Ellese Ferdinands
Social Media Influencers (SMIs):
Essays on Instacapital, Its Forms and Its Relationships with Market Actors
Business School
The University of Sydney
December 2019
Primary Supervisor Associate Professor Teresa Davis
A thesis submitted to fulfil requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
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Abstract
Social Media Influencers (SMIs): Essays on Instacapital, Its Forms and Its Relationships with Market Actors
The online social media influencer (SMI) phenomenon has become recognisable as not only offering legitimate career pathways, but also as a space and field that has created profitable personal brands. The rise of SMIs has been enabled particularly by the growth of the social networking platform Instagram, allowing individuals to share their lifestyles with their followers through images, text and video. Instagram has helped SMIs access the means through which they can monetise their social life and to co-create branded and sponsored content. The result is marketing budgets being increasingly assigned to SMI promotions and collaborations. The need, therefore, for more theoretical and practical understanding of SMIs and their interaction with market actors including brands and the newly emergent SMI agencies (a professionalising industry) is apparent. Hence, in-depth interviews with a range of Australian SMIs and SMI agencies were conducted, followed by a visual narrative analysis of the images and texts in the SMIs’ Instagram posts. This methodology was used as a basis for three essays, each exploring a distinct aspect of how SMIs generate, maintain and transform “Instacapital” in the online field. The first essay maps the SMI landscape using the Bourdieusian idea of “cultural intermediaries” (Bourdieu, 1984). It examines key actors within this field, the co- creation between different types of lifestyle (micro, macro and power) SMIs, and emergent mediating agencies and brands, highlighting what the industry recognises as legitimate SMI success (online social capital). The essay highlights the emergent and key role of the SMI agency/agent as a significant cultural intermediary in this process. The second essay employs Bourdieu’s (1993) examination of the “circle of belief” idea to examine how the practices employed by SMIs facilitate the generation of online social, cultural and economic capital and the processes by which legitimacy is constructed within the online social sphere of influence. The essay further explicates the role of the agency as a cultural intermediary in “producing” and legitimating the “person brand” of the “power” SMI.
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The final essay focuses on the transitional pathway of the SMI from being a micro SMI to power SMI or person brand. It introduces the notion of “affective capital” (Arvidsson, 2013) into the online social influence field, which is traced from the data as being derived from four types of distinct “sub-capital”. Namely, attention capital (van Krieken 2012), authenticity capital (Gnegy, 2017), aesthetic capital (Colliander & Marder, 2018) and feminine capital (Huppatz, 2009) to collectively create a distinct form of “meta-capital” (Couldry, 2003), which helps create a person brand. This study shows how the person brand serves a key part in linking (Gnegy, 2017) consumers affectively by using their affective capital (Arvidsson, 2013) to the object brands for whom they serve as “ambassadors” in a symbiotic relationship. The three essays help to explain the way by which affective capital works to help bind the object brand with the person brand. They bring together an understanding of how social media influencers (in the Instagram world) are mediated and produced by the agencies, while serving as cultural intermediaries themselves by leveraging their affective capital online to bind consumers ever closer to object brands. The data reveals the significance of SMI (person brand) interchanges with (object) brands for the value co-creation of profitable collaborations, creating and building strong affective capital into rich brand-to-brand relationships. Hence, these three essays collectively build a theoretical understanding of the SMI industry, as well as provide a practical understanding on how to identify, match and leverage SMIs’ affective capital from their online follower base to build strong consumer-to-object brand relationships. As a result, these SMI person brands are discussed as being a kind of cultural intermediary themselves, by serving this affective linking function for object brands. These essays form the basis for a stronger theoretical understanding of how online social capital can be understood as working to build affective links between object brands and their consumers and their (SMIs’) own publics (Arvidsson, 2013). The affective intensity or the social imaginary (Arvidsson, 2013) created by the SMI around themselves as a person brand and the object brand are key to harnessing these consumer publics. Hence, it is the affective labour value add that object brands seek when collaborating with the social media influencer sphere.
4 References
Arvidsson, A (2013). The potential of consumer publics. Ephemera: Theory and Politics in
Organization, 13(2), 367-39.
Bourdieu, P. (1980). The production of belief: Contribution to an economy of symbolic
goods. Media, Culture and Society, 2, 261-293.
Colliander, J., & Marder, B. (2018). ‘Snap happy’ brands: Increasing publicity effectiveness
through a snapshot aesthetic when marketing a brand on Instagram. Computers in
Human Behavior, 78, 34-43.
Couldry, N. (2003). Media meta-capital: Extending the range of Bourdieu’s field theory.
Theory and Society, 32, 653-677.
Gnegy, H. R. (2017). Beauty and the brand: A digital ethnography of social capital and
authenticity of digital beauty influencers through monetization activities on YouTube
(Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. (Doi:
10607847).
Huppatz, K. (2009). Reworking Bourdieu’s “capital”: Feminine and female capitals in the
field of paid caring work. Sociology, 43(1), 45-66. van Krieken, R. (2012). Celebrity society. New York, NY: Routledge.
5 Acknowledgements
Writing these acknowledgments is somewhat of a surreal experience. After many years of work, my university studies have culminated in the following thesis. My PhD journey would not have been possible without a whole host of people who deserve my utmost thanks and gratitude. First and foremost, my wonderful supervisor Teresa Davis. We have been working together since my honours year, and I would not have even started, let alone finished, my PhD journey if it was not for her. Thank you for absolutely everything, but especially for supporting my ideas, keeping me on track and editing my last-minute drafts (of which there were many). I could not have produced this thesis without you! Your hard work and dedication are unmatched. Thanks must also go to my copy editor Nina Seja, who did such a thorough job checking my spelling, grammar and referencing, helping me ensure this thesis is free of errors. The University of Sydney Business School has been my second home from undergrad through to honours and my PhD, allowing my transition from studying to tutoring to delivering lectures. During this time I have been taught by and worked alongside so many wonderful people. In particular, the Discipline of Marketing ignited my passion for Marketing, encouraging me to begin a lifelong path. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and supported me over the years. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for keeping me sane during the process. To my fellow PhD candidates in the Research Centre - our communal chats on how much work we had to do, and how we had no idea what we were doing, made sure we never felt alone. Thank you to my friends (especially Squad) who kept me motivated by continuing to ask me when I was submitting (soon!), and to Nathan Challita who always knew what chapter I was up to, keeping me on track by checking in on how productive my writing was each day. To my family. Thank you especially must go to my siblings - Brittany, Braeden and Fynn. Brittany is halfway through her own PhD - doing this crazy journey together is something not many sisters get to do! Braeden who I titled Uberbrae for all his free lifts, for always providing the lols. Fynn, my talented baby brother was invaluable in helping me design all the graphics in this thesis, even staying up late with me to help
6 me to perfect the formatting! To my puppy Boujee and kitty Starry, for being the cutest little monochromatic fluffballs and suiting my Instagram aesthetic perfectly. Finally, to my parents - your love and support is everything and your encouragement to follow my own path and enrol in a PhD is why I am able to write these acknowledgements. Finally to Instagram - who would have thought I could write 324 pages about an app?
7 Table of Contents
Thesis Statement of Originality ...... 2 Abstract ...... 3 Acknowledgements ...... 6 Contents ...... 8 List of Figures ...... 11 List of Tables ...... 12
Glossary of Key Terms ...... 13
1.Introduction ...... 15 1.1 Rational for Study of “Instacapital” Online…………………………………..16 1.2 Interwoven Streams of Research Theory ………………….……………….19 1.3 Method………………………………………………………………………….21 1.4 Overview of Essays……………………………………………………………22 References …………………….…………………………………………………...25
2. Literature Review ...... 31 2.1 Social Capital ………………………………………….……………………….32 2.2 Online Self ……………………………………………….……………………..47 2.3 Celebrity Society ………………………………………………………………55 2.4 Research Gap …………………………………………….……………………63 References ………………………………………..………………………………..65
3.Methodology ...... 84 3.1 Methodological Rationale ……………………………………..……………...84 3.2 The Narrative Approach in This Study ……………………...……………….85 3.3 Methodological Design ………………………………………………………..92 References …………….………………………………………………………….105
Essay One Mapping the Field: SMIs and the Language of Instagram within the Online Field………………………………………………………………………………..………116 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………....116 2. Background Rational…………………………………………………………117
8 3. Methodology…………………………………………………………………..123 4. Analysis ……………………………………………………………………….125 4.1 The Instagram Industry ………………………………………………125 4.2 Influencer Classification ……………………………………………..126 4.3 Gifting and the Process of Gaining Legitimacy ………………….…127 4.4 Collaborations and Cultural Legitimacy ………………………..….132 4.5 Intermediaries: The Role of Agencies, PR and SMI Platforms …...133 4.6 Measures of Influencer Success ……………………………………144 4.7 The Field of Instagram and Driven Shifts………………………...…159 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….166 6. References …………………………………………………………………...168
Essay Two Analysing Processes within the Circle of Production: Narratives of Creation and Conversion of Online Social Capital by SMIs ...... 179 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………….179 2. Background Rationale ………………………………………………………...180 3. Methodology …………………………………………………………………...186 4. Analysis ………………………………………………………………………...187 4.1 The Legitimation and Authentication of Social Capital Generated Online by SMI…..………………………………………………………....187 4.2 Narratives of Transformation ……………………………………..…196 4.3 Subtypes of Social Capital in the Social Media Field ……………..198 4.4 Gaining Legitimacy in the Field: Attaining Cultural Consecration...210 4.5 Types of Legitimacy …………..…………………………………..….211 5. Conclusions and Future Research …………………..……………………..224 6. References…………………………………………………………………....225
Essay Three Person Brand to Object Brand Matches: The Brand-to-Brand Relationship in the Social Mediascape……………………………………………………..…………..232 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………...…..233 2. Background Rationale ………………………………………………...…234 2.1 Brand-to-Brand Relationships ………………..…………….235 2.2 Attention Capital………..…………………………………….238
9 2.3 Aesthetic Capital …………………………………...…..…….243 2.4 Authenticity Capital ……………………………….………….246 2.5 Feminine Capital …………………………………..…………249 2.6 Affective Capital ……………………………………..……….252 3. Methodology …………………………………………………………..……….253 4. Analysis …………………………………………………………………….…. 254 4.1 Macro SMIs as Person Brands ………………………………….….254 4.2 The Role of Endorsements and Commercial Contracts ………….264 4.3 The Importance of Brand Match to Successful Collaborations….268 4.4 Affective Capital: The Symbiotic Relationship Between SMIs and Brands…………………………………………………………….……….273 5. Conclusions and Future Research ………………………………………..…275 6. References…………………………………………………………………..…277
Conclusion: SMIs as Consumption Intermediaries ...... 297 1.1 The Role of the SMI: Connecting Object Brands to Consumer Publics…………………………………………………………………299 1.2 The SMI as Creator of the Unwritten Rules of Status ……………..304 1.3 The Construction of Aspirational Lifestyle Assemblages …………306 1.4 Contributions to Social Media Study ………………………………..308 1.5 Implications for Marketers……………………………………………310 1.6 Limitations …………………………………………………………….312 1.7 Future Research….…………………………………………………..312 References………………………………………………………….…….314
Appendices ...... 321
Appendix A: Sample Semi-Structured Interview Questions ...... 321
Appendix B: Ethics Approval Letter ...... 323
10 List of Figures Introduction Figure 1.1 Subdomains within the literature review
Essay One Figure 1.1 An SMI platform interface Figure 1.2 The SMI industry model Figure 1.3. Engagement percentage metric Figure 1.4 An SMI feed (Micro E) Figure 1.5 An SMI feed (Micro A) Figure 1.6 The Husskie homepage
Essay Two Figure 1.1 SMI collaboration (Mini B) with MAC Cosmetics Australia Figure 1.2 Regram of SMI image (Mini B), produced as part of a collaboration Figure 1.3 SMI post (Macro B) with a brand of chocolate Figure 1.4 Content produced by an SMI (Mini C) in collaboration with Nike Figure 1.5 An example of the clean aesthetic, with a dominant white colour scheme (Micro SMI B) Figure 1.6 Content created with a brand of protein (Mini SMI B) Figure 1.7 An image created for a brand of collaboration with a protein company (Macro SMI B) Figure 1.8 A sponsored collaboration with a protein company (Micro SMI D) Figure 1.9 A sponsored collaboration (Micro SMI F)
Essay Three Figure 1.1 SMI Post (Macro D) Figure 1.2 SMI Post (Macro D) Figure 1.3 Brand collaboration social post example (SMI Macro D) Figure 1.4 The symbiotic relationship between the OB and PB Figure 1.5 Instagram post of products received at an SMI event (SMI Macro C) Figure 1.6 A collaboration between a PB (Power SMI A) and OB (a fashion label)
11 Figure 1.7 An example of an SMI selfie (Macro A) for a paid brand collaboration Figure 1.8 An example of a niche SMI feed (Power SMI A) Figure 1.9 SMI (Power A) content creation example Figure 1.10 An SMI (Micro A) promoting her capsule nail polish range
Conclusion Figure 1.1 SMI collaboration (Macro B) linking the OB to her PB Figure 1.2 A Power SMI fusing with the object (activewear) brand Figure 1.3 SMI brand-to-brand relationships
List of Tables
Methodology Table 1.1 Characteristics of Interview Participants
Conclusions Table 1.1 Summary of the Three Essays
12 Glossary of Key Terms
Aesthetic Capital The maintenance of a consistent visual look and feel (appearance) within the creation of content.
Affective Capital A term introduced by Arvidsson (2013) as an emotional form of influence or connection capital an individual can develop with others.
Attention Capital The ability for a publicly visible individual to attract significant attention, which can be subsequently converted into other forms of capital.
Authenticity Capital The accrual of capital relating to perceptions of holding stable attributes, qualities and values over time and across different situations.
Capital The accrual of tangible and intangible assets that can be utilised for productive capacity. This thesis refers largely on Pierre Bourdieu’s (1984) four key forms of capital: economic, symbolic, cultural and social
Collaboration An exchange, either paid or unpaid in nature, when an SMI is given a product or service in exchange for social media coverage Also collabs
Content Creation The act of capturing and/or creating imagery or video to upload onto social media platforms
Direct Message (DM) An Instagram inbox functionality inbuilt within the app, which allows the ability for a user to send a message direct to a profile holder
Engagement A metric used to measure interaction with content uploaded onto a social media channel
Feed An Instagram feed is the 3 x 3 photo grid on an individual’s profile
13 Feminine Capital A form of physical capital portrayed through the display of the feminine body and items associated with adorning the body, such as fashion, makeup, and hairstyling).
Gifting Collaboration Unpaid in nature, when an SMI is given a product or service in exchange for social media coverage
IGTV An Instagram feature whereby users can view and upload videos longer than 60 seconds, in long-form style
Influencer Classification Meso An emerging influencer with less than 3,000 followers
Mini An influencer with 3,000 to 10,000 followers
Micro An influencer with 10,000 to 30,000 followers
Macro An influencer with 30,000 to 500,000 followers
Power An individual who has amassed a significant following, usually classified as over 500,000
Instacapital The ability to generate capital online using Instagram as a social media platform. This is denoted most often by followers and engagement (likes, comments and views)
Instagram Post An image uploaded that sits on an SMI’s feed
Instastory A temporary video on Instagram that lasts 24 hours
Regrammed Reposting a photo on a different Instagram account
Social Capital The power an individual can exert or mobilise to an individual or group, built through the accrual of status and the strength of social ties
14 SMI Social media influencer: an individual who is viewed as being able to influence their audience on one or more social media profiles
Symbolic Capital The appearance of each form of capital (social, cultural, economic) when it is seen to be legitimate by others
15 Introduction
Social Media Influencers (SMIs): Essays on Instacapital, Its Forms and Its Relationships with Market Actors
The phenomenon of the social media influencer (SMI) is a fast-growing mainstay of the marketing and media landscape, disrupting traditional consumption pathways through the emergence of profitable personal brands online. An SMI is an individual who is viewed as being able to influence their audience on one or more social media profiles. In the context of this study, the SMI is thus conceived as an individual who takes photos, most often of themselves to upload to their social media profiles, to be “liked” and commented on by followers online. When this following is of significant size or targeted enough at a particular segment of consumers, the individual is regarded as being “influential” enough to be approached by corporations to help promote their brands. The rise of SMIs is inextricably linked to the social networking site Instagram, which since 2010 has provided an easily accessible and instantaneous space for the public sharing and consumption of lifestyles through images, text and video. Instagram is a social networking mobile application which operates primarily through the sharing of visual imagery, with optional minimal text limited to 2200 characters in the accompanying captions. While it has similarities with pre-existing social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Instagram has been particularly commercially successful in providing a platform for the promotion of oneself and social lifestyles through co-created sponsored and branded content. It is this key differentiator that has resulted in significant changes within the field, as increasing proportions of advertising budgets are becoming assigned to SMI promotions and collaborations. Instagram generated close to 5.5 billion US dollars in revenue in 2018 (Cooper, 2018). This has initiated a professionalising industry with SMIs able to transform their Instagram posting into a legitimate and sometimes full- time occupation. Subsequently, existing companies have recognised commercial opportunities and new SMI agencies have emerged, as market actors perceive the worth of the SMI field and the potential to utilise SMIs to strengthen brands and connect with potential buyers. Hence the way SMIs generate, maintain and ultimately transform their “Instacapital” within the online field is a key area of study
16 for this thesis. This was examined through in-depth interviews with Australian SMIs and SMI agencies, and a systematic visual narrative analysis of images and text in SMIs’ archived posts. The result is presented in three separate essays that collectively construct a theoretical understanding of the SMI industry and deliver implications for media and consumption theorists as well as for marketers on how to best identify, match and leverage SMI Instacapital from the SMIs’ online follower base to the brand managers’ brands through commercial collaborations.
1.2 Rationale for the Study of Instacapital Instacapital is a key term in this thesis, referring to the ability to generate capital online using Instagram as a social media platform. The term borrows from Bourdieu (1984), whose establishment of social, cultural and economic capital is a key sociological construct driving understanding of the social world. SMIs’ disruption of the existing marketing landscape points towards an interruption in Bourdieu’s (1984) traditionally held exchange rate between education as a cultural marker, introducing a renewed “symbolic struggle” between competing forms of capital (Wacquant, 1993, p. 27). One result of this disruption is the dissemination of messages legitimated by likes and followers, or this accumulation of “Instacapital”, rather than traditional forms of social and cultural capital. The need to study such economic exchanges from online to offline becomes imperative, given the growing importance of this platform and social media in general. This research therefore has employed Bourdieu’s conceptual understanding of different types of capital as a framework to understand the accumulation, maintenance and conversion of types of capital online and its transference offline. Below is a collage of images introduced here through an SMI content example (Figures 1.1 and 1.2). Figure 1.2 is an illustrative example of a collaboration that builds on affective capital (Arvidsson, 2013) created online by Micro SMI A. The object of this paid collaboration is the hairdryer; however, it does not take centrepiece within the image. Rather, it is constructed as a part of a larger image – a consumption assemblage, where props including a mirror and jewelry are placed on the table, situating the collaboration as an organic setting reminiscent of a snapshot aesthetic (Colliander & Marder, 2018). This careful construction allows the image as a whole to fit seamlessly within the SMI’s existing feed (displayed lifestyle), by utilising the same tones and editing style of the surrounding images, as evident in Figure 1.1.
17 Gold jewelry is employed as a visual motif that structurally links the SMI’s images together with an aesthetic flow, maintaining the authenticity of her style of content that initially generated the attention of her followers. Simultaneously, the branded item is seamlessly integrated into the SMI’s existing aesthetic. The SMI subsequently benefits from this partnership through building up attention capital.
Figure 1.1. An SMI feed (Micro SMI A).
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Figure 1.2. An SMI collaboration (Micro SMI A).
Likewise, the caption begins by first setting the context of the image, avoiding explicitly mentioning the collaboration, thereby maintaining a sense of disinterested distance (Bourdieu, 1980). Rather, the SMI employs a casual tone that brings the sponsored device into her everyday routine. She therefore constructs the sponsored items to “fit” with her own taste (Bourdieu, 1985), by personalising her use of the product: “Just missing my coffee otherwise it would be all my essentials I need to start everyday”. Hence, alongside the image itself, the caption serves as an additional strategy to allow the sponsored content to sit more seamlessly within her existing feed and content. This decision to consistently post a certain style of image content to make a consistent feed can be understood in part through Allen’s (2002) fits-like-a-glove (FLAG) theory, which suggests that “embodied choices are fundamentally shaped by social and historical relations” (p. 516). As the SMI maintains a consistent aesthetic throughout her Instagram feed, her individual judgement of what is “authentic” and “natural” within her online persona can be explained as guided by her habitus and expressed through FLAG choices. This understanding of what is authentic to one’s
19 online persona can be regarded as learned through the social and historical experiences that shape habitus, illustrating the way “culture pervasively, yet constructively, shapes certain choices” (Allen, 2002, p. 529). Through encountering images deemed aesthetically pleasing within the field of Instagram, the SMI has successfully and consistently replicated such knowledge through her posted content. As a result, embodied knowledge is displayed through her Instagram content, which acquires “likes” and “followers”, and subsequently transfers to capital within the online field, substantiating the aesthetics of status. As a result, the SMI has essentially curated and legitimised the brand by linking it to her own persona, building on the brand’s own personality but placing it in-use in the context of her already established (and aesthetically represented), aspirational lifestyle/consumption assemblage. The way in which the SMI both creates and constructs this association, as well as acts a mediator between the brand and consumers (Bourdieu, 1996), in this type of content creation is explored in detail in this thesis. It is this key process that holds significant theoretical and practical implications and is therefore examined within the following three essays.
1.3 Interwoven Streams of Research Theory This thesis brings together three main areas of research that collectively assist in providing a theoretical context for the analyses and interpretation of the data that forms the basis of the three essays in this study. These thematic research domains include the key notion of social capital (Bourdieu, 1984; Wacquant, 2013), the construction and maintenance of the online self (Belk, 2013; Julien, 2014; Schau & Gilly, 2013, McQuarrie, Miller, & Phillips, 2012) and the celebrity/online society (van Krieken, 2012; Marwick, 2015). An intersectional space of multidisciplinary research on the body/self and social media is therefore established, subsequently illuminating some gaps in the understanding of how online social capital is leveraged for commercial purpose. First, Bourdieu’s (2011) conception of social capital is a key theoretical concept underpinning the construction of influence on social media, therefore necessitating a theoretical overview. Bourdieu’s (2011) conception of social capital is positioned within a triadic framework of social, cultural and economic capital, which each hold potential for exchange. In the context of his writing, social capital originated within membership to social groups, including through family, neighbours and work. In such instances,
20 active social ties could be converted between different forms of capital. In the time since Bourdieu’s writing, his concept of social capital has been applied to numerous other contexts including health as status (Abbar Mejoba & Weber, 2015; Counihan, 1999) and online contexts including on discussion forums and interactive websites respectively (Chang & Chuang, 2011; Lin & Chen, 2012). This thesis thus applies social capital to SMIs in the online social media world, specifically using data from the Instagram platform. The online self is the second stream of research integral to a theoretical understanding of the current research on SMIs. The presentation of the self-online builds upon Goffman’s (1959) foundational work, which considers the differentiation between frontstage and backstage identity work for impression management. Schau and Gilly in their 2013 paper extend upon self-presentation in online contexts, which considers personal websites as digital constructions/performances of the self and identity. The always-on nature of the online world results in self-presentation shifting from a tangible context (Goffman, 1959), to one that transcends both materiality and temporality (Schau & Gilly, 2003). Of particular note is the way in which digital self- presentation is not restricted by physical ownership, but can also occur through digital associations, extending the way consumption can represent the self (Schau & Gilly, 2003). Moreover, Belk’s (2013) work on the five facets of the digitally extended self (dematerialisation, re-embodiment, sharing, co-construction of self and distributed memory) acts as a further indication of how such online interactions can function online. Further, several studies have built upon existing self-branding literature to consider various iterations of constructing the self-online, including in Internet dating (Ellison, Heino, & Gibbs, 2006), the sharing of teenage drinking cultures on Facebook (Goodwin, Griffin, & Lyon, 2016) and fashion bloggers (Liu & Suh, 2018). Each of these creates contexts that affirm Khamis, Ang and Welling’s assertion of the “consumer-centric” nature of online media (2017), which requires individuals to self- brand in order to gain and maintain attention within the self-selective and saturated online content space. Self-branding online is thus crucial to this examination of SMIs and their online capital. The third stream of theoretical research literature concerns the notion of celebrity society. This is foundational to the study of SMIs as a form of “micro-celebrity” (Senft, 2008). Van Krieken’s (2012), discussion on societal fascination with celebrity society brings to the fore the significance of celebrity as the “accumulation and
21 distribution of attention” (p. 55). As a result, celebrities’ ability to attract attention is commonly exploited through their appointment as brand ambassadors (Marshall, 2015). Their ability to drive brand sales has been reinforced through several studies (Ambroise, Pantin-Sohier, Valette-Florence, & Albert, 2014; Roy, 2006; Seno & Lucas, 2007), most notably when the celebrity is considered as trustworthy, attractive and/or of holding expertise in a certain field (Ohananian, 1990). Two significant papers in applying concepts of the traditional celebrity to online contexts are those of Julien (2014) and Marwick (2015). Julien (2014) applies Bourdieu’s theoretical framework to Internet memes, espousing the way in which the Internet acts as an independent field. Namely, individuals need to be initiated and socialized enough into online culture in order to both understand and contribute to the dialogue surrounding memes. Next, Marwick (2015) brings to the fore social media’s existence within the attention economy, where ordinary individuals can attract attention traditionally confined to broadcast media. Social media profiles can therefore develop “fans” and subsequently Instafame, signified by highly visible metrics of success, reinforcing the need for a nuanced study of celebrity society. These three streams of literature when collectively interwoven reveal a research space where the understanding of how SMIs are able to generate, maintain and ultimately transform “Instacapital” within the online field is not detailed enough to see nuance of process and context. Subsequently how such capital is created, maintained, legitimised online, and then able to be successfully translated and exchanged offline, provide original insights of both a theoretical and empirical nature with practical and applied marketing implications.
