My last post on feminism sparked some great discussion in the comment section, and I wanted to follow up today on one of the tangents that came up/out of that: influencer culture. While not everyone might agree, I think this is a topic worthy of rigorous, academic analysis. I am, clearly, not the person to deliver that; but I do have some thoughts to share, and I would be interested in hearing yours.
I have been blogging since the mid-2000s in various forms (and on this blog since 2010) so I have had a front row seat to the influencer phenomenon almost from the beginning. I don’t follow many influencers (monetized bloggers, vloggers, or Instagrammers) on social media for personal reasons, but I follow some of the public discourse on their comings and goings when it surfaces on sites or platforms that I read/follow. For me, reading about how the public interacts with and views influencers, and vice versa, is more interesting that any content that the influencers directly put out. I recently watched This American Meme, a documentary on Netflix that looked at the lives and careers of several social media influencers of varying descriptions, which was similarly fascinating in a kind of anthropological way. In other words, I’m interested in what influencer culture means to and what it says about our Zeitgeist. But, as I said, I am not qualified to put forward any theories on that score.
So, let’s talk about my personal thoughts on influencers.
I mentioned that I don’t follow many of them. The people I follow on social media are typically friends, celebrities whose work (acting, music, etc.) I enjoy, or people who have either a well-defined personal style identity that intrigues me, or who share some of my (fairly niche) interests. Because major influencers develop their “brand” based on securing the widest possible appeal, they rarely fit into either of the latter categories; they also don’t typically produce work outside of their social media content, so they also don’t fit into what I call my “celebrity” bucket.
Let me give you a pertinent example. As you can probably tell, I have fairly strong opinions about how to dress myself, so I am not looking for people to tell me what to wear or how to wear it. I’m inspired by people who have their own aesthetic, whether similar to mine or not, because they make me think about clothing in a critical and creative way. With a few exceptions (such as Man Repeller), I haven’t found many big-time influencers who maintain a unique “voice” in this regard. Influencers are all about trends, but (by and large) they don’t originate them or engage with them in a critical/theoretical way. For the most part, I don’t care about trends; but if I wanted to know the “hot new thing”, I would look up the current issue of Vogue.
This isn’t a criticism of influencers, per se. Blogging, and style blogging in particular, was largely a reaction to traditional forms of media like fashion magazines. I started blogging myself because I wanted to talk about style from a non-Vogue perspective. Of course, with the evolution of blogging, some influencers are now trying to position themselves as fashion industry insiders … in my opinion, with mixed success. Not everyone can be Anna Wintour.
That being said, my general motto is “live and let live”. Influencers deliver a service which the marketplace has determined to have value, and plenty of it at that. You and I can debate the relative merits of late stage capitalism, but I don’t think it’s fair to blame its ills on a group of individuals who are not responsible for its institutionalization. And, anyway, that’s a whole other conversation.
There is one thing that bugs me about influencer culture, though, and I find it a more common phenomenon at its fringes. It’s entitlement.
Entitlement annoys me in all its forms— and I say that as someone with sufficient self-awareness to know that I am not immune from it – but this particular version drives me up the wall. Here’s an example I saw re-posted on an account I follow.
Where do I begin? First, as I wrote before, feminism is not a value system. I am not required to support someone’s choice simply because we are both women. What I support, fully, is her (and everyone’s) right to make a choice. If that choice is to become an influencer, cool. But if the person is, by admission, putting out mediocre content then no one should feel obliged to engage with that content or assist them in making money from it; feminism doesn’t come into it.
I know how hard it is to create interesting and relatable content; I struggle on the daily. It’s probably even harder to come up with good marketing copy masquerading as interesting and relatable content. But that’s the service which the marketplace has decided has value – a new twist on traditional advertising methods. If it was easy, why would people pay a lot of money for it?
I also understand how much it sucks when someone is creating content, and that content doesn’t “land” with their audience – when you get no comments, no likes, no engagement. You know that GIF of Russell Crowe from The Gladiator where he yells “Are you not entertained?” I’ve re-enacted it in my mind on more than one occasion … but I’ve also had to accept the fact that nobody owes me a reaction. In any exchange – commercial or otherwise – both parties are free to evaluate what they’re getting out of it and whether it’s worth the effort. If my content isn’t getting the engagement I want, then I have two choices. Stop putting out content. Or put out content that gets the engagement I want. That’s about it.
