Technology in Communication Careers--Influencer

A new job that's emerged in this digital age is being an influencer. "Influencer marketing is generating a mammoth return for companies by connecting brands to individuals in a personal and powerful way" (Eyal, 2017). This is a job where an individual runs a social media account in a specific are like health and wellness, fashion, or beauty and they post about their lifestyle, about products they use, and often give advice on things specific to their specialty. It's a very communication-based career. Influencers are communicating with brands and their target audience. This happens a lot on Instagram. Between the Insta stories and images, there's a lot of room to promote a specific lifestyle. For example, I follow a lot of healthy living Instagrammers and I've been known to buy far too many products they recommend. In fact, just this morning I saw an Instagram post talking about eggs cooked in a specific ghee: Fourth and Heart's White Truffle ghee. It took an embarrassingly short amount of time to go to Amazon and purchase it. They're selling a lifestyle I want.

As seen in the below video, you get a good picture of how a blogger lives. It ranges from one image on Instagram to a few minutes long videos on YouTube. With technology, the possibilities are endless.

Brands take advantage of these influencers and use them to market their products. As demonstrated from the example above, it works. If you looked in my pantry now, you'd see a ton of products that I learned about on Instagram and purchased. I didn't need the $5 tiny jar of Sir Kensington's mustard but after seeing it on 12 different influencers pages, I'm coerced into buying it. You see, technology has created this career here. The invention of phones and consequently social media has opened the door for this career to exist. And, as a social media based career, it's all about communication even if it's a brand communicating through someone else. 

References:
Eyal, G. (2017, October 25). Fame As A Career Choice And The Rise Of Micro-Influencers. Retrieved February 02, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/05/24/fame-as-a-career-choice-and-the-rise-of-micro-influencers/#6dbee9dc2cbd