rbraceroblog

As a millennial, I have followed influencers on social media for as long as I can remember. Social media played such a large role within culture since its conception, especially as “regular” people realized they could gain similar attention and followers that celebrities were getting.

I have followed beauty influencers most consistently throughout the years. They offered something that felt more “real” compared to celebrities. They discussed real issues, showed real skin that wasn’t photoshopped, and offered techniques that worked for people individually. Influencers who adopted this style of marketing truly gained the biggest following because it felt more honest at the time, at the start of it all. Beauty influencers ended up using a strategy that involved partnering with skin-care and cosmetic brands that benefited themselves and the brands. Influencers would make videos using certain products and even offered discount codes to buy that product. The brand would end up getting more sales and the influencers would gain a commission every time someone bought something using their code. This strategy ended up being incredibly successful, even for influencers with smaller followings, because offering discounts has always been one of the best ways to market to new customers. In addition to influencers bringing new customers to many brands, the use of their marketing perspective has really impacted the relationship between a company and consumer. For example, if an influencer had negative things to say about a product people would stay away from it for awhile.

However, a different type of impact has emerged within the last few years. Once upon a time, people trusted beauty influencers were being honest with their audience. Recently, it has come to light that many influencers are no longer being honest online in favor of the money and partnerships that brands offer. People have noticed that some influencers are not even using the products that they are praising in their videos and it has negatively impacted the trust their followers once had in them. I can’t say for sure if this has negatively impacted sales for the brands, but now people are following influencers for reasons other than honest reviews and product suggestions.