In Digital Fame and Fortune in the Age of Social Media: a classification of social media influencers by Alexandra Ruiz-Gómez, we’re introduced to the world of fame and how social media has expanded the idea entirely.
Before social media, there were (and still are) Hollywood celebrities, those who’ve been in movies, who are loved by the public and therefore draw a subsequent crowd to the box office. The world of paparazzi and gossip magazines grew around them and movies knew having famous leads could lead to economic profits. Then came Tv celebrities as content needed to be created for the average viewer, and TV and even more so, reality TV is able to be cranked out at high speeds to satisfy the publics need for new shows to watch.
Now in this age, we see the social media influencer, the digital content creator, that works on one or many platforms and has grown their own audience. They’re able to monetize their profession through collaborating with brands and companies who pay them to showcase their product. They broke down the categories of influencers, based entirely on size of their following. Micro influencers have a smaller following, anything under 100k, but have higher engagement, all the way up to mega influencers (1Mill+) and social media celebrities (10Mill+). This article was written in 2019 surprisingly, because I would say these numbers and terms could be different now.
A standout quote for me was “Content creators must understand what works with an intended audience and be responsive to their needs just like any brand must do with customers.” The job isn’t always simple. The influencer needs to know their audience and gain their trust to be able to successfully sell the product they are paid to recommend. I think this really is able to emphasis how not everyone can just be an influencer, not only do people have to work hard to gain and maintain their platforms, but they need to build a trusting relationship with their viewer that straddles the line of selling to their customer, but not in an insincere way.
Influencers like Emma Chaimberlain come to mind, someone who just decided to make small videos on YouTube is now a face for Louis Vuitton and being interviewed for Architectural Digest. Just so fascinating how technology and the invention of technology is the reason all of this is possible.
This post made me think of a current Tik Tok that is circulating around the internet of an influencer complaining about how hard her job is and how she didn’t finish work until just after 5pm. She is receiving tremendous backlash because people do not consider being an influencer a real job and many people work far more hours. I think this is a really good question, of whether influencing is a real or difficult job. Being an influencer or a celebrity comes with dealing with people, it’s almost a form of communication, as well as developing content, and it seems balancing their public identity.
I also read this article and agree with all that you said. It’s so interesting to think about how the idea of fame came to be and how much it has changed. I too, feel that there is so much more to the job of a social media influencer than what meets the eye. For some, it can seem like someone just monetizes their pretty face. But for creators like Emma Chamberlain, it almost requires business skills. You have to market yourself and shape your content in order to appeal to the target crowd. While it seems like any ordinary people can become an influencer simply because the platform provides an equal chance, it takes certain skillsets and even talents to become one.