Are Social Media Influencers Entitled Brats?

So today, I want to come to you with something different. Usually, on Fridays, I bring you content designed to help you grow some aspect of your blog or social media presence. Instead of specific tips today, I wanted to cover the growing assumption that social media influencers are entitled brats. I felt drawn to covering this topic, and hopefully, this can clear up some misconceptions for new influencers as well as the general public. So, are social media influencers entitled?

Are Influencers Entitled?

A few weeks ago, there was the “bloggergate” scandal. Many of you may have heard about the influencer who contacted the White Moose Cafe and created an internet riot. The cafe owner publicly embarrassed the girl, and people came rushing to his support. Many individuals who do not work in this industry do not believe that social media influencers have “real jobs.” Numerous times over the past few weeks, I have seen people saying influencers are entitled, they are brats… and the list goes on. While this seems to be a popular opinion of many, the truth of the matter may be quite different than how it is perceived.

Why Are Influencers Perceived As Entitled?

Let’s start by explaining why there is this perception that social media influencers are entitled to. First, with the rise of certain YouTubers and influencers, the general public is now starting to view all of us as the same. Yes, certain individuals are downright rude and obnoxious, but does that mean we are all like that? With the recent growth in influencer scandals, it is easy to see why some people think we are all the same. But wouldn’t that be the same as saying all attorneys are slimy sharks simply because some of them are? The comparison is unfair because one group of bad apples does not define the majority.

Not all vloggers are the Pauls. This may be hard to grasp for many simply because they have such a large platform, but I promise that most vloggers, bloggers, and influencers are, in fact, NOT entitled brats.

Another reason many influencers are seen as entitled is that most people only see one side of the story. A regular person scrolling Instagram will only see these beautifully staged photos put out by influencers as part of a marketing campaign. They see the beauty, the free product, the money, and the lifestyle. With what they see, they perceive that influencers just get free stuff, free hotel stays, etc, and don’t have to work.

They hear about influencers reaching out to companies and think this makes them entitled. They see that many influencers do not go to a 9-5 job and think they are lazy freeloaders because of it. Scandals, like the White Moose incident, really thrust influencers into the limelight, and people create their opinions based on a small handful of incidents.

What The Public Does Not See

Now that we know what the general public sees and why many influencers are viewed as entitled, we can discuss why this is, in fact, not true.

For one, what the public sees is only a tiny portion of what goes on in the life of an influencer. In reality, there is much more going on behind the scenes. For one, Influencers do quite a bit of work. It is not just getting free stuff and taking pretty pictures. A lot of effort goes into staging photos and getting good lighting. We are expected to be expert photographers and videographers, so we have to put a lot of time and effort into these skills to get to work. Then there is the editing. Editing photos and videos can take hours to get right. Videos, I have found, take much longer since you have to edit, render, upload, and double-check. It is time-consuming.

Then there is writing. Many of us have blogs as well. Writing a well-crafted post also takes time and effort. It isn’t something that is just slapped together and thrown up. We want to tell a story. Naturally, highlight the product. Show our readers how we feel about the product and why they will also love it. Brands go to influencers, in part, for their storytelling ability, so just throwing up a random half-assed post will not do you any favors.

We are also seen as asking for free stuff. Well, that is and isn’t true. While we contact companies, it is not really for ” free stuff.” We contact these companies to build a business relationship and collaborate for marketing purposes. In this case, we are exchanging goods for the benefit of BOTH parties. So no, it is not just ” send me some free stuff.” It is much, much more in-depth than that.

For example, marketing to Gen Z can be tricky, and influencer marketing is one of the best ways to do it. However, you need to build a relationship first. This takes time and effort, not just asking for things.

The Future of Influencer Marketing

For the people who generally dislike influencers, I am sorry to say that we aren’t going anywhere. This is a growing market that will only continue to expand. Not only is influencer marketing less expensive than traditional marketing, it is also becoming more effective. People trust their favorite YouTubers; they feel like they know them in a way. According to studies, people are more likely to purchase on the recommendation of an influencer or because they saw something on social media than based on traditional marketing.  Don’t believe me about the future of influencer marketing. Take a gander here at all of this research!

Hopefully, I have shone some light on the lesser-known side of influencer marketing. I promise that the majority of us are not entitled brats, and we work extremely hard to provide for our families. If you have any feelings or thoughts on this, I would love to discuss it further in the comments below. So what do you think? Are influencers entitled millennial brats, or is this a “real job”?