1.4 Method A qualitative, visual narrative approach to research was judged as well suited to the exploratory context (Spiggle, 1994) of the SMI landscape and hence guides the following research. In each of the three essays, the narrative approach is applied to both textual and visual data, both of which have precedence and have been used in marketing contexts (Dutta-Bergman, 2004; Roux & Belk, 2018; van Laer, Edson Escalas, Ludwig, & van den Hende, 2018). Data was collected in two parts. First, a nuanced visual and textual analysis of archived social media posts of 17 SMIs over a 24-month period was completed. This was followed by face-to-face or online in-depth interviews with these SMIs, as well as three SMI agencies. Textual narrative analysis
22 was then employed to this data to uncover performative features embedded within the narrative (Gubrium & Holstein, 1998; Riessman, 2011). Narrative functional structures were identified within the visual and textual narratives of both the posts and the interviews, including abstract, orientation, evaluation, complication, resolution and coda (Labov, 2013, p. 44). This was supported by open coding, followed by axial coding (Creswell, 1998), to group and identify emergent themes. Moreover, the visual analysis was guided by three core works: Gillian Rose’s Visual Methodologies (2012), Barthes’ Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography (1981) and Sarah Pink’s “Images, Senses and Applications: Engaging Visual Anthropology” (2011). The individual narratives were linked (where they existed and were apparent) to metanarratives within the wider context of the consumer culture theory tradition (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultans, 2008).
1.5 Overview of Essays This thesis is structured as three essays, each exploring a distinct aspect of the SMI phenomenon. First, it maps social media (Instagram) as a field, identifying the major actors within this field. The thesis then examines the processes by which SMIs gain legitimacy through their accumulation of social capital and their relationship with the key actors within the field who mediate their influence (Figure 1.4). This field, types of capital and the application of Bourdieusian concepts allow a better understanding of how the SMI field creates and builds person brands who leverage their social capital to exercise influence beyond the online sphere. The first of the three essays employs the Bourdieusian idea of the field of production (Bourdieu, 1984) to map the rapidly evolving SMI context. In particular, key actors within the field are investigated including the co-creation that takes place between lifestyle SMIs, as well as focusing in on their relationships with emerging mediating agencies and brands. As a result, what constitutes SMI success, as well as who determines such success, is explored through highlighting the practices, processes and strategies by which they develop, maintain and transform online social capital, or Instacapital. The second essay employs Bourdieu’s “circle of belief” (1993) as a basis for examining SMIs’ accumulation of online social capital. The subsequent practices employed by SMIs to construct legitimacy within the online field is also critically examined. Through this, the role of the agency as a key cultural intermediary is
23 identified as mediating the production and legitimation of the “personal brand” of the SMI. Thomson’s definition of human brand, as "a term that refers to any well-known persona who is the subject of marketing communications effort” (2006, p. 104) is built upon, establishing an SMI as able to function as “ambassadors” in a symbiotic relationship of value co-creation without the requirement of being well known in the way traditional celebrities are. The third essay concentrates on the transitional movement from a micro SMI to a power SMI, which requires the growth of a distinct person brand. “Affective capital” (Arvidsson, 2013) is introduced as a key form of influence constituted of four distinct forms of sub-capital. These are attention capital (van Krieken, 2012), authenticity capital (Gnegy, 2017), aesthetic capital (Colliander & Marder, 2018), and feminine capital (Huppatz, 2009), which create a distinct form of “meta-capital” (Couldry, 2003) for the creation of the person brand. As a result, the person brand is reinforced as a key component in linking (Gnegy, 2017) consumers affectively through their affective capital (Arvidsson, 2013) to the object brands. SMIs’ role as an “ambassador” for the object brands in a symbiotic relationship is detailed. The data uncovers how the SMI (person brand) interacts with (object) brands and is an integral part of co-creating profitable product brands for marketers. This value is particularly projected through the process of creating and building strong affective capital by the SMIs that permeates into product brands bridging strong brand-to-brand relationships, illustrating the significance of SMIs in consumption and marketing contexts. Each of the three essays work collectively to reveal a theoretical insight into the SMI industry. The role of social capital in building affective links between object brands, consumers, and the SMIs’ own publics (Arvidsson, 2013) is established. Practical understanding is also elucidated, most notably how to identify, match and leverage the affective capital of an SMI (their loyal follower base), to build rich consumer-to-object brand relationships. In doing so, the SMIs’ affective linking function reveals that they act as a kind of cultural intermediary themselves. Therefore, the affective intensity created by and surrounding the SMI as both a person brand and an object brand is revealed to simultaneously strengthen and add value to the brands they collaborate with in the SMI field.
24
Figure 1.3. Structural map of thesis.
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31 Literature Review
The purpose of this review is to provide a critical overview of the most salient extant research that explores the intersection of the social self and the digital sphere, as an emerging area of study on social media influencers (SMIs). As a result of the growth of social media as platforms for various displays of the self and body, the need to understand how people use visual social media platforms such as Instagram becomes increasingly apparent. Hence, through three thematic research domains of social capital (Bourdieu,1984; Wacquant, 2013), the online self (Belk, 2013; Julien, 2014; Schau & Gilly, 2013) and the celebrity/online society (Marwick, 2015; Van Krieken, 2012), a foundation for exploring the intersection of social media and the body/self will be established. In doing so, this multidisciplinary overview highlights current gaps in research within the evolving field of social media study and its applications to SMIs and brands. The gap this literature review identifies is therefore the intersection of the three distinct research domains, as visually mapped in Figure 1.1. Whilst this literature review is not exhaustive, it does provide a thorough examination of these three domains and their subsequent potential for application in theoretical and marketing applications contexts.
Figure 1.1. Subdomains within this literature review.
32 2.1 Social Capital The framework for each of the three essays within this thesis utilises Bourdieu’s (2011) social capital as a key sociological concept, central to understanding the existence and maintenance of influence on social media. In this section, an overview of the salient, relevant research in the area of social capital, both from Bourdieu and from the application of his work to various contexts, will be presented. Bourdieu’s (2011) initial conception of social capital is embedded within his triadic framework of social class, where he identifies the simultaneous existence of economic, cultural and social capital. Regardless of how each form of capital is conceived, Bourdieu (2011) espouses that all share the commonality of holding the “potential capacity to produce profits and to reproduce itself in identical or embedded forms” (p. 83). As a result, the ownership of capital in its different capacities holds some potential for exchange that ultimately benefits the holders of such capital within existing social structures. Bourdieu (2011) defines social capital as, “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalised relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition” (p. 88). Social capital can therefore be effectively understood as a form of “credential”, which entitles the owner to future value in multiple forms (Bourdieu, 2011). At the time of his writing, preceding the introduction of social media, Bourdieu’s (1984) conception of social capital was primarily grounded within membership to a tangible social group such as a family, neighbourhood or workspace. As a result, the maintenance and development of such relationships were supported by active social ties to allow for the “convertibility” of transactions from one form of capital to another (Bourdieu, 2011, p. 92). The process of accumulating social capital and the potential for transactions to take place are thus presented as a key purpose of social life, whether conscious or unconscious. This idea remains seemingly consistent in contemporary society in the context of the proliferation of digital social interaction, and thus holds the potential to enhance understanding of human behaviour on social media. Referring in particular to social classes, Bourdieu (1984) asserts varying interest in social capital of different classes as revealed through self-presentation including, “the attention they devote to it, their awareness of profits it gives and the investment of time, effort, sacrifice and care which they actually put into it are proportionate to the chances of material profit they can reasonably expect from it” (p. 202). In other words, the lifestyle and self-presentation activities an individual engages
33 in are essentially reflective of their social status and their desire to maintain or enhance it. This notion is particularly useful when studying the presentation of social media selves, which ultimately displays a carefully selected physical snapshot of a certain individual, particularly their consumption habits. Moreover, it is possible to suggest that the potential of profit available from self-presentation practices has increased with advancements in social media, a notion that will be explored throughout this research. Bourdieu and Bourdieu’s (2004) writing on photography is an encapsulation of individual capital and is additionally useful in providing a foundational understanding to this research. Such findings remain largely apparent, as social media is a primarily visual platform, particularly channels such as Instagram, which operate through the sharing of visual imagery, with optional minimal text limited to 2200 characters in the accompanying captions. Focusing principally on the peasant consumer experience of photography in the early 1960s, Bourdieu argues that their appreciation for such images was a direct result of the role of photos as “lay sociograms providing a visual record of extant social roles and relations” (Bourdieu & Bourdieu, 2004, p. 601). The social structure of peasant society aside, Bourdieu and Bourdieu’s (2004) analysis is crucial in uncovering the contemporary function of photographs among social groups in the online context. Specifically, by espousing “the principle of frontality and adopting the most conventional posture, one sought to take charge, insofar as possible, of the objectification of one’s own image” (Bourdieu & Bourdieu, 2004, p. 611). For a peasant, the act of being in a photograph itself was to “play the urbanite”, and as such they most often exhibited poses more akin with an upper-class modality. Peasants’ usage of posture and dress in photographs was therefore indicative of the social and moral norms around behaviour in their society (Bourdieu & Bourdieu, 2004, p. 612). This is particularly represented through the differentiation between modalities of the “snapshot” and posed photographs, as peasants’ photographs were employed not to reflect reality as such, but rather to create a momentary capture of the aspirational self. This understanding can be similarly applied to a modern context where there is a greater fluidity of social hierarchies within consumerist society (Rojek, 2004). Moreover, peasant photography can parallel the role of photographs uploaded on social media with the symbolic meaning of both, “dominated by the concern to present the best possible image of oneself” (Bourdieu & Bourdieu, 2004, p. 612). Thus, Bourdieu’s (2011) theoretical conceptions remain key in contributing to the existing body of knowledge concerning social capital, as well as through its applications in
34 contemporary social media presentations of the self, hence providing a useful framework for subsequent discussions.
2.1.1 The Relationship Between Social and Symbolic Capital As established earlier, Bourdieu’s initial conceptions of social capital remain theoretically foundational, and have been subsequently applied to various disciplines and contexts by numerous academics (Frew & McGillivray, 2005; Lin & Chen, 2012; Tapp & Warren, 2010). Writing on Bourdieu’s ideas, Wacquant (2013) draws attention to Bourdieu’s “relational conception of social life” (p. 275) as the basis for his own work. Hence, “webs of material and symbolic ties” becomes a key focus Wacquant’s (2013, p. 275) following research on symbolic capital which he asserts as existing through relationships between people and their body and possessions. Subsequently, symbolic capital as presented through the body and items adorning or representing the body can essentially act to signify and reinforce the identity and lifestyle of an individual. Moreover, each symbolic good and its associated symbols and signs are able to illustrate both an individual’s social positioning and how it is reinforced through public display (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 2013). As a result, it is the visibility of signs and symbols that essentially allow the body to contribute to social capital. This notion is thus inherently applicable to online displays of the body as visual exhibitions of health (and wealth), establishing the potential to visually analyse such presentations as forms of symbolic capital on social media. Also of significance in this domain is Couldry’s (2003) writing on the power of the media in relation to Bourdieu’s field theory. Specifically, Couldry’s (2003) premise that symbolic power is not realised equally across all social institutions is useful in allowing exploration of the media’s seemingly independent ability to influence various facets of society. Of particular note is his reiteration that symbolic capital is “almost always specific and local” (Couldry, 2003, p. 4) and hence is legitimated only within that particular field. As a result, Couldry (2003) draws upon Champagne’s (1990) writing on “media capital” (p. 237), which is the ability to attract media attention due to the capital they have accrued externally (Couldry, 2003, p. 9). Couldry (2003) therefore raises the potential issue of the symbolic powers of the media to influence the “exchange rate” (p. 12) of capital accrued in varying fields. This potential for media exposure to heighten the conversion of economic capital becomes increasingly problematic given the ubiquity of media society in the social media age.
35 Also of significance is Silvia’s (2016) assertion for the need to apply Bourdieu to the examination of social life. Through her assertion of the complexities of Bourdieu’s span of writing, Silvia (2016) posits the way in which social class is lived “consciously and unconsciously”, resulting in many embodied elements remaining “invisible and misrecognised” (p. 74) unless they are critically examined. Silvia (2016) therefore argues for the significance of symbolic capital, which is amassed by recognition, subsequently allowing those with such capital to drive acceptance. As a result, Silvia (2016) asserts “both dominated and dominant are subject to the symbolic order and are mutually dependent on the recognition of symbols of power” (p. 82). Thus, there exists a mutual interdependent relationship between those of varying levels of social capital, as each class exists only in relation to other classes. This assists in founding the ability to examine such capital possession of various levels of SMIs. Additionally, Burawoy (2018) directly links Bourdieu’s work as a reaction, and hence integral to, an understanding of the expansion of neoliberalism and right-wing populism. As a result, Burawoy (2018) argues for the significance of Bourdieu’s work in contemporary conceptions of society as revealing the imperative of the “double truth of social existence”, which simultaneously functions through both the actor “absorbed in the game” (p. 73) and those who observe. Burawoy (2018) thus argues that Bourdieu’s theoretical structure advances the study of the “game” of social life and how the different status of actors are distinguished. This application is thus well suited to examining the distinction between different levels of SMIs and their accrual of social and symbolic capital.
2.1.2 Fluidity of Capital Class mobility is a concept that gained prominence through the work of Bourdieu (1980), who asserts that individuals do not “move around the social space in a random way”, but rather are “subject to the forces which structure” (Bourdieu as cited in Abidin & Thompson, 2012, p. 467) such social parameters. In his writing, Bourdieu (1980) identifies specific barriers to the middle and lower classes in competing in the social space due to a lack of acquired cultural capital. Namely, individuals with high cultural capital hold differences in aesthetic taste, which is difficult to obtain, and ultimately enables those that possess it to assume positions of higher status (Bourdieu, 1985). Trigg (2001) further supports this through his example of individuals of “new money”,
36 who at times lack the cultural capital to compete with those of “old money”. Such distinctions are thus indicative of Bourdieu’s (1984) notion of habitus, as a set of unconscious cultural codes that are heavily influenced by lived social and cultural structures. Wacquant (2016) further supports Bourdieu’s (1984) understanding of habitus as the ability for “the socio symbolic structures of society to become deposited inside persons in the form of lasting impositions” (Wacquant, 2016, p. 65), resulting in their implicit integration into displays of social life. However, the ability for habitus to adapt over time (Trigg, 2001) is also evident within the online field, which has essentially supported enhanced mobility of individuals by increasing the malleability of existing barriers required to ascend the social and cultural hierarchy. As a result, it can be argued that increased social mobility and social media have mutually supported each other’s growth, by providing a fertile environment for social movement. Such mobility is evident through the emergence of Instagram millionaires, with Forbes releasing a Top Influencers List in 2017, including Australian Instagram SMIs Kayla Itsines and Chloe Morello (Forbes, 2017). The potential implications of this observation thus necessitate greater understanding of such processes of status mobility, grounded in the theoretical underpinnings of Bourdieu. Referring to the complexity of social space, Bourdieu (1984, p. 10) identifies the metaphor of the “social ladder” as emblematic of the language of “mobility” within its climbing and slipping. Thus, according to Bourdieu (1984), social mobility can exist through movement in two central directions: vertical or transverse. Vertical movement within a field refers to an upwards shift, such as from a school teacher to a professor. Alternatively, transverse movement from one field to another can occur either vertically (moving either higher or lower within the social space) or horizontally by remaining in the same status but in a different field (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 125). Whilst Bourdieu (1984) acknowledges such a conception as limiting due to presenting a largely “one-dimensional” image of the social space, it does create a fundamental basis to understanding status exchange “in the struggle over the dominant principle of domination (economic, cultural and social)” (p. 125). In such instances, understanding of Bourdieu’s (1984) concept of habitus is necessary for the imposition of such “objectively classifiable judgements and the system of classification of these practises” (p. 170). An understanding of habitus thus reveals how behaviour, including that online, is generated and “regulated without being the product of obedience to rules”
37 (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 65). Habitus reflects the way in which “cultural commonalities of a class can become inscribed upon the body” (Adams, 2006, p. 514). Therefore, when the body is showcased on social media, so too is one’s habitus able to be mobilized through its reproduction online. Moreover, Skeggs, in discussion of Bourdieu’s (2004) habitus, argues that individuals hold a desire to “maximise value that is accrued and stored in the body” (p. 86), reinforcing the body as holding a form of exchange value. As a result, an understanding of habitus as a form of “strategic game-playing accrual” (Skeggs, 2004, pp. 84-5) reinforces the potential of individuals to also change the field formation from which their habitus originated from. This can assist in directing the study of how habitus can potentially allow one to grow a following online through fluidity of capital. The way habitus can influence consumption choices can be further understood through Allen’s (2002) fits-like-a-glove (FLAG) theory, which suggests that “embodied choices are fundamentally shaped by social and historical relations” (p. 516). Namely, through an ethnographic study of post-schooling education choices, Allen (2002) illustrates how consumers seek their choices as a perfect fit “like a glove”. The often- innate desire for consumption choices to be personally perceived as embedded and holistic is led, often implicitly and persuasively, by the consumers’ social history. This was illustrated through consumer narratives that arose in this study, where notions of the perfect fit were favoured over more analytical and rational choice behaviour (Allen, 2002). The significance of social-historical influence on choice behaviour is therefore reinforced. Henry’s 2005 paper also contributes to influence on consumption patterns, through broadening conceptions of the role of status mobility. Of particular interest is Henry’s assertion that “empowerment is intrinsic to class” (2005, p.767), to the point whereby an individual’s “class situation reflects market-determined life chances” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 131). Hence, through a series of 23 in-depth interviews with male informants from both the working class and young professionals, Henry (2005) observed a series of “intrinsic values” obtained from one’s class position effectively manifested through each individual’s multiple domains, including their “class situation, self-perceptions and expectations, and their financial focus” (p. 767). Young professionals, for example, are more likely to appear optimistic about the future, welcoming change, which contrasted to the young working class who were more likely to view the future and financial stability as threatening (Henry, 2005, p. 769). As a
38 result, being a young professional appears more likely to support status mobility through “shaping habitus” (Henry, 2005, P. 776), thus providing individuals with greater levels of empowerment. This observation is therefore a useful contribution for considering the various factors influencing social media assisted status mobility. Bauman’s (2000) text Liquid Life offers another theoretical basis for conceptualising the enhanced fluidity of modern social life. Bauman (2000) characterises “post-modernity” as encompassed by the “transient, uncertain and changeable” (Bauman cited in Gane, 2001, p. 273), reflecting the breakdown of traditional authority and overwhelming increase in available choices. As a result of this “increased fluidity of social life” (Bauman, 2000, pp. 7-8), various conflicting choices offered at any point in time can be considered as largely overwhelming, resulting in an obligation for success shifted primarily to an individual. This uncertainty can be considered as part of the individualisation of society, empowering the ability to assume multiple identities as necessary for the attainment of social mobility. However, “keeping fluids in shape requires a lot of attention, constant vigilance and perpetual effort” (Bauman, 2000, p. 8). This role could be argued as both enabled and constricted by social media as a form of constant surveillance of daily life choices (Lupton, 2012; Mitrou, Kandias, Stavrou, & Gritzalis, 2014). This is further reflected through Bauman’s (2000) consideration of the transfer of focus from production to consumption. Continuing the example of social media, individuals can scroll online and “shop around” for identities to ultimately perform them online. Moreover, emphasis towards consumption is further reflected through Bourdieu’s (1984) acknowledgement of the impact one’s social trajectory can exert on their habitus. This is particularly relevant for individuals transitioning into a social space different to that of their birth, which can result in “internal discourse, contradictions or rupture” (Daenekindt & Roose, 2011, p. 48), bought to the fore through new experiences such as occupations, relationships or in the context of this study, growing a social media following. Hence, the understanding of modernity as increasingly “liquid” (Bauman, 2000) is necessary for the exploration of potential for social capital created online to support enhanced social mobility.
39 2.1.3 Rationale for Examining Social Capital Online From its origins, the Internet has always been regarded as reducing social barriers and providing opportunities for enhanced community integration (Henry, 2005). Whilst the “digital divide” (Lee, 2008) as a clear link between socio-economic status and Internet usage remains apparent, of particular interest to the following essays is the ability for individuals to develop transferable capital online, regardless of their existing social status. Online communities and digital cultures encompass a rapidly expanding area of academic research (Bugshan, 2015; Hand, 2016; Lupton, 2012), reflecting the growth of cross-disciplinary attempts to study the increasing proportion of time spent online. Of particular interest is (despite participation in online worlds compounding sedentary behaviour (Rey-López, Vicente-Rodríguez, Biosca, & Moreno, 2008; Vandelanotte et al., 2009)) that the Internet has also ironically become a key platform for sharing health and fitness behaviours. Hence, after establishing the healthy body as a form of symbolic capital, this review will examine the online contexts within which such displays occur. Writing on social interaction online, Chang and Chuang (2011) acknowledge the lack of research conducted on critical factors influencing shared behaviour online. Through a quantitative analysis of survey questionnaires across multiple online discussion forums and blogs, their research uncovers a positive correlation between personal motivations to contribute to online discussions, and the formation of interactive relationships within the digital sphere (Chang & Chuang, 2011). The desire for social interaction, relations and cognition were further found to be notable factors supporting participant contribution and knowledge sharing from an organizational perspective (Chang & Chuang, 2011). Participants within virtual communities were found to be generally unaware of personal motivations for their contributions to online social spaces such as forums. Despite this, findings suggest that individual behaviour within such communities are implicitly motivated by “intrinsic rewards, relational social capital and shared language” (Chang & Chuang, 2011, p. 16). Hence, it becomes apparent that participating in online discussion boards can offer multiple implicit and explicit benefits for members that both encourage and guide continued interaction. These factors identified on discussion boards could comparably be applied to discover motivations for engagement in health and wellness groups on social media channels, thus eliciting understanding of the growth of social capital online.
40 As a quantitative study, Chang and Chaung’s (2011) research is limited to interpreting the data collated in specific contexts, and hence does not convey an understanding of the various complexities supporting identified behaviour. Regardless, this paper remains useful in espousing the positive relationship between “intensity of user involvement” and “volume of communication” (Chang & Chaung, 2011, p. 16) in online communities. Hofer and Auburt (2013) also produced a useful paper due to its differentiation of bridging and bonding capital on the platform of Twitter. Through distinguishing between the bonding as the amount of Twitter followers, and bridging capital as the amount of people following on Twitter, Hofer and Aubert (2013) identify a “directed friendship model” (p. 2135) through quantitative analysis. As a result, their findings establish the dual significance of both following other accounts and achieving followers for oneself on Twitter for the formation of online capital. Thus, whilst there is some existing research on the formation of online social capital, there remains a current absence of studies concerning lifestyles, health and the body as applied to such contexts, reflecting a gap in the literature that can begin to be filled by the following essays.
