Are Digital Influencers Taking Over?

Taniah Stephens 

taniah11stephens@gmail.com 

Social media influencers have started to become the new trend. Our 21st century source of pop culture information. Everything comes and goes through them now. With the election, pandemic, protest and so much more, influencers tie in with what they give to urban society and what is going within the world. 

Influencers like Kim Kardashian uses her platform to free wrongfully convicted felons and gain justice for them. Or Kayla Itsines, a personal trainer and entrepreneur who has around 12.6 million followers. With the pandemic and the incapabilities to go to gyms across the world, people have come resulted in doing workout through Itsines instagram page. 

But just as the media continues to grow on a everyday basis, so does the virtual world. Sims stimulation game has become a popular game as far as the virtual world has started to become popular. The influence of the Sims stimulation game, has seemed to create another virtual idea--virtual influencer. 

Companies have started to go that route as well. With the pandemic happening, it is starting to look as if that maybe the new wave for advertising. 

Lil Miquela, a computer-generated character who has 1.6 million followers on instagram, is well known as the the most popular virtual influencer. 

Picture source: The Cut

In the picture above, there is Bella Hadid, a social media influencer and fashion model, is taking a picture with Lil Miquela. She is operated by a company, Bud. She gets together with influencers and artist across the world, and some people interact with her social media as if she is existing. Along with working with music artist, she has also been involved with designers, such as Balmain and Calvin Klein. 

This virtual influencer could start to raise questions around the industry as if this may be the new development of advertising for businesses and attracting followers and viewers. 

Lil Miquela is not the only digital influencer that has been created. In an article written about millions of followers are following digital influencer by Tiffany Hsu in the New York Times, she explains that there are more out there, than just Lil Miquela. 

"Human simulations have existed for years. They have dealt cards in Las Vegas, made music in the band Gorillaz and lived approximation of real life in the Sims video game. But lately they have become more realistic and more engaging," says Hsu. 

Companies like KFC, have used a virtual actor. And many companies will start in that way as well. 

The benefit for this new world of influencing that you can have with this is that you have control of what this digital influencer does. 

So who knows, we could be seeing digital influencer waiters and waitresses next!

Social Media Necessitates Transparency

Hardika Singh

hs152416@ohio.edu

 

In today's age of social media, it is easier for brands to show transparency during any decision-making or for a response. They can craft a quick tweet and interact directly with the customers. The constant communication makes it harder for brands to lie and holds them accountable. 

It is a commonly known fact that showing transparency can help build trust and deepen connections. It also helps to enhance a company's brand image, said David B. Grinberg in an article for Medium. Trust drives loyalty, especially when around 86% of Americans believe transparency has become more important than ever, according to a survey conducted by Sprout Social. Nearly nine in 10 people said in the same survey that they are more likely to give second chances after bad experiences. Starbucks is one of those companies that was given this chance.  

Picture source: Agility PR Solutions

In 2018, two Black men were removed from a Starbucks in Philadelphia for using the bathroom without buying something. The video went viral on Twitter and garnered more than 11.4 million views. People called for the boycott of the famous coffee shop. Starbucks' CEO responded around three days later, saying that the company will start "unconscious bias" training for employees. The company even admitted the mistake and said it will look to fix it, USA Today reporter Zlati Meyer said in an article. By addressing the topic on social media quickly, Starbucks carried out "damage control" and retained its image, an example that other companies can follow. 

While social media is a great tool to put out fires, it can also be utilized by companies to create a bigger positive presence, as seen in the case of the meal-kit delivery company Blue Apron. The company demonstrated how to provide more information on food sourcing by publishing vendor and supplier profiles online and on social media. They also published videos on how ingredients are made, allowing them to build greater trust with customers who are worried about sustainability practices. These transparent posts on social media made Blue Apron stand apart from competitors and pushed their brand of sustainable practices forward.

Transparent communications are essential to PR professionals. Understanding what topics a customer wants more information on can help companies protect or benefit themselves, while simultaneously gaining the trust of consumers. If brands want to improve their relationships with the customers, they need to build more transparent images. Otherwise, they will be held accountable by the customers. PR individuals need to utilize social media for transparency, especially when it is as quick and easy as sending a tweet. 

How Companies Digital Influencers Miss the Point of Influencers

Charlie Savidge

cs351916@ohio.edu   

Over the past two decades we have seen the rise of not just social media, but the people who become popular because of it as well. These people are usually known as influencers, content creators, or streamers. Their reach is far as they often have large audiences that they interact with and work to build relationships and trust with their fans. These influencers often work with brands in order to market their products with them. These influencers have a platform to promote the product or service and are reputable and trustworthy for the consumers. These consumers also, like any group have demographic and psychographic data that influencers can use to sell to brands in order to get paid promotions.

