When
Entitlement & Influencing Coincide
(Commentary
by Craig J Selby)
It’s
common-place these days to follow a range of influencers; be they explicitly
qualified in what they do, or simply take pretty photos and write quirky
one-liners. Financing and/or monetising an influencer lifestyle however has a
range of options; from self-funded (purely out of enjoyment) to brand-sponsored
with project-by-project deals up to long term sponsored brand ambassadorships. Many
influencers look to straddle the ethical line of both self-funding and paid endorsements,
and are transparent about this to their followers. At least we know are they
genuinely interested, or a new media advertisement.
But now,
there’s a new funding model – get your followers involved. Perceived to be a
tad on the entitled side, ironically it is somewhat in tune with typical media
funding – the audience pays.
When ‘influencers’
Catalin Onc and Elena Engelhardt recently asked their followers to fund an
overseas trip, so that they, the audience, could get to live vicariously
through them, they discovered the “entitlement-centric funding model” may not
have been a particularly stellar idea. With a 15% drop in their followers
almost immediately, these photogenic givers may have just learnt the hard way
that entitlement and influencing doesn’t always go hand-in-hand, and that, “just
because you’re popular” doesn’t mean you are “liked” or going to be supported.
In a very
ironic late night twist, the story goes deeper with an update: Catalin has
admitted that his Mum has two jobs to help fund his lifestyle (and yes, he’s
married)! The benefit of the doubt has just been swayed to a NO for me!
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