Social media, influencers and consumption

you’re not the only one…

Who’s been influenced.

We are exposed to online shopping everywhere, even when we’re not intending to shop, we receive texts about offers, emails reminding us of our abandoned basket and influencers tempting with discount codes

Online shopping is a compulsive buyers dream…

Why?

Well because be it 12 am or 12 pm all one has to do is turn on their computer.

Turn on your computer, and you can not only buy a product, but you can read through reviews and compare products instantly. Flick through your favourite influencer’s posts and see what they have to say. There’s a variety in and information about products with the click of a button.

Social media has a huge impact on how we shop. Ads follow us around constantly, and even when we’re just scrolling through our own feeds, we’re seeing sponsored ads from influencers we follow.

Social media influencers, promote the ideal lifestyle, that many of us aspire to live. We are in awe of the lives they are or at least appear to be living through their daily outings, their purchases and even their views on current events. So whilst they don’t seem to be “selling” products; we’re encouraged to buy into their lifestyles.

We are curious beings, part of our curiosity is learning what makes digital influencers great, in search of our own greatness, fame and fortune. We want to be like them, we copy what they buy, the products they use, and wear the clothes they wear. Trying to capture that lavish lifestyle they portray.

A digital influencer’s stamp of approval is the epitome of a successful product in a world where photos are photo-shopped, reviews fabricated, commercials exaggerated, and ads edited, corrected, revised and modified. Those with a huge following add credibility to a product. Digital creatives are now more influential than ever.

So whilst as consumers, we aren’t swayed by the traditional forms of advertising, all it takes is for an influencer we’ve been following for a while to post a picture of them wearing a slip dress for us to quickly find out where the dress was from and to go on and purchase it.

In fact, Instagram has made it so easy for us, with “Instagram Shopping” where all we have to do is tap on the influencers post to be redirected to the brand’s site.

With influencers creating unedited content and capturing their lives, internet users, followers and devotees feel as though they know influencers personally.

Influencers who maintain and expand their audience, are the ones who are honest about the products they are promoting.