Honestly, I don’t know why this type of “call to action” pisses me off as much as it does. I know there is a gender aspect to this – influencers tend to be women – and I have tried to question my own unconscious biases. Would it bug me as much if a man had written it? I would like to say yes but I can’t be sure, especially since this is the kind of thing I’ve only ever seen written by women. “Just a hard-working mama trying to support her family.” Hi Karen, newsflash: most of us are doing that, thanks. [Also, let me pause here to say that having a family is a choice too. And guilt-tripping some stranger because of family obligations that person didn’t thrust upon you seems pretty anti-feminist to me.] I don’t know, maybe it’s just the contrarian in me, forever hating being told what I ought to do. SOME OF US JUST ENJOY LURKING ON INSTAGRAM, OK? Ahem.
I think some of this goes back to the roots of blogging and its evolution. Blogging was, in the beginning at least, the antithesis of Big Media. It was personal. It was meant to create authentic connections between people who might never meet in real life. Bloggers became influencers precisely because their audiences felt that they “knew” them and trusted them. Advertisers saw that trust, and decided it was worth monetizing. And, thus, influencing became a business. Which is cool. But, as a blogger, you have to pick a lane. Are you a person sharing their life with the world, or are you a business? There is nothing wrong with either option, as far as I’m concerned; but the rules of engagement are different for each one. It strikes me as disingenuous to try to pick and choose one’s approach depending on what best suits one’s interests in a particular situation.
So, after writing a meandering behemoth of a post, let me turn it over to you: what do you think of influencer culture? Are you an influencer? Do you follow influencers on social media and, if so, what do you think about the services they provide? Do posts like the above bother you, or do you feel they’re justified?
I have Thoughts on influencers. Primarily that I hate the word influencer.
But really, it’s a struggle for me once a blogger makes blogging their full-time job. I won’t name names, but someone I’ve followed for years went full-time over a year ago and their posts just haven’t been the same. There’s still good content to be sure, but some of the sponsored content is just SO inauthentic to what they’ve preached over the last few years. And I get sick of seeing bloggers rave about an item in March and see it show up in their Poshmark shop in April. At the same time, I’ve appreciated their work and don’t want them to stop blogging, and I understand that it does take time and energy to produce quality content (which they still do sometimes), so I don’t know how to support them. I do occasionally try to visit sites instead of just reading them on feedly so they get that ad revenue, but I don’t really know how useful that is.
Specific to your screenshot above, that drives me crazy. It’s the same type of thing used by MLMers. The MLM craze seems designed to shame both working moms and stay at home moms – “we can contribute to our family income AND stay home with the kids!” No, you’re basically bugging your friends to try and finance your lifestyle. And with this one, sure, likes are free, but I’m not going to pretend I like a sponsored post if I don’t.
You hit the nail on the head – part of the reason why that kind of message bugs me is because it smacks of MLM hun talk.
I hate the fact that MLMs prey on vulnerable people, especially women and POC, and language like this only perpetuates harmful ideas. Like, “being a stay at home mom is best (how horrible to leave your kids to be raised by strangers!) but also you’re not actually contributing anything to your household unless you are making money”. The rules of the game are already so stacked up against women, and this takes it to a place where there is no possibility of winning, only guilt and feelings of failure.
I was about to comment re: MLM schemes. 100% agree on ickiness. A true business does not hinge on selling someone else’s wares to your family and friends/ relying on others to support you out of generosity alone.
Agreed!
100% agree. As someone who leads marketing and frequently works with influencers, ‘working hard and trying to get by’ is not an excuse for mediocre content. I have been surprised, frankly, by the lack of professionalism I often find in working with influencers. ‘Casual’, personal content does not have to be any less planned or polished than a magazine ad. I have often had to go back to influencers and work with them to get content that I felt was worth the price. This may be a minority opinion, but I do think many influencers will need to step up their game as the marketplace becomes more crowded and brands get more choosy about who to work with.
