Buying followers - part II

By the time we finished our first piece on buying followers it was clear we had a lot more ground to cover, but we decided to press publish and let readers guide us from there. What we found in the comments, DMs, and personal conversations were a lot of strong opinions and complicated questions – around everything from race and privilege to morality and self-worth. 

For this next installment we’ve reached out to content creators, influencer marketing directors, and social media managers and asked questions based on the dialogue and feedback you all shared with us. As always, if we missed anything please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments.

*some names have been changed to protect anonymity

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How does buying followers affect the creator industry at large? 

Angel Xu, director of influencer marketing and social media: Buying followers hurts the creative industry at large by setting a false narrative and expectation amongst creators. It also pushes a false sense of how to measure one’s self-worth. More followers does not equate to better content, engagement or impressions. I am in support of content creation as a source of income, but buying followers creates a skewed perspective. There are no enforceable regulations to what creators can charge and more times than not, speaking from the brand side, I’ve either been given rates that are extremely over or extremely under what a content creator is worth. Historically, I have found BIPOC creators undervalue their work. I think there has been progress here, but there is so much work to be done. 

Brands that don’t do their due diligence in vouching for the creators that they work with also further cement bad practices in the industry. I know several creators that have mentioned xyz brand have paid them a set amount which they then use to counter future projects that are quite frankly, ridiculous. 

Creators should be pricing themselves based on 1. the work that they are delivering 2. the brand and what value they receive from this partnership and 3. and if they seek long-term partnership with a brand.

Do you think there are larger, systemic shifts that could affect change on this issue?  Things like government regulation, or more intentional brand deals? 

*Harris, influencer marketing consultant: I think the creator economy could use a bit of both - more government regulation around the businesses selling fake followers and engagement, and agencies holding the talent they rep accountable. Brands that aren’t as savvy about this landscape should also educate their teams to ensure they’re properly vetting the right talent, and encourage their marketing managers to always review a potential partner’s analytics from a past deal to be sure the stats add up.

Sam Fazz, social media manager: I feel, as someone working on both sides of the industry, that this pressure comes so much from how tied a creator’s numbers are to how much they're worth monetarily to a brand. Creators need brand deals in order to dedicate their time fully to creating, and brands need creators to humanize their brands and grow their awareness. I see so many brands often trying to control creators they’re working with’s content and voice to make it more digestible, or more brand appropriate, thinking it’ll increase conversions. There’s no trust in an influencer and their ability to know how to speak to their audience best. Brands are so focused on reaching a certain number of people that it puts a creator’s integrity at risk, and brands ultimately not getting what they want in the end anyways. Working with and trusting creators to authentically represent your brand to their audience that is also well aligned to your target demographic will always perform better than just hiring someone with a lot of bought followers that aren’t invested in you. There needs to be a total restructuring on how brand deals are conducted between brand and creators.

After our first piece came out, one thing that came up repeatedly was how race might play into this conversation around buying followers. Even though most people are opposed to buying engagement no matter what, the fact that the influencing industry has a racial pay gap wider than any other industry makes strong moral judgments around this issue a little more complicated. For example, if one were to consider how they feel about the difference between a white influencer buying followers to get paid more money vs. a Black influencer buying followers with the aim of being paid the same as her white peers.

How do you think we should approach questions around ‘leveling the playing field’ in this conversation? Is there value in discussing these kinds of nuances?

*Sasha, fashion blogger: This is a fair point. But I can only use myself as an example. I am a creator who is a person of color yet I choose to remain true to myself and create content without the safety net of guaranteed engagement, I look at my career as a challenge of always evolving and for me, I would find it hard to learn from my audience if I'm always getting affirmation that is paid for in the form of fake engagement. I think buying engagement as a means to "level the playing field" is just putting a band-aid on the problem and not confronting the real issue of the racial pay gap in the first place. I am not judging creators who buy because they feel they have no other way to strive for pay parity. Instead, I wish we could call out brands who engage in the prejudicial practice of paying white creators more just for being white.

Sam Fazz, social media manager: I think part of these nuances lend itself to a wider conversation around a racial pay gap in general in our country. Another part of it, to me, is how young this industry is still. When I started social media in 2013, it was just barely becoming a job people could pursue full-time. There is no consistency across rates, what determines a creator’s base rate, etc. It is so varied. You can’t go on Indeed and look up a median rate for x project with x amount of reach. Influencers need to be talking about their rates with each other, but even more so, there needs to be a demand for favored nations clauses in contracts within this industry— just like it is for the rest of the entertainment industry. These should be federal laws.

