Within all communities there are influential people, these people are important to the new age.

Why you may ask? Well let me explain.

Imagine if at the beginning of COVID-19, that both medical experts and government officials told the public that masks didn’t work. Things would look very different- as masks would have not been adopted (to the same extent) due to the people with the most influence argued against it.

This would’ve changed the course of history as we know it.

Soares et.al.  discusses how individuals can either use their content or their status to change the perception and/ or opinion of others.

For this reason, they are highly important to utilize in a marketing strategy.

But Why Teagan? Well, they provide digital consumers with a face to relate to, a person to trust and if a brand chooses the right influencer their followers will also be interested and more convinced of their business model.

In the same way they also can be seen in experts of their field and have a superior opinion regarding certain topics, can collaborate with other media users to extend their influential reach and can even be a celebrity who people wish to imitate and follow their lifestyle.

However, the major draw card with influencers is the extra level of connection provided to digital consumers through feelings as though they have built a relationship with them (Achieved through personalized content, replies, etc.). This differs from a business where it is hard to get that relationship with a brand that may be faceless and feel much colder.

It is because of this additional trust and personalized response that I personally believe that it is essential that anyone who works alongside a brand to disclose when they are sharing an honest opinion or posting a paid advertisement. The content shared to people I these communities could look almost identical; however, individuals have a right to feel lied to if they placed trust in a person without knowing their ‘opinion’ was an ad.

– Maybe this is what Instagram thought back in 2017 when they demanded influencers abide by #Ad