2.1.4 Legitimacy and Identity Research conducted on both the tangible and intangible links between the body and one’s identity show a variety of perspectives and approaches (Hill, 2006; Kirk, 2004; Tovée, Furnham, & Swami, 2007). Bourdieu (1984) defined “bodily capital” as holding a particular physique that fits within social and cultural expectations of the appearance of the body. Within the health arena, in particular, the “fit” body can be conceived as a form of legitimation of one’s health, reinforcing the significant link between legitimacy and identity. Shilling’s (2007) perspective, for instance, is important in its attempt to explain sociology’s sustained interest in the arena. This is reflected through his assertion of “appearance, body shape and physical control” as encompassing a growing component of one’s identity (Shilling, 2007, p. 7). As a result, researching the body itself can effectively bring to the fore complexities within the way individuals present themselves, and by extension their status membership – an understanding that can further applications in online contexts. A salient paper in this area is Frew and McGillivary’s (2005) work on the links between health and status, which identifies that the “toned and visible body” is often presented as a “desired form of physical capital ultimately representative of the ideal
41 of health” (p. 162) (and status). Through a qualitative analysis of gym-goers, Frew and McGillivary (2005) employ Bourdieusian ideas to espouse the body as a form of physical capital that ultimately functions as a “moral reminder of the need for self- regulation” (p. 162). This paper is useful in uncovering insights regarding the “fit” body in consumerist contexts: “the body beautiful becomes a rationalized and idealized image that is constantly displayed” (Frew & McGillivray, 2005, p. 173), essentially influencing the desire for greater self-regulation and control. The concept of self- regulation thus emerges as significant to online displays of health through its proliferation within social media posts, a notion that will be further explored in the following research. Understanding existing societal tendencies to favour the self- regulation of health also necessitates an overview of governmentality from a Foucauldian perspective (Cotoi, 2011; Foucault, 1991; Lemke, 2002; Walters, 2012). In particular, the process by which power is dispersed from disciplinary centres such as a school or prison to society in general is significant in conceptualising the self- regulating state of society at large (Web, Schirato, & Danaher, 2012). Such forms of policing are argued as functioning both to maintain the wellbeing of individual citizens, as well as the cooperation of the city-state on a larger level, revealing a critical perspective on the imposition of power and its ability to shape individuals lives on both a micro and macro level. Hence, the recent growth of “healthism”, as identified through Frew and McGillivray (2005) as lay people’s seeking and implementation of health knowledge, can be argued as reflective of this continuation of Foucauldian governmentality (Foucault, 1991). Further useful in discussing legitimacy and identity is Thompson and Hirschman’s (1995) The Socialised Body, which delves into the body as a physical marker of identity. Discussing the body through the lens of consumerism, the authors link the figure to conceptions of the self asserting, “the ‘soft’ overweight body betrays a failure to discipline and control one’s life” (Thompson & Hirschman, 1995). Hence, Thompson and Hirschman (1995, p. 151) reveal that the construction of the body delves beyond its physical shape, asserting the symbolism of body shape in contributing to their perceived lifestyle, relationships and self control. This finding holds numerous implications for the way one conceives the physical self, reinforcing the potential role such displays of the body on social media may force on perceptions of the self. Hence, whilst this paper focuses on such anxieties in regards to the consumer self offline, it is inherently useful in bringing to the fore initial ideas of how such
42 anxieties may be translated to the online space. Particularly, the visibility of the “slim” body on social media is worth examining. The potential for such anxieties to encourage the following of SMIs who display their “fit body” and results in “idealised conceptions of the normalised body” (Thompson & Hirschman, 1995, p. 151) is of note. As a result, it is possible to conceive the postmodern body as a continual work in progress, a notion explored by Greenhalgh and Wessley (2004, p. 205) as encompassing the persistent quest for identity and self-improvement. Concerned primarily with uncovering Crawford’s (1980) phenomenon of “healthism”, Greenhalgh and Wessley’s paper (2004, p. 197) utilises critical fiction to effectively explore the increasing health knowledge of lay citizens. This shift is thus attributed to the growing prevalence of “information seeking” citizens with “high health awareness and expectations” (Greenhalgh & Wessley, 2004, p. 210). Such insight is particularly valuable through its potential to draw exploratory connections to the increased prevalence of images represented in online contexts. However, Greenhalgh and Wessley (2004) frame their collective observations as a cause of “stress and irritation” (p. 211) among health professionals, for medical personnel rather than for a social perspective. Regardless, their assessment remains useful in establishing foundations for understanding the increasing dissemination and consumption of information via social media channels and the subsequent potential to legitimate such identities presented online. This notion is further supported through an examination of health as status, in both offline and online contexts.
2.1.5 Health as Status Health as an indicator of status and identity is not a new observational trend in sociology and marketing disciplines (Kawachi, Subramanian, & Kim, 2008; Umberson, 1992; Warren, 2009). However, it is a display that can be regarded as having become increasingly visible in contemporary digital landscapes (Dobransky & Hargittai, 2012; Lupton, 2014; Sanders, 2017). Social media in particular provides a unique space for individuals to display their various manifestations of the healthy self and by extension status, through posting food consumption, exercise patterns and the “fit” body via imagery and associated content (Kent, 2018). Hence, any review of health and the body encompasses multidisciplinary domains to best capture and build upon pre- existing conceptions (Durkheim, 1912; Lupton, 1995; Simmel, 1971). In particular, understanding the way in which the fit body can act as an indicator of status requires
43 knowledge of its symbolism in the public sphere. Hence, foundational theoretical perspectives including those of Baudrillard (1998), Bourdieu (1984) and Bauman (2013) will be initially explored. The consumption of health through varying products and services is not a new phenomenon, though it is one that has been amplified and reinforced by the simultaneous advent of health and status, and social media. As asserted by Bourdieu (1984), From marriage counsellors to the vendors of slimming aids, all those who now make a profession supply the means of bridging the gap between “is” and “ought” in the realm of the body and its uses would be nothing without the unconscious collusion of all those who contribute to producing an inexhaustible market for the products they offer, who by imposing new uses of the body and a new bodily hexis – the hexis which the new bourgeoisie of the sauna bath, the gymnasium and the ski slope have discovered for itself – produce the corresponding needs, expectations and dissatisfaction. (p. 153) This argument is particularly useful when applied to social media, whereby health goods consumed are increasingly broadcasted to one’s followers through personal accounts on various channels. Baudrillard’s (1998) formative research on the body is seminal in understanding the way in which the fit figure is often perceived as both a consumption object and a “cultural fact” (p. 129) simultaneously. Notably, Baudrillard (1998) asserts that in consumer contexts, the body can be more effectively understood as “functional” and “personalised”, to the point where health is “not so much a biological imperative linked to survival, as a social imperative linked to status” (p. 139). Building upon his initial analysis, Baudrillard (1998) further frames the body, and physical slimness in particular, as embedded with symbolism as a consumption object. Hence, acknowledgment of the secondary role the body plays as a consumption object, particularly through the consumption of health, is a useful foundation from which to frame discussions concerning the representation of the body in online spheres. Of use here is Holt’s (1998) writing on consumption in capitalist societies, with an “overproduction of commodity signs” and “consumer signals” (1998, p. 5). This is also reflected in Baudrillard’s (2016) assertion of consumption as a form of structural differentiation of wealth, resulting in consumption often occurring as a way to “prove oneself” particularly among the “lower and middle classes” (p. 60). Baudrillard (2016)
44 asserts that “consumer goods thus present themselves as a harnessing of power, not as products embodying work” (p. 32) alerting the conceptions driving modern consumer society. Baudrillard’s (2016) identification of two such means of consumption, namely as a “system of exchange” (p. 60) based upon signification and as a form of classification, reflects the way in which consumption, and subsequently the projection of consumption online, can be viewed as a form of status signalling. Hence, the consumption of health and presentation of the consumption of health online are key areas of research of use to a greater understanding of the SMI landscape.
i. Consumption of Health Consumption as a social phenomenon has been oft explored in both business and sociological contexts (Weber, 1978). In contemporary society specifically, the increased marketing of health through branding, packaging and various health trends (Northup, 2014) has further necessitated an understanding of health consumption and its links to class structure. As established by Holt (1998), consumption has always historically preserved boundaries between social classes. Subsequently, researching consumption practises remains useful in developing more in-depth understandings of class reproduction and its effects both within marketing contexts and beyond. Specifically, various class judgements are made within the field itself, a dynamic system “relatively autonomous but structurally homologous” (O’Hara, 2000, p. 43). Through the habitus, individuals both consciously and subconsciously classify consumption objects, which as a result can lead to either desire or rejection of consumer objects and their perceived symbolic value (Holt, 1998). The consumption of health can thus represent not only food readily available and/or affordable, but also lifestyle preferences that both contain and reproduce the habitus. Lifestyle displays of health can thus perpetuate a (status exclusionary) desire for “healthy” consumption. Furthermore, health consumption can also be observed as representing membership or belonging to a particular lifestyle or status. As a result, consumption of health via food, products or services and their symbolism can effectively be assessed as entwined within an individual’s social and cultural capital since “consumption practices emphasize knowing about and consuming the appropriate goods” (Holt, 1998, p. 6). Hence, as argued by Counihan (1999), “rules about food consumption are an important means through which human beings construe reality” as “food is a commodity, an object whose exchange creates distance and differentiation” (p. 113).
45 Utilising U.S. college students as a methodological sample and Foucauldian ideas of self-regulation, Counihan (1999, p. 123) argues that engaging in constrained eating can elevate perceived moral power due to the ability of food consumption to symbolise both self-control and constraint. Hence, this study effectively linked food consumption to complex conceptions of attractiveness, reflected through “embedded food rules” (Counihan, 1999, p. 123), ultimately suggesting how structural boundaries such as class and gender are reinforced through food consumption. This understanding is significantly useful in expressing the latent social meanings of consumption – a notion reinforced by the assumption that the slim body is evidence that one consumes food in a controlled manner that suits societal expectations, therefore embedding a form of power and “moral rectitude” based upon this form of control (Counihan, 1999, p. 123). Hence, the assertion that the ability to be “choosy” with food is restricted to those who can afford to do so is a useful consideration when assessing the potential of health as an indicator of status (Counihan, 1999, p. 123). In such cases, food and other forms of health consumption become symbols able to showcase the sociological imperative of health and identity, an observation exemplified on social media, to be further explored through the following research essays.
ii. Consumption of Health Online The nature of online as a space conducive for the sharing of information has resulted in the rapid expansion of health communities online. Studies have begun to consider the role of social media in the consumption of health including the growth of food subcultures such as veganism (de Zeeuw & Xavier, 2017; Van’t Laar, 2017). Abbar, Mejova and Weber’s 2015 study on the use of the social media platform Twitter as a space for the sharing of food consumption is a case in point. The paper uses data publicly available from Twitter to provide insight into US-wide dietary choices by linking the tweeted dining experiences of 210 users to their interests, demographics, and social networks. The resulting insight is the significant relationship between higher education levels and tweets about lower calorie foods, reinforcing the link between status and the sharing of food consumption (Abbar et al., 2015). Whilst the authors acknowledge that such results can show bias towards those of a higher social status (and therefore higher uses of technology), they assert the usefulness of Twitter due to the ease and speed of access of social media data (Abbar et al. 2015, p. 9). Vanderlaus, Patten, Roche and Young (2014) also establish a link between healthy
46 behaviour on social media and young adults. Through focus groups and interviews, they reveal the complexity of the consumption of health online, found to be both a barrier and motivator for exercise and the preparation of healthy foods (Vanderlaus et al., 2014, p. 151). Largely, consumption of health-related images online provides inspiration for engagement in such healthy behaviours. However, social media simultaneously results in hours spent online acting as a distraction from allocating time to such behaviours. Regardless of the impact on health behaviours, the authors conclude that social media provides a “ripe and informal venue for disseminating health information to young adults” (Vanderlaus et al.,2014, p. 156). As a result, it suggests that further study into such behaviours will be ultimately useful in understanding young adult health behaviour, and by extension, the wider population (Vanderlaus et al., 2014, p. 157). The consumption of health online is therefore a key area of research for the following study.
2.1.6 Health as Status Online The Internet as a whole has been described as a social phenomenon disrupting traditional conceptions of status by assisting the development of a “global village”, a term first conceived in 1962 by McLuhan (as cited in Robards & Bennett, 2011, p. 305). However, despite the Internet’s significant force for both Western and non- Western society, there remains little study conducted on the impact the Internet, and by extension social media, has had on class structure (Robards & Bennett, 2011, p. 305). Prior to the widespread advent of social media, Lin (1999) argued that the Internet represented a democratising and entrepreneurial agent ultimately enhancing the presence and power of social capital. However, Ohl (2000) asserts that despite ensuing debates regarding “the end of class” in contemporary postmodern society, “questions of class still organise the sociological frame” (p. 146). Assertions such as these display the existence of varying academic opinions, each necessary for the questioning of the modern media landscape and the ongoing effects of social media. Lin and Chen’s (2012) examination of social tagging behaviour uses a Bourdieusian framework for the notion of social and cultural capital, asserting “tagging” as a form of information dissemination reflective of both a “new information space” (p. 540) and of the implementation of power differentiation. As mentioned earlier, Lin and Chen’s (2012) definition of social capital created online is “one’s social networks and the resources that can be linked, deployed or activated via those social relations” (p.
47 541). Social capital in online contexts is thus determined by “the size and quality of interpersonal networks” (Lin & Chen, 2012, p. 542). In the framework of online communities specifically, it is thus hypothesized that increased social capital is directly correlated to enhanced power in “shaping the collectively built online folksonomy” (Lin & Chen, 2012, p. 540). In other words, the study revealed that forum members with increased social capital were regarded as more influential by their online peers. In order to showcase their observation, Lin and Chen’s (2012) methodology utilised an online questionnaire, constructed based on a case study of the established website Delicious.com, to compare individuals’ involvement in “socially meaningful tags” (p. 543). The study thus revealed the existence of socially constructed power relations that hold the potential to emerge online, without any transference from existing offline capital. This study can be perceived as limited, however, due to not addressing the consequences of such symbolic capital transferring beyond the online realm into economic capital. Moreover, its focus on discussion boards, rather than social media, is limiting in its ability to uncover the efforts engaged in by SMIs to develop capital online through the attainment of “likes” and “followers”. It nonetheless remains a significant paper within digital parameters as one of the sole studies linking social capital to online relations and thus contributes to emerging knowledge within this relatively new research area. In sum, the conception of health as status draws significantly from the work of Bourdieu and his conceptions of social status to construct a theoretical background. The value society places on health and the fit body can be subsequently observed through the multitude of health products available for consumption, which in turn enables those in middle and upper social statuses the means to “consume health”. The continuation of such consumption habits is moreover reflected through the dissemination of such information by SMIs, a notion that will be further explored in this literature review.
2.2 Online Self In this section, an overview of the salient and relevant research in the area of the online self will be presented. In particular, the online self is considered in the context of the construction of legitimacy, and the relationship between online spaces and identity.
48 2.2.1 Legitimacy Online As the online world continues to expand, it becomes evident that time and effort invested in virtual environments can ultimately act as legitimating factors for expressions of identity. This section highlights contemporary academic research that explores the ongoing relevance of public displays of the self, which can be used as a basis for understanding the way such online exhibitions can act as legitimation of one’s digital identity. Legitimation itself is a complex concept, which can be understood in the context by which an individual’s conception by peers results from “meaningful differences mediated by symbolic capital” (Siisiainen, 2003, p. 13). Traditionally, the struggle for legitimate social capital was played out within the social space, offering a mode of distinction to an individual or group able to obtain such capital (Bourdieu, 1986). Namely, legitimacy occurred as a result of “recognition or misrecognition, or of the belief ... by virtue of which persons wielding authority are endowed with prestige ... nobility, goodwill, repute, notoriety, prestige, honour, renown, or yet gift, talent, intelligence, culture, distinction, taste – so many projections of collective belief” (Boudieu & Wacquant, 2013, p. 299). This includes individuals legitimated by connections, network relationships and memberships to certain groups such as the aristocracy (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 249). These forms of social capital were traditionally legitimated through the symbolic value ascribed through relationships, by those with existing higher levels of social capital. Specifically discussing the online sphere, however, legitimation is evident through the symbolic capital of “followers” and “likes”. This can potentially be regarded as a form of justification of the “status” of an SMI, a tangible measure of “the number who value their leadership in a particular area of expertise” (Uzunoğlu & Kip, 2014, p. 593). In order to establish such a link, greater awareness of the relationships between the online self and identity is necessary to unveil the process by which the online self is legitimated online.
i. Presentation of the Self Goffman’s work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959), remains integral for an understanding of how one presents their identity to others in both online and offline contexts. Through his consideration of frontstage and backstage, it becomes clear that such identity projections and negotiations are both complex and considered (Goffman, 1974). The front stage performance can be considered as impression management,
49 enmeshed in the desire to present an idealised (rather than real) self (Goffman,1959). Whilst initially concerning the offline self, Goffman’s (1959) work has also been applied to numerous contexts, including social media (Hogan, 2010; Liu & Suh, 2018; Tufekci, 2008; Zhao, Salehi, Naranjit, Alwaalan, Voida, & Cosley, 2013). Hogan, in particular, extends upon Goffman’s (1959) initial dramaturgical approach to argue that self- presentation differs on social media through individuals assuming the role of a virtual “curator” that “manages and redistributes virtual content” (Hogan, 2010, p. 377) as a form of participatory exhibition. As a result of social media’s ever-present nature, the front stage performance is to a much lesser extent bound by space and time, and rather can be filtered, ordered and choreographed as a narrative online (Hogan, 2010, p. 382). Whilst this study applies to social media accounts more broadly, with a focus on Facebook, it nonetheless offers a distinct approach to understand the way in which performances online can both reveal and redistribute past performances “for mutual and often asynchronous benefits” (Hogan, 2010, p. 384). A second study that employs self-presentation to online contexts is Schau and Gilly’s 2003 paper “We Are What We Post: Self-Presentation in Personal Webspace”. Schau and Gilly (2003) consider personal webpages as a “conspicuous form of consumer self-presentation” (p. 385) where individuals establish idealised, digitised versions of the self they wish to portray to others. This occurs through a variety of signs and symbols, particularly through the representations of brands and other consumer items that can assist in co-constructing identity meanings. Also of note is the way that digital consumption allows individuals to add to their self-presentation with consumption objects not physically owned, but rather through displaying virtual attachments. This finding is useful in conceptualising the various ways in which self- presentation can occur in online contexts. Smith and Sanderson (2015, p. 343) focus specifically on the self-presentation of athletes on social media, as a way to actively assume greater control of their public image as presented through mass media coverage. Smith and Sanderson’s (2015, p. 355) study found athletes more prominently used Instagram to reveal personal interests, families and charitable work rather than athletic performance and competition, arguably as a way to control their brand image. Whilst Smith and Sanderson’s (2015) findings may not necessarily align with the SMI who constructs their fame online (as opposed to athletes who generally develop their following through
50 offline means), it is nonetheless useful in revealing how one’s social media identity can be strategically employed as a form of brand management of the self. Further, Chua and Chang’s 2015 study of the teenage postings of selfies to social media in Singapore establishes a link between self-presentation and comparison with peers. Namely, the desire to present their best self for comparison to others resulted in editing apps to reduce the distance between their own selfies and their perceptions of ideal beauty (Chua & Chang, 2015). This was similarly reflected in Seidman’s 2012 study, which illustrates social networking sites such as Facebook as carefully constructed to fulfil self-presentational needs. Hence, it becomes clear that self-presentation is a key consideration for the examination of the online self.
2.2.2 Online Spaces and Identity Online spaces are key areas for the projection of identity narratives. Belk’s (2013) work on the digitally extended self is therefore a key study assisting in understanding the intricacies of this arena. Specifically, Belk (1988) proposes five key modifications of his original work of the extended self, as necessary additions ushered in through society’s use of digital technologies. These include dematerialisation, re-embodiment, sharing, co-construction of self and distributed memory (Belk, 2013). Each of these are structured around various facets of how representations of the self-online are able to contribute to and represent an individual’s identity, as follows. Dematerialization refers to possessions as projections of the self increasingly shifting to digital representations of the self-online, such as photos or digital music files. Re- embodiment refers to our physical selves as recreated online (such as through avatars). Sharing and the co-construction of self both refer to how we communicate with others online, collectively constructing identities through functionalities such as tagging and commenting. Finally, distributed memory acknowledges the way memory is increasingly stored online, such as through search engines, digital photography and online archives. As a result, our digital selves are now integral to both our online and offline identities, a useful foundation to the following research. Several studies have thus continued to present contexts in which online spaces are important to the articulation of identity. Hodkinson and Lincoln (2008) utilise blogs created by teens and youth in their 20s as the basis for their research. The authors argue that such online journals exhibit the “symbolic and practical properties of individually owned and controlled” (Hodkinson & Lincoln, 2008, p. 306) spaces, that
51 can therefore be likened to the physical bedroom. In fact, it is argued that the online blog is “interactive and multidimensional” as well as a “safe, personally owned space which is used as part of the negotiation of youth transitions via marking out territory” (Hodkinson & Lincoln, 2008, p. 28) to explore and display changing iterations of identity. This observation becomes particularly useful when studying the multiple motivations that drive individuals to share and create personal content online. Whilst this paper is limited to its narrower youth focus, it is nonetheless useful in asserting the role online spaces play in the construction and legitimation of identity. A further examination of the relationship between social media posting and identity formation is Murthy’s (2012) sociological analysis on the social networking site Twitter. Murthy (2012) substantiates this link by stating the act of tweeting as a form of “self-production” (p. 1062) that ultimately sustains regular posting behaviour. He argues that despite the often-banal content of 140-character Twitter posts (such as “had too many espresso shots today”), they serve as a significant “means by which individuals affirm their identities” (Murthy, 2012, p. 1062). It is this continually arising need to confirm our identities that ensures individuals remain invested in such sites as Twitter. Whilst this study is limited in its focus on Twitter, it is useful in presenting a theoretical perspective on regular social media posting that holds potential to apply to other social media platforms.
2.2.3 The Digital Economy as a Context A second area of social media research increasingly generating academic attention is the concept of currency within the digital economy. Pre-existing research on this domain is thus far primarily concerned with increasing return on investment of marketing spend (Qualman, 2010; Shin, Hanssens, & Gajula 2008; Weinberg & Pehlivan, 2011). Such research is nonetheless useful in gaining insights into participants’ role in the rapidly shifting digital economy. For example, Kozinets, Valck, Wojnicki and Wilner’s (2010) work on word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing within online communities elicits useful implications for the spread of marketing messages within online contexts. Through seeding mobile phones to bloggers to review on their personal blogs as part of a larger marketing campaign, this research used netnography to examine the effectiveness of this campaign (Kozinets et al., 2010). The subsequent findings illustrate the tension that arise when commercial expectations are merged with communal norms, namely the types and forms of
52 content already established by the bloggers. As a result, Kozinets et al. (2010) illuminate that to ease this tension, bloggers generally alter marketing messages to become “more believable, relevant and palatable to the community” (p. 83) within their already established narratives. This research therefore provides a useful basis for understanding how WOM marketing is elevated when it is established within in-depth knowledge of existing narratives of the communicators (in this case bloggers), to encourage consumer conversations. Additionally, Weinberg and Pehlivan (2011) offer notable findings through asserting the necessity of understanding the “relationship oriented” (p. 276) nature of social media. Their recommendations for businesses to invest in “social currency through conversation, sharing, supportive and helpfulness” (Weinberg & Pehlivan, 2011, p. 278) indicates contemporary consideration of the need for authentic communication through content creation. Their paper also assists in reinforcing the importance of social media as a tool for relationship building, a key component of social capital to be later discussed. Hence, this understanding can contribute to the potential need for the development of communication and support in the growth of social capital online. Despite this body of existing research that outlines work on social media, there have thus far been limited applications of the digital sphere to health and the body. Lupton (2013), however, is a key scholar connecting each of these fields through her studies concerning the sharing of quantified health data collected through devices such as Fit Bits and Nike+ Fuel bands. Here, Lupton (2013) adopts a critical approach by suggesting that sharing such technology online reflects society’s adherence to the value of “ideal citizens” (p. 397), as those who take responsibility for their own health. As a result, Lupton (2013) identifies the “digital health revolution” (p. 393) as essentially encouraging individuals to both explicitly and implicitly perform self- surveillance in public settings. Lupton’s (2013) research centres primarily on the potential for such data to be implemented for empowering self-care among patients, reflecting a critical approach to self-regulation as a form of governmentality in the vein of the Foucauldian spectre of surveillance. Despite such a critique sitting outside this area of study, Lupton’s (2013) work nonetheless remains useful in recognising online displays of the body as reflective of societal beliefs of the responsibility of individuals to care for their health. Her work holds the potential to contribute to research concerning presentation of the
53 healthy body on social media as a generator of social capital, able to be transferred to offline contexts. Here, research conducted suggests health as increasingly entwined within the digital sphere, reinforcing the need for further study and the ability for the following research to contribute to the field. Similarly, Centola and van de Rijt (2015) recognise the recent need to question the role social media plays in the dissemination of health knowledge and subsequent action. As a result, their research is largely focused on online fitness programs and their intent to increase peer-based health awareness and fitness (Centola & van de Rijit, 2015). Centola and van de Rijit (2015) effectively contextualise possible reasons for “a broad array of social characteristics. Individuals hold “aspirational” preferences to form ties to “desirable” alters, and thus patterns of systematic exclusion can lead to the “false appearance of choice homophily in domains such as health” (Centola & van de Rijit, 2015, p. 20). Particularly focusing on online fitness programs, it is subsequently asserted that images of health are able to provide a visual reference point from which to measure success (Centola & van de Rijt, 2015). As a result, the process of obtaining health information online, and the subsequent effect on health, is mapped in the context of online health networks. Hence, the researchers’ aim of discovering individual preferences in forming fitness-specific online health contacts is a useful addition to existing knowledge of contemporary data on health access. Through implementing quantitative data, correlation analysis assisted in revealing “strong behavioural trends” (Centola & van de Rijt, 2015, p. 20), subsequently resulting in a greater level of understanding of what motivates consumers to attain and co- construct health information online. It is thus apparent that participants in the online discussion forum “consciously aimed to surround themselves with health contacts that belonged to the same category as themselves” (Centola & van de Rijt, 2015, p. 8), signifying a contributing factor to how health on social media attracts followers and creates a sense of membership and belonging online.