Roti Brown, content creator: I think race is incredibly important to talk about here. I’m a Black woman who's been on the brand side of a very white company. I've seen firsthand how brands pay creators, models, and influencers of color half the rate they pay to their white counterparts for the same ask. I think what it comes down to is priorities. Most of these brands don't care about diversity, they care about optics. So they’ll have a Black person in their campaign to fill quotas, but won't make them the face of it. Or they’ll prioritize finding a non-POC creator with a huge following, give her 90% of the budget, and then find a diverse face with low rates to avoid outrage in the comments. 

I think this is the stuff we have to talk about in the industry. And I feel similar to Ford in the sense that while my knee-jerk reaction is to judge people who buy followers, there are several instances – the racial pay gap included – where I can see why buying followers might be helpful to some people. But seeing it as the solution is like putting a bandaid over a bullet hole. Well-intended maybe, but it's not getting to the root of a much greater issue.

Angel Xu, director of influencer marketing and social media: I think to level the playing field, BIPOC creators need to charge more of a premium - there is a demand and a need for brands to be inclusive. If a brand wants to work with BIPOC creators and can’t “find them” or “there’s not enough creators” - those that were reached out to should charge more and rightfully deserve to make more. The algorithm and brands alike have worked in opposition against thoughtful inclusion, so in my opinion, these are well deserved content ‘reparations’ that must be paid out.

Jordan Santos, how to be a woman on the internet: I think Angel’s perspective is so important and actually have had the same thought when a brand reached out to me for AAPI month. I stated a rate and they tried to get it lower, but I felt strongly that I needed to keep it as is because I knew my involvement supported their appearance of looking diverse and inclusive. 

While I agree with the idea of charging a premium, I also know how difficult it is to make that choice, because when you look at the hard reality of an industry with a larger racial pay gap than any other, you do run the risk of getting turned down because of the higher rate, and that financial risk is not such a simple choice for most people.

When it comes to the debate on if buying followers helps “level the playing field,” I don’t think it does that — I actually think it makes it even more uneven. A creator of color deciding to buy followers to make the industry more fair doesn’t automatically prevent white creators from doing the same. I’ve seen many white creators buy followers and when everyone does this, it only hurts those who don’t buy followers.

One issue people have with buying followers is the lack of transparency around it. But there's a similar lack of transparency around affluent creators who get into the space due to the fact that they already have access to clothes, vacations, a beautiful home – basically, a capital investment for their influencer career. Could buying followers be considered in the same way? Can you think of other areas where there is a similar lack of transparency in the creator space?

Jessica Manning, content creator: This is a really interesting perspective and I honestly don’t know the answer. I wonder if there was more transparency from some creators about the ways in which they have a leg up, if others would no longer feel the need to buy engagement to “catch up.” If it was all laid out on the table, would it take the pressure off a little?

Sasha, fashion blogger: Privilege definitely does help creators get a leg up and more than just a foot in the door. Also let's not kid ourselves, we know some of these affluent creators are also buying engagement on top of all that, too! But genuine creators are making beautiful content regardless of their means. Does having a lot of money and resources help? Of course! But people want to see their new clothes, vacations, homes, etc. Social media is what it is and affluent creators are going to have an advantage in some ways but if they aren't manipulating their numbers, their engagement is genuine and real people are clicking on their content and are interested in what they post. In my opinion, you could only make the argument that buying engagement is similar if these creators were doing it initially and then stopping once their content starts performing well organically. But the reality is that these creators can't stop buying because the drop off would be a huge red flag.

Harris, influencer marketing consultant: I’ve watched tons of creators grow in this space simply because of the resources they have and the money they can spend to continue paving their way. But materialistic belongings and money don't reflect a person’s natural born creativity or unique perspective of the world, and I do think brands and media outlets can help here by bringing visibility to the people that don’t have the resources to achieve this recognition on their own. 

If even just a few top-tier companies with large financial backing or luxury status could begin gifting, bringing small deals here and there, and extending event invites, etc. to creators that get lost in the shuffle (who have just as strong content as those more frequently being recognized) this gives those creators opportunity to grow their platforms. It adds a level of credibility to the creator by allowing them to include some highly regarded brands to their resume of past partners. This also gives the creator opportunity for other reputable brands to notice and potentially reach out to build a relationship.