Picture source: Verdict.co.uk

 

However there are companies that look to not pay the influencers but rather use technology to create an influencer. In Tiffany Hus's New York Times piece, "These Influencers Aren't Flesh and Blood, Yet Millions Follow Them," she addresses the ethical issue that could arise out of this. A lot of the article is spent explaining Lil Maquela, a virtual influencer, that does not physically exist. She interviewed Bryan Gold, the CEO of #Paid, a company that connects influencers with companies, who said, that virtual influencers could lead companies into “a dangerous area,” adding, “How can consumers trust the message being put out there?” This question is critical when understanding the point of influencers.

The answer is quite simple, they can't. Influencers rise to prominence through commit to themselves or at least an entertaining persona of themselves. A lot of them become popular because of the effort the put into their content, showing their charisma, and having similar interest or opinions to that of their audience. Any semblance of trust or realism is lost with a corporate animation or artificial intelligence because they are not sentient. They're just a product of a company. They ultimately will do whatever the company wants and says, in spite of any possible ethical concerns. They exist solely to sell a product or service to consumers.

While this may seem weird to people in western society, this isn't the first time it has happened. however it is more common and popular in Japan as they have anime idol characters. A popular one is known as Hatsune Mikku and is a character based out of vocaloid software and is known for being a music artist and performs real life concerts as an animated projection. She often works as a part of the companies greater public relations. Recently she has been enlisted by the Japanese governments list of celebrities' to make videos about preventing the spread of Covid-19 as seen in this Kotaku Article that Brian Ashcraft wrote.

The Toxic Influencing Culture and the Effect on Young People

Larissa Beriswill

lb657516@ohio.edu

 

In today's world, technology and social media are becoming big components in the lives of young people. For example, baby toys are being updated with time. 30 years ago, a child would be seen playing with a baby doll or a teddy bear. Today, there are fake cell phones and tablets for babies to play with. Additionally, some technology companies are making kid friendly electronics, like tablets. 

What happens when younger kids start making social media accounts? The most popular social media apps for kids in recent years are Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Young kids will follow social media influencers and celebrities because they will feel in touch with that person's life and what they are doing. On the other hand, these influencers may have an unhealthy effect on children's lives. 

Picture source: https://medium.com/the-influence-of-social-media-culture-on-subjectiv

According to this article published by Frontiers, children spend a lot of time watching their favorite influencers interact on social media. When they turn to these influencers for entertainment, they'll start turning to them for advice, information, comfort and company. When these children are watching every move the influencers make, they'll start mocking the behavior, even the more mature behavior like drinking and smoking. Not only do influencers post entertaining content, they will also post pictures suggesting what a perfect physique should look like.

Everyone goes through an awkward phase, typically in middle school or the start of high school. We all want to fit in and be up to date with the latest trends. Children turning to influencers for these trends can send the message that if they are not doing as the influencer is doing, they are doomed for life. We, as adults, know that this is not the case. But as for children, they are looking for guidance and what better way to do that than see what the popular influencers are doing?

There are a lot of negative effects that play a role if a child is following exactly what people on social media are doing. In this article published by Her Campus, there are many studies that have determined that a lot of the mental illnesses among young people in developed nations are due to the influence on social media. Additionally, children are seeking more attention on their social media, which leads to them determining their worth by the amount of likes they can get on a post.

As these children grow up, all they will know is how to perfectly pose for an Instagram picture or how to completely photoshop their face to look perfect. We need to teach these young people that there is so much more to life than what their favorite influencers are showing them.

Strategic Communication Adapts to Social Media

By Keri Johnson

kj153517@ohio.edu

In 2009, the New York Times ran a headline that said: "Video Prank at Domino's Taints Brand". The article was reporting on a "prank" by Domino's employees in North Carolina that went viral on YouTube. The video showed a Domino's employee putting cheese up his nose, covering sandwiches with mucus and violating other health codes; another employee provided voiceover narration.

The video caused outrage -- from media, consumers and Domino's itself. The two employees were fired and charged with distributing prohibited (unsanitary) food. Domino's found itself facing a huge public relations crisis and in need of quick, immediate and careful response.

Picture source: prweek.com

 

In order to do that, Domino's joined social media -- specifically, Twitter, under the handle @dpzinfo. Domino's chief executive also appeared making a statement on YouTube. Though Domino's Twitter account was borne out of crisis, now, in 2020, @dominos is the company's current handle, and its tweets have a different purpose. 

Domino's uses Twitter to post giveaways, deals and jokes. It posts on Twitter somewhat casually, sometimes only a couple tweets per day. It uses emojis and plays on contemporary memes. What it does not do is solely, defensively advertise a company; though Domino's created a Twitter account for crisis management, it now uses the account to interact with customers and encourage sales.

It is interesting to look at the role social media has in strategic communication. Strategic communication, like journalism, needs to be ethical and truthful. It is also interesting how social media has changed strategic communication, and how businesses, corporations, nonprofits and others who rely on strategic communication have adapted their messages and channels to social media.