2.2.4 Self-Branding Online Self-branding literature has evolved as a well-referenced academic construct in the past decade, a growth that can be traced alongside the current neoliberal political climate (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2016). This idea of the enterprising self (du Gay, 1996) involves an amassing of cultural capital, required to transform the self into an enterprising subject responsible for their own employment. In sum, self-branding is the
54 development of a public identity that can ultimately assist in gaining attention, and subsequently, developing economic and cultural value (Liu & Suh, 2017, p. 17). Self- branding is often concerned with entrepreneurial and freelance work and has more recently begun to be applied to online contexts (Ang & Welling, 2017; Erin & Pooley, 2016; Khamis, Lui, & Sui, 2017). Employing the context of Internet dating, Ellison, Heino and Gibbs (2006) argue that online contexts afford individuals “greater control over self-presentational behaviour” (p. 416), as individuals hold the ability to self-censor and strategically choose what information to disclose. Whilst such desires to control the way the self is presented may be heightened in online dating contexts, the study nonetheless reinforces the way in which presentations of the online self can purposively differ from the offline self. Moreover, it is possible to argue that it is a successful strategic management of self-presentation that allows one to develop a following online, a notion that will be explored through the following essays. In a different context, Goodwin, Griffin and Lyon (2016) explore the role of the social networking site Facebook as a platform for self-branding through images uploaded of young people engaging in drinking culture. Goodwin et al.’s (2016) research reveals photos from social events were most frequently uploaded featuring shared experiences for their ability to attract attention through likes and comments, subsequently performing a significant role in the visual maintenance of social bonds. In this particular context, the threat of invisibility essentially mobilises posting, revealing the individual’s effort to brand themselves to maximise exposure. Drawing upon Banet-Wesier (2012) to confirm the way in which sharing one’s life for public consumption is inextricably bound within self-branding, Goodwin et al.’s (2016) contextual study is useful in revealing that self-branding has become an implicit self- regulating tool in everyday life. The term SMI specifically can be traced back in academic literature as far as 2008 (pre-Instagram), by Brown and Hayes who employ the term to term encompass “individuals who are in a consumer’s social graph and have a direct impact on the behaviour of that consumer” (Brown & Hayes, 2008; Ge & Gretzel 2018). Similarly in 2011 (also pre-empting contemporary Instagram-centric iterations of this term), Freberg et al define SMIs as “a new type of independent third party endorser who shape audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media” (p. 1). Hearn and Schoenhoff extended this term in 2013 to describe a “type of
55 worker who… cultivates as much attention as possible” to create a “personal brand via social networks, which can subsequently be used by companies and advertisers for consumer outreach” (p. 194). Hence, while there are numerous variations of definitions of the SMI, this thesis has established an Instagram led definition, as the platform from which the term influencer gained widespread societal acknowledgement. SMI is thereby defined as an individual who is able to influence their audience through their social media profiles, by creating and uploading content (most often of themselves) to be liked and commented on by followers online. One of the few recent studies that specifically relates social media bloggers to self-branding is Liu and Su’s 2018 paper, which employs a content analysis of 10 female fashion bloggers to reveal online presentations of the branded self. The resulting analysis of the bloggers’ images over a period of one month signifies coherence with post-feminism due to their lack of reliance on “consumption of sexual bodily displays” (Liu & Suh, 2018, p. 17). Moreover, it was found that the “tag” function on Instagram was consistently used as a method of subtly developing relationships with other brands, presenting an opportunity to present the self through branded association (Liu & Suh, 2018, p. 18). Hence, both body positioning and utilising the tag function are two ways in which self-presentation is enacted by style bloggers online. Self-branding online has been further explored by Whitmer’s 2019 paper “You Are Your Brand: Self-branding and the Marketization of Self”. Whilst again not speaking specifically of SMIs, Whitmer (2019) brings to the fore the potential for social media to reinforce the perceived need to brand the self-online in the current context of neoliberalism and the mitigating role of the entrepreneurial self. Drawing upon cross- disciplinary self-branding literature, Whitmore (2019) further asserts the potential lack of alignment with commodification of the self and “other-directed activity” (p. 4) with the internal authentic self. In other words, when the self becomes utilised for economic gain, an individual’s authenticity can be subsequently threatened, leading Whitmer (2019) to assert that “fear of irrelevance and the hope of reward drive workers to market themselves, but ultimately they do not reap the full benefit of their affective labour” (pp. 4-6). This represents a potential disjuncture that problematizes the role of self-branding amongst those whose work is based online. A third study that applies self-branding to social media contexts is that of Khamis, Ang and Welling (2017), who assert that such processes are prominent
56 through SMIs, who create commercial gain through maintaining a distinct public image. Also building upon the contemporary state of neoliberalism, SMIs (like workers in consumer markets) must effectively brand themselves in an effort to be differentiated and hence employable. The “consumer-centric” space of online media essentially allows individuals the ability to select what content they wish to consume within a saturated context, reinforcing the importance of self-branding in the digital age (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017, p. 194). The authors also differentiate SMIs from reality television celebrities by their ability to have full control over their own brand, rather than as part of a larger program (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017, p. 198). Thus, the study remains a significant advancement of the way individuals can self-brand on social media in an effort to achieve public visibility online.
2.3 Celebrity Society In this section, an overview of the salient and relevant research in the area of the celebrity society is conducted. Before discussing SMIs, defining social influencers as “Instafamous” further necessitates an understanding of the world of celebrity culture in order to better ascertain the influence held by such individuals. Therefore, traditional conceptions of celebrity culture, the construction of legitimacy and authenticity, and social media as a site for the emergence of celebrity online will each be critically examined.
2.3.1 Foundations of Celebrity Culture Celebrity society has been closely explored from a sociological and cultural perspective, illuminating the significant role of celebrities within the culture industry (Alexander, 2010; Driessens, 2013; Ferris, 2007). Van Krieken’s (2012) discussion of celebrity society brings to the fore the way in which celebrity is largely concerned with the “accumulation and distribution of attention” (p. 55). In his book titled Celebrity Society, van Krieken (2012) defines the term celebrity as, “of being highly visible to a broader public and possessing the capacity to attract relatively large amounts of attention” (p. 5). As a result, he describes the celebrification process as encompassing the significance of visibility and recognition as key elements necessary to be defined within such terms (van Krieken, 2012). He draws this back to court society, as contemporary celebrity culture has retained the core ability to draw interest into one’s private life, expanded to an increasingly larger scale as a result of globalisation and
57 new media (van Krieken, 2012, p. 35). This implication is further evident through Turner’s (2013) term “the demotic turn” to describe the ability for ordinary people to transform themselves into media content, particularly through the channels of reality television. Turner (2006) furthers his arguments on the production of celebrity by discussing the proliferation of shows such as Idol and Big Brother as increasing the demand for ordinary people to undergo the process/transformation of “celebrification” (p. 155). It is interesting to note that many of today’s SMIs grew up in this era of reality television, perhaps internalising both the ability and desire for the ordinary to become famous. With celebrities themselves using presentational media including Facebook and Twitter, to make their private lives available for public consumption, the significance of social media in the production of celebrity is significantly evident (Booth & Matic, 2010). Cementing this is the increasing ability to find fame through online means, which has ultimately broadened the scope of the term “celebrity”. Notably, such “technological shifts” (van Krieken, 2012, p. 13) have resulted in a greater number and diversity of individuals able to generate significant attention, particularly within a short time span. This can be attributed in part to “multiplying the value of attention capital, increasing the importance of branding and “meta-branding’”, that each act as significant contributors of the need to “brand oneself” (van Krieken, 2012, p. 135) to attain attention within contemporary celebrity society. Hence, despite diverging slightly from mainstream media, at least initially through van Krieken’s (2012) conception, the “Instafamous” can be classified as celebrities nonetheless. The result of this is the need to further differentiate between various levels of fame online, as the first essay will establish. Hence, one of the key elements of celebrity culture is the ability for a celebrity’s connection with audiences to be exploited to “promote and sell cultural products” (Marshall, 2015, p. 1). Celebrities have been increasingly employed as brand ambassadors throughout the 20th century, and hence a multitude of research exists concerning their effectiveness to drive brand sales (Ambroise, Pantin-Sohier, Valette- Florence, & Albert, 2014; Roy, 2006; Seno & Lucas, 2007). Ohanian’s 1990 paper remains particularly of note for the study of celebrity society through the development of a scale to measure the perceived expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness of celebrity endorsers. Ohanania (1990) draws upon extant research to propose that opinionated messages within brand associations are most effective when the celebrity
58 is perceived as trustworthy. Similarly, when a celebrity is viewed as attractive or as an expert in a certain field, they are more likely to hold a positive impact on any subsequent brand associations (Ohananian, 1990, p. 42). As a result, each of these factors can be considered as a predictor of public attitude towards a particular celebrity if they were to engage in a specified brand endorsement. Whilst this model was created for offline contexts, it can nonetheless remain useful when celebrity, or micro- celebrity, endorsements are created in online contexts, as such an online model does not exist in extant literature. There is thus at present no detailed way to qualitatively establish a brand match between SMIs and brands, a relationship that will be explored through Essay Three of this thesis.
2.3.2 The Construction of Legitimacy/Authenticity Online Whilst there has been a notable array of attempts to discuss the role of social media in identity construction, few have correlated such profiles and Bourdieu’s (1984) concept of social capital. McQuarrie, Miller and Phillips’ (2012) paper, however, is one that builds off Bourdieu’s (1999) metaphor of the ability to “grab hold of the megaphone” in the context of fashion blogging. Bourdieu’s (1999) application of this metaphor to television spoke of its ability to broadcast ideas the masses. This echoes Bourdieu’s (1999) earlier assertions of the way those able to achieve a mass audience were traditionally afforded such opportunities through their existing cultural capital. In these instances, habitus subsequently creates the taste judgements required to access specific social positions (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992). In application to the online world, however, McQuarrie et al. (2012) define the megaphone effect as when “ordinary consumers, defined as individuals lacking professional experience and not holding an institutional or family position, post to the web about consumption and acquire a mass audience for these posts” (p. 136). McQuarrie et al. (2012) identify the way fashion bloggers on blogspot platforms employ their taste distinctions to generate cultural capital and subsequently “grab the megaphone” (p. 140) in sharing these tastes. As this capital grows, so too do their commercial messages, however, this does not detract from their authenticity, but rather function to confirm the blogger as a taste leader. McQuarrie et al. (2012) therefore posit that the megaphone effect, namely their ability to project their blogs to a mass audience outside of any institution, allows bloggers to create an audience through their projections of aesthetic tastes.
59 Abidin and Thompson (2012) further examine sharing of fashion tastes online, examining the creation of “personal intimacy” (p. 467) online as contributing to the establishment of legitimacy. Focusing particularly on “blogshops” in Singapore (personal websites set up to model and sell clothing), the paper effectively explores the commercial intimacy created through such platforms. Whilst this paper focuses specifically on the cyber-femininities created through such processes, it is nonetheless inherently useful in identifying the development of “homo-social intimacy between the persona of models and their audiences of readers-cum-consumers” (Abidin & Thompson, 2012, p. 467). Notably, interactions occurring between owners/models and their blogshop readers are encased as equal relationships rather than tiered celebrity– fan interactions, a “democratised” middle ground between international celebrities and the average individual (Abidin & Thompson, 2012, p. 468). This observation is therefore useful in beginning to understand the detached monetary interrelations that are ultimately humanised by blogs, functioning as a successful marketing tool (Abidin & Thompson, 2012, p. 470). Hence, Abidin and Thompson (2012) assert that such blogshop models can be conceived as entrepreneurial figures who share their lives to create connections with readers, which subsequently allow them to sell their lifestyles through clothing. This is further established through Hund and McGuigan’s (2019) paper on “a shoppable life”, which identifies the performance of lifestyles online that can be purchased. The study looks at the RewardStyle Network, a website that allows the linking of a post with an email of product links, allowing individuals to receive commission for the clothing they wear (Hund & McGuigan, 2019). They thus identify this shoppable life as able to convert “abstract consumerist dreams into an immediately buyable reality” (Hund & McGuigan, 2019, p. 32), a key emergence in the online world. Such existence of a shoppable life further elucidates the role of consumption assemblages, namely, “the overlapping entanglements of heterogenous components from which consumer cultures and markets are both localised and extended“ (Canniford & Bajde, 2015, p. 1). In particular assemblage research can allow new connections within markets and consumption to be realised (Healey, 2011). Specifically, making note of the hybridity of consumption and the various actors involved in any one consumption act is of note, particularly when such comnsumption is displayed online.
60 In the context of travel blogging, Stoldt, Wellman, Ekdale and Tully (2019) further establish such online production as changing the travel industry, through the rise of intermediaries who guide destination marketers of the potential influence of travel bloggers. Specifically, Stoldt et al. (2019) affirm the way influencers can provide destination marketers with feedback from followers who were inspired by their trip, a benefit that travel journalists cannot always provide due to influencer connections created with self-established audiences. Such links further the need to study the generation of legitimacy online that allows a space for such feedback to emerge. Julien’s 2014 paper contributes specifically to discussion of legitimacy through digital social capital in the online world. Julien (2014) structures discussion of social capital in memes shared online, from the dual perspectives of the American communitarian tradition and Bourdieu’s theoretical framework. As a result of his critique, Julien (2014) argues that despite the seemingly “permeable boundaries” within network societies, barriers continue to exist as “individuals who invest themselves online” through “certain parameters, rules, and structures that include some people and exclude others from understanding and participating in what may be called a clearly identifiable culture” (p. 362). Hence, Julien (2014, p. 361) employs a case study of Internet memes to draw attention to the various restrictions and guidelines that have been established by users of such digital platforms. Subsequently, legitimation of one’s identity both online and offline is evident through the multitude of ways individuals create and share content that is ultimately judged by their online peers. Growth of one’s digital social capital can thus act as legitimation for an individual’s membership to a particular subsection of online culture, facilitating and extending relationships through social interaction (Julien, 2014, p. 365). Hence, Julien (2014) asserts that Internet memes are able to function as an indication of membership to a particular group as “online users are able and have a vested interest to distinguish it as such while they exist online” (p. 367). This suggestion could similarly be paralleled to individuals posting personal content as the “likes” and “followers” can act as indicators of social standing within that particular platform. Julien’s (2014) findings thus effectively begin to establish the parameters for “successful interaction online” (p. 370) within the Internet as a field. In Bourdieusian terms, the field can be defined as a “site of struggles in which individuals seek to maintain or alter the distribution of the forms of capital specific to it” (Bourdieu & Thompson, 1991, p. 14). Hence, social media as an example of a field that has developed its own ever-changing criteria for posting, is
61 reflected through Julien’s (2014) discussion of memes. As a direct result of this collective, consensual creation of criteria by digital inhabitants involved with the process, exclusionary boundaries are subsequently created for those unable to understand or contribute to dialogue surrounding memes. Through this acknowledgement, Julien (2014) thus begins to fill the gap between social capital and its online iterations, a notion that will be further explored in this thesis through the growing sphere of SMIs. Julien’s (2014) assertion that legitimacy can be established through digital visibility is independently furthered by Marwick’s (2015) paper, which gives weight to the colloquial term “Instafame”. Borrowing from Senft (2013), Marwick (2015) defines Instagram’s “microcelebrity” fame as a “mind-set and a collection of self-presentation practices endemic in social media, in which users strategically formulate a profile, reach out to followers, and reveal personal information to increase attention and thus improve their online status” (p. 138). As a result, the increasingly visual medium of social media channels such as Instagram can be regarded as a “fairly open-ended social media tool” (Marwick, 2015, p. 138), which supports the ability of individuals to purposively represent themselves ideally online. Hence, all online profiles can be asserted as existing within the “attention economy, a marketing perspective assigning values according to something’s capacity to attract eyeballs” (Fairchild, 2007 as cited in Marwick, 2015, p. 138). Most notably different about the channel of Instagram in particular is its ability to make it achievable for ordinary people to gain the attention of mass audiences historically restricted to traditional broadcast media (Marwick, 2015, p. 139). As a result, individual profiles can essentially develop into a microcelebrity, through the attainment of fans (Marwick, 2015, p. 140). Despite a more targeted audience, such branded selves operate in line with strategies employed by traditional celebrities, such as “disciplined bodies, sports cars and clothing from high end brands” (Liu & Suh, 2018, p. 13). Namely, the body beautiful and consumption objects function as distinctions of “success” in the same manner as they do for traditional celebrities. Whilst only limited individuals are able to widen the scope of their fame beyond their particular subcultural niche (such as food or fashion for example), they nonetheless can develop loyal and receptive followers that are interested in the daily lives of the “Instafamous”. Marwick (2015) furthermore acknowledges the “higher visible metrics of social media success – the number of followers or “likes” attached to a piece of content”, which ultimately act as encouragement for individuals to “actively
62 foster an audience” (p. 140). Although this paper is limited through its study of only three Instagram profiles, it remains useful in acknowledging how social media allows the everyday individuals to reach audiences previously restricted to traditional media (Marwick, 2015, p. 157). It is this democratisation that will be further explored within the following research, by tracing the ability for capital accrued online to be transferred successfully to the offline economy.
2.3.3 Instafame: Celebrity Society on Social Media Despite the term Instafame first being coined in academia by Marwick in 2015, it has been employed minimally academically in relation to the rapid growth of SMIs as a valid and profitable career, especially among young women. One of the few papers to study such “Instafamous” SMIs is Djafarova and Trofimenko (2019) who do so through in-depth interviews with female Instagram users in Russia. The study indicated that due to self-presentation strategies of presenting oneself in the best light (Goffman, 1959), the Instafamous need not be qualified experts to attain a following, but rather are required to appear competent in communicating information (Djafarova & Trofimenko, 2019, p. 10). This can be considered as a continuation of their 2017 study, exploring online celebrity endorsements through drawing upon source credibility theory (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017) to assert that consumers discern individuals with greater subscriber numbers as being more “attractive and trustworthy” (p. 1). Continuing in this vein, their paper explores the ability for online celebrities’ purchase decision to influence young female users age 18 to 30 (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017). Hence this study is useful in revealing that participants considered “lower-scale celebrities” (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017, p. 5) or bloggers are often conceived as more trustworthy than traditional celebrities due to perceptions of enhanced reliability and their likelihood to endorse more affordable brands. As a result, the authors recommend brands consider their target group when selecting the type of celebrity they wish to employ. This increasing need to consider social media as part of wider branding strategies is further echoed by Mattke, Muller and Maier (2019), who distinguish between advertising on social media as either paid (social media ads or sponsored posts), owned (utilising a brand’s own social media channels) or earned (self-generated SMI content). Their study thus revealed that paid media should be both relevant and important to the consumer for such media to successfully generate
63 positive brand attitudes, again lending itself towards positive employment of brand/SMI relationships (Muller & Maier, 2019). Several studies have moreover considered the role selfies play in branding the self amongst those seeking attention online, however, not specifically the Instafamous (Eagar & Dann, 2016; Delanda, 2006; Gannon & Prothero, 2016; Kedzior, 2016; Kedzior, Allen, & Schroeder, 2016). Abidin (2016), however, looks specifically at selfie- taking practices among Singaporean influencers, acknowledging their frequent dismissal on the grounds of frivolity, and rather critically examines such selfies as a form of labour practices. Namely, selfies uploaded by influencers can act as saleable virtual image, encompassing tactic labour (such as the application of makeup and skincare) to present an appealing front to followers, especially when combined with commercial messages (Abidin, 2016). A further paper that investigates achieving influence online (in the specific context of YouTube and on Amazon) is that of Levina and Arriaga (2014). Their paper indicates the way in which “millions of content consumers ... collectively shape the status of content producers” through the acts of “downloading, rating and commenting on their contributions” (Levina & Arriaga, 2014, p. 469). As a result, Levina and Arriaga (2014) argue such competition is ultimately driven by the consumers of content, and the visibility of their contributions, such as ratings and comments, and thus illustrates the subsequent importance of achieving these consumer contributions. Cottor (2019) further brings to the fore the struggle for visibility on social media platforms such as Instagram, specifically the role of the algorithm. Subsequently, Cottor’s 2019 study illustrates the Instagram account owner’s acknowledgement of joint repercussions of the Instagram user and the algorithm in influencing who is able to achieve visibility on the platform. As a result, Cottor (2019) identifies the potential for “digital inequalities”, and the potential maintenance of “hegemonic ideologies and values” (p. 909) due to the algorithm’s ability to possibly favour certain ideals. Studying influencers’ collaborations from a wider perspective of all social media platforms, Stubb and Colliander (2018) conducted a quantitative analysis to uncover the effectiveness of specifically stating a product recommendation is not sponsored content. Their findings indicate that providing no information of sponsorship or informing that the content is in fact sponsored, resulted in participants viewing the content as more credible (Stubb & Colliander, 2018). A further study that extends research around SMI collaborations as extensions of brand communities is that of
64 Audrezet, Kerviler and Moulard (2018). Through identifying product placement within SMI images, the study elucidates the potential impact on the SMIs themselves and subsequent need to have transparency within posts as a mitigating strategy for retaining their original audience (Audrezet, Kerviler, & Moulard, 2018). Such findings enhance research around the potential success of collaboration with SMIs as microcelebrities. An additional study with a specific focus on Instafame is that of Mavroudis and Milne (2016), who present exploratory research of three microcelebrities, asserting the obligations experienced to self-promote and adhere to audience expectations. Through such research, the authors elicit that microcelebrities hold key societal functions making them worthy of further study. As a result, it becomes apparent that study surrounding the “Instafamous” in marketing contexts is a pertinent area of research that requires expansion to further understand their theoretical and managerial implications.
2.4 Research Gap In essence, a preliminary critical evaluation of extant literature surrounding three divergent areas of research – social capital, the online self and celebrity society – has been described for the purpose of providing a comprehensive foundation for this study. Whilst this review is not exhaustive, it has aimed to cover salient research domains as well as seminal and contemporary literature to assist in establishing the rationale for the following three research essays. Explorations conducted across each of these key areas have subsequently been critically evaluated, by outlining the key aspects of existing literature across various disciplines within these broader subject areas. In doing so, the existing research reveals gaps, subsequently furthering the need to investigate the research question. This study therefore holds an original objective of exploring how SMIs generate, maintain and transform “Instacapital” in the online field of endeavour. In particular, the process by which online social capital is generated, translated and exchanged into capital offline offers original insights relevant and useful for both theoretical and managerial use. Results could in part be applied to other social media channels, hence uncovering the process of leveraging one’s online self through content creation that directly contributes to the development of social capital, a potentially significant understanding. The uncovering of such insights would thus
65 assist in the field of digital marketing, reinforcing the importance of the attempt to contribute to this multidisciplinary research space. Overall, the following research essentially aims to fulfil this gap in order to further investigate the impact of social media in our increasingly digital lives. Hence, the present research gap substantiates the originality of this thesis and therefore establishes its need within existing academic literature.
