on their social media profiles (Freberg et al, 2011, p.90). Some argue how can a SMI be a well-established career? I mean it may seem short-lived, but there are women aspiring to this ‘new’ career and making thousands from it. From influencer marketing to social issues, today’s blog post will discuss my take on this debate.
‘Influencer marketing’
Influencer marketing dominates social media platforms. Instagram, which we (obviously) all have a profile for, is by far the top platform for its success for influencer marketing. The market size of brands that sponsored influencer posts is predicted to double and surpass six billion posts this year (Guttmann, 2020)– a crazy statistic! It’s changed the dynamics of retail; online shops are created just through Instagram. For example, the clothing boutique @ragsandrufflesldn began hand-crafting unique clothing in March 2020 and hit 11.6K followers by the end of the year. Influencers highly benefit self-made entrepreneurs that are based selling on Instagram alone. UK influencer Niamh Middleton collaborates with various independent businesses to promote outfits to her 69.6k followers on Instagram and received a few thousand ‘likes’ on her Rags and Ruffles advertorial.
Now more than ever, with the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, Instagram has had the power to save independent businesses. With the closure of non-essential retail has meant businesses solely rely on their Instagram following to advertise and sell products.
Why social problems have been enhanced by influencer culture
Society has its fair share of issues with influencers. The debate around influencers being useful and positive is skewed. Influencers reinforce social problems in everyday life. Many influencers represent this ‘perfect’ flawlessly thin body image. This body image being reinforced in the online sphere can create an impossible ‘perfect’ body, the internalization of this leads to body dissatisfaction in young women (Smolak & Thompson, 2010).
However, this is not all influencers and certain SMIs change my negative views. There are some female influencers that are body positive as they promote positive mental health ideologies. My go-to for this type of influencer is Malin Andersson who rose to fame on the dating show Love Island. She promotes body positivity refusing to conform to societies’ impossible beauty standards. She also campaigns for women domestic violence and talks out about her experiences, not conforming to this ‘picture perfect’ life.
To sum up today’s blog, I have argued that influencer marketing is very important and the benefits it makes to people’s small business is great. However, an influencer should be a role model for young women that follow her. I’d like to see more positivity online as I think that will be well reflected in society and will make social media a happier and more realistic place.
@celebrityunobsessed x
Abidin, C. (2018) Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online. Emerald.
Freberg, K., Graham, K., McGaughey, K., & Freberg, L. A. (2011). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 90–92.
Guttmann, A. (2020). Instagram influencer market size 2017–2020. Retrieved 5 January, 2021, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/748630/global-instagram-influencer-market-value/
Levine, M. P., & Smolak, L. (2010). Cultural influences on body image and the eating disorders.
@missmalinsara. (2020).’ MY BODY. MY SHAPE. MY RULES.’ [Instagram post]. Instagram. . https://www.instagram.com/p/CJl_vmhrQeH/
@naimhmiddletonx. (2020). ‘Snow Angle Vibes. This outfit is getting me way too excited for Crimbo. From @ragsandrufflesldn’. ad. [Instagram post]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIkqRbTBLt9/
Nouri, M. (2018). The power of influence: traditional celebrity vs social media influencer.
@ragsandrufflesldn. (2020). Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/ragsandrufflesldn/
