Influencers get bad press, but they’re still powerful. Those whom the rapper Booba baptized the “influvoleurs” are the subject of increasingly abundant legislation. The American researcher Emily Hund, a specialist in communication, has devoted ten years to scrutinizing this phenomenon which has continued to grow, from scattered bloggers seeking to promote their opinions to a sector weighing several billion dollars, in the United States alone.
Decried as stultifying, this economy is reshaping the codes of luxury, marketing and politics. Diving into social media, interviewing genre stars and micro-influencers seeking fame and income, Hund investigates new industrial realities and new ways of working that unfolded after the financial blast of 2008. -it shook up the world of advertising, whose resources were suddenly reduced. Advertisers have found other avenues of promotion with influencers. Overplaying proximity, these amateurs, who have become professional, benefit from a mixture of credibility and sympathy. The brands have been able to seize it. Algorithms too. Where the number of “followers” and “likes” essentially counts, it is necessary to constantly seek to please the public, the sponsors and the platforms. A predominantly female activity, the digital influence also reproduces a number of sexist stereotypes.
A decried and envied profession
The sector has left the mere commercial sphere to also concern those of ideas and advice of all kinds. Hund notes that the confinements linked to the Covid crisis have led people to spend more time on social networks, and therefore in contact with influencers in fashion, but also in medicine, religion or cryptocurrencies. This ecosystem now affecting many aspects of life, sometimes with a decisive impact, the legislator and the regulators are becoming more protective of users, in particular when it comes to submitting health or financial products to them. It must be said that in these matters the authenticity of influencers often rhymes with naivety or greed. Hund, who says he follows some advice from influencers, is not suing them. She identifies their excesses. Above all, she dissects a profession that is at the same time singled out, very successful and very envied. It delivers, ultimately, an in-depth analysis of “the efficiency of influence”. With a call for more transparency.
Emily Hund, The Influencer Industry. The Quest for Authenticity on Social MediaPrinceton University Press, 2023, 232 pages.
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