The rise of social communities online has introduced an entirely new form of digital marketing in the form of an online presence, also recognised as influencers. Influencers are people who share information about their lives to the public, and they grow a community of followers from their posts, (Wiseman, 2022). The most common social media platforms influencers use include TikTok and Instagram. These platforms allow Influencers to create parasocial connections with their community of followers, which means that Influencers are creating a one sided ‘relationship’ with them, (Balaban et al., 2020). Influencers are often hired by brands to be their authentic selves, as this drives the revenue in their advertising. Instagram influencers use thought out tactics to create their community of followers which heavily impacts on an individual’s daily internet usage, for their own monetary gain, this can also be recognised as content manipulation. “Content manipulation is becoming increasingly popular with 92% of social media users admitting they trust Instagram influencers advice over native online advertising.” (Wiseman, 2022). A study by Wiseman (2022) found that influencers are using platforms, like Instagram to build their community, and increase their profits made through brand deals. There is a clear connection forming here, which is that influencers online create parasocial connections to manipulate their large community of followers for monetisation purposes.

Online communities are a new emerging form of connection that is created online, they communicate virtually, through computers or information technology as their medium, (Kim & Kim, 2022). A study by Kim & Kim (2022) found that online communities hold “a large number of group members who come together to exchange information and create social relationships, they have a similar interest in a subject, regardless of time and place”, (Kim & Kim, 2022). Influencers are able to take advantage of this, and adapt the communities being formed for their own monetary gain. The same study by Kim & Kim (2022) found that, “The virtual influencer has become a driving force that is helping the influencer marketing industry grow and retain customers, encompassing virtual events, digital marketing and e-commerce.” The rapid growth of influencers began during covid, people were unable to go to work, so they began to search for alternatives, and began sharing and posting more content online. All of the studies mentioned explore the psychological aspects of parasocial connections as well as the tactics employed by influencers to monetise their following. In particular, this study by Croes & Bartels (2021) explores how consumers perceive influencer’s psychological well-being and their perceived social responsibility, the study also examines how these factors influence consumer behaviour and attitudes toward influencer’s. Additionally, this study by (Brooks et al., 2021) investigates “influencer celebrification”, which explores how social media influencers gain celebrity status and influence.

Instagram influencers use thought out tactics to create their community of followers which heavily impacts on an individual’s daily internet usage, for their own monetary gain, this can also be recognised as content manipulation. “Content manipulation is becoming increasingly popular with 92% of social media users admitting they trust Instagram influencers advice over native online advertising”, (Wiseman, 2022). Influencers are employing manipulation techniques and strategies to grow their community to later establish brand deals/ collaborations solely for profit purposes. This study by (Brooks et al., 2021) discusses the strategies employed by influencers to create and maintain said connections, such as personal storytelling, authenticity and engagement tactics. The article discusses the popular social media icon, Charli D’Amelio who is dubbed “the face of a new generation of internet fame,” (Brooks et al., 2021). In addition, the idea of ‘sociocultural currency’ is also explored throughout the article, which is most often shared through celebrity endorsement. Furthermore, this article dives into how celebrity endorsement is used and its effectiveness. (Brooks et al., 2021) primarily discusses how celebrity endorsement became successful through institutional intermediaries like sports, television, music, etc. However, now most influencers are famous because they became famous online. In summary this article identified “three types of practices in the influencer celebrification process: generative practices, collaborative practices, and evaluative practices,” where these practices became amplified by external sources, like advertising practitioners which helped grow the ‘influencers celebrity capital.” (Brooks et al., 2021). Another article that explores the manipulation techniques used by influencers is the study by Wiseman (2022). This text discusses the strategies employed by social media influencers to develop and maintain their online communities and networks. The author primarily discusses influencers on Instagram, sharing how “Instagram lifestyle Influencers use tactics such as native advertising to have a large impact on our daily internet usage and for their own monetary gain,” (Wiseman, 2022). Additionally, the author shares how influencers on Instagram are aiming to ‘rewrite the user experience’, which means that people online believe they are viewing news rather than advertised content. This is how influencers are then able to take advantage and manipulate their following for monetisation.

A study by Croes and Bartels (2021) found that influencers are using platforms, like Instagram to build their community, and increase their profits made through brand deals. Influencers are leveraging parasocial connections to cultivate loyalty and trust among their followers. It is important to discuss the strategies used by influencers to create and maintain these connections, such as personal storytelling, authenticity, and engagement tactics, Croes and Bartels (2021) discusses how social media influencers have emerged into a significant marketing channel. Social media sites allow young adults to constantly consume digital content (there are no time and space limits for virtual interaction). Bartels (2021) highlights how social media users feel connected in the online community by engaging and interacting with influencers, more specifically the digitised interactive elements of social media platforms, like Instagram. When influencers have established their communities, they are now able to partake in brand deals/ collaborations with companies to make profit from the content they share. As Wiseman (2022) shares, “Instagram Influencers are the new brands and more effective way of advertising”.

