Post 10: Social Media Influencers (EOTO)

EOTO: Influencer Marketing

Who is an "Influencer"

With the rise of the internet, social media has begun to see a growth in its number of users, specifically on the platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; all having a reported 80+ million visitors a month in 2019. Social media has paved a more accessible way for the average person to gain fame, allowing them to become "social media influencers". These so-called influencers are internet celebrities who, due to their use of social media, have gained a large audience. Influencers typically gain their following from platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. The rise of social media influencers has created a new phenomenon; influencer marketing. This type of marketing uses social media influencers to endorse and promote their products, typically to a younger audience. The younger demographic, adolescents, are known for easily being influenced, therefore, they play a crucial role in marketing.

Downside of Social Media Influencers

Influencer marketing relies heavily on parasocial relationships, which can be defined as, "one sided connections imagined with celebrities and media figures" (Gleason et al. 2017). These types of relationships mixed with social media celebrity endorsement has made room for fraud. An example of this is influencer Tana Mongeau's 2018 convention, TanaCon. The convention was created as a response to her past negative experiences with YouTube's VidCon. TanaCon was intended to be a two-day free event that would be purposely be held near VidCon and would take place the exact same days. It was supposed to include concerts and opportunities for attendees to meet several influencers including Mongeau herself. However, she was unorganized and planned the convention in less than 40 days. On the day of the event, the event space quickly hit capacity and the hotel was incapable of letting more in. Due to this, thousands of fans lined up in the parking lot and stood there for hours in the boiling sun. Some fans received severe sunburns as well as passed out due to them having to stand in line for hours upon hours without water. Additionally, fans who bought VIP tickets were promised "line skipping, a gift bag worth more than quadruple the price of the ticket [and] private meet and greets".

VIP gift bag worth "quadruple the price"
came with a condom, smartphone grip,
and a wristband.

 

                                                                Works Cited

Chung, Siyoung, and Hichang Cho. Fostering Parasocial Relationships with Celebrities on Social Media: Implications for Celebrity Endorsement. 9 Mar. 2017, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mar.21001?casa_token=08m0knUa3KAAAAAA%3AP28PTRNsW0zXl5DlatTbY0QMNk__UmEJ2C9av2qV0OkpfDP7WZF1aOOXDyUgo4JzYEVU4JMiCzoUlA.

Farokhmanesh, Megan. “YouTuber's Anti-VidCon Convention TanaCon Was Such a Disaster That Fans Are Comparing It to Fyre Fest.” The Verge, The Verge, 26 June 2018, www.theverge.com/2018/6/26/17500590/tanacon-disaster-fyre-fest-tana-mongeau-youtuber.

Foster, Ashley. Twitter, 22 June 2018, pbs.twimg.com/media/DgU0uZ0VAAATH5E?format=jpg&name=large.

Gleason, Tracy R., et al. “Parasocial Interactions and Relationships in Early Adolescence.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 9 Feb. 2017, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00255/full.

Ki, Chung-Wha (Chloe), et al. “Influencer Marketing: Social Media Influencers as Human Brands Attaching to Followers and Yielding Positive Marketing Results by Fulfilling Needs.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Pergamon, 30 Apr. 2020, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698920300059.

Len-Ríos, María E., et al. Early Adolescents as Publics: A National Survey of Teens with Social Media Accounts, Their Media Use Preferences, Parental Mediation, and Perceived Internet Literacy. 24 Nov. 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811115301417.