Will 'Influencers' Ever Stop?
Discussion
Doofus said:
Will there come a time when 'influencers' are no longer a thing?
Will people get sick of all the attention-seeking that is Instagram?
Will people ever realise that vacuous showing off is not aspirational?
Will this carousel of craptitude ever end?
If so, what's next?
It has been going on for years and years in slightly different guises. Endorsements no different. I remember nearly 20 years ago buying a tennis racket because it was 'endorsed' by Tim Henman, no different to some celeb pushing a make up brand to teenage girls. Just a different platform.Will people get sick of all the attention-seeking that is Instagram?
Will people ever realise that vacuous showing off is not aspirational?
Will this carousel of craptitude ever end?
If so, what's next?
The key difference is I suppose at least Tim Henman did something with his life first. So I agree with that element of it, do something that gives you the platform that is vaguely unique or interesting vs building the platform of nothing for the sole purpose of pushing crap.
okgo said:
It has been going on for years and years in slightly different guises. Endorsements no different. I remember nearly 20 years ago buying a tennis racket because it was 'endorsed' by Tim Henman, no different to some celeb pushing a make up brand to teenage girls. Just a different platform.
Although Tim Henman is (was?) famous for playing tennis. He's not famous for being famous.While I agree with the above an influencer is not really a new thing more the way to become one is now easier with technology.
Back in the 70s and 80s the government used popular celebrities to be the face of tv adverts about wearing your seat belt. Its used a chap who was popular and beloved by the nation for his zanny ways and his charity work.
He was an influential person. But back then you needed a production crew and air time. Now you don't so anyone can do it an often what you see on screen is not what the person is really like. But its been going on for decades.
Who was the chap who fronted the adverts.....
Back in the 70s and 80s the government used popular celebrities to be the face of tv adverts about wearing your seat belt. Its used a chap who was popular and beloved by the nation for his zanny ways and his charity work.
He was an influential person. But back then you needed a production crew and air time. Now you don't so anyone can do it an often what you see on screen is not what the person is really like. But its been going on for decades.
Who was the chap who fronted the adverts.....
There has always been "influencers", they just were never called that. In the olden days they were celebrities who hocked a company's product in exchanged for cash. I don't really see the difference between millions of people watching Coronation Street or Manchester United compared to someone with millions of followers in Instagram or YouTube. It is entertainment, simply my a different medium.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't "get" many of these vastly popular channels, but then that's because I'm old.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't "get" many of these vastly popular channels, but then that's because I'm old.
slopes said:
No is the simple answer to that question.
Humans are obsessed with other peoples lives, see TOWIE, Geordie Shore, Hello magazine etc and their desire to know everything, usually for gossiping purposes.
So influencers are here to stay as long as celebrity obsessed humans exist.
That suggests the tail is very much wagging the dog. A bit like when the supermarket says "We sell what the customers want", when the truth is "They buy what you sell because you don't give them any alternatives."Humans are obsessed with other peoples lives, see TOWIE, Geordie Shore, Hello magazine etc and their desire to know everything, usually for gossiping purposes.
So influencers are here to stay as long as celebrity obsessed humans exist.
airsafari87 said:
No.
Its the only thing they know, and more sadly. Its the only thing that gives them any feeling of self worth.
Gif I hope you’re wrong, but I have a sinking feeling you’re correct. Its the only thing they know, and more sadly. Its the only thing that gives them any feeling of self worth.
This sort of content is like so much in society now, a quick fix... an instant hit!
Much like having a Mars bar when you’re hungry, instead of putting together a salad.. we all know which we should choose!
They’re nothing more than a cheap online dopamine hit for simple minds...
abzmike said:
Influencers can only influence when someone is paying them to do so. If 'Fabby-Dabby-Dubai_Hotel' isn't paying for a celeb to go there and post a few pics on her insta, she isn't going to go. They are just another kind of advertising.
Looks like that's not going to happen in the near futurehttps://www.heart.co.uk/showbiz/celebrities/dubai-...
There was a golden age for influencers which ended around 2018 where companies would chuck endless money at paid endorsements hoping they would pay off, unless you have a niche with a captive audience then you aren't worth much.