Roti Brown, content creator: Yes, absolutely. I think social media is all about smoke and mirrors. You can curate your feed to look like a person who's self-made financially and in reality, you could have come from incredible wealth. Similarly, you can act like you’ve worked hard for a following that you’ve actually paid for and gained in just minutes.  It also makes me think of celebrities who want us to believe they’re born with perfect faces or have worked hard for their incredible bodies but have had countless procedures to achieve that standard of unattainable (or attainable for a price) perfection. 

In what ways do you think numbers are an accurate reflection of how engaged an audience is, or how impactful content is? What are some other ways that a brand or a creator might be able to measure the value of their work?

Harris, influencer marketing consultant: Post analytics in my opinion are the only numbers that provide an accurate depiction of how engaged an audience is. Following almost means nothing to me these days as this number is rarely an accurate depiction of potential reach and engagement. When I source talent for partnerships or gifting initiatives, I’m looking at the quality of content. I’m looking at how authentic the creator comes off in their post copy, or when speaking to the camera. I’m looking at the types of accounts interacting with their content, the other brands they’ve partnered with, and then I dive deeper into their engagement rate, audience demographics, etc. I’ve worked very closely with creators of all tiers, and I’ve seen brands spend a lot of money on deals with creators in the 1m+ following range. I’ve seen successes here no doubt, but I’ve also witnessed a lot of flops with very low return on investment. Many times I’ve overseen partnerships involving multiple creators, and that’s always been when the truth unfolds for me - when I’m reviewing analytics and see that the creator with 40k followers drove a higher number of sales conversions and link clicks than the creator with 3m followers.

Jessica Manning, content creator: This may be naive of me, but I don’t think numbers are the most important thing in this industry in the slightest. I have never focused too much on the numbers associated with my platform but rather on the connection I have to my community, however small it may be compared to those around me. I really do believe that having a smaller community of people that really resonate with what you share and participate in discussions around it is more valuable than a large community who may be less invested and less engaged on a personal level. I like to believe that brands really do value that authentic voice and community.

Sasha, fashion blogger: I think shares are a great way to see how well a piece of content is resonating. Comments that tag others or are asking questions about the content and specific comments help, too. I say specific because creators are buying comments too and most times, the comments are so vague or have nothing to do with the content. But in general, I feel that the best way to measure the value of your work is to put in the right work ethic and create with an authentic voice. No matter how well it does, you know you left it all on the field and it might not resonate as well or it might go viral. The joy is in the unknown.

Roti Brown, content creator: I don't think numbers are an accurate representation of engagement at all. What we have to remember is that Instagram is in control of the algorithm and of our engagement, not us. Of course, there are ways we can feed the beast in our favor. But, at the end of the day if this platform chooses to show our connection to 1% of our audience, there's nothing we can do about that. 

How does a focus on numbers affect our approach to creativity?

Sasha, fashion blogger: As I said earlier, it would be hard for me to evolve as a creator if I didn't learn what resonates with my audience. The only way to get that consistently is to let the content do its thing and my followers will tell me if they like my content or not. I've shot content that doesn't make it on my feed. Maybe it just didn't feel good enough during editing or we might have been rushing to shoot it as the light was fading. Whatever the reason, I am not going to compromise whether it's a paid post or an organic post.  But if I'm getting the same number of likes [due to buying them], why bother being so particular about the fine details of my content? I just feel it would be hard to create great content if there is no risk.

Harris, influencer marketing consultant: I think it leads to people pumping fear-based content out that doesn’t align well with their platform or who they are. A focus on numbers also leads to cutting corners and stealing others’ ideas for a quick solve.

Emily Flathers, social media manager: You’ll always create content with that devil on your shoulder knowing what gets the best engagement. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” It limits what we think we can make that’s of value. But that’s what holds you back — if what you’re doing makes you feel good and creative, that’ll ultimately (read: not immediately), get back to your audience or a new one will be reached. 

Sam Fazz, social media manager: Creators have relinquished so much control and integrity around their creative and voice in pursuit of growing because their livelihoods depend on it. There’s a huge emphasis on creating content to appeal to potential brand partnerships because that’s what is defining success as an influencer.

