Influencer Culture

My first thoughts when going through this week's readings on Networked Individuals immediately gave rise to the idea of talking about influencer culture on my blog. I felt that today's influencer culture epitomizes the power of social media and how the collaborative nature between content creators can be harnessed to revolutionize industries. 

In recent times, we have seen social media marketing and influencer culture taking over traditional media and celebrity endorsements as trendsetters. A case in point, my wife spends hours and hours scrolling through social media, looking at her various favorite influencers to the dismay of my wallet. Every time she turns on that dratted app, I know that I have a high chance of losing money to Kydra, Love Bonito or other influencer-promoted brands. 

The influencer culture has also revolutionized business models, especially for SMEs. No longer do big budgets and accessibility to traditional forms of media or worse, word of mouth have to be the way that SMEs market their products - Social Media and Influencers have provided them with a low cost but highly effective way to get their products on the market. Although this has resulted in greater competition for market space, for the consumer it is nothing but beneficial.

Moving forward, it is projected that the marketing share of social media and influencer culture will only increase, given the greater connectivity between people, ease of access and the improvements in technology. What a world we live in!