Good & Bad of Social Media Influencers
Growing up with social media influencers, we have seen the good and the bad. From YouTubers, Viners, and now TikTocers. What have they done for us, created what the perfect body looks like, what products to use and to not use? Also what we should be doing on a day-to-day basis. A social media influencer has built credibility in a specific industry. They often have broad audiences. And they can persuade followers to use products they suggest. Influencers can be celebrities, famous athletes, or regular people. Using them lets brands show real people flaunting their products or services. In this way, influencer content works like user-generated material.
The Good
Influencers can promote products organically. And they improve brand reach. The best influencers can build brand credibility, increasing customer loyalty. They also help a company tap to niche audiences. To be successful, though, they need to be trustworthy. Ideally, influencers resemble peers, making brands more relatable to the everyday user. They have the power to humanize brands and give them a face.
Influencers can reach countless people. But they need to approach audiences with authentic content; staged product endorsements can kill an influencer’s impact. Rather than look like glaring ads, influencers should tell stories in their style. An influencer’s true story builds brand image. On the flip side, perfected pictures or careless endorsements are usually a miss.
The Ugly
Social Media influencers have hurt themselves and the brands they have created, and the friendships over things they have done. A newest example would be, David Dobrik. Over the course of last year, various former friends and colleagues of Dobrik’s came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying against him and his squad of young content creators. After that story hit, he than came out with a video labeled “Lets Talk”.
David has 18.5 M subscribers and 473 vidoes on YouTube. Meaning over 18.5 million people in world have seen all of his content, people of all ages. Im not here to say David is a bad or good guy, yes I believe what has happened is wrong. But another reason why Influencers shouldnt have this much power.
Another creator who has gone wrong is none other than James Charles. Back in 2016, a New York high-school student casually shared his senior yearbook photos on Twitter. The images quickly went viral as fans admired the teen’s incredible makeup skills. Known for his makeup videos, and Youtube channel with other Influencers.
In April 8th of 2021, A full week after James Charles admitted to his inappropriate conversations with minors, brands have continued to stand by him publicly. Morphe, the cosmetics company behind Charles’s infamous eyeshadow palette, released a statement to drama channel Rich Lux saying they “do not condone inappropriate online behavior of any form.” “We have been actively looking into the recent allegations against James Charles, and have suspended marketing of the Morphe X James Charles collaboration while we continue to evaluate and monitor the situation,” reads the statement.
Than the very next day, April 9th of 2021, Tana Mongeau, a longtime friend and defender of James Charles’s, disavowed her 2019 tweets defending him after influencer Gage Gomez claimed Charles tried to “manipulate” him into questioning his sexuality despite knowing Gomez is straight. “100% manipulated and begged to tweet that,” Mongeau tweeted two years later. “I was defending someone that was my friend at the time and believed them. sad to see. I later reconciled with Gage and discussed it, apologized, heard his side of the story, and now I call him one of my closest friends.”
From YSWeekender, “Every micro-second we spend on our devices — our “likes” and “dislikes;” our swipes and clicks; who we follow, subscribe to, and befriend; what we comment on or post; how much time we take to dwell on or move away from something; even where we go when we’re offline — all of that is served up as data to assess our behaviour.”
Conclusion
Throughout my article I hope you got the chance to understand the good and bad of social media influencers. Influencer marketing makes the news for seemingly all the wrong reasons. From the fake followers and unacceptable content, social media influencers are often embroiled in scandal that can affect the brands associated with them.
Yet at the same time, influencer marketing has proven to be one of the most effective ways for brands to engage with customers and drive traffic. So what do we do, double check what our influencers are telling us, do reserch, and know your influencer before following them.
