OPINION EDITOR- MARIANA CHAMORRO
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON NOV 28, 2022
Being an influencer with a large following comes with more responsibility than one may think. The whole point of being a successful influencer is to have enough power to influence people to purchase merchandise or follow trends you promote. There are countless types of influencers. They may vary from beauty, style, body positivity, fitness, mental health, and so on. An influencer’s influence can be either good or bad. Some ways in which an influencer can deliver good influence on their followers is by promoting products or activities that are healthy and positive for their health, both physically and mentally. However, an influencer might harm their followers by promoting a product or activity that may be detrimental or endangering the public.
No matter the circumstance, the crucial thing to remember is that influencers influence us and society. As a society that relies heavily on social media use, it is necessary to be aware that things we see on the internet might not be what they seem. Most of the content we need to be wary of is the content uploaded by influencers. For influencers, social media and uploading content is their job.
They are likely not to be as careful about what they post since their objective is getting followers, likes and promoting products or brands. Influencers who care more about their image online will likely do anything they need to increase their number of viewers.
Influencers who truly respect their audience and love the brands they promote will not post fake or edited pictures of any kind. Nowadays, it is common for social media users to use apps that will edit their faces and features. This trend began when influencers wanted more attention, and in turn, it has led to users having a fake depiction of how “perfect” faces or bodies look. Influencers who lead a real, genuine influence online will show their followers the reality of “perfect” lives and bodies. However, these accounts usually receive less attention and sometimes even receive hate.
When brands or products receive a lot of attention and booming interest rates, many people seem to want to join in. However, this can lead to ethical dilemmas with influencers promoting brands or companies they are not big fans of. Influencers promoting brands they don’t use can cause a ripple of distrust between the influencer and the consumer. Slip-ups like these can tarnish the reputations of influencers and even the brand or companies they promote. There have been quite a few scandals in the past that reflected dishonest influencers who were not considerate of their audience.
Due to this, the Federal Trade Commission put in place a few restrictions and rules to help regulate manipulative marketing tactics used by influencers. One has worded it as: “Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experience of the endorser.” These considerations attempted to control the exponential growth of brand endorsement, and most importantly, deceptive actions used by influencers. However, this has not made a noticeable difference since many influencers continue promoting brands and companies that they do not use or support.
Influencers don’t just hurt the general public but also the brands or companies they are endorsing.
Many companies have been victims to losing control over their brand image. When companies hire influencers, they are placing their image in the hands of an external person, which in turn can cause negative effects on their brands.
If an influencer ruins their image online, it may cause their brands and companies to look bad. Most brands and companies want influencers that align with their values and image, but there is no concrete way to know if their image will stay the same.
How do influencers have this type of power and influence? Most of the time, people don’t know when they are under the influence when doing something, which can be why, with the right tactics, it can be easy to do. Most online users are attracted to things others have and feel secure in having products others share with them. People can look to influencers when it is time to make decisions since decision-making can prove to be easier when following another’s example. For these reasons, it is important to be conscious of what we expose ourselves to a social media-oriented society.