The more mainstream it becomes, the more professional it will have to become, for the reasons you stated. It will be interesting to see how, as influencing becomes a “traditional” job like old school marketing, other things will take its place at the cutting edge (so to speak).
I’d really love to hear more about your work with influencers if you can share.
I follow a lot of Influencers, particular from the UK and the thing that irks me the most about them is how they won’t admit to the people who watch (and maybe even to themselves?) that they work IN MARKETING.
If you are paid money to talk about a product, you are marketing. Full stop. I don’t care if you also do personal blogs – you probably aren’t making that much money of those directly; you are using them to get people interested in you so that they will watch your videos in which you are paid by companies to sell products.
I agree, Amy!
I also have many thoughts on influencers and those that monetize in general. I think there can be a happy medium, but it’s pretty rare to see it. I don’t mind if a link is one that will earn the blogger/instagrammer money… but I DO mind when EVERYTHING is link, link, link, swipe up, link. It is disingenuous and makes me not want to support or follow them at all (and if someone gets too linky, I do tend to hit the unfollow button). But like I said, I don’t mind a link here or there. If it is something that they truly love, then yes they deserve the be ‘rewarded’ for that referral.
Full disclosure, I work in marketing/social media and I’ve been blogging since 2011. For the longest time I did not monetize any links at all. Now, I will share the occasional sponsored link/referral link, but I am super clear about it. I also never promote anything I don’t truly care about or love.
I personally don’t like the constant linking and try to ignore it because I find that it feeds a consumption drive that I’m trying to keep in check (or at least channel into thrifting instead).
I enjoy following blogs because they’ve become my version of “magazines.” I appreciate bloggers who put effort into their posts and make them enjoyable to look at and read. My own personal style draws me to ones who seem more down-to-earth and who can show me clothes, shoes, etc. that I can possibly replicate with my own closet. Sure, I shop from their blogs too, but often I use the blogs as a jumping off point.
I really appreciate the bloggers who make it clear that they are earning money through sponsored posts or affiliate links. I’ve also enjoyed post from 2 of my favorite fashion bloggers about the behind-the-scenes work that goes into their blogs, how affiliate links and sponsored posts,work, etc. It helped me understand the business side of blogging.
What I find tacky are the ones who try to hide their links/sponsorships. There’s one in particular who goes overboard trying to talk to readers as if we’re her “darling” girlfriends, and she is doing this because she loves us (ugh!). And, then in very tiny print, in a very light font, way down at the bottom of her posts, you’ll find the links or a blurb about how links and sponsored posts support her blog. There’s no way I’d link to anything for a blogger like that. Along those same lines, when a blogger starts living an extravagant lifestyle that they are demonstrating on their blog (think multiple trips every month or so, all year long) but trying to come across in the blog as if they are so blessed/lucky/shocked, etc at these things, I will tune out. Again, be honest about all your sponsored trips, or be honest that all the blogging income you’re getting from those links is paying for those monthly trips. And stop trying to fool your readers that you’re just like us. When you’re flying off to some vacation location every month or so, you’re no longer just like the rest of us.
It’s such a delicate balance to achieve a professional blog that can still reach readers, but at the same time, come across as a “real” person. At least for me, that’s what I want when I read them.
It IS a very delicate balance, and transparency is important. I think some influencers are able to achieve that more so than others. The funny/strange thing to me is that it’s not necessarily the big name influencers who are better at that than the smaller ones. And the pressure seems to me to be higher on those smaller ones to “sell out” more in order to get bigger.
Agreed. My IG is my magazine, my self-curated magazine. I suppose sponsorship/ads are fine, but the shilling of mall brands, cheap wares, and the same washed out beige and pink aesthetic reminds of the shitty ads in comic books when I was a kid—sea monkeys aren’t awesome pets, and loft sells crappy polyester clothes.
now I kinda wish I had read comic books as a child. I made it almost 39 years without knowing what a sea monkey is … Though judging from your comment, probably less exciting than I imagine.
But I agree with your approach – I treat my IG as a self-curated news feed and I do edit it frequently.