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85 Methodology
3.1 Methodological Rationale An interpretive approach using qualitative methodology has been chosen as best able to investigate the research questions. As each of the three following essays examine different aspects of the social media influencer landscape, in exploratory ways within a new and rapidly changing context, qualitative methodology was seen as best suited for this purpose. Qualitative enquiry allows researchers to investigate significance of meaning through various cultural forms, and is thus capable of “expressing an underlying reality of social life, not necessarily apprehended by the creators or viewers of these cultural forms” (Spiggle, 1994, p. 492). Following this argument, qualitative research can assist in uncovering the meaning of actions taken by various players within the social media landscape. Such qualitative analyses allow the rich, contextual data collected in this study to “generate conclusions, insights, meanings, patterns, themes, connections, conceptual frameworks, and theories” (Spiggle, 1994, p. 492), ultimately resulting in a more nuanced depth of knowledge surrounding SMIs and the influencer landscape they reside in. Specifically, within the scope of this research, narrative inquiry is arguably well suited as it has the potential to provide a “methodological repertoire” one can implement for specifics of individual projects (Patton, 2005, p. 6). Situated within an interpretive framework, narrative analysis is defined by Creswell as a “collaborative approach”, which allows researchers to study the life of individuals through their narratives (Creswell, 2013, p. 14). The suitability of narrative analysis for the following research can be further supported by the effective prior employment of this methodology within marketing contexts, often utilising a consumer behaviour lens (Dutta-Bergman, 2004; Kozinets, 2007; Roux & Belk, 2018; van Laer, Edson Escalas, Ludwig, & van den Hende, 2018; Wiles, Rosenberg, & Kearns 2005). Employing a narrative perspective offers a manner of interpreting consumption narratives and can therefore be useful for interpreting such experiences (Shankar, Elliot, & Goulding, 2001, p. 429). One such reason for this is the ability for narrative analysis to uncover “insights into consumers’ inner selves” and how they “make sense of events in their lives” (Creswell, 2013, p. 15). Moreover, as the following research explores the identity projects of SMIs in the accumulation and transfer of status, it can be situated within
86 the consumer cultural theory (CCT) tradition of consumer research. CCT research customarily utilises various in-depth qualitative approaches, in particular, narrative analysis (Arnould & Thompson, 2005; Arsel & Bean, 2013; Kozinets, 2002; Thompson, 2004; Thompson & Troester, 2002; among many others), allowing one to argue for the suitability of this research approach for the current study. Hence, a detailed consideration of such past applications to study will assist in strengthening the case for the selected methodology and will be subsequently explored.
3.2. The Narrative Approach in this Study A narrative approach has been selected due to both its ability to uncover key insights relevant to the study, as well as its suitability in generating understanding that holds relevance for both theoretical and managerial purposes. First, narratives as a form of framing our knowledge and emotions can be considered “ontologically as the very essence of human behaviour” (Pace, 2008, p. 214). A narrative approach builds upon this basis of human consideration according to Thompson (1997), and consumer meaning can be drawn to generate nuanced and relevant market insights. A narrative approach is therefore built upon the acknowledgment that all behaviour, including the way we consume, can be interpreted as text and subsequently can be analysed (Ricouer, 1980). Analyses enables interviewee narratives to not only reveal insight into a chosen phenomenon, but to also uncover the context and self-identity of individuals and their consumer stories (Thompson, 1997, p. 452). Social media allows the uploading of images, representing consumer stories both through the text and images themselves. Each social media post is thus an individual’s narrative vignette, which cumulatively builds a larger narrative of the self for each SMI. Moreover, SMIs themselves on various platforms can be considered as applying rhetoric techniques to communicate meaning to their audiences, which can also be analysed (Pace, 2018, p. 222). A narrative approach to research is therefore well suited to the SMI context. In the following three essays, the narrative approach is applied to both textual and visual data, both of which have precedence and have been used in marketing contexts. In the subsequent section, these will be examined.
3.2.1 Narrative Analysis Narrative analysis is a methodology that can be argued as being particularly suited to the current study. As evident through past applications of narrative analyses to
87 marketing and identity contexts, it can be justified as able to uncover individual meanings surrounding the creation and maintenance of social capital through presenting the lifestyle narratives of self on social media. Whilst it is acknowledged that alternative methodologies could also be effectively applied, narrative analysis is unique in bringing to the fore participants’ ability to “access an array of culturally informed, preconscious scripts or narrative themes” (Arnould, Stern, & Price, 1998, p. 209). Thus, as affirmed by Arnould, Stern and Price (1998, p. 209), the narrative of the experience shared by the individual is a key evaluative element, subsequently encouraging a greater depth of insight into the behaviour and thoughts of respondents. Such analysis is therefore able to assist in capturing and preserving “instances and sequence of action, the way participants negotiate language and narrative genres in conversations, and other unique aspects of a case” (Riessman, 2016, p. 2). As a result, researchers are able to analyse not just what participants say, but how they say it, unveiling multiple layers of meaning from collated data. Thus, there are various ways in which narrative analysis can be applied to both visual and textual data. As espoused by Riessman (2003), “to make identity work visible, we can analyse scenes, the positioning of character, self and the audience, and we can ‘unpack’ the grammatical resources narrators chose to make their point” (pp. 19-20). Subsequently, such analysis is applied to the collated data to unpack both explicit and implicit identity work inherent through presented narratives. Hence, applying narrative analysis to the research data can assist in exploring individual narratives displays of social, cultural and other capitals through social media posts. In their paper discussing the application of the narrative approach to consumer research, Shankar, Elliot and Goulding (2001) draw upon the term “narrativisation of experience” (p. 430), coined by Mishler in 1995, to refer to the relationship between consumption, identity and narrative. By considering the role of consumption within the schema of managing one’s own identity, a narrative approach to research becomes increasingly more useful. This is reinforced by considering the inevitable presence of narratives in the form of stories that have resulted in a society “socially and culturally conditioned to understanding the narrative form” (Shankar, Elliot, & Goulding, 2001, p. 431). Subsequently, contemplating the key features of a narrative, including ordering and sequencing of events with a beginning, middle and end, and identification of the basic plots of comedy, romance, tragedy and satire, can allow researchers to
88 inform our understanding of sensemaking processes intuitively conducted by consumers (Shankar, Elliot, & Goulding, 2001, p. 434). Narrative perspectives can moreover elicit “turning point” moments from interviewees, assisting researchers in constructing the chronology of events in such narratives. Hence, narrative approaches can be beneficial in allowing both “grand narratives” and “small stories” to emerge, facilitating analysis of patterns that may have otherwise been overlooked (Georgeakopoulos, 2006, p. 123). Regardless of the scale of such stories and the context in which they are spoken about, the past and future stories create an interactional arc that enables insights they generate to be extended to other contexts (Georgeakopoulos, 2006, p. 127). Thus, acknowledging actors, events and elements purposefully excluded or left out from narratives is also of use in understanding social norms in particular contexts useful to the following research. These can similarly be pieced together from interview data with separate individuals, or even through minor stories from the same individual, to build a larger comprehensive picture of social norms within a particular context (Georgeakopoulos, 2006, p. 127). Georgeakopoulos (2006) names this “the narrative turn”, encompassing the acknowledgement that narratives, like one’s sense of self-identity, can be “fleeting, contingent and fragmented” (p. 128). Further, consumer narratives are useful for uncovering relevant insights about consumption from the process of qualitative analysis, defining this as the meaning consumers assign to their experiences (Thompson, 1997, p. 438). Employing narrative analysis to this process is thus useful for the interpretation of such consumer stories and subsequently, uncovering complex sets of meanings that may otherwise remain latent (Thompson,1997, p. 439). One specific example of an effective implementation of narrative analysis within a marketing CCT context is Thompson and Troester’s (2002) study of motivations for consumption within natural health microcultures. In justification of their methodological choice, the authors affirm the reliability of narrative analysis in their research context through the multi-faceted insights into consumer culture and subsequent individual behaviours (Thompson & Troester, 2002). Narrative analysis can thus effectively assist researchers to draw out “biographical narratives in terms that align their identities with valued or idealised aspects” (Thompson & Troester, 2002, p. 85) of their environment. Gubrium and Holstein (2000) also assert narrative scope as a natural form for our times due to our “self-articulating society” (p. 220). Specifically, this
89 preoccupation with images and discourse of both real and imposed identities espouses narrative analysis as appropriate for unveiling the process of “collectively authorising particular selves” (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000, p. 220). This is a notion prevalent through the creation of content by SMIs on social media and the multitude of selves they present online. Also writing within a CCT lens, Joy, Sherry, Trolio and Deschenes in their 2010 paper, employ analyses of narratives for of beautifying the body, allowing the assertion of the nuanced nature of such consumer behaviour narratives. A number of other studies have employed narrative analysis to draw out consumer identities in online contexts. In Giesler’s 2008 paper, narrative analysis is employed to unveil the wider cultural context of his research on music consumption and the way such developments are historically perceived within the marketplace. White’s 2010 study on eBay narratives further draws out consumption stories in online narratives and the role of gendered norms through both images and text. Online narrative strategies employed by bloggers are also unveiled through Kozinets et al.’s (2010) study. Through their longitudinal analysis of blog content emerges narrative strategies employed by bloggers during seeding campaigns to mitigate commercial tensions, indicating the effectiveness of narrative analysis in this context. Similar, Epp and Price (2008) employ narrative analysis in unveiling consumption practices within families and their significance in the construction of such collective family identities. Namely, analysis of narratives of family members help uncover how each individual in the family works to jointly construct a number of rituals linked to consumer objects that can become sites for collective familial socialization and therefore the collective familial identity. Narratives further assist Thompson and Ustuner’s 2015 study of marketplace performances of gender within the field of female roller derby. In particular, the way narratives can reflect their participation in the roller derby field aligns with their broader life narratives and social networks, revealing a recreation of gendered social norms (Thompson & Ustuner, 2015). Narrative’s use in the analysis of identities is also reflected in Thompson, Henry and Bardhi’s 2018 paper that uncovered emic motifs within displaced lifestyles and identity projects of motherhood. In particular, narratives were essential in uncovering changes that occur after major life disruptive events such as divorce (Thompson, Henry, & Bardhi, 2018). Further employment of narrative analysis across both visual and textual modes online is Arsel and Bean’s (2012) investigation of home design blogs, utilising both
90 posts and interviews to uncover marketplace tastes regimes, and van Laer, Edson Escalas, Ludwig and van de Hende’s (2019) study of implicit narratives within online reviews. Each of these studies reveals the ability for narrative analysis to be used in varying ways and contexts to uncover key insights to consumer stories. Thus, within an interpretive framework, narrative analysis is a methodology able to inform the data collection methods and effectively unveil the display and transfer of capital within the current social media context.
3.2.2 Visual Narratives Visual narratives can be considered as the types of narratives that emerge from the storytelling power of imagery, rather than through those of verbal or written nature. As asserted by Schroeder (2003), “the lens is the defining technology of the current era” (pp. 81- 82) – one that offers a basis to frame visual narratives, and is key to understanding society’s sensemaking processes. This importance of studying narratives within visual images is cemented by Rose (2001) who argues “images matter ... because they are powerful and seductive” (p. 203), reflecting the importance of subsequent critical analysis. Social media, in particular, has expanded the ability to utilise visual methodologies, including research of archived social media posts and video interviews. As a result, knowledge of prior effective implementation of visual methodologies is necessary to understand how it could be useful for this research. Barthes’ (1981) writing on photography, which illustrates the worthiness of the study of visuals as the “photograph mechanically repeats what could be repeated existentially” (pp. 4-5), suggests that photographs, however, always require a form of prior knowledge or reflection to allow for understanding. Barthes’ (1981, p. 6) phenomenological works draw attention to his interpretation of the signalling system inherent within photography, including signifiers that ultimately allow a photograph to co-exist as both reality and the past. Barthes (1981, p. 28) refers to the key reading captured by an image as read by the viewer as the punctum, allowing the photograph itself to act as a signifier for various interpretations. Hence, Barthes (1981) brings awareness to not only what is present in the image as intended by the photographer, but also what is not seen by the photographer, residing only in the reading of the viewer. Writing on Barthes’ work, Butchart (2016) further draws attention to the context of the photograph itself, as an individual either captures or poses for a photo in anticipation of it being viewed by the self or others in the future, as “expression is not
91 without the impact of its perception” (p. 214). This is particularly of note for images on social media, therefore the purpose and intention of the images should be considered when analysing them as data. Such conceptualisation in Butchart’s (2016) work calls for a unique analysis of visual imagery, differentiated between the “linguistic message (text), the symbolic message (connoted images) and the literal message (denoted image)” (Mey & Dietrich, 2017, p. 284), which are contextually decoded. Such messages can also be communicated through the “expressive content” of an image, which Rose (2001) defines as the “mood or atmosphere as part of the compositional interpretation of an image” (p. 79), which can assist in analysing narratives. These can be evoked through the signs and symbols that allow for the presentation of particular connotations that enable audiences to read meaning within an image (Rose, 2001, p. 121). It is, however, important to recognise how one’s personal knowledge and experience can also impact upon our ability to visually read an image (Banks, 2001; Barthes, 1981). Banks (2001) recommends analysing both internal and external narratives to maximise visual interpretation. This is also echoed by Rose (2001) who acknowledges that images hold “several sites of meaning construction, including production, the image itself and audiences”, each based upon different modalities including the “technological, compositional and social” (Schroeder, 2003, p. 84). In other words, each image consists of multiple layers that should each be considered during the visual analysis process. This is further asserted within a consumer research context, as Pink (2016) draws attention to what she calls the “digital intangible”, namely, what we can “sense but not necessarily see” (p. 162), which can be made visible through methods such as narrative analysis. Pink (2011, p. 19) moreover argues a case for visual methods as able to make “visible” such practices and approaches undertaken by individuals, enabling them to be revealed to others, thus advancing meaning. Recent applications of visual methodologies can thus assist in building a case for the use and implementation in particular contexts. Pink (2011) draws attention to the increasing use of visual narratives in anthropology, particularly within the healthcare arena, due to its ability to maximise understanding of the relationship between patients and health professionals. Visual narratives can moreover assist in generating more detailed, thick description, also asserted by Snee (2013) in a study of narratives within young people’s travel blogs, utilising images contained within the blogs as natural and unprompted views of how individuals frame their experiences.
92 This effective ability to capture naturalistic data has been further supported by Caruso and Roberts (2018) in their use of digital representations to capture samples of masculinities online. Also of note is Price, Coulter, Strizhakova and Schult’s (2017) use of narrative analyses of visual collages as a way to bring to the surface “culturally embedded mindsets” (p. 28) of the idea of a fresh start. The results that indicated the integration of particular mindsets in neoliberal culture and consumption provide insights into its consideration in campaigns to enhance consumer wellbeing (Price, Coulter, Strizhakova, & Schult, 2017). Visual analysis can therefore be argued as being particularly useful in interpreting data that conveys how individuals present themselves in their own contexts, where this production is not influenced by the research process. Despite this advantage of using visual social media posts as research data, little has been written on the methodological specificities of analysing social media posts as a combination of both the visual and written text. More, however, has been written on “selfies” as a subsection of images that requires consideration, and hence an overview of this extant literature is useful for the following research. Hess (2015) discusses selfies within a wider lens of the networked society, including the way such photos function as an assemblage, representing a multitude of factors such as identity, location, and one’s wider network. Similarly, Marwick’s (2015) study on beauty bloggers reinforces the significance of selfies as an authenticating practice. Moreover, Presi, Maehle and Kleppe (2016) focus on brand selfies as a display of consumption and their significance for extending brand experience and meaning. Thus, visual analysis on social media images such as selfies can effectively result in uncovering latent meanings around posting. In Rose’s (2016) chapter on using digital images, she argues that during analysis, particular attention should be paid to the “circulation and the audience of images” (p. 292). “Audiencing” therefore involves questioning how an image may be viewed differently in an alternative context, drawing attention and encouraging researchers to consider the social context of an image (Rose, 2016, p. 39). It is therefore important to recognise that the images analysed for this study have been produced and uploaded to public Instagram accounts, which hold contextual nuances that are understood by those who are familiar with the medium. Eagar and Dann (2012) define the parameters of Instagram as “a public feed of self-selected images, marked by public consumption, and marked for indexing, for the purpose of creating an intentional public discourse” (p. 1842). The importance of contextualising
93 posts in order to analyse their intended meaning is illustrated through the reading of what Eagar and Dann (2012, p. 1845) categorise as the “parody selfie” of which meta- commentary is employed by the individual through self-awareness to create humour. Similarly, their analysis of the travel selfie reinforces the significance of both the image and its accompanying caption for its rhetoric function, including adding hashtags and geotags to the post. In the example of the travel selfie, the background location may be indistinguishable to the audience, yet it is the caption and geotag that are able to deliver both the narrative and cultural capital of the individual posting (Eagar & Dann, 2016, p. 1849). A selfie posted on social media can thus function as a narrating tool, allowing one to present a curated image of the self (Eagar & Dann, 2016, p. 1850). In this regard, visual analysis of such images allows for a multimodal approach to narratives, as examining social media posts allows researchers to “attempt to construct a picture of the visual vernaculars which contribute to meaning-making, identity formation and social interaction” (Pearce, Özkula, Greene, Teeling, Bansard, Omena, & Rabello, 2018, p. 6). Analysing visual narratives is thereby well suited to the context of social media posts.
3.3 Methodological Design 3.3.1 Site of study
In order to explore individual narratives of displays of social status, the site of study chosen is the SMIs’ online social media platforms. In particular, this study has focused on the mobile application Instagram, as a site where social media status is created through the attainment of “followers” and “likes”. This online community has thus been justified as the site of study through its ability to act as a space for the online creation, display and maintenance of identity. Such spaces subsequently enable individuals to display the self and interact with others, which can support the growth of their social media status. Both visual and textual data from social media posts have been utilised, recognising such messages are “multimodal” as they can signify differing intentions (Villarroel, Ordenes, Grewal, Ludwig, Ruyter, Mahr, & Wetzels, 2018). Hence, the site of study provides a rich source of both visual and textual data collated unobtrusively, providing insights into “naturally occurring behaviour” (Kozinets, 2002, p. 62). It is, however, necessary to note that utilising online sites of study can be both revelatory and problematic (ethically speaking) in nature.
94 In terms of the revelatory, using social media as a site of study can offer a departure from reliance on curated data sets, instead using social media uploads as user-generated in-situ data (Edwards, Houseley, Williams, Sloan, & Williams, 2013, p. 345). Moreover, it can allow access to sample participants previously unlikely to participate in studies, as well as enabling researchers to monitor in real time “social processes as they unfold” (Edwards et al., 2013, p. 253), rather than through recollection. Whilst it is necessary to note that researching relationships between online and offline behaviour requires additional methodologies (Edwards et al., 2013, p. 247), employing social media as a site of study offers innovative and productive methods of research. Many of these advantages of using online sites of study are reflected through the growing literature of digital methods, particularly netnography (Kozinets, 2015) and cyber ethnography (Davis, 2010; Robinson & Shulz, 2009, 2011). Netnography was first coined by Kozinets (2015) to reflect the growing interest in the use of ethnography specifically on online networks as a “unique social phenomenon” (p. 1) that can assist in our social understanding of communities.This understanding is due in part to the ability to access, and thus analyse, human postings online. The analysis of such communities is, due to the very nature of these communities, unstable and fluid because of the lack of traditional physical boundaries, and the fragmentation of how we are able to communicate online. The largely unobtrusive nature of netnography allows researchers to uncover “thick” description of consumer landscapes (Langer & Beckman, 2005, p. 192). This can involve digital worlds, as well as their associated physical localities, to account for the contexts in which such posts are situated in, opening up new knowledge pathways that otherwise may not have been accessible (Postill & Pink, 2012, p. 125). Postill and Pink (2012) therefore liken social media ethnography to a physical locale in traditional ethnography, as a place of “gathering and accumulating”, signified through the online activities of “sharing, linking, following and tagging” (p. 120). As a result, social media ethnography is useful in encouraging reflexive thought on how one uses and understands the Internet, particularly for self-presentation purposes and social media status and symbolic capital accumulation. This is also apparent through Kozinets, de Valck, Wojnicki and Wilner’s (2010) study using narratives within online communities. This study applied ethnography to blog content where a particular mobile phone was gifted to bloggers (in the hope it would be covered on their blogs), collecting data directly before and after, as well as three months following the campaign (Kozinets et
95 al., 2010). As a result, the study was able to unobtrusively uncover word-of-mouth marketing messages in the context in which they appear online through particular narratives (Kozinets et al., 2010). These studies therefore reveal a useful application of ethnography in examining online communities. Despite the advantages of using online sites of study, it is necessary to also consider problematic ethical issues that may arise from data collection. As posited by Posthill and Pink (2012), the Internet is a “messy fieldwork environment that crosses online and offline worlds, and is connected and constituted through the ethnographer’s narrative” (p. 124). Whilst the content uploaded to a public social media account can be considered “public information” (Langer & Beckman, 2005, p. 192), the ethics of utilising such data should still be considered. Rayne, Barnwell, Barbosa and Neves (2019) appeal for a reflexive approach to such publicly available data, despite the general assumption of the public nature of social posts. This ethical approach draws upon boyd (2008) and the problematic nature of viewing privacy as a clear-cut black and white, of “exposed or not”, instead suggesting such definitions should tend towards the ability of individuals to maintain control over their created posts and content (p. 16). Thus, Rayne, Barnwell and Barbosa (2019) assert that it is not ethical to rely on the premise of “publicly available” (p. 2) data for social media research. This study has thereby followed recommendations of both Rayne et al. (2019) and Hewson (2016) to obtain consent to reproduce social media posts and reduce any possible impairment by implementing censor bars and removing usernames to minimise the potential for harm. A further disadvantage includes the issue of collecting, organising and managing large volumes of social media posts to be used as data. Bean and Arsel (2013, p. 376) recommend creating an offline archive to simplify and manage this process, either manually or through the use of programs. They further discuss the importance of maintaining the iterative nature of research, continually synthesising collated data and the narratives that arise from content posted for “nuance and context” (Bean & Arsel, 2013, p. 381). Hence, the social media posts collected throughout this study have been carefully archived to ensure their ability to be understood and detailed as rich data.
96 3.3.2 Ontological and Epistemological Underpinnings of the Interpretive Paradigm
In selecting the chosen methodology it is necessary to also consider the philosophical underpinning of the research paradigm followed throughout each of the three essays and to acknowledge its impact on decision making. Interpretative paradigms recognise that reality is a subjective experience, and thus any resulting research is an outcome of the relationship between the researcher and the research participants. As native social media users, it is thus important to also recognise the existence of unconsciously held indeterminant beliefs surrounding Instagram and social media postings and the potential repercussions in any subsequent analysis of the data. As argued by Myers (2009), any access to reality is enabled through such social construction as language, consciousness and shared meanings. Thus, an interpretative paradigm, led by qualitative interviews and visual narrative analysis of the images and text in the SMIs’ Instagram posts, has been purposively selected as conducive to “building a complex, holistic picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants” (Qu and Du May, 2011, p. 245). Moreover, the SMI content analysed has been contextualised through the SMIs interview responses, allowing any analysis to be primarily framed through the SMIs own subjective experiences. Ontologically, this research therefore recognises the existence of multiple realities as individuals make sense of their social worlds, both as individual and in conjunction with others (Cantrell, 2001). A qualitative approach was therefore justified in order to enable interview respondents to express their own experiences. An interpretive approach subsequently allowed such perceptions to be extrapolated. These multiple realities can be richly constructed through images and texts, assisting in the justification of social media postings as complex and meaningful data to be analysed. Epistemologically, the social reality of research participants is recognised as guided through their own social contexts. It is recognised that an SMI is a human construction and thus their existence and relationship with other key players can be understood only via subjective sensemaking. Such interpretation is moreover influenced by the obtaining of qualitative data in order to result in research that is
97 naturally brought to fore through the lived experiences and subsequent postings of SMIs.
3.3.3 Sample The sample selected for the following study was initially established by examining best practice within extant studies, and then modified to suit the research question. A purposive sample of SMIs has been utilised, with such individuals classified as currently holding over 5,000 followers on the social media channel of Instagram, with a focus on lifestyle, fashion, health, fitness and/or wellbeing, and an average of 150 or more “likes” per image to signify high engagement levels. Five thousand followers is currently the benchmark for Australia’s leading influencer agencies, such as Vamp and Hypetap. At present, there has been no collective academic definition of how many followers are required to be perceived as an SMI. Rather, most build upon Marwick’s (2013) definition of a “micro-celebrity”, namely “a state of being famous to a niche group of people” (p. 114). Marwick (2015) defined the term “Instafame” in academic contexts as, “the condition of having a relatively great number of followers on the app” (p. 137). Hence, in the absence of existing academic definitions of the number of followers one must hold to be considered an SMI, a minimum Instagram follower count of 5,000 has been selected to mirror current industry practice. This number was consolidated through investigating practising SMI agencies, which require an average minimum of 5,000 followers on Instagram before applying to join such agencies and subsequently participate in potential collaboration opportunities (Cheik-Hussei, 2019).
The data collected is in two main parts: 1) analysis of archived social media posts over a 24-month period and 2) face-to-face or online in-depth interviews. Seventeen social media influencers were initially selected through purposive sampling for the analysis of archived posts, and their permission then sought to utilise their posts for research purposes. Each of these SMIs then underwent face-to-face or online in- depth interviews. This data was used to help with increasing the rigour of the study and as a means of confirming some aspects of industry practice from both the SMIs and the agencies (as a form of triangulation: Perry, 1998; Wallendorf & Belk, 1989). These sources were selected based upon their ability to collate multiple insights and subsequently create comparisons in the reported data (Franzosi, 1998). Next, a
98 smaller sample of three key SMI agencies in this emerging industry were also recruited through passive snowballing for face-to-face or online in-depth interviews. This resulted in a sample of 17 to undergo data analysis for each of the three essays, which was adequate for analysis, and where a point of saturation appeared to have been reached (Bowen, 2008) and was able to allow for richness of data and provide the information sought (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011, p. 260).
