Instagram, Influencers, and Promoted Posts

The emergence of social networks has brought new opportunities for earning an income, which the generations before the emergence of the Internet as we now know it did not know.

Because Instagram is based primarily on photos, it has established itself as a great digital platform for advertisers.

Skilled users of such services have built successful careers in cooperation with companies and brands. Over time, they became known under the term influencer(s).

The main goal of influencers is to gain mass attention and trust. Successfully gained trust is then reflected in the fact that users of the platform regularly follow Instagram influencers’ posts. They act as intermediaries between the company and the target audience.

The number of active followers is crucial in this business. The more followers you have, the more interesting you are to companies and brands. The most popular Instagram users have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers each, which is something not even the most widely read newspapers or TV shows can achieve.

Influencers sell a lifestyle to their followers – with many products attached to it. 

Simply put: when an individual is unsure about purchasing a certain product, they can form an opinion about it based on viewing an influencer’s post on Instagram.

Many influencers do not clearly state their business relationship with the brand when promoting products. 

When influencers advertise a product by sharing content, often they do not disclose the sponsorship at all. At the same time, they convey certain ideas to their followers on social networks and, therefore, hold a kind of power for social change.

So an influencer who advertises a watch, handbag, or cosmetic today, may intentionally or unintentionally tell followers who to vote for in local or national elections tomorrow. 

It is for this reason that influencers cannot be perceived only as advertisers, but they should be granted the status of a form of media – and start treating them as such.

Social networks should also be included in the legislation and their responsibility should be equated with that of traditional media (e.g. television, radio, and newspapers).

Only then they can be placed in the context of responsible advertising. 

Legislation determines the subjects of regulation, but Slovenia does not have a law in the field of advertising pertaining to influencers. 

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Klara Čalušić is a student at the Faculty of Humanities (Fakultete za humanistične študije). The published text is a summary of her exam paper, Non-observance of media legislation when promoting products on social networks (Neupoštevanje medijske zakonodaje pri promoviranju izdelkov na družbenih omrežjih).

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The original version of this article was published on 14^th May, 2019.