Thank you for this post, it feels very timely as I have been considering unfollowing some bloggers turned influencers on Instagram who I feel are cluttering up my feed with ads. I say considering because I have truly been meditating on this topic and have very mixed feelings. Most of the influencers I follow are bloggers who I have followed for years and have seen their blogs rise in popularity to the point where they have become influencers. I do not begrudge the success of these bloggers and want to support them in some way as a thank you for putting themselves out there on a personal level for so long. I recognize there is a lot of time and behind-the-scenes effort put into producing content whether personal or paid partnerships. That said there has been a considerable decline in relatable personal content that brought me to these blogs in the first place. I get it – influencer status brings a lot of public scrutiny, and the choice to focus on the advertising hustle while backing off on the personal seems like a no brainer, but it makes me sad. To me, advertising has ruined something that was great. I often don’t know whether to trust blogger product recommendations now because a lot of content doesn’t have the hashtag #ad because of long-term partnerships.
Mostly I continue to follow influencers so I get notification of sales from my favorite brands, and I try to click through blogger links in those instances so they at least get a few cents from my click. I do not give out likes just to give out likes, and indeed I too will not be guilt-tripped into doing so by a stranger. I am not obligated to support your decision to produce sponsored content, and frankly would like to boycott this whole method of advertising by withholding my like!
I think that’s a valid stance. Also, at the end of the day, I believe influencers have to do what magazines did/do – put out interesting content that makes people want to read, and sprinkle the ad copy throughout in a way that doesn’t detract from the overall experience. It’s not easy, especially considering most of these people don’t have the training that people in traditional media (journalists, editors, etc) typically do.
I wish they would be honest about swipe-ups, and how they place cookies on major shopping sites that give commission on your entire purchase there for up to 30 days.
“Wish list” my rear—it’s just 15 links to places people shop in hopes you need lots of things and don’t notice.
That is a good point. Although, I have to figure that most people understand that influencers make money from swipe ups and links … no? Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I always assume there’s money involved somehow, haha!
Thanks for writing this. I have unfollowed almost all of the influencers (well, formerly bloggers) that I used to read. The amount of clothing and beauty they were “buying” was starting to warp my brain and the consumerism started to overwhelm me.
I also hate the “call to actions” and I will unfollow or mute anyone who starts doing the “help me beat the algorithm” posts…hate hate hate hate!!!! It’s not my problem that the IG redesign tanked your engagement. Part of me can empathize that it’s their livelihood…but on the other hand, who asked you to quit your day job for this?
I agree, especially the part about doing/buying/following things from people just to support a mom. I’ve had friends pitch me their MLM stuff with this. I’d rather they just ask for the money.
It’s come to the point that seeing professional Instagram people just makes me feel sad, since it’s become people profiting off of their lives. I can’t image the pressure to structure my life around clicks. I’ve got a classmate who does it fulltime with her husband, with hundreds of thousands of followers. They vacation for the ‘gram, they eat for the ‘gram, and I’m almost convinced that they had at least one child for ‘gram content. And it’s destroying their health and marriage. It makes me feel like part of the problem by engaging with their content. I’ve started to feel the same way about the people who do literally nothing all day but shop, decorate, redecorate, and repaint for blog content. I’ve been on a big unfollowing spree.
On a lighter note, nothing in life is free. Attention and time, also known as likes and clicks, are money. I’m employed too, but I don’t run around trying to coerce people into using my company’s services.
Re your last paragraph: huh, I never thought of it that way. We hear that a lot – likes and comments are free – but I didn’t think about the time investment on the reader/audience/follower side. Something to think about.
I absolutely agree with everything you wrote and with many comments above. Your comment in the next to last paragraph about bloggers needing to pick a lane especially resonates with me. I hate reading about how someone is going to “wear this thing on repeat” and then see it was gifted to them. I originally started reading blogs (and lurking on Instagram, too, if we’re being honest) to search for style ideas, and I’d still like to read with that purpose but get so tired of all the pressure to buy. The pressure to click or like or whatever is more of a turn off, in my opinion These days I much prefer blogs that have a few pictures of cute clothes or share books, tv shows, or general musings – like yours! Keeping it real and authentic is better.
