By Jim Clanin
While Kim Kardashian promotes products that slim down a body and Kylie Cosmetics has major growth is it time to start considering how much these products can change a generation? Is it socially irresponsible or just good marketing that makes a product go viral?
How Does Influencer Marketing Work?
Influencer marketing is a practice that relies on social influencers with a large following of people on the internet to market a product. The target groups are generally young and impressionable. They purchase items because the people they idolize promote them or own them. Essentially, a company hires an ecommerce web designer and plugs in products that they intend to grow through influencer marketing. Then they offer payment to the influencer for posts, articles or pictures involving the product.
Target Market
The target market in most influencer marketing is mostly young people. Here are a few reasons why:
- They are more likely to spend money on impulse purchases.
- They value the opinion of someone popular more often than an older person.
- They are easily influenced by marketing.
While this may make people cringe, this isn’t a new practice. Well before the internet companies used famous people to market products to the young and impressionable.
Social Responsibility
Is influencer marketing giving young people a complex? While self-acceptance is on the rise publically, is there a dark side of this type of marketing? The same people that say you should be happy with who you are, market products that encourage weight loss or a certain look. While this isn’t necessarily the fault of the social influencers, as they are just doing what they are paid to do, they are usually the ones that deal with harassment for promoting the product if people think it is socially irresponsible.
While influencer marketing seems a bit different than traditional marketing, it is a legal practice that follows the same standards. Figure out what your target market is and influence them to make a purchase. Influencer marketing may differ slightly but in the end, everyone has a choice and as young people grow they will be less affected and harder to influence.
