The price of being an ‘influencer’
Let’s talk about the word “influencer”. I’m not talking about how social media professionals use the word, I want to focus on the literal meaning.
To be someone who has the power to affect other peoples’ behaviour.
Today there’s an implied higher standard that we seem to hold influential people to.
There’s a percentage of the population that has put select individuals up on a pedestal, and this means that as much as possible, their behaviour needs to be impeccable.
Being an influencer is a position of privilege, and it comes with a responsibility to act in a way that’s right and just.
You can’t reap the rewards of being able to command thousands of rands per brand mention without there being a price to pay.
There are consequences to misbehaving when you’re in the public eye. For a social media influencer it can mean the loss of followers, endorsements and partnership deals.
The character of personalities that brands work with is just as important (if not more so) as the number of followers they have and the level of engagement their content receives.
Brands should look to work with influencers who are respectful of the social position they have earned and who conduct themselves in a way that is worthy of their admiration.
This means brands need to do their due diligence: background checks, audits of potential partners’ social media channels, checking the content, tone, and language of posts.
And we’re not talking recent content, but their entire online history.
Consumers want to purchase products and services from brands that demonstrate positive values and contribute to communities, so brands need to align with personalities and influencers who share the same values. And if they behave badly?
As a brand owner, you can enforce expected standards and hold influencers accountable for their behaviour.
We have seen many individuals learn the hard way and fall from grace, and hopefully emerging, and prominent influencers take heed of these very public lessons and use their influence for good.