by Kurtis Cooper-
Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties ’cause it’s cooooold out there today. That’s right, woodchuck-chuckers it’s… GROUNDHOG DAY! It’s Punxsutawney Phil’s big day, the day we wait for all year to hear if the little marmot has seen his shadow. A shadow, something we definitely take for granted day after day. We forget that it’s with us even though it never leaves our side. It’s loyal and will follow us regardless of the circumstance. A lot like our shadows, we often forget about our following on social media. Who’s following us and the content we push out to them. Essentially our following is our shadow, and some have lager shadows and have a bigger influence. And sometimes even those bigger influencers can forget about their shadow as well.
Social Media influencers have a powerful impact on society whether we like it or not. Social media influencers have something to do with everyday fashion trends to attitudes and beliefs to even product suggestions. In today’s digital age we seek consent information online and there are plenty of people on the web that are willing to give it.
We have definitely seen our fair share of influencer success stories but we have also seen the fall of many social media influencers as well. Most recently the biggest shadow to fall was that of YouTube sensation Logan Paul. Now if you aren’t familiar with the Logan Paul story he was recently interviewed by ABC News after his controversial video post that was full of inappropriate content including footage of a dead human body. In the interview he acknowledged that made a mistake but he might not agree with the punishments he is receiving from Google Preferred, which is the ad revenue generator for YouTube creators. The reason he was removed from the list of revenue making channels was for his concerning explicit content. But the fact of the matter is that his following of the youth demographic is still growing due to the loyalty to his immature and childish like video content.
Which brings up a interesting dilemma for companies who might want to partner with Logan even when it could be seen as controversial. As it was talked about on adweeek.com earlier this week, companies are constantly seeking out for new trending influencers to be spokespeople for products. Where will the line of inappropriate content be drawn in the sand? The positive and negative impact that influencers have can now also affect consumption by the population from companies as a form of advertisement. What shadow’s will these companies want to cast into the general public with their influencers they so choose.
So usually today we find ourselves asking if Phil saw his shadow, but the real question is do we see ours.
Twitter: @KurtzBlurtz
Instagram: @KurtzBlurtz
LinkedIn: Kurtis Cooper
Great blog post Kurtis! I really enjoyed how you incorporated groundhogs day into your post about much influencers impact society. It made it an engaging and interesting read.
Kurtis, fantastic post. I loved the way you connected Punxsutawney Phil to influencers. My hope is that by being active consumers of social media we can make that line in the sand more visible. When people start standing up for what they believe in, companies and influencers will listen. Thanks for the post!
What an interesting, relevant post. Honestly, if I found out any brand took on Logan Paul as an influencer, I would boycott that brand. I understand that it might be a draw for companies to get their name out, but that kind of attention really worth it? Yikes.
Hey Kurtis! Thanks for your post. I agree that figuring out where to draw the line with influencers’ content in relation to brand backing is a huge concern for many brands. Currently, YouTube is working on being better at monitoring content to determine what is ethical to allow online and what is not. Hopefully, influencers can begin to create some ethical ground rules for themselves to follow as well.
I loved this blog post and the way you shed light on the comparison of our shadows and our social media followers. This was very interesting to read! I also like the way you incorporated the Logan Paul story and gave more details about what occurred.
I really enjoyed reading your post, it was very entertaining! I like how you stated that we often forget about our following on social media. I think this not only relates to businesses, but to our own personal accounts, as well. When you think about posting a photo to Instagram and crafting the perfect tweet, you think about what you want and what you need. In addition, I think that companies cannot be selfish when it comes to their following. If they want to be successful and be around for years, they need to build a strong bridge between them and their following. Your following is the most important factor in a company’s success and growth. A company needs to be able to communicate and to sell to their audience. No matter the size of a company or a personal social media account, thinking of your followers will always be more beneficial.