We all know that the Internet (and social media specifically) has this mysterious power to make literally ANYONE famous practically overnight. We also know how powerful that fame can be and how much profit there's to be made off of it, too, particularly through what's known as influencer marketing.
Everyone follows an influencer or has scrolled by an influencer-marketed post at some point whether they know it or not because there are simply so many popular personalities and brands/companies trying to expand their reach online. The only qualification needed to be categorized as an "influencer" is to have the ability to reach many people through various communication channels (or, more blatantly put, to have a fairly large following on social media) and, therefore, the ability to potentially influence followers to buy/take part in a product or service.
From a purely business standpoint, influencer marketing definitely seems like a great idea. Imagine you have a new clothing company or beauty line and want to start advertising online. You find someone on, say, Instagram, with several thousand followers, most of whom are in the demographic you think would be interested in your product. Why wouldn't you pay that person to make a sponsored post about your product, to raise brand awareness, and to potentially influence their followers to buy into your company?
Because social media is so ingrained in people's daily lives and because of how easy it is to amass a large following online, it makes sense why influencer marketing has been such a common practice. It's not even just celebrities with millions upon millions of followers who are in on it - anybody can be an influencer nowadays, from a YouTuber with 10,000 subscribers to a gaming streamer or your friend from high school who has a couple thousand followers on Instagram. Anyone can do it, and more importantly, profit from it. I mean, take a look at Kylie Jenner, whose fame skyrocketed with the use of platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. Her ever-growing net worth is close to one billion dollars, and it's estimated that she makes around one million dollars per sponsored post on Instagram. Obviously, not everyone is going to profit off of being an influencer to the extent that Kylie Jenner is, but any profit to be made online at all is still worth it to most people and brands.
It's definitely safe to say that social media influencing has resulted in massive success, for both companies and personalities. But the digital age and the role social media plays in our lives are beginning to evolve, putting the future of Internet personalities and influencing in jeopardy.
Every year, marketers and brands are funneling more and more money into social media - but only a quarter of those marketers are able to prove it has had a positive impact. This Medium article describes it best: it's nearly impossible to factually prove that collaborating with a specific influencer generated new business or sales, even with the use of specific affiliate links and discount codes. As more and more people begin to distrust online media and advertisements in general, it seems likely that it's not only impossible for brands to calculate profit from social media, but also that there's not so much profit to be made anymore.
Online distrust is growing exponentially, causing a mass exodus from nearly all major social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It's getting harder and harder to gauge the credibility of social media numbers, considering how easy it is to buy followers, views, or likes. Sure, someone might have 100k followers on Instagram, but how can it be proved that all 100k of them are real people, and not fake followers or bots? How can a brand be SURE that this influencer is the best face for their brand or campaign just based on their curated social media account?
Distrust of social media, influencers, and online advertisements is growing even faster in those who consume social media, especially within younger generations like Millennials and Gen Z. I mean, just think about all of the scandals Facebook has been in recently for breaking user privacy agreements, making thousands call for a total boycott of the platform. People are tired of algorithms that lump personal posts, news, spam, and ads all together in one timeline like on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The stale content and lack of innovation from influencers and brands create timelines and social feeds that are oversaturated and out of touch with the average person, which is the driving force behind many leaving social media, particularly in North America and Europe.
It's hard to blame those who are skeptical of social media platforms and influencers, though. Many users are doubtful that their data are secure within online platforms, especially after the Facebook scandal I mentioned earlier, in which 87 million users' personal information was improperly shared with a political consultancy in 2018. The threat of "fake news" is driving many offline too, as it becomes easier for even the most malicious and blatantly false information to spread like wildfire.
All this considered, though, social media investment is expected to increase throughout the next year, and it's doubtful that everyone will just abandon the goal of being an influencer all together.
It's unclear how profitable online personalities and influencers will be in the future as more and more people tire of constant media consumption and start to distrust the platforms and companies that advertise on them. One thing is obvious, though: the age of the online influencer or social media "star" must change to fit the ever-evolving demands of the digital age if it wants to survive and not end up in the Internet graveyard with the likes of MySpace and Vine.
