Nearly half a million jobs and a turnover of almost 350 million of euros: the two data relate only to Italy, they are an estimate referring to 2023 but they are an estimate built on solid foundations, because in our country the so-called influencer marketing sector is constantly growing and in double figures now from 2020/2021.
The world of influencers and creators in short, it is not just a cultural phenomenon or a change in customs: inside and behind there is an important economic factor. And this is perhaps the reason why companies are unlikely to abandon him, regardless of how the Ferragni case ends.
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The principles of influencer marketing
However, this world will have to give itself new rules, even if in fact it already has rules. At the moment, what prevails is the new version of the Consolidated Law on Media Services (which is this one, in pdf), updated to also include video sharing platforms such as YouTube, where the same principles that are respected on TV must essentially be respected. In all cases, and for all other sites and apps, there are hashtags whose use was suggested to influencers by the AgCm a few years ago: the best known are e adv (which stand for advertising) and the various declinations of suppliedas gifted or even invited. They all want to say that what is shown in a post, be it a dress, a smartphone, an eyeshadow, a restaurant, a hotel or even an entire trip, has been provided or donated to the influencer (supplied and gifted, in fact) or That the influencer has been invited in the place you see in the images. Without spending, obviously.
For a few years now, these hashtags are essential if you advertise on social media: it is difficult to find one of the important names who forgets to use them, but even the smallest creators are very careful not to omit them when they are necessary. Not so much for fear of the law or sanctions but rather for not being punished by the various platforms with measures that can range from so-called shadow ban (the contents are in shadow and are shown to fewer users) until the temporary suspension or even deletion of the account.
Hashtags are somewhat the correspondent of the writing Advertising information that appears on TV or in newspapers: if you see a post that contains one (or more than one), that post is the result of a commercial agreement. Few people forget to put them on, but not in all fields they are put on with the same consistency: a recent analysis by Buzzoole showed that the moda it is the one where they are used the most (in 26.8% of cases), which makes it in a certain sense the most transparent; they are in the rest of the Top 5 food (19,9%), cosmetics (13,2%), entertainment (9,1%) e salute (8,3%).
Alessia Lanza (in the photo at the top of the page, with her colleague Emily Pallini) at the presentation of the TV series The Ferragnez Reports Social networks and creators: 10 at the top that we liked in 2023 by Emanuele Capone 23 December 2023
How much does an influencer earn?
Influencers have their own rules, but also a sort of internal classification based mainly on followers, which in turn is linked to a price list. Which obviously should be taken as an indication and not as a shop’s price list: as we have already written on Italian Tech, among the most complete is that of DeRevaccording to which the compensation can range from 100 euros per post for smaller creators and on now unprofitable social networks, such as Facebook, up to 75-80 thousand euros and more (much more) for profiles with at least 1-3 million followers on platforms like TikTok or YouTube. Instagram is a bit of a story in itself, because here the price changes depending on the type of content: the posts, which remain fixed on the profile and which people can comment on, are worth even three times as much as a Story, which disappears after 24 hours.
Speaking of numbers, it is important to understand that they do not have the same value everywhere: if on Instagram and TikTok, where virality tends to be higher, you must have at least 5 million followers to be in the Celebrity category, on YouTube 1 million is enough to ask for the same figures for an ad. Self 100mila follower they allow you to get paid even 10-20 thousand euros for a sponsored video on YouTube, a post on Facebook with the same user base barely reaches a thousand euros.
As can be understood, numbers aren’t everythingdo not have the same importance everywhere and different platforms have different penetration capabilities, which are aspects that AgCom will have to keep in mind when drafting what will be the new norms of influencer marketing. The risk is that a definition based only on quantitative criteria (number of followers and engagement) leads to some distortions: “Just as the rules have been written now, paradoxically we should also consider Giorgia Meloni an influencer and ask her to respect them too – he had pointed out to us Roberto Esposito, CEO of DeRev – A broader definition would be appropriate, which also considers qualitative criteria”.
In short: let them be useful more precise posts and clearer provisions no one questions it, not even the representatives of the AiCdc, the first association that brings together Italian influencers and represents them in some way. Not to demonize this category but to invite it to act with respect for users and with the awareness of the enormous communicative power it now has. Waiting for that here come virtual influencers and AI to call everything into question, clearly.
@capoema