Captioning the Businesses of Instagram
How many have turned a common hobby into a business.
Today alone, over 2 billion people are on social media and interacting in one way or another. The power of instant gratification is on the rise, this new form of media has become increasingly popular and possibly can become a source of income for some.
Social media websites such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, have become a platform for creators to share and grow their business on a major scale. The term “influencer” is anyone who has the power to sway others in a particular niche, has also grown as many large companies are spending millions of dollars to market their products through this new group of consumers.
According to Jelle Fastenau, a writer for Medium.com, “Marketers are expected to invest an average budget of $25,000 to $50,000 into multifaceted influencer campaigns this year”.The article also states, “For each dollar spent on influencer marketing, marketers see an average of $7.65 in earned media value returned”. It makes sense why brands would be so inclined to partner with influencers since the return is so high.
Sophomore Meg Nedder said she is known to buy products that she has seen on Instagram because marketers make the products seem so tempting. Likewise, just yesterday, I bought a necklace off Instagram after I saw an influencer from Utah promote her friend’s new business. This new reality of Instagram shopping is quickly booming and social media ads are quickly becoming the best way to market products to teens.
The key to a great influencer is a great audience. I talked with Zac Mathias, a beauty blogger from Weston, Connecticut, to discuss his intake on growing an authentic audience and sharing content. When asked, “how have you seen the business side of Instagram evolve?” Zac responded saying, “it’s a never-ending loop. Instagram was never built for influencers it was built to be a sharing platform. Instagram is always looking to punish bloggers or any business by throwing obstacles in our way. His opinions are incredibly valid; especially since so many consumers are now turning to social media to find new products. Mathias went on to state that “Something we talk a lot about of the gram is what the future without Instagram looks like because we all feel a new platform is coming very soon”. While we do not know of the future of Instagram, we know that influencers, like Mathias, will always find a way to maintain a media presence.
The rise of marketing on social media is hard to avoid and tempting to give into. The new era of millennials has completely evolved this ever-growing platform. Consumers and influencers alike can only hope that Instagram will evolve to suit their needs.
Reeve Boeckmann is a senior at DHS this year and has been writing for Neirad the past two years. She loves to write whatever is on her mind but most commonly...
