Kate Nolen
The internet today is overflowing with social media influencers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. I am very interested in home decorating and home renovation so my TikTok “For You” feed is filled with people post videos about their beautifully decorated and renovated homes. The new trend I am personally seeing with these influencers over the last couple of years is one of two things.
First, they will post videos that list the top things “you didn’t know you needed from Amazon.” The video will feature really cool items for the home, beauty, or personal care that they purchased from Amazon, a brief description of the item, and why they love it.
The second is a glimpse into an area of their home, like the living room, kitchen, or bathroom while talking about what they love about that space.
Both of these types of videos have one major thing in common – major advertising. If you see something you like, most times you can click on that person’s profile link and within their profile page you will see a link to LIKEtoKNOW.it, owned by rewardStyle. From there, you find that influencer and see their rooms posted they’ve posted on their social media sites. Now… the genius thing next is that once you’re on the page of that room, you can “shop the pic” and see items shown in that influencer’s room, and direct links to purchase those items for yourself.
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LiketoKnowit image from influencer sprucingupmamahood |
This site/app takes influencer advertising (and earnings) to a new level. According to the blog Everything You Need To Know About Like To Know It, not just anyone can participate in the service. It is by invitation only -- they want to see if your social media content is consistent and high quality; they want to see that you are regularly posting things that are on-trend and current.
According to an article on the site Ignite Visibility, influencers on LtKi make a commission (usually 5-15%) from items sold through their affiliate link. So, the big question is… should these LtKi influencers disclose to their followers that they are being paid a commission from sales generated through their LtKi page? Should they let followers know if they are receiving these items for free?
I believe the answer is a resounding YES. The influencer may very well love that item and have it in their home, but there is still an ethical obligation to let the viewer know that purchase through their page helps support them, or if they received an item for free or discounted to provide a review or feedback on social media. This is important as we need to try to have transparency on social media when possible.
Hi Kate,
ReplyDeleteI honestly found your post fascinating. I know very little about the world of social media influencers, and was very interested to learn about this site/service. It is pretty incredible. I agree with you that disclosure is appropriate and important. It's crazy to be able to remember the first home shopping channels on cable tv, when sales people just pitched products to the camera, and to see how much it has changed, or how little it has changed, I'm not exactly sure which it is.
Thanks for the insight,
- Jeff
Hi Kate,
ReplyDeleteI honestly found your post fascinating. I know very little about the world of social media influencers, and was very interested to learn about this site/service. It is pretty incredible. I agree with you that disclosure is appropriate and important. It's crazy to be able to remember the first home shopping channels on cable tv, when sales people just pitched products to the camera, and to see how much it has changed, or how little it has changed, I'm not exactly sure which it is.
Thanks for the insight,
- Jeff
Hi Kate,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I am somewhat familiar with LikeItToKnowIt, but I had no idea the percentage of commission the influencer received. I would completely agree that influencers should disclose whether they received an item for free or at a discounted price in exchange for a review. This sort of advertising/business is one that is very hard to navigate. I'd dare to say that it almost adds to the difficulty to believe news and media due to astroturfing, fake news and now influencer reviews in exchange for products. When an influencer gives a review for a free or discounted product or service it makes you wonder if they are actually giving an honest/truthful review or if their opinion is swayed by the benefit. We are living in a very interesting time. It's very important for us to be able to research and seek out truth for ourselves.