Translation of this blog title: "I have now become comfortable with accepting money for my recommendations."
I chuckle at this opening sentence, as I'm sure many influencers grapple with sponsored content at the beginning of their careers. No matter how seasoned you are at it, putting yourself "out there" is hard. When there's a financial contract on the line for it, I'm sure it becomes much harder. Giving thousands of people the opportunity to judge you daily seems crushing, regardless of the pay-out.
What's the best thing you've purchased based on a recommendation of a person you "follow" online? My purchases are boring at best, but I would say the peak of my influenced spending came when I joined the masses in buying an electrolyte drink that had taken over my corner of the internet. I now hold a monthly subscription for it.
Social media is many things - one being an economic generator. It has created a litany of new careers and breathed new life into old ones. Writers, designers, consultants, programmers are all benefiting from an increase in available billable hours based on the need to constantly create content. It's also provided a platform for small businesses to scale exponentially with low costs in overhead. Lastly, one of the most elusive, yet ubiquitous careers that has come from the rise of social media is that of the influencer.
Media platforms have created a way to maximize profits from being a salesmen and master networker. If you can build a platform with 3-5-10,000-plus people who trust and look up to you, then you can begin selling and recommending products through affiliate links at a large volume. What's even better about this formula for selling, is that your audience doesn't feel as though they're being sold to. They feel they're in conversation with a friend, who just let them in on a best kept secret.
I have bought plenty of things from influencers, and many of the items have been game-changers in my daily routines. I've also been a user of social media for long enough now that I have been able to witness the arcs of success of influencers I follow. I started following many in the infancy of their careers - when they were just an individual passionate about working out, or cooking, or writing. They weren't necessarily out to build a conglomerate based on "likes" and "follows," but over time they did, and found they had a voice that came with all the ears that were listening and eyes that were watching.
It's been interesting to watch the transformation from these influencers go from every-day people to social media entrepreneurs. There's a similar transition point they all get to when they begin partnering with brands, and monetizing their platforms. The sales pitch they give once they get there bears a striking resemblance.
It's a variation of: "I never thought of myself as an influencer, and never thought I would start recommending products, but I just HAVE to share this one product with you. Know that I only share products I use and love myself, and have been working with the company to get you a discount code. This product is great because of XYZ, and I use it in my own life in the XYZ ways. Try it with me by using my affiliate link for 10% off."
Typically the affiliate link provides a kick-back to the influencer based on how many people order through it. In other cases the influencer is paid directly by a company to peddle their products. The former part of their sales pitch with "I never thought I would do this..." helps their audience continue seeing them as a friend instead of a salesperson. The latter part of it disguises the fact that they have indeed become an influencer and are comfortable with accepting financial gain for it.
I don't have a major problem with this career track, and to be honest, I am not sure why I'm even writing this blog post. It's not meant to try and take down those who have built a financially viable platform on social media, but more to break down the elusiveness around making money off of influence.
This whole thought process was inspired by the podcast episode "The Morality of the Influencer." Hosted and created by Haley Nahman, in this episode she answers a listener's question about the murky waters of sponsored content. The listener asks great questions, and Nahman provides great answers. Central to the conversation is the concept of trust and transaction.
At its most basic form an influencer's success rests on a community of followers who feel the influencer is speaking directly to them. On the follower side, they form an intimate - albeit digital - relationship with the influencer as they see the daily stories, posts, blogs, newsletters etc the influencer is sharing. The influencer cannot see the same for it thousands of followers, which makes the relationship dynamic unbalanced. If I ran into an influencer I followed on the street, I could comment on their dog's halloween costume, the meal they ate two weeks ago, their thoughts on recent political events, the outfit they wore to a gala, the new wallpaper they bought for their house, etc. They could not do the same for me.
This attention that followers are able to give the influencers they choose to digitally admire is what Nahman says is important to note. When influencers are recommending products from larger brands, at the crux of what they're doing isn't selling you the product; it's selling your attention to the brand. The longer we land on a webpage, directed there by the affiliate link, the more we're staring at a screen allowing the brand to scrape our unique user data.
Nahman comments that this type of transactional-ism cheapens the bond commonly built in online in online communities. Rarely does an influencer reach enough success that a brand wants to partner with them without building a corner of the internet where like-minded people feel they belong. Whether it's building common ground around art, fitness, cooking, writing, fashion, politics, etc, the followers all feel connected in some way, to each other, and to the influencer. Nahman goes on to explain that if she truly just did like a product, wouldn't she just recommend it without needing a financial kick-back? Isn't that what a friend would do?
For the record - this is what every successful company is doing. they're building trust with their audience and creating products and services that reinforce that trust. It just feels different when an individual - who feels like a (digital) friend - recommends a product they think they're followers will love. This is the genius of influencer marketing as well - as an audience we don't think we're being sold to. Influencer marketing is softer and personal and curated. The marketing format doesn't feel as aggressive as walking by a billboard, or watching repetitive ads and commercials, or walking into an event center like TD Garden and being assaulted by neon lights screaming the names of companies that have aligned themselves with the sports teams and performers that play there.
As this blog post begins to border a utopian ideology, one where can all live in a barter society, harmoniously with each other, without the need for money or marketing, I want to reiterate that I don't think influencer marketing is bad. I'd rather a handful of individuals get a percentage of dollars from a product that a major company is going to do a hard push for anyway. And I don't really have any reason to write this blog post beyond using it as a way to air out my annoyance that comes from the coded language of "it all." Marketing, digital marketing, PR, influencer marketing...it's all a pathway for major companies to acquire user information. And we as users get an electrolyte drink mix out of it. (or a Squatty Potty, or an innovative spatula that breaks ground meat up into small delightful chunks in the pan, or cute socks with our animal's heads printed on them.)
Maybe I'm writing it because I think it's important to always remember the root of why we're watching what we're watching, and buying what we're buying.
Or maybe what I'm really trying to say is, why not utilize Ron Swanson's format of marketing?
video c/o Parks and Recreation