EOTO Reaction: Online Influencers

    The topic of influencers really sparked my interest because in the modern age we live in right now, we have a ton of these influencers. Not many people know the difference between online influencers and influencers on social media and neither did I before this presentation. In Megans presentation I learned that online influencers are not just the typical social media influencers that week think of. Although, are are many normal civilians who have built a reputation and use their platform to share and persuade their audience. Most of these influencers have been so successful with their platforms because they provide their audience with authentic content and information. Some of these online influencers include real celebrities from movies, or music, or politics. They are considered online influencers because they have huge platform where they create content for their audience. On the other hand, social media influencers are people who create content based on whatever industry they're in. There influencers can persuade their followers and other people to buy a certain product due to their niche, along with their content and popularity.

Alix Earle, a social media influencer

  One of the disadvantages to being an online influencer is authenticity concerns. There are online influencers who create content on things that aren't necessarily related to the platform or that they are only promoting for money. This raises concerns within the influencer's followers because they see it as they're only doing it for the paycheck. This becomes a huge issue as people want to see authentic content from the person they admire or follow. If the influencer is always posting advertisements on their page, then they could potentially lose a lot of followers over time as most people don't want to engage with people who are only posting for money. Also, many young kids are influenced very easily by these influencers. So if an influencer says a product will make their skin clearer or make them skinner, they believe it even if it's not true. 

    With online influencers, everyone in the world is affected, whether you're rich or poor, young or old, majority or minority, these influencers have an affect on everyone. Online influencers can range from teenagers to college students, young adults, and even elders. There is a wide range of online influencers in many ages who create authentic content on their own niche, which is why everyone is greatly affected by influencers everyday. 

    My biggest takeaway from the online influencers presentation is that it is very important to be very authentic with the content that you are putting out to your audience, especially for brands because building trust is one of the most important things when it comes to building a relationship with your audience. I learned that it is very easy for an individual or brand to lose people from not prouding real and authentic content and information. In the modern day world this is called "canceling" an influencer. Which really is just unfollowing them and not watching their content or buying their products. Being truthful with your audience is really important in this digital era because misinformation is so prevalent and influencers want to build relationships with companies and media.