With evergrowing tech and new social platforms becoming increasingly available to the public, how much information or misinformation is being generated to alter a person's thinking?
In chapter eight, we discussed the topic of advertising. Advertising is explained as such, "Advertising, simply, is communication designed to promote the sale of products or services.9 For media advertising, time (broadcast) or space (print, digital) is purchased for the ad. Here’s a comprehensive list of advertising placement possibilities and its ubiquity" (Chapter 8; Pevasivenss). It follows that when targeting an audience of consumers, intense advertising campaigns create the thought or willingness of some to be persuaded to relent into a particular message or product.
As our world continues to change, so have the means of effective advertising. Shifts in the media environments have forced businesses, people, and even politicians to adapt their communication methods to their target audience in an effort to remain relevant within the socioeconomic environment.
But just how much of a role do social media and influencers play in society today? It seems as though users of social media enjoy the advantages that social media provides, including a sense of connection to the person or business and enjoy being able to connect with them on more of a social level. This is, of course, different than other advertising methods where those who are the audience only received ‘one-way’ communications with their favorite brand, artist, or politician at the time. Now, social media gives the opportunity to the account holder to be able to engage with the community they have formed or endorsed.
Though people have become enamored with celebrities in previous decades, we are witnessing a shift between celebrities and influencers. Two experiments (N = 131, N = 446) in the book Leveraged Marketing Communications reveal that participants identify more with influencers than celebrities (Schouten et al.). It is discovered that they “feel more similar to influencers than celebrities, and trust influencers more than celebrities.”, furthermore it is the slight exclusivity that creates this divide between influencers and celebrities, valuing trust over content.
In conclusion, the scale of the effect that social media and influencers have on society is larger than that of any other medium of advertisement. For an effective advertising strategy, it is imperative for an influencer to establish trust with their targeted audience. We then find that “Transparency in disclosing advertised Instagram content then increases positive responses toward the influencer, which strengthens the use of influencer advertising.” (Abdullahi, 2020).
Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (n.d.). Celebrity vs. Influencer endorsements in advertising: the role of identification, credibility, and Product-Endorser fit. In Leveraged Marketing Communications (1st Edition, pp. 208–231). essay, Routledge.
Abdullahi, F. (2020, March 11). The effects of Social Media Influencers’ advertising disclosure on consumer responses on Instagram. International Journal of Contents. https://doi.org/10.5392/IJoC.2020.16.1.010
