Introduction to OSP: Influencers blog tasks

 Read this article in The Week magazine on the rise of social media influencers and answer the following questions:  

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

 YouTube in 2005,

Twitter in 2006, 

Instagram in 2010

2) What is the definition of an influencer?  A Social Media Influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry. These content creators have access to a large audience and can share information to persuade others and drive social media engagement through their authenticity and reach.

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. Some of the biggest are famous from another field: last week, the rapper Nicki Minaj wore a pair of bejewelled pink Croc shoes on Instagram, where she has 136 million followers; demand for pink Crocs spiked by 4,900% in hours. Marketers now divide them up into nano influencers (1,000-10,000 followers), micro influencers (10,000-100,000), macro influencers (100,000- 1 million) and mega or celebrity influencers (more than 1 million).

4) How big is the influencer industry according to the article?  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? There are the 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? The idea that audiences like being sold products by influencers is based on several key psychological and social dynamics that shape how people engage with influencer marketing

7) What representation of beauty is often found on Instagram or other influencer sites? Women are often portrayed as slim with certain facial features, while men are depicted as muscular and tall. 

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

My opinion on influencers are both positive and negative. The reason for this is because they could affect someone's life in a good and bad way. The way it can affect a persons life in a positive way is by helping them feel confident about themselves, and they can act like a good role model. They way it can affect a persons life in a negative way is by making them feel insecure about their lives due to various reasons: financially, appearance, and their lifestyle. Therefore, there are both positive and negative opinions about influencers.