Editor's note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
Disguised under the premise of soliciting a reality infused with financial incentives, popularity, notoriety and sponsorships, to an extant social media influencers have ultimately pushed a narrative that is not only false but unattainable.
Contrary to popular belief, social media influencers come in various forms that are not solely known for establishing a sense of popularity on social media platforms that vary from Instagram, Twitter and or Snapchat, but for excessive exploitation of branding practices.
Regardless of the social media platform, social media influencers in particular tend to have the most access and traction to and from a plethora of people just by the access of a follow, like, comment and or retweet. That being said, influencers on a larger scale are seemingly in the business of persuading and convincing the masses of social media users for financial gain nonetheless, however, that’s nothing new, just adaptive.
From those repetitive and oddly alluring ads that range from the Flat Tummy detox teas to your Hairfinity hair growth supplements, influencers essentially have the tools to attract the common viewer to buy into what they are selling, but at what expense exactly?
As social media influencers can come in the form of an Instagram model to a celebrity, they are all somehow interconnected as they are motivated to pursue the same agenda—making money moves.
Driving 74% of shoppers to make financial decisions based on social media, according to Social Media Week.org “With a large audience seeing these influencers’ posts each day, they’re often targeted by businesses to promote products. But regardless of whether the influencers’ posts are sponsored or not, their content has a large effect on purchasing decisions. Essentially, they contribute to the “bandwagon” effect.”
Grasping this concept, social media, and its main users, millennials, have run with this objective to create content in efforts to be capitalized.
Unsurprisingly resonating with this concept, self-proclaimed billionaire on behalf of Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie Jenner has continued to immerse herself into the world of the internet culture. Recently giving a modern version of MTV Cribs, the media mogul gave a visual glimpse inside her daily work life via “Welcome to Our Office.” Yet, this subtle representation included the presence of her mini-me, Stormi, and her vocals. That said, the visual snippet enticingly showed Jenner waking her daughter with cliché phrase, “Rise and Shine,” but on beat.
So naturally becoming a viral sensation, thanks to the Internet, the “Rise, and Shine,” vocal snippet quickly became a part of the millennial moment.
According to Forbes.com, “Within days of the video, they’d (Kylie Cosmetics) released “Rise and Shine” sweatshirts through The Kylie Shop, sent out emails referencing it to promote “brand-new” eyeshadows, and shared a video of Kylie showing her daughter EDM remixes. The lesson was to integrate Twitter memes into your pre-existing marketing channels.”
Though short-lived, Jenner recently filed to trademark “Rise and Shine,” but was unequivocally declined which comes at no shock.
In essence, time and time again social media platforms are being driven by influencers who seem to rise to the occasion of a comical moment as a monetizing moment, which is dissatisfying and disingenuous. Trying to decipher real content nowadays is time-consuming and brain-racking, much like trying to exploit branding practices to the general public for economic advantages.
Courtesy of Pexels.com