Maybe it’s my age (mid 40s). Maybe the influencer way is targeted toward younger people and those who are older or more confident in their style or more set in their ways are less tolerant of the veiled pleading for affirmation or attention that is required for the advertisement/influencer model. It is sad that blogging as a way to connect those with shared interests across time and space has been distorted by advertisers.
There are still lots of “old school bloggers” (most but not all in my general age cohort, late 30s and 40s) but unless you know who they are, it’s hard to pick them out because the field as a whole is over saturated. I’m always looking for new voices to read and yet my blogroll is slowly dwindling. I’m still hopeful there will be a resurgence in old school blogging but who knows. The medium doesn’t always evolve in predictable ways.
Thank you once again, Adina, for putting into words EXACTLY how I feel about “influencers”, & the occasional pressure to support said folks. Have always felt they chose to do what they “do”, and NO ONE is obligated to respond at ALL, much less as exhorted to, here.
Having endured a very wide-open Facebook presence (‘cause I didn’t know what I was doing 😉 when I approached IG I decided it would be only those individuals & those topics which were “special” to me: that I would not feel obliged to accept requests to be followed, or invitations to follow others, because I
Wanted to create a space that was solely designed to please ME!
I have been dismayed to see recent suggestions that one’s IG account should include a cross-section/spectrum of individuals in order to better represent the world around us. When I am out in the world, I do my utmost to be open to all peoples and ideas; my personal IG is, to me, like my personal box of treasures that I can browse through when I wish.
So, influencers? You’re wasting your time with me 😉
Teresa H K
I think it’s good to be exposed to a diverse set of opinions/viewpoints but the notion of curating my social media to show how woke I am … eh. I prefer to do that organically. I am always on the lookout for content from people with interesting and unique perspectives. I don’t see a lot of that from your typical big name influencers.
I think maybe 5yrs ago I would have gotten as outraged as some of the others who have commented on your post. Maybe it’s b/c I’m getting older and small things just don’t bother me as much. But having said that I don’t understand why ppl get so mad though. I mean I enjoy a blogger/influencer who does not do too many sponsored posts either, and the worst are the painful to read ones read like a super cheesy ad, but that’s sales. Which is why I could never be in sales. I’ve never seen a post like the one you showed above encouraging ppl to ‘like’ a paid post for no reason. At most I’ve read descriptions of BTS to show it is a lot of work. I am mostly happy there are ppl like you who put yourself out there, write some interesting things for me to read and post good photos.
I do think that sponsored posts take work, so I have no issue with them in principle. I think people object to (a) undisclosed sponsorships and (b) feeling obligated to support/engage/react to them. I think that’s legitimate. Beyond that … Live and let live.
I follow two blogs specifically for the product suggestions because the bloggers save me time by finding work appropriate brands and reviewing how pieces fit. I appreciate the honest focus on commerce. I don’t follow the influencers because their content is now just as dishonest as a magazine ad.
I think if you have a reviewer whose opinions you trust, that’s a valuable service. There are probably models of compensation that work in that context (affiliate linking products that are recommended) but it probably limits how much money can be made. And the temptation must be there to make more (I.e. link more, make more commissions, etc). Kudos to the influencers who remain objective in the face of that.
This is such a well written post, Adina, and very thought provoking. Any time I come across an influencer, I always think “life for sale.” Nothing is aspirational about that. I, like you, instead follow those that inspire me to think a little harder, try something new, etc. As always, I enjoy reading your blog and ogling over all the creative outfits you create.
Thanks Kayley! I follow your IG for the same reasons – I enjoy seeing “regular” people exercising their creativity And sharing their passions.
