Oh my oh my, it’s already my third blog!
This is possibly the most dedication I have devoted to a project since I covered my teenage-girl bedroom with posters of Twilight. Yes, I was that girl and no I do not regret a single moment of it. Consistency has not been my forte for a while, let’s say. The curse of creative people! (That’s so not true and such a stereotype, but we will pretend I didn't type such pretentious nonsense just to forgive my constant attitude towards procrastination).
Let’s start then!
Being honest with you, this week has been a bit… slower than the others regarding social media updates. Nevertheless, I have found something incredibly interesting to focus my attention on.
We all understand the presence and influence of influencers (duuh!) on social media platforms. For those who are still confused about these mythical figures, Influencers are individuals who have a particular following on social media, which they actively engage with. Often they are people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular topic. That could be fashion, healthy living, beauty, make-up, fitness and so on. Influencers have the power to effect their following’s purchase decisions and part of their earnings often derives from partnerships with brands. They act as marketing tools. Brands love social media influencers because they can create trends and encourage their followers to buy products they promote. It’s a win-win situation. Or not?
Leading black British influencers have realised that they have been paid less than their white counterparts for promoting products by the same brands. Creators such as Stephanie Yeboah, Scola Dondo and Breeny Lee said they learned about disparities from speaking to white influencers.
Some brands asked them to promote products in return for gifts only, while the white influencers were able to negotiate a fee. They also discovered that white influencers received thousands of pounds for a job where they were paid hundreds, despite having a similar or even higher number of followers.
It’s not a question of numbers, nor expertise. We are talking about influencers that target the same poll of people, with the same amount of followers and producing the same content.
But this is not the only controversial element. Black influencers believe that being the majority of fashion marketers white themselves, they choose to work with the influencers they personally are most aware of, or the ones they can relate to. This leads to less paid partnership opportunities for black influencers even though it has been proved in the past how diverse hiring positively impacts a brand’s reputation with customers.
Maybe it’s time for a new generation of marketers? A generation that understands Millennials and GenX?
The BBC’s The Next Episode podcast exposed the extent of the issue, with several successful influencers sharing their experiences. Give it a Listen!
Moving on to social media,
As usual, Instagram is rolling out some new features. This app seems unstoppable!
Instagram's now rolling out a new format for its Stories Camera, which will make the app's various Stories tools - including GIFs, Countdown Stickers and Polls - easier to access and apply, direct from the main function bar
The biggest change is the addition of a new 'Create' mode, which replaces the existing 'Type' option. In 'Create', you'll be able to find all the various creative tools available, as opposed to having to add them through Stickers or other forms.
Instagram is also the latest social app to join the dark mode movement, officially launching a new dark mode option for iOS 13 and Android 10.
Thanks to Jessica Pinkett's article "Trend Alert: The influencer pay gap" from Voxburne
