Social media influencers are changing the advertising game on and off campus

There was once a time when marketing was solely done through traditional print advertisements. Now, with the changing media landscape, companies not only feel obligated to do online brand marketing, but to do it well and across multiple platforms. Social media influencers and brand ambassadors are one of the main methods of online marketing.

A recent study conducted by Influencer Marketing Hub showed a 325 percent increase in Google searches for “influencer marketing” in a year and a study by Mavrck, an influencer marketing platform, found that influencer-generated content is 6.9x more effective than studio shot content, both indicating the growing popularity of this marketing strategy. This means that social media influencers and online advertisements have a significant impact on consumers. 

In recent years, famous influencers such as the Kardashians and Hadids have been under scrutiny for promoting fraudulent businesses or not explicitly marking their online posts as paid advertisements. The Federal Trade Commission requires that celebrities, athletes and other influencers must clearly disclose their relationships to brands when promoting or endorsing products through social media.

Ritwik Pavan, junior and CEO of Linker Logic Technologies, said he makes use of both brand ambassadors and social media campaigns to promote his company online.

“In this generation, social media and social media influencers help push your idea or product into the real world and be able to target the exact consumer that you’re looking for,” Pavan said. “Brand ambassadors and influencers have become a trusted source on these platforms with a loyal customer base; hence marketing has also become a lot more efficient with their presence.”

The recent Netflix documentary “FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened,” which recounts the tumultuous creation of a fraudulent music festival that led to its creator being sentenced to six years in prison, shows the problems that can come with influencers promoting a false advertisement or not conspicuously disclosing relationships with brands.

In this particular situation, famous social media influencers, including super models and industry icons such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, promoted the festival. Jenner was paid $250,000 for posting one Instagram post. This resulted in thousands of people, who paid anywhere from $500 to $2,000, being scammed out of their money.

Despite the negative press of celebrity influencers about this failed festival, some influencers welcomed the criticisms as proof of their power because the social media marketing was responsible for getting thousands of people to buy tickets and show up to the middle of nowhere for an unproven music festival.

Micro-influencers, who have an audience range of 2,000 followers up to 50,000 followers on a particular social media channel, can also provide a relatable consumer experience.

Caroline Smith, first-year and brand ambassador for Sincere Sally and LIVELY, said that brands message her over social media platforms offering free products or discounts in exchange for posts that endorse the brand.

“The idea is that people learn about products they may otherwise never know of and that they see the product as something they can work into their everyday lives,” Smith said. “It’s not just celebrities endorsing it, but their friends and people in real life.”

Social media advertising can also be an efficient way to target certain demographics, such as college students, and can be a cheaper, more manageable method of advertising for smaller or local businesses.

Hannah Ziegler, a N.C. State University student representative for and member of Rent the Runway’s college marketing program, said that social media marketing is so efficient because its reach is so wide.

She said that maintaining an authentic relationship with her online followers is important and that people are more likely to follow a brand if the representing influencer is genuine because it makes the media message personal.

arts@dailytarheel.com