There definitely was a time a few years ago when I was unfairly grouchy about the RewardStyle “30-day cookies left on your browser; sizable commissions on all your purchases go to the last blogger whose link you used to access this retailer” business model. I was upset because even though many blogs I read had some kind of disclosure, i.e. “I use affiliate links and may make a small commission”, nothing resembling the actual terms of the “deal” had ever been disclosed to me. I would have altered my browsing behavior if I knew, i.e. maybe by “directing” commissions to bloggers who were actually helpful to me by using their links instead. And yes, in hindsight it was probably naive of me, or a failure of due diligence on my part, that I never researched it myself until I randomly came across the information on, er, GOMI. As it was, the discovery was so… shocking that I changed my browser settings to block any and all Rewardstyle cookies in a fit of pique. That experience is part of why I’m so upfront about the terms of any affiliate marketing or referral program that I use. (When Shopstyle forces all users to change to a commission-based model rather than the few cents per click model I still use, I’ll update my disclosures accordingly.) Even if I was being silly, I don’t want to cause the same feelings in anyone else.
When it comes to sponsored posts, I’ve never actually had strong feelings against them. I’m okay with a disclosure as minimal as #ad or #sponsored, that’s enough detail for me. (That’s enough for when, say, a magazine like People includes a “sponsored” article that’s actually an ad, right? There’s fine print at the bottom or top of the article that says it’s an ad, and that’s about it?) I don’t really understand Instagram in general, much less why people can charge such high prices for sponsored content there, but I don’t have strong feelings about it, I feel like I don’t have any real skin in the game, it’s just too foreign to me and feels like part of another world that doesn’t directly affect me. I also don’t think I’ve ever been inspired to buy something by anything I first saw on Instagram, though I’ve been inspired to do so by people’s blogs.
In terms of my preferences for content I choose to follow, I’m very picky. People who blog full-time are generally not appealing. I can’t quite put my finger on what changes exactly with some of the people I used to follow years ago after they went full-time. They were mostly outfit/shopping bloggers and it’s theoretically possible to put out the same outfits, even if one’s job has changed. But none of the extremely few people I used to enjoy who then quit to do blogging full time have been able to hold my interest. To the extent that someone often posts content that doesn’t “feel” credible or true to them – i.e. if they post about retailers that are extremely “off-brand” for them (and you can kind of just tell they wouldn’t shop there if they weren’t getting paid well to do so), that’s a factor that will make me want to unfollow, I just won’t enjoy the content anymore, once the “trust” disappears. (Given that I’m a shopper who finds a lot of value in blogger product reviews and outfit photos, it’s important to me that if someone is going to comment on the general merits of an item or how it seems to fit, that I be able to at least somewhat trust what they’re saying.)
As for that post you included as an illustration – oye vey! I can be very sympathetic to people when things outside their control (in this case, updates to the Instagram algorithm?) affect their livelihood – I’d be upset too! However, when one’s business is to appeal to the public, one should… not be off-putting to said public. It’s just such an extremely undignified, immature, and cringe-inducing reaction, ick! I’d certainly unfollow anyone who reacted like that, solely because I could never forget how hard I cringed to see it, and that feeling of repulsion would be strong enough that I personally could never enjoy their content again. This sort of happened recently with one of the cat Instagram accounts I follow – their owner had an odd writing style and the way this person communicated how they were quitting their job to manage their cats’ account and put out cat-related content was extremely off-putting. One would think I could still look at the cute cat photos on Instagram and ignore the captions, but every time I saw their posts, I was reminded of how much I didn’t like the owner, so I had to unfollow.
I think trust is the key. You can only sell that once, as it were. Once it’s gone, it’s very hard or impossible to get back. So the key, I imagine, for influencers is try to keep it as long as possible … but you can’t do that if you’re shilling anything and everything under the sun.
It’s a tough thing. I much prefer the “amateur” bloggers, there’s a realism there that I relate to and find compelling. Once they “turn pro”, so to speak, the content often becomes homogenized and the rough edges that were once so charming get smoothed over…which is a bummer, as a reader. But on the other hand, I can’t blame women (and it’s pretty much always women creating this kind of content) for wanting to get paid to produce the things they’ve developed skills to make and done the hard work of building the audience for. I think there is sometimes a happy medium (occasional, on-brand spon-con) but it’s really hard to find and I have to imagine the temptation to just take the opportunities is VERY difficult to resist.
At the end of the day, though, these kind of posts, demanding my attention and feedback, are total turnoffs. NO ONE is entitled to my time or energy, even if it’s as simple as a double tap, because we both happen to identify as women.