Table 1.1 Characteristics of Interview Participants SMI Audience Classification Content Age Gender Profession Account in 000s Style Established
Power A 520 K Power Lifestyle 24 Female Full-time SMI 2014 (conscious living, fashion, vegan)
Macro A 100 K Macro Lifestyle 23 Female Full-time 2014 (vegan, SMI/Model fashion, food)
Macro B 70 K Macro Food and 25 Female Full-time SMI 2015 travel
Macro C 37.6 K Macro Makeup 28 Female Full-time 2012 and Influencer/Wri beauty ter
Macro D 36.7 K Macro Natural 32 Female Full-time 2012 beauty Influencer
Macro E 24.2 K Micro Lifestyle 26 Female Full-time 2013 (fashion) Influencer/ Model
99 Micro A 23.1 K Micro Lifestyle 27 Female Social Media 2014 (fashion Coordinator and beauty)
Micro B 18 K Micro Lifestyle 37 Female Interior Stylist 2011 (interiors and beauty)
Micro C 17 K Micro Lifestyle 22 Female Marketing 2016 (vegan Officer and travel)
Micro D 15 K Micro Lifestyle 27 Female Marketing 2011 (fashion, Assistant travel, beauty)
Micro E 15.5 k Micro Lifestyle 29 Female Photographer 2014 (vegan)
Micro F 14 K Micro Lifestyle 30 Female Mother 2016 (vegan)
Micro G 14 K Micro Lifestyle 21 Female Student 2016 (travel and conscious living)
Micro H 11 k Micro Lifestyle 24 Female Marketing 2014 (vegan Assistant and fashion)
100 Mini A 5 k Mini Lifestyle 29 Female Personal 2016 (food and Trainer fitness)
Mini B 3 k Mini Lifestyle 27 Female Social Media 2013 (fashion) Manager
Mini C 3 k Mini Fitness 28 Female Communicati 2014 ons Manager
Agency Year Established Agency Specialisation Structure
Vamp 2015 Micro SMIs App
The Exposure 2013 All SMIs Website
Scrunch 2011 All SMIs Website
3.3.4 Data collection tools Two sources of data, in-depth live interviews and archived posts (including both the visual and text data) from the SMIs’ own Instagram posts, were utilised for the purpose of creating rich narrative source material data for the study. This was necessary to explore the detail, nuance and complexity of symbolic and representational meaning that the SMIs generate as part of their presentation of self (Creswell & Clark, 2007, p. 4; Goffman, 1978). Moreover, utilising two sources of data, Instagram posts (visual and textual) as well as the interview transcripts, assists in providing thick description, allowing for some triangulation of data to subsequently enhance validity (Geertz, 1973; Seale, 1999). The analysis of visual material was guided by three key works: Gillian Rose’s Visual Methodologies (2012), Barthes’ Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography (1981) and Sarah Pink’s “Images, Senses and Applications: Engaging Visual Anthropology” (2011). To ensure an integrated methodological approach, both the archived visual data and interviews were then interwoven using a narrative approach throughout. Each of the two data sources were used to uncover links from
101 the individual narratives to possible meta-narratives within the larger context, as expressed within the CCT tradition (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultans, 2008).
First, archived data of the Instagram posts from SMIs interviewed was collated and analysed for the purpose of identifying key narrative structures and themes. Second, face-to-face interview data, which was collated alongside the individual SMI’s visual data and posts, then built a rich textual and visual narrative for each SMI. As a result, a complex integrated narrative can be built for each of the SMIs, based on both their archived visual posts from their Instagrams and textual data from the visual accompanying text and their face-to-face interviews. This effectively allows the visual and textual data to complement each other and build a holistic picture of the narrative each SMI is presenting online, i.e. the post data (which is curated and edited), combined with the interview data discussing it. These are linked together alongside possible metanarratives identified within the mediascape including key online SMI trends.
i. Visual Analysis using Archived Online Data First, visual analysis as a form of data collection suitable for gathering primary data from the online sphere was utilised. Using archived material for the purpose of analysis is valuable as it enables researchers to “save data from obscurity, elevating and noticing them, pulling them out and polishing them through theoretical positioning as scientific gems worthy of sharing” (Kozinets, 2015, p. 161). As a result, utilising social networking platforms as ethnographic sites afford researchers the ability to “invisibly observe social interactions” (Murthy, 2008, p. 845), which can subsequently assist in enhancing the validity of such field work. A wealth of content is produced daily on Instagram by SMIs and various other social media channels, and hence is easy to access (Kozinets, 2015, p. 162). The content selected for analysis and research has thus been derived from Instagram images uploaded by SMIs, as well as the captions and comments present on each post. This helps in building a richness and a thick description that helps increase validity (Seale, 1999). It is recognised that this data could also be sampled from numerous social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Tumblr and blogs to name a few. The channel of Instagram, however, has been purposely selected as a platform most commonly generating SMIs, birthing the term
102 “Instafamous”, namely “a new breed of celebrity” (Marwick, 2015, p.137) generated through attracting followers on the platform. As an example of a collective online platform that is defined as “sharing social expressions” (Kozinets, 2015, p. 35), the findings derived through study of visual Instagram posts can be subsequently generalised to other channels. Kozinets (2015) further explains the nature of such networks: They offer participants and readers a bank of shared content, but not necessarily the promise of deep engagement in social relationships. The modes of interaction on these communities are predominately consocial and friendly, consisting of broadcast-to-person, shared, rebroadcast or peer-to-peer based exchanges of content and information. (p. 35) Hence, the insights gained through analysis of archived Instagram posts can be justified as providing suitable content for the following study, generalisable (to a certain extent) to other comparable social media channels. The analysed data will thus act as a “representation of reality” (Kozinets, 2015, p. 35) of both the empirical world and researcher interpretation. In order to best capture such insights, open coding of data was conducted, the process of which will be discussed in the following section.
ii. In-Depth Unstructured Interviews Second, in-depth unstructured interviews, which can be justified as an effective data collection source, were employed, for the purpose of a “sensitive and powerful method for investigating subjects’ private and public lives” (Kozinets, 2015, p. 199). Interviews are able to uncover a shared and co-created account of perceived reality, and therefore support the creation of specific meaning necessary for uncovering deeper understanding (Kvale, 2006, p. 480). Unstructured interviews were conducted, using only generalised talking points drawn from the analysis of archived posts (see attached Appendix A). These opening questions aimed to assist in drawing relevant insights from respondents, achieved by minimising “structuring on behalf of the interviewer” (Slembrouck, 2004, p. 93), allowing implicit narrative detail to be elicited. As a result, such in-depth interviews encouraged open responses in a conversational style by asking only initial opening questions, followed by probes to encourage further “depth of answers and … elicit narration” (Scheibelhofer 2008, p. 405). Whilst the interview structure remained respondent-directed wherever possible, follow-up questions were also asked during interviews in an effort to clarify and enrich with detail the information
103 obtained (Scheibelhofer, 2008, p. 405). Despite this, it is acknowledged that some discrepancies in meaning and understanding may occur, reflecting the inherent complexities of social beings. This limitation is an unavoidable element of the interpretive research process but can be minimised by member checks (Geertz, 1973) and in this instance by the actual visual data that was collected from the individual SMIs that were examined for reinforcing latent meaning and interpretation. To further ensure that the complexity of human interaction was captured, interview audio recordings were transcribed and both purposeful and non-purposeful information noted. The recording of such nuanced forms of communication, including inaudible murmurs, pauses and emphasis, thus assisted in uncovering complex and latent meanings necessary for the study. This also ensured the interviews could generate meaningful narratives, through their ability to include nuance and rich detail (Creswell, 1994). As a result, the interview data assisted in uncovering identity building purpose within the individual narratives and also enabled in linking these to any apparent meta- narratives that existed in the larger social media context and beyond. This potential is reinforced through the assertion that storytelling through talk allows identities to be “inflected, reworked, and more or less variably and subtly invoked” (Georgeakopoulos, 2006, p. 125). Hence, interviews with a narrative lens can allow for the possible identification of metanarratives within subcultural domains, which could subsequently assist in mapping the individual identity narratives to larger trends and metanarratives of the self and identity. Interview data was thus utilised to uncover rich and varied insights, and when combined with analysis of archived Instagram posts, successfully informed the insights and understandings in the following three essays.
3.3.5 Data Analysis Narrative analysis formed the most appropriate choice for examination of the collected textual and visual data. As asserted by Riessman (2016, p. 6), the methodology enables investigators to examine the narrative’s purpose and how these goals are achieved. It considers the “hows and wants” (Gubrium & Holstein, 1998, p. 163) of narration to uncover latent meanings of participants. Through the process of coding, the analyst can uncover possible performative features embedded within narratives. This can be encouraged throughout the analysis process, including questioning “why a narrative segment was developed that way at that point in an unfolding conversation”
104 (Riessman, 2011, p. 6). Common structures within transcriptions were detected and applied in the manner utilised by Labov (1982). These six narrative functional structures include the structural aspects of the narrative such as the abstract, orientation, evaluation, complication, resolution and coda (Labov, 2013, p. 44). Narrative can therefore be broken down into these structural segments, to then examine similar parts of each individual narrative to look for commonalities and resonances reflecting the key themes and elements in identity construction in storytelling (Cohen, 2012, p. 253). Of further consideration is Ricoeur’s (1980, p. 169) acknowledgment of the relationship between narrative and temporality, and hence its effect on the way language is structured. Therefore, analyses subsequently considered such temporal structuring including whether such narratives are presented as linear, chronological or otherwise, and its significance for the narrative itself. This also draws attention to the analysis of plot structuring within narratives, evident through Ricoeur’s (1982) definition of plot as connecting “disparate and sometimes non-linear events to the main story line in narrating it” (p. 171). As a result, analysis of the archived posts and the interview data paid particular significance to the way in which both textual and visual data constructs plot and subsequently the direction of a narrative. In doing so, however, it is also necessary to consider Riessman’s (2011) focus on the interactional context of a narrative as the “setting, historical context, our preferred theoretical positions, and other dimensions that shape the data we generate” (p. 8) is crucial in developing reflexive insights. This includes ensuring that the researcher is aware and acknowledges the contextual framework that informs the narrative data.
In order to best capture the meanings inherent in such latent data, open coding was used for both the archived visual data and for in-depth, unstructured interview data. This is supported by the ability for open coding to best allow for the emergence and conceptualisation of themes (Creswell, 2013). The process followed Creswell’s (2013) recommendations for qualitative analysis through segmenting the data collected into separate distinct codes (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultans, 2008, p. 364). As analysis represents the “interplay between researchers and data” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 13), the process involved remaining open to new possibilities, whilst providing core elements of standardisation and rigour. Axial coding was conducted by reviewing and comparing initially identified codes, to check for any recurring themes
105 that could be consolidated. A subset of the data was also double coded to ensure consistency in interpretation, before the second stage axial coding was carried out. Codes were then collapsed into a smaller set to bring to the fore any emergent conceptual themes, subsequently collated into the integrated research findings. The identification of such conceptual themes was structured to be as “internally homogenous as possible and externally heterogeneous as possible” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 13) within the themes themselves. As a result of this, data analysis presents a rich, carefully collected set of resulting themes, which were subsequently further explored.
Meaning can also be generated from the data through numerous techniques guided by Franzosi’s (1998) approach to narrative analysis. The various facets of visual and semantic analyses include the unpacking of dynamic and static motifs, duration, frequency, temporal ordering, sequencing and character traiting (Franzosi, 1998). Furthermore, analyses through categorisation, abstraction, comparison, depersonalisation, integration, iteration and refutation can further assist through several iterative processes obtaining meaning and generating theoretical underpinnings within the data. The latter of these processes involves asking specific questions of the data to enhance initial analysis, including who the data was generated for (audience) and identifying inferences from the entire data set to advance induction, and pick out key constructs (Spiggle, 1994, p. 495). This analysis is further assisted by Barthes’ (1981) interpretation of the stadium (as intended by the composer/creator of the image) and punctum – the latent meaning of visuals (the unique interpretation by the viewer using their own lens of individual experience). Both convey the importance of the researcher’s eye that pierce/punctures through the literal interpretation of what the creator of the image composed it to reveal and what the viewer reads in the composition of the image (Barthes, 1981). Thus, all visual narrative analysis of archived material was situated in context with attention given to the composition of the image (Mey & Dietrich, 2017, p. 283). Finally, the subjectivity of the researcher has also been considered (Barthes, 1981), including the ability for the reader’s understanding to be “unknowingly shaped” (Mullen, 2002, p. 2) by what images are shown and excluded. Thus, Pink’s (2001, p. 96) recommendation to explore, rather than translate, the relationships between the visual and context has
106 been employed. Understanding of these various techniques and approaches has informed the analyses to unveil rich insights able to direct each of the three essays.
3.3.6 Ethical Considerations The methodology for the study involved collection of human-centred data and thus required comprehensive ethical consideration. Particularly of note is the use of social media posts, including images and captions, and the complexities surrounding the use of such online data for research purposes. Hence, issues lie both within the capturing of data and the potential for such data to be individually identified. In order to protect the anonymity and intent of participants, certain privacy shielding methods have been employed.
First, as asserted by Murthy (2008), all posts have been contextualised and “treated in a nuanced or layered fashion” (p. 846), to ensure data selected is representative of the individual posting conventions. This need is further echoed by Kozinets (2015), who asserts one must “relentlessly seek the meaning of online social data through efforts to elaborate and maintain its context” (p. 199). Therefore, the study has engaged thorough triangulation of data (utilising the interviews to do member checks and confirm the intended meaning of the visual posts), in an effort to contextualise findings and enhance the validity of interpretation (Kozinets, 2002, p. 62). The second ethical concern primarily centres on access to data. As introduced earlier, once posts are published on public social media accounts, they could be considered part of the public domain and are theoretically suitable for use in analysis for research purposes (Murthy, 2008, p. 845). As a result, seeking informed consent for public social media posts is not required by most ethical institutions (Silverman, 2007). Despite this, emerging research conducted on social media has identified potential ethical breaches in following such scholarship. This notion is echoed by Zimmer (2010) who asserts, “concerns over consent, privacy and anonymity do not disappear simply because subjects participate in online social networks; rather they become even more important” (p. 342). Zimmer (2010) supports this assertion through his case study on an ethical breach of data through research conducted on the social media site Facebook. Despite attempts to protect the privacy of the sample, including de-identification of the data set, the lack of success in enforcing such measures subsequently placed the privacy of participants at risk. Following his discussion of
107 such breaches in privacy, Zimmer (2010) recommends that informed consent should be obtained even for publicly posted data available on social media. This is further supported by Rose (2016), who discusses the contentious issue of utilising data gathered online, as it is “by definition available to anyone” (p. 302). Rose (2016) asserts that “standard practice” usually involves asking for consent to reproduce imagery in publications (p.302), however acknowledges that this step is often not followed through for public online data. To ensure implementation of ethically sound research, all participants were informed of the possibility of partial identification and were asked to give informed consent for the use of their posts in publications. They were all given University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee approved (Application #2016/860. See attached ethics approval letter in Appendix B) information sheets and signed consent forms for their interviews and all their posts on Instagram. Thus, all data used in this thesis, including images on publicly posted images on social media, have been approved by participants for academic use. Furthermore, all data has been de- identified as far as possible (though this cannot always be achieved with visual data), to protect the anonymity of all participants and hence, reduce the likelihood of ethical concerns.
108
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119 Essay One
Mapping the Field: SMIs and the Language of Instagram within the Online Field
Abstract The world of social media is rapidly on the rise, with little academic research that examines this phenomenon of the social media influencer (SMI) landscape. This essay examines the evolution of the SMI field and the key actors who are emerging within this growing industry. The following analysis employs a theoretical frame of Bourdieu’s cultural intermediaries (Bourdieu, 1996; Hesmondhalgh, 2006) to reveal the complexities of the field and the subsequent role of co-creation between SMIs and brands. Narrative analysis of interviews with SMIs themselves and the agencies who represent them function as key data to support this conceptual industry overview. In doing so, key terms are defined and discussed, including the categorisation of SMIs (micro, macro and power), their relationships with the larger digital field, and upcoming advances to the landscape. As a result, this first essay (of three) highlights what the industry recognises as legitimate SMI success and the subsequent importance of Instacapital as a form of online social capital. The essay highlights the emergent and key role of SMI agencies as a significant cultural intermediary in this process.
Introduction The launch of Instagram in 2010 initiated an entirely new online world, and in doing so brought to the fore the term social media influencer. The resulting changes to digital marketing thus reflect the significant capacity of Instagram as a platform for social interaction as an online marketplace (Abidin, 2014). According to MediaKix (2019), by 2020 $US 2.3 billion will be spent on Instagram SMI marketing, an indication of the growing importance of SMIs to brands and businesses. Moreover, SMIs are increasingly eschewing existing careers to transition to full-time “content creators”. A plethora of social media agencies have also been established, working directly with brands to create SMI-generated content. SMI has thus become a legitimate title in the contemporary marketing context. What constitutes an SMI and what they do is, however, continually evolving, and still appears rather fluid. Frequently SMIs are referred to as a “content creator” or “blogger”, and at times, a “stylist”, “photographer” or “writer”. Despite the myriad titles, the term SMI essentially refers to an individual
120 who takes photos, most commonly of themselves, and uploads them onto social media, to be “liked” and commented on by followers online. When this following is of significant size or targeted enough at a particular segment of consumers, the individual is regarded as being “influential” enough to be approached by corporations to help promote their brands. The frequency of such brand posts online reveals the extent of the industry's growth from Instagram’s initial purpose of a simple photo-sharing application. Interviews conducted with Australian SMIs of various-sized follower counts as well as SMI agencies (that have only emerged in the last couple of years) hoping to capitalise off such bloggers, reveal a complex, loosely structured and largely unregulated industry. The outcome of such industry fluidity allows for a growing foundation for SMIs to create significant success through both commercial opportunities and financial rewards, whilst simultaneously opening up potential pitfalls through a lack of protection for those operating within it. Despite this, there remains, academically, a sizable gap in knowledge and understanding of key actors and structures in this rapidly growing and fast-changing industry. This state of the industry necessitates the following overview that maps the SMI landscape through its language and an exploration of the role of content co-creation. This essay will therefore function to present an overview of the SMI industry characteristics and the emergence of significant cultural actors in this process.
2. Background Rationale Conceptualising the SMI landscape necessitates an overview, most notably of the role of the SMIs and their relationship to the structures within this industry. Whilst there remains a sizable gap in extant literature directly surrounding SMIs and their position in contemporary media and marketing contexts, an examination of the extant studies in the area and their theoretical underpinnings is useful.
2.1 The New Economy The social media landscape is one that can be conceptualised as bound within the sociological literature of the new economy. The cultural industry has seen significant growth, encapsulated by “industries that produce cultural outputs” (Gill & Pratt, 2008, p. 4). Bourdieu’s (1985) work on the cultural field and subsequent internal class struggles that result is therefore useful in explicating the core recognition of a commodity’s cultural value. Particularly, Bourdieu (1985) unveils the complexities that
121 arise within the cultural fields and the tension between economic profits and labour in these fields that results in symbolic value – the latter of which allows producers to compete for cultural legitimacy. Hence, one can argue that SMIs and their position within the new economy heighten competition for symbolic value and legitimacy as a precursor to economic profit. This is conceived of as images uploaded to an SMI’s feed essentially being tradable as a commodity, in the same way Bourdieu speaks of the emergence of art as a commodity, resulting in the increasing need for cultural production to be “orientated toward the search for culturally pertinent features endowed with value in the field’s own economy” (Bourdieu, 1985, p. 19). Hence, growth of the cultural industry, and the expansion of the digital economy, has ultimately resulted in greater participation in the new economy, advancing the importance of self-branding within the “freelance based labour market of the digital economy” (Gandini, 2016, p. 123). As a result of Gandini’s (2016) study of self-branding in London and Milan, one could effectively argue for social media as being a “working tool that serves the curation of a professional image and the management of social relationships via the enactment of performative practices of sociality, which exist around a shared notion of reputation as value” (p.124). Farrugia (2018) also speaks of the existence of such entrepreneurial youthfulness and immaterial labour as something of value that can be mobilised for economic purpose within this landscape. In particular, Farrugia (2018) illustrates the significance of self- branding, such as the process of clothing brands hiring young workers to act as “savvy consumers of the brand, rather than workers or employees”, to enhance the brand being perceived as “cool” (p. 520). Similarly, Farrugia (2018, p. 520) posits that such associations can also occur immaterially, such as through brand interactions on social media networks. A similar transfer of value occurs, as the act of posting online offers unpaid labour to the brands featured through online associations. In such instances, femininity is of particular value according to Farrugia (2018), who references Abidin (2016) in discussing “backstage femininity work” (p. 520) such as body positioning, fashion, makeup and hair routines that exist in the upload of a selfie. Here, knowledge of the value of such youthful femininity represents a form of immaterial labour (Gill & Pratt, 2008), particularly if such images uploaded come into contact with the brands presented within the images, such as through a regram on Instagram. Such actions effectively showcase the way that “branded subjectivities and modes of branded cool” often occur outside of formal employment, intrinsically embedded within social media
122 (Farrugia, 2018, p. 520). Hence, in line with various demands of the new economy, immaterial labour is a key component of the SMI landscape.
2.2 Cultural Intermediaries An application of Bourdieu (1996) to the existing media studies literature is also of use for conceptualising the field of cultural production in which SMIs are key actors within the media landscape. “Cultural intermediaries” is a term that first arose in relation to the “new petite bourgeoisie” referring to a new sector of the increasingly influential middle class, specifically employed by “institutions providing symbolic goods and services” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 359), and holding “distinctive tastes and cultural practises” (Hesmondhalgh 2006, p. 226). A cultural intermediary is ultimately influenced by their habitus (Bourdieu, p. 1984) and subsequent personal and professional tasks, giving weight to their own judgements of legitimacy. Bourdieu (1984) identified the types of roles of cultural intermediaries as being in greater flux than “older bureaucratic professions” (p. 151), emerging as flexible gatekeepers. Hence, cultural intermediaries, particularly within the digital economy, open up a productive way of framing the growing SMI landscape.
Since its inception by Bourdieu, there has been a widespread contemporary growth of literature on cultural intermediaries and their function within society (Hesmondhalgh, 2002; Murdock, 2003; Nixon & Du Gay, 2002; Wright, 2005). However, there have also been several assertions that the term itself has been diluted (Maguire & Mathew, 2014). First, Negus (2002) draws attention to the distance between contemporary notions of cultural intermediaries and its original conception by Bourdieu. Identifying the strength of the term when applied to workers who act as a middle ground between production and consumption, Negus (2002) illustrates the importance of intermediaries for symbolic production. Specifically, the “aim of numerous workers engaged in promotion and marketing is to link a product to a potential consumer by seeking to forge a sense of identification”, hence advancing their importance from a branding context (Negus, 2002, p. 4). Moreover, it is this symbolic exchange that is most strongly linked to SMIs, thus necessitating its understanding. This link is further emphasised through Negus’ (2002) admission that the work of cultural intermediaries is largely dependent upon connections and shared values at the expense of formal qualifications and merit. As a result, the work of
123 cultural intermediaries can hold significant implications for advancing and maintaining barriers to entry. Hesmondhalgh (2006) thus evaluates the effectiveness of applying Bourdieu to media production in contemporary society. Hesmondalgh (2006) discusses Bourdieu and identifies much of his work as being built on “a model of the interconnectedness of fields and the relationship of fields to questions of power” (p. 218), whilst also drawing attention to the implications of the significance of the growth of the cultural industry in the 20th century. Also of note is Hesmondalgh’s (2006) calling out of Featherstone (1991), for asserting his apparent misunderstanding of Bourdieu’s term in equating cultural intermediaries with those who provide (rather than mediate) symbolic goods and services. This widening of the scope of intermediaries by Featherstone (1987) is projected through his admission of their occupying an increasing amount of social space, overcoming “traditional currency and its authenticators” (p. 68). However, Maguire and Mathews (2012), in line with Hesmondhalgh, signify cultural intermediaries as more condensed, discernible by their ability to claim “professional expertise in taste and value within specific cultural fields” (p. 552). Maguire and Mathews’ (2012) writing on framing reinforces the way cultural intermediaries subsequently become involved as purveyors of legitimacy. On a similar note, Nixon and du Gay (2002) draw heavily upon Bourdieu in discussing cultural intermediaries as encompassing “groups of workers involved in the provision of symbolic goods and services” (p. 496). Bourdieu (1984) himself recognised the increasing presence of what he called the “new cultural intermediaries”, arising from the changing structure of employment, a sentiment that clearly continues into the digital age. Nixon and du Guy (2002) thus draw attention to Bourdieu’s initial identification of rising tension between producers and cultural intermediaries. Specifically, the role cultural intermediaries assume as a middleman between producers and consumers allows them to effectively exert a level of power in shaping tastes, despite not being producers themselves (Nixon & du Guy, 2002). This critical viewpoint on cultural intermediaries reinforces the role they play in modern society, lending itself to the following research on emergence of SMI agencies in the digital world.