Roti Brown, content creator: I think it can affect our creativity in every way imaginable. I'm guilty of curating a certain type of post in hopes of better performance. Of being proud of something I've created, seeing the response and thinking “ok, won't be sharing a post like that again,” or even sending a brand the content I know will perform better instead of the content I like better so they’ll want to work with me again. I think it's a really hard line to walk, especially when money is involved.

What are a few ways that content creators can ease the pressure of metrics while still maintaining a healthy career in the current numbers-obsessed landscape?

Sasha, fashion blogger: I think a healthy change has been more and more brands recognizing the quality of the content itself, regardless of how it performs. They see the value in a great piece of content and re-use that content in different ways. I am always striving to create great quality content within the scope of the brand's vision as much as possible. I think brands are starting to see content creators as more than just walking billboards and are genuinely excited to see the content that comes out of the collaboration.

Sam, social media manager: Sharing what you believe is purposeful and impactful to you and your relationship with your audience should be your foundation for everything. Check on your numbers with the intention of understanding how to best communicate with your audience. Know your voice and your audience so well you can rely more on your gut feelings when it comes to creating content. Don’t look at your numbers all the time either. Really vet the brands you work with. Be honest and direct in communication with them about how you envision a partnership with them. Teach brands how to work with you.

Roti Brown, content creator: The best advice I’ve received about this came from Jordan, who told me not to pay attention to numbers and to instead post what I love. For a long time, Instagram felt like something I just couldn't keep up with, too many new features, new-found bad-practices, new must-dos. A game I was constantly having to re-learn to feel good about my engagement. Now I don't try to keep up. I post what makes me feel good, I share what matters to me, and I live my life. I won't act like it's not frustrating at times, but I'm much happier with this new approach to IG and engagement.  

Angel Xu, director of influencer marketing and social media: Be confident in your work. If you create good content, continue to post, create and reach out to brands. There’s enough of us smart professionals who really care about content more so than numbers and we want to work with you! 

How do you think creators who buy their followers decide when they’ve hit their goal? 

Jessica Manning, content creator: This is tough. I’m sure many people have a rigid goal such as 100k followers or “x” amount of money annually. But I imagine this becomes a goal post that just keeps moving. I wonder if eventually you dig yourself into a hole... continuing to “maintain” this fabricated version of success.

Sam, social media manager: I don't think they ever do hit a goal. It’s part of a bigger problem at hand with our culture where everyone just wants more and no one is ever content. You want more free products, you want more money, more brand deals, more followers, higher engagement, and it just doesn’t end.

What are the mental health implications?

Jessica Manning, content creator: Social media already has so many mental health implications as it is. Which is part of the reason why I choose to focus my energy on the community who truly wants to be present in the online space I’ve created. I know first hand how that approach has helped maintain my mental health. I really can’t imagine how confusing it would feel knowing that the people in your community are not necessarily even real people. It makes me sad to be honest. True community is so so important in everything, especially in the often toxic and isolating online space. I hate to see that people are robbing themselves of real community in a space where they arguably need it most.

Sasha, fashion blogger: If I'm being honest, I do sometimes struggle with comparing my content with creators who are manipulating their numbers. I am always proud of my work but when I see someone who gets a ton of "engagement" on a lazy, throwaway post and then see brands working with that same creator, it does sting. I don't begrudge them the opportunity, but it is sometimes hard to watch people get rewarded for buying engagement. I am sure there are a ton of other genuine creators who get burnt out when they see the same thing, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if some are affected even more deeply and might even feel rejected personally as the content they worked so hard to create is being pushed aside by fake numbers.

Emily Flathers, social media manager: Imposter syndrome, anxiety, regret. The start to an addiction. The list goes on. 

Sam, social media manager: Always chasing something bigger never equates to fulfillment. This industry can quickly burn you out. I once had a manager advise me to be constantly aware of how I define my self-worth. He gave the example of how in traditional media, let’s say as an actor, if someone doesn’t like your work, it’s just a movie. You can redeem yourself with another movie, or blame it on the director. When you’re an influencer, everything can feel much more personal. It’s been burned into my brain since. Your social media presence is a role you step into, and you can step back out of it - metaphorically - to be the real you. I think it’s important to be really clear about why you want to make content and the impact you want it to make on the eyes that see it, as well as be able to clearly envision the lifestyle you want and how this job can help you achieve those goals. It also shouldn’t be your whole life. Have separation and know you don’t have to shoot up to fame in record breaking time, exclusively wear designer or own a McMansion in the hills to be a successful creator.