OSP: Introduction to influencers

 1) What years did YouTube, Twitter and Instagram launch?

  YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, and in 2010, Instagram 

2) What is the definition of an influencer?

a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommended the items on social media.

3) Give an example of an influencer and how many followers they have. Try and add some additional information, brand associations or other statistics if you can.

Zoella has 10.7M followers

 £15,000 a month from YouTube pre-roll advertising, up to £20,000 each for promotional videos or Instagram posts plus money from books and a beauty product range with Superdrug.

Kylie Jenner (233 million followers on Instagram) can earn as much as $1m per post.

4) How big is the influencer industry according to the article?

Very. By the end of 2019, the influencer marketing industry was worth some $8bn a year. One recent report by Insider Intelligence predicted that it would grow to $15bn globally by the end of 2022.

5) What are the problems associated with being an influencer?

Endless hours spent preparing for photo shoots, arranging photographers, changing outfits in cramped “pop-up tents”, editing photos and thinking up envy-inducing captions and hashtags. Demanding clients often force them to endlessly re-shoot photos or videos until they come out just right.There’s the pressure of always seeking to increase your follower count to drive up revenues.

6) Why is it suggested that audiences actually like being sold products by influencers?

No as its a sign of success. 

7) What representation of beauty is often found on Instagram or other influencer sites?

“a young face, of course, with poreless skin and plump, high cheekbones”, long lashes and full lips – generally white but with a hint of “rootless exoticism”

8) What is YOUR opinion on influencers? Are they a positive or negative influence on our society and culture? Why?

I believe influencers lie on social media to promote brand products to audience which in reality the product may be very bad in order to get revenue and money.