The symbolic value ascribed to cultural intermediaries as “arbiters of taste” is further discussed by Lonergan, Patterson and Lichrou (2018) in the context of fashion.
124 Their paper draws attention to the minimal explanations of the ability of cultural intermediaries to ascribe authenticity, a process they assign to their performance of capital as “experts in their respective fields” (p. 2053). The authors particularly discuss the role cultural intermediaries play in value formation though their ability to influence consensual norms about what is the legitimate ideal subject within the field and the marketplace (Lonergan et al., 2018, p. 2053). This ability is widened through the power intermediaries are able to assume online, by connecting brands and SMIs, as will be subsequently discussed. Thus, it is vital to recognise the shifting power of cultural intermediaries in the contemporary media context. Lonergan et al. (2018) affirm the way in which social media allows even greater power to intermediaries to write the rules of taste within the virtual world than they did in traditional offline contexts. However, Crewe (2013), in his work on fashion in the digital age, asserts instead that intermediaries have disrupted the traditional relationships between producers, media and consumers (p. 769). This is reflected by Perry, Smith and Warren (2015) who identify much of the work of cultural intermediaries as “invisible and undervalued, which mediate between professionalised and everyday cultural economies” (p. 726). This is particularly evident amongst cultural intermediaries whose work is not guided purely by profit, such as cultural workers in the arts (Perry, Smith, & Warren, 2015). Moor (2008) provides further context for identifying cultural intermediaries through her work on branding consultants. Moor (2008, p. 412) thus argues that branding consultants are cultural intermediaries for three main reasons: their ability to administer media, their role in legitimating culture through assigning value to goods and services and their workers in creating completely new forms of cultural and commercial messages. Moor (2008) also points out that some branding consultants may not necessarily shape target audience tastes but rather, expose their own personal experiences and as a result, simply maintain rather than advance the tastes of audiences with demographic similarity. Despite this potential admission, however, Moor also draws attention to where influence can be exerted, such as through consumer culture and the culture within brands themselves. Additionally, McFall’s (2010) work on cultural intermediaries is useful in providing a historical perspective from the role of advertising practitioners as offering a “new and unique hybrid cultural and economic position” (p. 522). Advertising practitioners’ role as intermediaries is revealed through their creating of needs for the purpose of selling objects for
125 consumption. As a result, cultural intermediaries’ role can be conceived to reinforce and even lengthen/strengthen the seeming distance between production and consumption (Negus, 2002). Hence, an understanding of cultural intermediaries’ ability to frame consumption is useful in application to SMIs.
2.3 Studies of the Social Media Phenomenon Despite the ubiquity of social media in contemporary culture, there is at present multiple gaps in an understanding of the medium and its influencers from a theoretical research perspective. There has, however, been a recent increase in the literature that provides a critical view on social media influence and its impact on the industry (Fuch, 2018). Much of this work is centred around online identity and its public construction through social media sites. Marwick (2013), in particular, draws attention to how social media requires “users to self-consciously create virtual depictions of themselves” (p. 355), resulting in identity being purposefully constructed in multiple ways online. The study of social media therefore points to a shift in online presentations of the self, where according to Hogan (2010), self-presentation online is able to be more thought out and controlled, in comparison to offline selves. Thompson (2005) similarly speaks of the shift from traditional media to a widening of the communication landscape, drawing attention to the way in which vision is increasingly shaped not by “spatial and temporal properties of the here and now”, but instead “social and technical considerations (such as camera angles, editing processes and organisational interests and priorities” (pp. 35-36). The way individuals present themselves online thus holds significant implications for communication. Whilst acknowledging the way self-presentation online may differ given the specific perceived audience (such as friends on Facebook or a professional network on LinkedIn), Marwick and boyd (2011) point towards the problematizing notion of context collapse. For example, the ability for images uploaded to be viewed negatively in different contexts, such as potential employers dismissing an employee based on a post. Further concerns of social media study orient around the protection of privacy online (Hanna, 2018; Isaak & Hanna, 2018; Marwick, 2013; Pierson & Heyman, 2011), cyberbullying (Barlett, Gentile, Chng, Li, & Chamberlin, 2018), and increasing pressure resulting in a toll on mental health (Berryman, Ferguson, & Negy, 2018; Cain 2018). Despite increasing discourse around these concerns, social media study has also identified a widening of opportunities for individuals to achieve various
126 iterations of success in the absence of traditional stakeholders. Most notable of this is the rise of online micro-celebrities (Senft, 2013), otherwise referred to in this paper as SMIs. Senft (2013) focuses on the micro-celebrity stating, “erosion between private and public has spread beyond those who are famous and those who wish to be famous” (p. 351). Attention is afforded by online “content consumers” who “collectively shape the status of content producers by downloading, rating and commenting on their contributions” (Levina & Arriaga, 2014, p. 469). Whilst being “internet famous” is ultimately embedded within larger narratives of celebrification (Jerslev, 2016), SMIs are ultimately deserving of study in their own right given the nuanced differences in the way their followings are constructed and maintained online and subsequent growth in the role of SMI to become a full time (legitimate) occupation.
Specifically, SMIs’ capacity to embody a self-brand is identified by Khamis, Ang and Welling (2017) as integral in their ability to construct a public image for cultural capital, expedited and disseminated rapidly through various social media platforms. Social media platforms therefore result in what McQuarrie, Miller and Phillips (2012) conceptualise as the “megaphone effect”, whereby mass audiences can be available for ordinary consumers. Particularly within the world of fashion blogging, positive reception by audiences of their specific tastes contributes to a bloggers’ audience growth as they are confirmed as purveyors of aesthetic taste. Such distinctions can be widened to SMIs posting on social platforms, as having encouraged an increasing trend of the purposive “cultivation of an audience through social media with a view of attaining celebrity status” (Khamis, Ang and Welling, 2017, p. 196). The social media space is thus a lucrative one, resulting in the increasing professionalism of the SMI industry, particularly given the ability for SMIs to partake in commercial collaborations and ambassadorships (Stoldt, Wellman, Ekdale, & Tully, 2019). Hence, the following essay will map this social media space and the growth of key players within it.
3. Methodology
The aim of mapping the currently underexplored SMI field was best suited to a qualitative methodology. Qualitative inquiry, specifically, is useful in the elucidation of rich data and its ability to bring to the fore an “underlying reality of social life” (Spiggle, 1994, p. 492). Thus, two main forms of data, in-depth interviews and visual analysis on archival posts, were collected in order to best explore and support the following
127 conceptual industry analysis. Interviews, specifically, are useful for the “unfolding of stories and new insights”, offering a rich array of research (Kvale, 2008, p. 8). In order to best allow such insights to be self-directed rather than reflective of existing assumptions, interviews were loosely structured, allowing interviewees to draw out their own narratives (Arsel, 2017, p. 939). As a result, the interviews were able to unveil individual narratives of the participants concerning their personal experiences in the SMI field. A total of 20 interviews were conducted, 17 with Australian SMIs and three with leading SMI agencies. These SMIs and agencies were selected in a purposive manner through examining key players within the SMI industry. Interviews thereby sought to answer the key research question, of what are the interrelationships between the various players in this emerging digital influencer field. Moreover, permission was obtained from each SMI interviewed for their archival posts to be utilised for further analysis. Common narrative threads were thus drawn from each of the data sources allowing rich themes of the SMI landscape to emerge (Dutta- Bergman, 2004; Wiles, Rosenberg, & Kearns, 2005). This online data was built into the context of interview data to ensure that textual integrity of participants’ meaning was maintained (Gannon & Prothero, 2016, p. 1963). Social media posts and interview transcripts were therefore analysed in tandem, with visual analysis guided by Rose (2016). Analysis of each of the verbal and textual data sets worked to strengthen the validity of the analysis. Moreover, narrative analysis was utilised to assist in untangling each interviewee’s individual conceptions of the social world (Cortazzi, 2014). In turn, a detailed representation of the SMI was brought to the fore, including purposeful decisions made by key players within the field. This further resulted in the appearance of metanarratives within SMI identity projects, as suggested within the consumer cultural theory (CCT) tradition (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultnans, 2008). To achieve this, data was initially distributed into an exhaustive set of codes (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultnans, 2008), before axial coding commenced to condense key concepts to undergo further segmentation, resulting in a refined set of themes (Strauss & Cobin, 1990). The illustrative data that emerged from this final theme set underwent a second level of analysis, specifically noting structural and linguistic observations (Franzosi, 1998) and visual style and structure (Rose, 2016).
4. Analysis
128 4.1 The Instagram industry: A new lexicon and the new rules of engagement Instagram is a social networking application, used primarily on smartphones, which enables users to share images and videos with their followers. It was first released in 2010 and grew rapidly, with the platform currently hosting over 1 billion monthly active users (Instagram Press, 2019). Through the application’s inclusion of inbuilt filters, Instagram encourages creativity in uploads, thus differentiating it from existing social media platforms. In 2016, Instagram Stories was introduced, also allowing for images and videos to be uploaded temporarily for 24 hours. As a result, Instagram was able to overcome a function previously dominated by the social media app Snapchat. Multiple other features have also since been introduced, including Instagram Live (where an individual can create a live Instastory), filters on Instagram Stories, and IGTV, as well as the ability to keep selected stories permanently live on a profile’s “Highlights” tab. One of the key elements of Instagram’s disruption of the social media landscape was the platform's role as a foundation for the growth of SMIs (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017). SMIs first entered the media spectrum through blogs, which held popularity prior to growth of Instagram. Blogs led to the introduction of the first “fashion bloggers” through what McQuarrie, Miller and Phillips (2012) identify as the “megaphone effect” (p. 136). Namely the ability for ordinary consumers to reach a mass audience through online means (McQuarrie, Miller and Phillips, 2012). Focusing specifically on fashion bloggers online, McQuarrie et al. (2012) recognise that the audience such bloggers are able to generate is made possible via publicly sharing displays of consumption, facilitating an audience historically available only to “institutionally located professionals” (p. 136). Whilst bloggers were able to reach large audiences, the sharing of personal consumption on Instagram arguably simplifies and extends this megaphone effect (McQuarrie et al., 2012), through centralising a platform to follow bloggers on a larger scale, with minimal effort involved. Furthermore, Instagram as a platform is differentiated from blogs through its more instantaneous, in-the-moment captures (reinforced through the functionality of Instastories). As a result, many ordinary users of Instagram have been able to organically build a following to the point of being able to be defined as an SMI, an online identity that has shifted themselves from “citizen to corporation” based on their capacity to attract attention online (Senft, 2013, p. 351). Through employing an “entrepreneurial drive” (Cotter, 2019) via the means of self-promotion, the ability to attract attention transforms into a type of “Insta capital”. Hence, the growth of one’s audiences through
129 followers widens an SMI’s ability to partake in various opportunities, in some cases extending the role of SMIs into a full-time occupation. The result of this growth has been the parallel expansion of an SMI industry – namely, the businesses (both existing and new) that have adapted or originated to subsequently profit from such changes in the media consumption landscape and the evolution and expansion of SMIs. The following section will thus present the lexicon of the Instagram industry and the new rules of engagement that govern its participants.
4.2 Influencer classification The first step in the process of generating an understanding of the SMI landscape is through influencer classification. After conducting interviews with a number of SMI agencies, a cohesive classification system for the Australian industry has been identified for the purpose of this thesis. Namely power, macro, micro, mini and meso influencers. A “power” influencer refers to an individual who has amassed a significant following usually classified as over 500,000. A macro influencer holds anywhere from 30,000 to 500,000 followers, with micro influencers holding 10,000 to 30,000 followers. Mini influencers have between 3,000 and 10,000 followers, whilst meso influencers hold a follower base of 3,000 or less. Despite their smaller following, mini and meso SMIs can still command collaborations of a paid nature or in exchange for gifts, a trend that increases in rewards as the SMI grows and transitions through different follower classifications. Each of these categories of SMIs can offer different benefits for different brands, and thus are in demand from agencies, with some organisations specialising in a particular influencer classification. This form of agency specialisation is particularly apparent amongst micro and macro influencers, as power influencers largely shift into the celebrity category and as a result, can become more expensive and difficult to work with. Data collection thus confirmed that many brands and agents prefer working with micro and macro SMIs, as espoused by one SMI agency:
“.... there are different levels of influencers in terms of followers – we talk about micro, macro and then power influencers. And sometimes the power influencers are kind of a bit of a gamble because they cost a lot of money, so sometimes you can only work with one or two. And you really don’t know if it will be the right fit. So sometimes we prefer to work with the micro and macro ones for that reason as well, because you can
130 work with more and kind of spread our eggs around instead of putting them all in one basket.”
Similarly, a second agency spoke of their preference in working with micro influencers:
“...intimate influencers is kind of how we refer to them because they have a smaller following than your Insta celebrities and... still a sizeable following, but they seem to have more of a grassroots connection with their audience, so they are the kinds of people that you know, their audience feels as if they really know them, even if they have only seen them online”.
Hence, different SMI classifications can hold benefits for various purposes, as brands usually select between engaging multiple micro SMIs or fewer macro or power SMIs, depending on both budget and campaign capacity and objectives. This can also vary depending on whether such collaborations are gifted or paid in nature, with those classified as micro or above being more likely to request payment in exchange for access to their engaged audiences. The question that subsequently arises is, what is the tipping point at which an ordinary Instagram user becomes an “influencer”? Through analysing collated data, it became evident that the majority of interviewees, including both agencies and the SMIs themselves, agreed upon a relatively similar point at which this transfer occurs. Numerically, a follower count of approximately 3,000 can be recognised as this “tipping point”, most often coinciding with the first offer of a commercial gifting collaboration.
4.3 Gifting and processes of gaining legitimacy For the purpose of this study, gifting collaboration refers to an industry term when a corporate brand views an SMI to be significant enough to be sent “free gifts” or samples. Such “gifts” are sent in the hope that the SMI will provide complimentary coverage of the brand via their social media channels. This could include an Instagram post or Instastory of the product with relevant tags and hashtags. Whilst no money exchanges hands in such collaborations, it is an implicit obligatory gift and reciprocity is thus an etiquette within the industry. If an SMI consistently receives such gifts
131 without providing subsequent social media coverage, it is likely they will not be considered for future gifting collaborations. As a result, if an SMI wishes to continue working with certain brands or the agencies that represent them, they are likely to post an image and/or Instastory after receiving such complimentary gifts. For example, “I get a lot of blogger mail; it’s a job in itself to keep up with it all! I do feel obliged to post a photo of everything I get sent, even if I didn’t agree to it over email”. Whilst the terms of gifting collaborations are often not explicitly set out, an understanding of them thus remains critical for sustained SMI success, particularly their ability to offer legitimacy to an SMI. As echoed by the SMIs interviewed, it becomes apparent that a framework for “moral consumption” exists within such exchanges (Giesler, 2006, p. 288). This is in line with traditional conventions of gift giving including the “norm of reciprocity”, which assists in the establishment of perceived obligations (Giesler, 2006, p. 284). Gifting collaborations, whilst largely of a commercial rather than personal obligation, fulfil much the same role as Giesler’s (2006) conception of gifts. An SMI may feel both a commercial and personal obligation simultaneously, thus encouraging them to provide social media coverage in exchange for the gifts they receive. This further allows development of personal relationships of networking that can also open up discussion for future collaboration opportunities. The frequent nature of gifting collaborations and its function as a means of opening dialogue between SMIs and brands has resulted in the initial offer of such an exchange operating as a key milestone recognising an Instagram user as an SMI for the first time. At this point, the SMI generally holds a substantial number of photos with at least 1% engagement. Engagement is an industry term, referring to interaction with content uploaded onto a social media channel, most often measured through the average number of likes, divided by the number of followers held on an account. Hence, an average of 1% engagement indicates an SMI holds a small but loyal “fan base” of followers who interact, whether through likes or comments, with each subsequent upload. As argued by Cronin speaking on advertising agencies, “brands function as commercial sign systems that mediate the commercial legitimacy of agencies” (2004, p. 363). In a similar vein, the SMI also relies on their roster of brand collaborations to provide a “tangible site” for building “commercial legitimacy and creative expertise” (Cronin 2004, p. 363). A brand collaboration thereby functions beyond its initial capacity, instead presenting itself as an “organising nexus” (Cronin,
132 2004) for both the SMI and the agencies they work with, reinforcing the ability of the content to perform in a commercially viable manner. Hence, it becomes apparent that gifting collaborations are significant as working with brands offers legitimacy to an SMI’s profile. This is of particular significance given the precarious nature of cultural industries and the subsequent struggle to gain and maintain recognition (Hesmondalgh & Baker, 2008). In such instances, free labour and emotional labour are commonplace, and according to Terranova (2004), is most visible and relied upon within the digital economy. Collaborations can thus be regarded as somewhat of a necessity in the process of becoming a “micro” SMI, holding a dual purpose for both the SMI and brand. First, collaborations signify to an Instagrammer’s audience that their account is in fact “influential” – namely, brands view them as a legitimate and worthwhile platform on which to promote their goods or services to the SMI’s audience. Moreover, collaborations are beneficial to the SMI as they provide content that is able to be “regrammed” (reposted) by brands. This action is also beneficial to the SMI, due to the potential of the brand to tag the SMI who created the content on the upload (which is regarded as standard protocol within the industry), hence providing increased exposure to the brand’s audience of the SMI’s account. Multiple SMIs expanded on this benefit of collaborations beyond simply receiving product or payment: “I only started gaining momentum when I began engaging in more collabs. I guess this is because posting collabs shows credibility – it means companies think I’m influential enough to promote their stuff, and I think that ... encourages people to follow you”, and “The very first time a company reached out to me was when I thought people value me and want to work with me. It was a watch brand and even though it was unpaid, I got something for free and felt really special about it”. Hence, it can be argued that collaborations function to signify to audiences the legitimacy of SMIs within the online space. This is of particular importance given the current ability to inexpensively purchase “likes” and “followers” to inflate one’s social profile. Brands and agencies, however, are much more likely to delve deeper into a profile, and through analysing engagement spikes and growth metrics, can identify “false" or inflated engagement. This is generally monitored during the recruitment process whereby agencies asserted, “...what I’m looking for [is] high quality, engaged audiences”, and “so all of our influencers are manually approved, that we would work with, so one of our team checks all their accounts, we look for
133 engagement rates, for comments, basically checking for authenticity and to sort of benchmark them against other influencers to make sure they’re legit”. An engaged audience is thus currently regarded as the most effective benchmark for measuring the authenticity of an SMI, as it indicates that their followers are real accounts that follow and interact, rather than “bots” or false accounts created to improve engagement metrics. From a brand’s perspective, working with inflated accounts is ineffective, as this fails to deliver desired engagement with a targeted audience. Hence, if an account has a number of collaborations, particularly with well- known or respected brands, it effectively signifies that a profile’s followers and engagement is, in fact, legitimate. This legitimacy can be enhanced if a brand continually works with an SMI over an extended period of time, as it indicates they have provided some form of return on investment to the brand. This assertion can be reinforced by research on entrepreneurial business, which similarly indicates the benefits of historical legitimacy to assist in predicting future performance (Rao, Chandy, & Prabhu, 2008). Within the SMI sphere, cultural validity can therefore be initially explained theoretically through Bourdieu’s writing on legitimation, which establishes the way recognition within a particular field is generated (Bourdieu,1984). As asserted by Bourdieu, “All forms of recognition…. are just forms of co-optation, whose value depends on the very position of the co-optants in the hierarchy of consecration” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 13). This reinforces the importance of brand collaborations when applied to SMIs, as the more established the brand that collaborates with an SMI, the more recognition they will receive from that brand relationship. Hence, SMIs (even of micro and macro status) are often willing to engage in collaboration with well- established brands (such as say Nike or Microsoft) without commercial payment, as it indicates to their following that they are trusted to act as a representative of that brand. It is possible here to recognise the role of legitimacy in such collaborations, as the established brands are able to essentially pass on value to the SMI they work with. This creation of legitimacy is reflective of wider cultural processes, such as entrepreneurial business ventures gaining legitimacy through embarking on professional associations with more established companies (Rao, Chandy, & Prabhu, 2008). Collaborations thereby act as a demarcation boundary for an SMI – namely the “bigger” the SMI, the more expensive and prestigious gifts they are likely to receive.
134 Lesser known independent brands are more likely to have smaller marketing budgets and, as a result, are less likely to employ an agency to control their relationships with SMIs. Hence, they are likely to contact the SMI directly either through email or direct message (DM), offering their goods or services in exchange for coverage on their social feed. Such companies most often contact micro and meso SMIs as they are less likely to request payment for such collaborations, yet still provide content able to be reposted. Even so, some larger SMIs discussed their reluctance to ask for monetary exchange from independent brands: “Smaller start-ups I won’t charge as I know exactly how hard it can be in those first few years to get your name out there”. Hence, directly contacting an SMI without agency or PR assistance can prove a successful method for seeding a product or service to a niche, targeted market for minimal cost. However, when initiating collaborations directly from a brand, SMIs are generally not faced with consequences for failing to deliver their side of the arrangement. Therefore, such brands should not expect coverage or a certain quality of coverage, for all SMIs seeded. Despite this, contacting SMIs directly can be an inexpensive way to increase a brand or product’s exposure to a targeted audience. One SMI states, “I feel like DM is the most common way I’ll end up collabing with a brand. It’s pretty streamline, like a clothing brand the other week sent me a DM asking if I would like to shoot an outfit … I said yes because I like their stuff. It came this week and I’m wearing the tee now, so I will shoot straight after this. So pretty easy, especially because the brand doesn’t care about approving like a lot do that come through email. This is literally receive, wear and post”. In this instance, the brand was able to receive a quick turnaround in content, through contacting the SMI via DM. Whether an SMI engages in a collaboration independently or through agencies, they nonetheless must interact with agencies and PR to profitably exist within the SMI industry. Hesmondalgh’s (2016) referencing of Bourdieu’s conception of fields of cultural production to map social space is useful underpinning for understanding the new online economy. It is possible to conceive that SMIs exist within a field of power, known as “non-professional cultural producers” (Bourdieu, 1996). Namely, they hold a high degree of economic power (through the ability to charge for sponsored posts and appearances) despite a lower cultural capital (for example, a health and fitness SMI not holding associated tertiary education or qualifications). This conception of an SMI’s position within the social space is indicative of this privileging of social capital and the power of brand collaborations to legitimise SMIs.
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4.4 Collaborations and Cultural Legitimacy Instagram has become prime real estate for advertising through the avenue of collaborations, resulting in its dual function as an enabler of success of SMIs and as a marker of SMI legitimacy. Collaborations result in plentiful opportunities for those involved, with SMIs able to command significant financial rewards through opportunities such as content creation, sponsorship, appearances and modelling, with macro and power SMI opportunities in particular akin to that of a traditional celebrity. This conception of the field is indicative of Bourdieu’s (1985) notion of the cultural industry, whereby “the more the field is capable of functioning as a field of competition for cultural legitimacy, the more individual production must be orientated toward the search for culturally pertinent features endowed with value in the field’s own economy” (p. 19). Namely, as the SMI continues to grow, content creation becomes increasingly more focused on competing for cultural legitimacy, which can be provided through collaborations. This can be clearly illustrated by one Australian example of a power influencer, @stephclairesmith, a Melbourne-based model who has generated a following of over 1 million on Instagram. Her Instagram bio describes her as “Amb for Adidas & Clinique au/ Face of Bondi Sands”, showcasing the nature of her high profile and longstanding collaborations. In such instances, being the face of a brand can be regarded as adding to an SMI’s legitimacy in the same way a traditional celebrity’s pulling power can be reinforced by their ambassadorships. As McCracken (1989) has proposed, the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements is due to the “meaning” one brings to the process, involving a transfer of cultural meaning from the celebrity to the product. Hence, it can be argued that much like the traditional celebrity endorser, the SMI is able to transfer their cultural meaning to the product or service they are promoting online. Moreover, as data analysis has revealed, collaborations on a smaller scale (usually in the form of gifting) also commonly act as symbols of an Instagrammer becoming an SMI. With approximately 3,000 followers at the time of the interview, one SMI spoke of her first “paid” collaboration with a nail polish brand, which she conveyed made her “feel like an influencer”. Collaborations thus appear inextricably entwined with conceiving of oneself as an SMI. “I got an account when Instagram first started, I grew followers fairly quickly. I only started gaining momentum when I began engaging in more collabs”. Similarly referring to their first collaboration, a second SMI described the
136 process of her first collaboration: “So, I tagged one of my favourite granola brands in one of my shots. They commented and messaged me, wanting to send me products and work together. I was very excited”. Hence, it becomes apparent that producing and uploading self-directed content can be conducted as a way to initiate contact with brands, and subsequently assist an ordinary Instagrammer in commencing the transition to an SMI. This process can also occur at any stage of an SMI’s career, as a means by which to attract the attention of a certain brand or agency. Hence, a key point of transfer from an individual posting online to an SMI is bound largely within the growth of legitimacy. It can thus be argued that the process of generating legitimacy online as an SMI has evolved in line with Habermas’ (2016) assertion of the need in political environments to “facilitate deliberative legitimation processes”. Within the SMI space, this has progressed through a series of intermediaries facilitating collaborations. Hence, cultural mediation by SMI agencies and brands that choose to gift to SMIs reveals the power of such agencies and brands in the contemporary landscape to “impact upon notions of what, and thereby who, is legitimate, desirable and worthy, and thus by definition what and who is not” (Smith-Maguire & Mathews as cited in Lonergan et al., 2018, p. 2054). In the SMI world this process appears multi- layered, decided upon on first by the numerical value of followers and likes, and second by the agencies and brands who select which SMIs to engage with. It is through gifting that SMIs are thus able to act as cultural intermediaries themselves, posting images that function to “legitimate goods as desirable and worthy of attachment by intended receivers” (Lonergan et al., 2018, p. 2054). As well as contacting SMIs directly, there is the option to enlist the assistance of intermediaries that exist in the form of dedicated influencer agencies, influencer platforms and public relations (PR) agencies. The role of such intermediaries and their expansion acts as an indicator of the growing professionalism of the influencer industry, which will be explored in the following section.
