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How influencers became a threat to businesses

Pamela Reif is a fitness influencer. She released her first book a while ago.IMAGO / Eventpress

Anyone who spoke of influencers as an adult a few years ago either did it ironically or worked in marketing themselves. Many saw influencers as human advertising space that generated reach by displaying their lives and silvering these private insights with brand collaborations.

Fabian J. Fischer says: Influencers can pose a threat to established companies.
Fabian J. Fischer, CEO of Etribes, says: Influencers can pose a threat to established companies.

This image belongs in the past. Because influencers today are mostly entrepreneurs and as such they no longer just sell their postings as advertising space, but also products that they have developed around themselves as a brand. With personally branded baking accessories, protein bars or clothing, they compete with established companies. And: So far, they have only rarely seen this looming threat – there is a danger that the creator economy will overwhelm them.

From postings to books: the evolution of the creator economy

To understand the creator economy, we need to look at its roots. The first phase begins with the triumphant advance of Instagram, Youtube and Co .. Influencers were active as intermediaries on the way to the consumer, they were seen as an opportunity to land with products in social media feeds without being perceived as classic advertising become. The image of human advertising space described at the beginning, which is no longer consistent with most influencers, also comes from these days.

The second phase began when the first influencers became increasingly aware of their own role and awareness. They no longer used their reach passively for others, but for themselves. In short, they became a brand themselves. For example, by publishing books about themselves, their thoughts and topics. They extracted the essence of their internet personality into a haptic, analog product – something like “#Familygoals“By Sarah and Dominic Harrison or the autobiographies of MontanaBlack.

Books are still a key tool that influencers use to create a brand around themselves. This is how they gain credibility and acceptance in the broader media landscape and in society.

How influencers can make money with reach

In the meantime, however, we are experiencing a third phase in which influencers have also become entrepreneurs: Saliha Özcan, better known as Sally, no longer only bakes on hers Youtube-Kanal and passes on her recipes in book form. She also sells “Sally’s release agent spray” or “Sally’s cake ring”, and hers even has “Sally’s vanilla extract” Online Shop. So Sally has gone from being a content creator with cakes and recipes to an entrepreneur. She opens up a new world of products for her followers around her brand and her topics.

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