One of the most fascinating developments in the world of marketing to me is the rise of influencer marketing. The use of celebrities in marketing is nothing new, but what's interesting about influencer marketing is that it plays directly on the parasocial relationships that develop between niche internet celebrities and their fanbases. These influencers build up a sense of goodwill, intentional or not, between themselves and their followers, and there's ample evidence to suggest that tapping into this goodwill can be an effective means of marketing. Furthermore, many influencers are content creators in their own right and will be willing to create the advertisement on behalf of the marketing team in a form that best matches their content style. You can see an example of this below in a video created by YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes for the video game Albion Online (Hayes, 2023). Yet the advantages of this style of marketing aren't necessarily as direct as one might hope. While there is a correlation between influencer-focused marketing efforts and engagement between the audience and the brand being promoted, this doesn't necessarily lead directly to increased sales since most are looking to engage with the brand as a means of engaging with the influencer themselves (Waltenrath et. al., 2022). So if the advantage of influencer marketing is not an increase in sales, then why has it seen such prolific growth in recent years? The answer, in short, is a matter of authenticity.
("Worst MMO Ever?" - Albion Online by Josh Strife Hayes, March 19, 2023)
The concept of the "Authentic Self" finds its roots in eastern spiritualism and deals with an externalist view of how we perceive and create our own realities (Hongladarom, 2011). In essence, the idea is that the self we present online is one that is curated to appear exactly as we wish to be. We post photos that make us look good, write posts that express beliefs and ideas we want to be associated with, and interact with content that we feel presents the truest or most approachable versions of ourselves. To put it simply, when online, we are the content that we interact with. To others online who only ever see this curated version of ourselves, this builds a perception of what we must be like offline as well, hence they begin to view this as our "authentic self" (2011). This same principle explains why online influencers have become so popular. Through their content, influencers create a perception of who they are and broadcast it to their follower base, and their followers place a level of trust that this perception is true. They are willing to trust the word of an influencer when it comes to products and marketing because they trust that this person has been honest with them thus far.
So, what does this have to do with marketing? Influencers present an opportunity for marketers to tap into the power of the authentic self to vicariously earn the trust of their audience, which in turn can lead to greater trust in the brand as well as good association. It may not lead directly to sales, but the optics that influencers create for brands cannot be understated. Of course, that's not to say that this is a foolproof method, because for all the trust that influencers can build with their audience, they can just as easily lose that trust if they are not careful, and that loss of trust can cause issues for a brand if they are associated with an influencer that has fallen from grace. For an example of this, take a look at the below video from ABC news regarding influencer Logan Paul and a controversy surrounding his behavior while abroad in Japan (ABC News, 2018).
("YouTube star under fire for video of apparent suicide victim" by ABC News, January 2, 2018)
References:
ABC News. (2018, January 2). YouTube star under fire for video of apparent suicide victim [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjNFGZLJLss
Hongladarom, S.
(2011). Personal identity and the self on the online and offline world. Minds
& Machines, 21, 533–548.
Waltenrath, A.,
Brenner, C., & Hinz, O. (2022). Some Interactions Are More Equal Than
Others: The Effect of Influencer Endorsements in Social Media Brand Posts on
Engagement and Online Store Performance. Journal of Interactive
Marketing, 57(4), 541–560. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/10949968221096591
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