Another business that has adapted its social media presence to social media, and more famously, is Wendy's. @Wendys Twitter description reads: "We like our tweets the same way we like to make our hamburgers: better than anyone expects from a fast food joint." @Wendys has 3.7 million followers and is known for its funny and absurd tweets. 

Wendy's is known for "roasting" or being "savage" on Twitter, meaning the account interacts with Twitter users, often playfully poking fun at people or other businesses, such as Burger King and McDonald's. A simple "Wendy's Twitter" Google search brings up photos and many listicles about Wendy's tweets, such as ranker.com and boredpanda.com. 

Where ethics comes into play here is, how ethical is it for Wendy's to tweet: "Hey, @McDonalds, roast us." Does Wendy's strategic communication come off as ethical or unfair? Or is it simply just fun and effective? Wendy's is not violating the PRSA's Code of Ethics; in that, Wendy's is not lying on social media (honest and accurate), it is arguably promoting healthy competition, as well as informing the public. However, the professionality of the account still seems questionable; is Wendy's risk-taking, or is it innovative? Perhaps both. 

Importance of Transparency in Public Relations

Taniah Stephens 

taniah11stephens@gmail.com

Public relations and advertising is big on always being honest with their consumers, being an advocate to the public, being truthful. Another huge attribute that holds value to Public Relations code of ethics is transparency. 

While those attributes do apply and have their own rules of further detail on what core values to consider within each asset, transparency has their own rules as well. 

Transparency plays a vital role in public relations and advertising because it allows the professional to be honest with the consumer. In an article written by Millennium Agency, it goes into detail about the Importance of Transparency in Public Relations Strategy. It states that with being transparent with your consumers, it gives a level of loyalty and makes the brand that you work for become likable.

A great equation for transparency is: Transparency + Honesty = Loyal and Likable consumers. 

In going into more detail on how important it is that transparency is shown through the public relations and advertising business, I came across an article that went into detail about 7 important rules of being transparent. 

According to the article written by David B. Grinberg on the rules of being transparent, he states that if you don't follow these rules, "you might be tempted to bury a damaging story, your efforts can backfire, ruining your credibility and turning essential media contacts into enemies. When reading the rules, you can tell that the importance of getting the truth out has to be right, be accountable for being wrong and giving information out in a timely manner. 

Picture source: https://www.prdaily.com/7-rules-for-being-transparent/

                                     

With the world changing everyday through the media with this upcoming election and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is evident that PR agencies that they have to disclose information to the public, as their form of being transparent for the public eye. 

The PRSA Code of Ethics  core values in their Code of Ethics that disclosing information is a key role in their code of ethics. It states that in order to obtain to their duty of disclosing information, that they must "be honest and accurate in communications." 

The PRSA.org gives a document that shows an example of disclosure and transparency and how it shows the simple ways of giving complete, full disclosure of what is needed throughout the platform that you are using to give to readers and viewers and it must be transparent. 

No matter if you're in the PR and advertising field or the reporting field, just generally as a journalism as a whole, transparency is a key factor. Public relations makes transparency vital because you want consumers to trust in what you have and be able honest in what is necessary for the public. 

Ethical Reporting in Sports

Scott Thomas 

st610417@ohio.edu 

 

It's not a secret that ESPN gives a lot of money to the leagues that it covers. ESPN owns the SEC Network, and the PAC-12 Network. It televises the National Football League on Monday nights. It gets several tennis tournaments and basketball games and more. In 2013, Dean Starkman of the Columbia Journalism Review wrote a scathing column on the problems that ESPN reporters might have due to the financial ties that ESPN has to the sports world. His story was flawed and used false logic to justify his argument. 

 In the beginning of his column, he talks about how the parent company of the Boston Red Sox now owns the Boston Globe. He compares this relationship to the one that ESPN has with the NFL and college football. This is flawed because in this example, the people that supply the money to the Red Sox also supply the money to the journalists that are supposed to cover the team. ESPN itself has no say in the actions of college football or NFL programs in the same way that the parent company might have a say in the Red Sox. Starkman also says that in a traditional media landscape, the media company makes its money in advertising. He says of ESPN, "The media company's main source of income is the very thing its newsroom is supposed to cover." He says this as if the NFL or college football teams are directly paying ESPN. 

Picture source: The Spun

 

ESPN gives money to the organizations for the right to broadcast their games. It then makes its money on advertising during the time that it is broadcasting those games. Similarly, advertisers give money to television stations to advertise during more highly watched television slots, like during a premiere of a popular show. 

One of the principles of ethical journalism, according to OpenPR is asking journalists to act on their own accord. The spots companies are not putting money directly into the pockets of ESPN and other sports journalists. While it is impossible to completely absolve ESPN of conflicts of interests since its money lies in these companies, but it doesn't trickle down to the individual level. ESPN reporters are able to cover and report on the teams they cover fairly and balanced, just like other reporters from other publications.