In the past few years firms have sprung up which quantify an influencers worth, it's not good to be throwing money at someone who has say 250k followers but half of them are bots and the majority of the rest don't have much disposable income or live in the wrong target country.
Now some of the most followed influencers aren't even real but virtual
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/03/20/even-bette...
You might as well ask if advertising will ever stop. I don't think influencers will stop, but it will become a very crowded marketplace. If you want to hang your brand on someone with 1,000,000 followers, then you'll have to pay more if there's only one or two to choose from. When there's loads, it'll be cheaper.
Doofus said:
slopes said:
No is the simple answer to that question.
Humans are obsessed with other peoples lives, see TOWIE, Geordie Shore, Hello magazine etc and their desire to know everything, usually for gossiping purposes.
So influencers are here to stay as long as celebrity obsessed humans exist.
That suggests the tail is very much wagging the dog. A bit like when the supermarket says "We sell what the customers want", when the truth is "They buy what you sell because you don't give them any alternatives."Humans are obsessed with other peoples lives, see TOWIE, Geordie Shore, Hello magazine etc and their desire to know everything, usually for gossiping purposes.
So influencers are here to stay as long as celebrity obsessed humans exist.
If you see the little stand in the supermarkets with her name and picture on it, it's nearly always empty or being filled up.
My youngest step daughter is celebrity obseessed and she raves about this woman.
She's doing nothing different to what my folks did back in the 70's, she just has a platform now and the sales are reflecting that.
Greg_D said:
They’re nothing more than a cheap online dopamine hit for simple minds...
In fairness, they didn't promise you a miracle! 
My Daughter is an Influencer. She knits characters. If you care to check out what she influences, her name is Wooly McWoolface. Her latest creation is a life-sized knitted Thanos which made it onto LadBible (with guest appearance by me!!): https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=458612325118250
This isn't something she aimed to become. She just started designing and selling her own patterns. Did a few instruction vids and it grew from there. She gets free wool (the wool that she'd use anyway) and is signed up to a news agency that sell her content around the world from which she receives a bit if income. Currently doing some content for the BBC as well - aimed at kids, encouraging development of craft skills.
It's not her job but brings in a bit of additional money for her.
I'm pretty certain this isn't the sort of influencer that the OP is referring to - that being the over-glammed young 20 something's spouting off about clothes and shoes and make up.
Whilst not my thing, one has to ask... what's the problem? What's different to these people and those that started appearing on TV in the 60s selling stuff in adverts? It's the same thing, just a different media.
The impact the good ones have on a company's sales is profound - they can make and sometimes break a company's fortune.
I think many people of a certain vintage think Social Media is some passing fad. It really isn't. It's simply a different way to deliver content to an audience and one that is fast becoming if not already more popular than TV. Unlike TV, it's more accurate in its targeting and it's this that has spawned the Influencer.
Influencers are just a new type of advertising. That's all.
J4CKO said:
Well, suppose if you aren't especially talented and but have a high opinion of yourself, its good to have a career option for getting free stuff and adulation for no particular reason.
I think the idea that (successful) influencers aren't talented is totally false. It takes a lot of talent and hard work to build up a following of people large enough to get business to pay you to promote their products. Businesses want to target a particular demographic and will only payoff people who can deliver. It's just a form of advertising, a replacement for the "influencer" magazines like Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Evo, or Fishing Weekly.
Greg_D said:
This sort of content is like so much in society now, a quick fix... an instant hit!
Much like having a Mars bar when you’re hungry, instead of putting together a salad.. we all know which we should choose!
They’re nothing more than a cheap online dopamine hit for simple minds...
simple minds and weak/vulnerable people.Much like having a Mars bar when you’re hungry, instead of putting together a salad.. we all know which we should choose!
They’re nothing more than a cheap online dopamine hit for simple minds...
The rest of us are immune to most of such advertising. Although I suspect there is a massive gender difference here, ie these stupid influencers are more likely to effect young girls who seem so more heavily influenced by fashion and a desire to conform to expected standards. No so much when men although growing.
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