When discussing how influencers create parasocial connections online, it is important to consider the possible ramifications on viewers (consumers). This article by (Balaban et al., 2020) discusses the implications of influencer monetisation on consumer behaviour and trust in online communities.  The rapid rise of social media use has completely altered how entities interact with each other, as well as the way they search and receive information. The effectiveness of influencers relies on several factors, one being parasocial relationships, as Balaban et al. (2020) discusses. The likeability and relatability of influencers makes it much easier for parasocial relationships to be created, “the occurrence of parasocial interaction, created through perceived interactivity and openness in [online] communication, has a positive effect on feelings of loyalty and thus on trust”, (Balaban et al., 2020). The findings of this study by Balaban et al. (2020) evaluates that if influencers post quality content, which is perceived authentic, it will impact following behaviour, pointing out that “relevant, reliable and enjoyable” content will be appreciated by both new and old followers/ subscribers, (Balaban et al., 2020). Additionally, this study by Croes & Bartels (2021) investigates young adults following and buying behaviour regarding influencers. The study found that the time young adults are spending online is increasing, highlighting the essential reasoning behind why people are following and interacting with influencers. Research suggests that “expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness” are the three most essential parts of being successful online, (Croes & Bartels, 2021). The study suggests one possible explanation for young adults buying behaviour is ‘social identification’. The author describes this as “consumption behaviour in social context.” This suggests that influencers are creating their online communities to manipulate their following for use as a tool to monetise their shared content. Additionally, this study found that the most essential motivations for consumers to follow influencers were “relaxing entertainment and boredom/habitual pass time”, (Croes & Bartels, 2021).

Additionally, it is important to note real-world examples of influencers monetising their following, which can also be labelled as influencer marketing, I’ll be referring to the article Influencer Marketing Case Studies (2024) to source these case studies. There are a number of case studies that go over this idea, a primary example would be EA sports, which is a division of the Electronic Arts gaming company, in this case study there will be a focus on influencer marketing being applied as promotional material, the source is a Brent Rivera TikTok video. The purpose of this campaign was to reach new channels and boost their new Apex title. Through the influencer marketing campaign, the video Rivera shared generated 900k likes. The second case study to be mentioned is the endorsement of the Huddles (formerly Clash) app, which is in similarity to Vine (a famous video sharing platform that was quite popular before the introduction of musical.ly, now TikTok). Through this influencer marketing campaign, the app received 250k downloads, and ranked #17 on the App Store.

To summarise the rise of f social media platforms like Instagram have birthed what we now refer to as an influencer. Influencers became increasingly popular post the covid-19 pandemic, people began to realise they could now work from home, posting and sharing aspects of their lives which made them popular online, and as their following grew and they built their community, they became influencers, (Archer et al., 2020). Throughout this paper, I have discussed the idea that influencers are creating parasocial connections online to manipulate their community of followers for monetisation. The selected literature covers a variety of perspectives on the topic, diving into the ethics of influencer marketing, and the psychological impact this may have on the people involved. As well as how influencers are able to create parasocial connections with their following to influence an individual’s buying behaviour. It is very interesting to discover the way influencers are able to share aspects of their lives, presenting authentic and innocent, whereas their intentions are often much more malicious, where they are solely seeking to establish online communities to raise revenue and drive for monetisation from their shared content, (Wiseman, 2022).

 

 

References:

Archer, C., Wolf, K., & Nalloor, J. (2020). Capitalising on chaos – exploring the impact and future of social media influencer engagement during the early stages of a global pandemic. Media International Australia, 178(1), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878×20958157

Balaban, D. C., Iancu, I., Mustățea, M., Pavelea, A., & Culic, L. (2020). What determines young people to follow influencers? The role of perceived information quality and trustworthiness on users’ following intentions. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations (Print), 22(3), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.21018/rjcpr.2020.3.306

Brooks, G., Drenten, J., & Piskorski, M. J. (2021). Influencer Celebrification: How social media influencers acquire celebrity capital. Journal of Advertising, 50(5), 528–547. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2021.1977737

Croes, E., & Bartels, J. (2021). Young adults’ motivations for following social influencers and their relationship to identification and buying behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 124, 106910. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106910

Influencer Marketing case Studies (2024). (2024, February 5). Business of Apps. https://www.businessofapps.com/marketplace/influencer-marketing/research/influencer-marketing-case-studies/

Kim, J., & Kim, M. (2022). Rise of Social Media Influencers as a New Marketing Channel: Focusing on the Roles of Psychological Well-Being and Perceived Social Responsibility among Consumers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), 2362. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042362

Wiseman, L. (2022, April 26). Social media influencers – building their online communities and networks – Debating Communities and Networks XIII. Debating Communities and Networks XIII – This is the official conference site for the Debating Communities and Networks 13 Conference 2022. https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/onsc/1004/social-media-influencers-building-their-online-communities-and-networks/