SPONSORED CONTENT IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
Bloggers
Just like social media channels like Instagram and YouTube, users connect to blogs based on their interests and goals in life. Whether its a new mother who reads mommy blogs to learn what products are best for her child, or a teen reading a beauty blogger to gain inspiration, blogs attract thousands of people. According to The Balance, blogging has become popular due to the trust between writer and reader, reader engagement and the amount of content produced (Duermyer).
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This rapport between a reader and the writer allows easy sponsorship and branded content. For many readers, it's as if the blogger is just a friend recommending products to them. This blurry line between a recommendation and branded content is why there needs to be better disclosure.
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To learn more about blogging's sponsorship rules, click here.
YouTube
Back in April 2005, the first-ever YouTube video was published of a guy talking about elephants at a Zoo. Since then, the Google-owned company has over one billion users (1/3 of all Internet users) and has launched in over 88 countries. Most of their users are 18-34, which makes YouTube perfect for influencer marketing and sponsored content ("YouTube for Press").
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One popular niche on YouTube are the beauty, fashion and lifestyle vloggers who post videos of their morning routines, best Black Friday deals or a video about their week. According to Forbes' Top Influencer List of 2016, beauty influencers have over 46 million YouTube subscribers and over 49 million Instagram followers, which looks good to any brand ("Top Influencers of 2017: Beauty").
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To learn more about YouTube's sponsorship rules, click here.
THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in July 2010 (Bruner). As of April 2017, they had 700 million monthly users "with about 400 million of them checking in daily" (Manjoo). On the platform, users can post photos on their profile that represent their personal or professional brand.
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Content creators use Instagram for a variety of purposes. Some use it to promote their main platforms (e.g. YouTube or a blog), or it is their main platform. Brands can use Instagram to promote their products or services through their own social media accounts or influencers.
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According to Bergström and Bäckman this type of influences marketing can only work if there is a "sender who is willing to share information and a receiver who is willing to listen" (Bäckman & Bergström, 2013, 16). For Instagram, this means that an influencer would only want to promote a product if it falls in line with their personal brand and what their followers want to see.
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To learn more about Instagram's sponsorship rules, click here.