4.5 Intermediaries: The role of agencies, PR and SMI platforms The growth of the SMI landscape has subsequently resulted in the evolution of cultural intermediaries that assist an Instagrammer in the shift from ordinary user to SMI, as asserted prior. Cultural intermediaries are another faction derived from Bourdieu’s (1983) theoretical conception of the circle of cultural production, and can effectively be applied to the SMI landscape. Bourdieu’s (1985) conception of the art industry and
137 its progression to a “relatively autonomous artistic field” is attributed to “transformed relations between artists and non-artists” (p. 2). The general expansion of the term to the petite-bourgeoisie, according to Nixon and Du Gay (2002, p. 497) is indicative of the growing consumerist class and associated media broadcasters. The resulting impact on social life is an increasing power of cultural intermediaries, particularly on consumption as they hold “cultural authority as shapers of taste and the inculcators of new consumerist dispositions” (Nixon & Du Gay 2002, p. 497). The growth of a relatively autonomous SMI field can therefore be attributed to the development of relationships between SMIs and non-SMIs within the field. The key figures of SMI agencies, brands and agents symbiotically work together as independent entities to profit from the SMI industry. Bourdieu’s (1980) conception of the “circle of belief” can provide context for this triadic relationship. Specifically, Bourdieu’s (1980) questioning of “who creates the creator” within the art world, as the agent’s investment in the artist’s prestige is ultimately what elevates the producer into the “cycle of consecration” (p. 263), allowing a commercial standpoint for those involved. Likewise, each of these entities (the SMI, the brand and the agency), plays a role in the SMI upload transforming into a commodity through paid collaborations and sponsored posts. As a result, the SMI, brand and agency all become a crucial component of “deploying distinctive aesthetic sensibilities” (McFall, 2002, p. 532) through their authority in the content creation process. Namely, as McFall discusses in the context of advertising, aesthetics are often learned through an amalgamation of past successful advertisements, hence becoming culturally embedded (2002). Similarly, SMI intermediaries can develop guidelines of successful aesthetics, as learned through past influencer collaborations that performed well commercially. Hence, just as the art world is commoditised through the introduction of distinct producers (Bourdieu 1985, p. 3), so too have social media uploads by individuals been expanded through the potential to become a commoditized entity. SMIs are not intrinsically bound to work within the commercial demands of the field (they can, of course, freely upload for creative expression rather than commercial gain, even as their follower count grows). As expressed within their interviews, many choose to commodotise their Instagram, in the same way that artists choose to commoditise their art. Working with intermediaries in various forms signifies recognition of an individual as an SMI, just as an individual producing art is recognised as an artist by an art agent (Bourdieu 1985, p. 7). This ultimately reflects their ability to shape culture, which
138 essentially brings them into conflict with Bourdieu’s legitimate producers and reproducers (Nixon & du Gay, 2002). According to the definitions by Lonergan et al. (2018, p. 2054), SMIs can essentially be configured as contextualised marketplace actors whose performance is to blur distinctions between art and commerce. The mediation of this symbolic production is therefore necessary for the commodification of such imagery (Nixon & Du Gay, 2002). Hence, SMIs must first present a desirable and aesthetic lifestyle displayed online that can then be legitimated as an individual’s follower count increases, through attracting the attention of agencies, influencer platforms and public relations agencies. It is through this mediation that the Instagrammer, brands and agencies are thus alerted of their forthcoming commercial potential. Williams’ (1981) observation of the rise of new media’s (speaking specifically of cinema, radio and television) push towards a new specialised means of cultural production is subsequently applicable to the SMI industry. As a result, PR agencies, SMI platforms and SMI talent agencies are each key intermediaries significant to an understanding of the SMI field. Despite the differences between these organisations of cultural production (which will be expanded on in the following section), each acts as an intermediary between brands and SMIs, and hence their roles will be further explored (see Figure 1.1).
4.5.1 Public Relations Agencies Existing public relations (PR) agencies have been forced to re-evaluate their strategies in the SMI age. Namely, SMIs challenge “the very foundations of PR”, resulting in distinct changes in ”how we carry the information forward” (Solis & Breakenridge, 2009, p. 94). As micro-celebrities, SMIs have disrupted the traditional PR industry, resulting in many agencies expanding their media lists to also include SMIs alongside traditional celebrities and press, for gifting, event invitations and ambassadorships. Hence, SMIs now sit alongside traditional media contacts including those from print and online publications. This has resulted in many SMIs interviewed observing such figures at PR events they were invited to and attended. For example:
“I used to intern at both a PR agency and at a fashion magazine, so I obviously met and knew of a lot of people who worked there. Now I see them at events, which feels so weird, as obviously I am invited for my Instagram because I am an influencer, not for my job”.
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“I attend on average three product launches/industry events per week. These events definitely have many benefits for networking, as they allow me to communicate with brands in a friendlier setting and also chat with other members of the media and influencers”.
Hence, it has become apparent that PR agencies have expanded their output of key figures, recognising the worth of SMIs in attracting publicity for their clients. Working with PR agencies holds an additional benefit for SMIs by further reinforcing the legitimacy of the SMI through expanding their potential role both in “circulation and consumption” (Bourdieu, 1985, p. 9). Agencies work with SMIs as they recognise their potential to provide coverage of a product or service, just as traditional media channels do. Hence, a PR agency with any roster of brands is likely to also work with SMIs in at least some capacity. This reinforces the cultural intermediary role of a gatekeeper (Negus, 2002, p. 12), as PR agents most often seek out and contact which SMIs to work with, and which brands would be best suited to particular SMIs. These working relationships between PR agents and SMIs can remain even as the roster of brands shift and change, reaffirming the significance of their roles as potentially moving towards “habitual, unreflexive and uncritical adherence to well established production routines” (Negus, 2012, p.13). Whilst this remains a danger for all cultural intermediaries, interviewed SMIs affirmed their perceived need to fulfil the obligation of posting when working with PR agencies in an effort to “stay on their radar”. This remained apparent even when official terms were not set out between the agency and the SMI. For example, “Many PR agencies have reached out in the past but mainly more to invite me to events and product launches and such. They have also sent me things to try but it is not necessarily a stated collaboration – more a gift with the intent that you could promote it” and “Most of them [PR agencies] are understanding and easy to get along with whereas I find people or brands just reaching out via email might not actually know how much work goes into creating content”. PR agencies’ understanding of the field thus allows for communication with SMIs in a productive capacity, as evident through many of the SMIs interviewed stating a preference for working with brands through PR agencies (rather than with brands directly), due to their understanding of the intricacies of content creation. Negus (2002), however, in speaking of PR agencies as intermediaries, asserts that such
140 players within the industry have “exaggerated the space between the product (or performer) and the public” (p. 11), rather than brought this gap closer together. This could especially result when PR agents request specific content creation for brands that may not align with the SMIs’ existing audience. Despite space between the product and public, the intimate relationship between PR staff and SMIs was observed in interviews as serving to benefit forthcoming collaborations. PR agencies therefore elevate the way in which social capital is often ingrained within relationships, resulting in the formation of normative structures of communication (Reimer, Lyons, Ferguson, & Polanco, 2008). For example, SMIs spoke of the norm of always sharing gifts sent by PR agencies on their Instastories to maintain these relationships: “I’ve found working with PR companies to be a good experience. Everyone I’ve come into contact with has been lovely to work with and it has proven to be a great way to work with some really great brands that I already know and love. Getting surprise freebies in the mail is always nice too, so I always make sure to keep this relationship going. After receiving the product, I feature them on my Instagram stories, which I often do when I receive parcels from PR companies”. Hence, applicable to the relationship between SMIs and PR agents is the emergence of both formal and informal norms that arise and develop within any form of social relations and subsequently lead behaviour (Riemer et al., 2008). These subtleties can filter the relationship between PR agents and SMIs, for example, the informal norm that if gifting is sent out from a PR agency, reciprocity in the form of content creation on social platforms is expected. Social capital is therefore able to arise from adhering to such learned normative structures. Adhering to such norms can contribute to one’s social capital, such as micro SMIs being invited to events designed for macro SMIs due to their developed working relationships with PR agents. This can moreover roll over beyond a working relationship, further benefiting the SMI. For example: “I’m actually friends with quite a few PR girls now – you obviously talk to them at events; now I follow a bunch of them on Insta, and I even went to the birthday of one – so I want to help them out when they ask to send me something ... I feel more pressure to create good content and get it out quickly”, and “Sometimes, I feel like I get invited to events where everyone has more followers than me, but I often think it’s because I’m friendly with a lot of PR girls and develop actual relationships with them.
141 I always make sure I upload photos and stories at these events and tag the brands, because I know that’s why they invited me”. Hence, there are a number of benefits for brands choosing to work with PR agencies over communicating directly with an SMI. PR agencies are likely to hold a more nuanced understanding of SMI content creation, as well as develop relationships with SMIs that may benefit the eventual creation of content. Therefore, PR agencies are a key intermediary for SMIs, bringing them into contact with brands through both paid collaboration, gifting and invitations to exclusive events.
4.5.2 SMI Platforms SMI platforms as mediators between SMIs and brands, generally perform a similar role to traditional PR agencies, however, have been established specifically for working with SMIs in the digital field. Interviews with leading Australian SMI agencies solidified their role as intermediaries with SMIs and brands who wish to work within the social media landscape. These platforms differ from traditional PR agencies, however. They operate largely through apps or login websites (Figure 1.1), as well as a focus on working solely with SMIs, excluding others of influence such as the media and celebrities. For example, on several platforms, the SMI must apply directly to collaborations managed by the platform. Due to the need to be initially “approved” to be granted access, this intermediary simultaneously functions as a form of legitimation that an SMI is authentic, thereby providing an intermediary function to “maintain boundaries of access and inclusion” (Negus, 2002, p. 16).
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Figure 1.1. A SMI platform interface.
As SMI platforms operate on both a gifting and paid basis (though some exist solely for paid collaborations), they further function as an intermediary that can “resolve tensions between influencers and brands by professionalising and formalising this changing industry” (Stoldt, Wellman, Ekdale, & Tully, 2019, p. 1). As a result, there is an array of benefits to SMI platforms, evident for both the SMI and the brand. From a brand perspective, the collaboration process is streamlined as the platform selects and communicates with the SMIs, negating the need for the brand itself to invest time and effort into establishing such relationships independently. For example, one SMI platform spoke of their process of working with brands as follows: “So we'll receive a
143 brief from a client and then we'll format it so that the only real information you need to know is there.... We kind of like filter out all of the marketing noise”. Hence, they perform a role of traditional intermediaries through the process of “economic value making, adding monetary value, acting as a bridge, bringing goods to market” (Perry et al., 2015, p. 724). From a brand perspective, when SMI content creation is outsourced to SMI platforms, they benefit from the ease of communicating with SMIs, thus allowing the collaboration to benefit from the existing relationship between the platform and SMI. Moreover, brands benefit from an increased likelihood the SMI will fulfil their obligations for content creation, as failure to do so may result in the platform ceasing to work with them in the future. Despite the benefits of working with such platforms, there still remains SMIs who either only work with certain platforms or who avoid working with them altogether. For example, one SMI stated, “I was previously engaging with a few very popular ones when they started but it went against the authenticity of my brand”. Namely, this SMI spoke of her own decision to trial products prior to posting them, a strategy that is generally not possible with such platforms, as they require an agreement to post before the product is sent. However, the majority of interview respondents spoke about a preference for working with platforms due to ease of use. One interviewee said, for example: “I like Vamp because it’s just organised for you and you don’t have to follow it up and you don’t have to try organise a price or whatever”. A further comment reflects, “I like using the VAMP app for opportunities into paid collaborations because I don’t have to think about pricing”. Therefore, SMI platforms do reveal a professionalisation of the industry, especially those that standardise rates for their campaigns. This is reflected in Stoldt et al.’s (2019) study on intermediaries within the travel blogging industry, which asserts a professionalising industry through entities that connect and profit from the work of travel bloggers. Their ability to simplify and elucidate relationships between bloggers and the travel industry has assisted in increasingly beneficial partnerships (Stoldt et al., 2019). Such a benefit was also reflected by several SMIs in the form of a personal preference for working with SMI platforms, particularly for SMIs without agency representation. This role of the cultural intermediary thus manifests significantly in the “production and circulation of information and symbolic materials, so it also involves the concealment of knowledge, deception and manipulation” (Negus, 2002, p. 10). The platforms themselves further asserted this factor as a key driver for this filtering function: “People in this day and
144 age get so many emails and a lot of influencers we work with have full-time jobs and so they don’t have time to be sifting through hundreds of emails, so communicating through platforms often is the easiest way to get in touch with someone”. It can therefore be argued that the coexistence of SMI collaborations alongside existing careers favours platforms, particularly for micro and meso SMIs who lack any form of independent agency representation. Hence, SMI platforms offer an easy and streamlined process of earning income or receiving gifting for SMIs and are therefore continuing to experience growth within the industry.
4.5.3 Talent Management: Remaining Independent vs. Agency Representation Talent management has emerged as a specialised form of representation for SMIs of various sizes, though is most common among those of micro, macro and power status. Talent management occurs when an agency signs an SMI, generally operating by managing all correspondence and eventuating collaborations on behalf of the SMI, in exchange for a percentage of their earnings. Exclusivity is generally also requested. Most talent management agencies have arisen as subsections of traditional PR or celebrity management agencies, manifesting as specialised fields with deep knowledge of SMIs, the types of collaborations they engage in and the rates they can command. These advantages are reflected by interviewees of larger followings who echoed this shift towards undertaking representation. Discussing gifting and paid collaborations increasingly changing to being managed by such agents, several SMIs observed an increase in opportunities, for example: “My talent agency organises the payment. I just have to accept or decline if I want to continue posting. It’s perfect having an influencer agency and I think they are amazing! I wasn’t sure on how much I should be negotiating when it comes to payment with brands. Agencies are a great way to negotiate with brands to get the right payment and perfect brands for your social platform”. Hence, management are able to recommend and enforce the types of collaborations that one should engage in, and can actively seek out brands that are a perceived match, on behalf of the SMI. As a result, they function as a form of filter between SMIs and the brands willing to work with them. This proliferation of such intermediaries is direct evidence of a professionalising industry. They thus hold a significant role akin to a “gatekeeper” with the initial task of rejecting or accepting a potential collaboration on behalf of the SMI. This can also
145 result in the strengthening and professionalising of these relationships through creating a formalised means of discussion (Stoldt et al., 2019). Individuals and brands are increasingly noting the economic worth of SMIs and as such, are discovering ways to capitalise on such relationships. However, this has also resulted in the appearance of companies seeking to unethically exploit SMIs, a narrative that emerged throughout the pool of SMIs interviewed. One states, for example, “I once had an influencer management agency reach out but there were too many red flags with this one and they burnt me pretty bad it was a lesson learnt. I almost fell into the trap of having one [an agent] with a particular company but thankfully I got out pretty fast. I would consider having one [an agency] in the future but only if I felt the work was getting too hard to manage by myself. For now, I’ve got it all under control” . A further interviewee stated, “I used to have an agent but, the agency closed … Well, they closed and my agent left and moved me on to someone else and I signed the contract then they never contacted me so I was like, whatever, I don’t really want this anyway”. Due to the current lack of regulation in the SMI Industry, situations such as these are likely to remain common. At present, it may be difficult for SMIs to judge the potential success of a management agency, especially as many are emerging and as such, not yet legitimated by a roster of successful clients. Such inconsistency is indicative of fast shifts within the industry, and the lack of regulating bodies to protect SMIs. Stoldt et al. (2019) assert this tension specifically within the travel industry, identifying the issues that arise including how to best measure success of campaigns and the value and monetary worth of content creation. Despite the potential dangers of signing with an agency that may not eventuate or alternatively exploit SMIs, working with agency representation can effectively remove the common concern that arose in interviews surrounding uncertainty with rates of pay. Particularly, by holding a wider perspective of the industry through multiple clients, management are more likely to understand the rates an SMI can command. Furthermore, negotiation can allow their clients to engage in less collaborations for the same payment and hence, avoid potential “self-exploitation” (Stoldt et al., 2019, p. 7). However, in the absence of management support, the lack of any formal guidelines in terms of how much pay to request appears to result in many SMIs without individual agents estimating appropriate pay or simply accepting product in exchange for promotion (for example, the brand reposting and tagging the SMI’s content). Such is an existing concern in the gig economy (Stewart & Stanford, 2017),
146 elevated by the lack of widely available public data, advantaging those SMIs with professional management. Interview respondents revealed, “It’s not something anyone really talks about; it’s impossible to gauge if I should or how much!”. Moreover, a second SMI explained, “If it’s a product or service I really, really want I will often make my rates cheaper just to make sure I secure the campaign”. Hence, it is evident that the young nature of the industry, and the subsequent lack of regulating bodies, has resulted in large variations in collaborations and their payment. This lack of publicly available and consistent rates can slow the ability for SMIs to monetise their online status, echoing some of the emerging concerns of the gig economy (Stewart and Stanford, 2017). Thus, SMIs as content creators can be viewed as reflecting such characteristics of gig economy workers, namely working through online platforms as “isolated independent workers”, with irregular, task-based jobs with fluctuating demand, resulting in various challenges in “regulating work and setting minimum standards” (Stewart & Stanford, 2017, p. 421). The result is a high risk of instability for and vulnerability of the SMIs (Stewart & Stanford, 2017, p. 421), especially if content creation is a main or sole source of income. Hence, there at present appears to be a growing need for discussion into the effect of the gig economy for SMIs, which is particularly necessary to protect SMIs without management representation.
4.5.4 The SMI Industry Model The overview of key players within the SMI field can be represented through the SMI industry model (Figure 1.2), which showcases the relationship between such key agents. This triad of three main elements of corporate partnerships, intermediaries and the SMIs themselves represents the interconnectedness of the industry, most notably filtered through collaborations. As discussed, whilst it is possible for brands to communicate directly with SMIs, it is increasingly common to interact through these intermediaries, especially as the industry matures and expands.
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Figure 1.2. The SMI industry model.
4.6 Measures of Influencer Success With the growth of SMIs having such a recent proliferation, metrics for success remain largely undefined. Through interview analysis of both SMIs and agencies, as well as
148 engagement in the field, the following measures of SMI success are presented and discussed, namely: engagement, reach, quality, profile aesthetics and authenticity.
4.6.1 Engagement In the absence of formal guidelines or industry standards, engagement has emerged as the key measure of success for brands and agencies working with SMIs. Engagement is thus a significant measurement within the attention economy (Marwick, 2015). The attention economy however, is not unique to SMIs. Rather, it was initially presented in reference to celebrities (Fairchild, 2007), and the mass media, where “information and entertainment for attention ... is in turn monetised via advertising” (Franck, 2019, p. 8). However, as asserted by Marwick (2015), the attention economy has reached new heights through social media platforms, increasingly visible and “synonymous with success” (p. 157). As identified by Senft (2013), attention is vital in developing one’s online status and subsequently, methods of attracting attention previously used by brands are now commonly implemented by ordinary individuals (Marwick, 2015). This is driven by attention as a marker of value, and therefore currency, on social media platforms (Marwick, 2015). As a result, engagement has become a key signifier of SMI success. An engagement percentage can be calculated by dividing the average likes per photo, by the number of followers an SMI has:
���������� % = ������� “�����” ��� �ℎ��� ÷ ������ �� ���������
Figure 1.3. Engagement percentage metric.
This engagement metric thus measures the percentage of an SMI’s audience that physically actions an upload, through “liking” the content. Figure 1.3 can also be applied to Instastories, which instead of likes, substitutes “views” to reach an engagement percentage. Engagement metrics are largely employed by brands and agencies when selecting which SMIs to work with, as well as to define the success of
149 a particular campaign. Whilst this metric is the most widely used across the industry, it can also be regarded as inherently flawed as engagement naturally declines as an SMI amasses a higher following, hence favouring SMIs with smaller accounts – the meso and minis. These accounts are most likely to have a niche or targeted audience through having a smaller overall following with a high proportion engaged with everything they post.
This was reflected by one agency, which stated,
“ [With] Instagram, it depends on the tier as well, because naturally the higher number of followers, the engagement can tend to drop a little bit, that’s pretty normal...we are looking ideally for 2% to 10% engagement, [which] is kind of our range that most of them sit in”.
Similarly, a second agency stated,
“So, we have kind of benchmarked it [engagement] in this platform, we look at what is low, good, high and very high. So, we will work with anyone from good and above. Which is usually on Instagram 1% and above...which sounds really low but that's just how it is! If you have engagement that is 5% that's like really high, like unicorn realm. So, we will work with anyone who has over 1%”.
Despite the flaws of engagement as a metric, it remains a useful tool for brands as according to one agency, a high engagement rate signifies an SMI’s audience. The agency stated that SMI followers“...get what they do, likes what they do, engages with it...so we can be sure that if they take on a brand contract it will be a good fit”. As a result, SMIs often engage in numerous activities in order to boost their engagement. This can include uploading photos at peak times, adding hashtags to their content and being involved in comment pods (where similar Instagram accounts alert each other when they have uploaded a new post like and comment on). Such tactics will be discussed in the following sections.
150 4.6.2 Reach Reach refers to the “number of unique accounts that saw your post” (Instagram, 2017), and is an available metric if an Instagram account switches their settings from personal to a business, which has been an option since mid-2016. Subsequently, an SMI is able to view their reach on an Instagram post, which can then be passed onto brands. Reach therefore functions as further examples of Instagram’s positioning within the attention economy (Fairchild, 2007). The importance placed upon reach reinforces the push for “digital visibility”, particularly as pressure is pushed upon SMIs to make “influence and status legible to both advertisers and audiences” (Duffy & Hund, 2019, pp. 4983-4). Moreover, reach is a useful tool as it shows the amount of Instagram accounts that have viewed your image but may not necessarily have engaged with it directly. It can also be argued that reach may thus be more beneficial as a metric, as followers commonly view a post without double tapping to like the upload. Brands and agencies are increasingly requesting the reach to supplement their knowledge of engagement to make an informed evaluation of the success of a campaign. Moreover, engagement and reach exist in a direct relationship. An upload which generates a smaller reach (due to factors such as the time of the upload and the Instagram algorithm), will also result in lower engagement (Petre, Duffy, & Hund, 2019). An SMI agency spoke about these shifting preferences for metrics, which differ between brands:
“Others think of it [Instagram] as a media channel so they think great, I’m putting this into TV, this into radio, this into a homepage takeover ... So they are looking into it more as a metric, of reach. Therefore, for some influencers, reach is important. But I think that’s dropping away a little bit more – brands are seeing more value in just seeing it as a channel”.
Hence, if a focus for a brand is for SMIs to create content that can be reposted on brand channels, reach itself is of lesser importance. However, as the agency interviewed asserted, for some brands, SMIs are considered less for the content they create, and primarily as an additional media channel. In such instances, metrics such as reach are highly regarded. Such brand perspectives subsequently favour working with SMIs with a larger following, most notably macro and power, as they are able to achieve a higher reach (albeit at a higher cost).
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4.6.3 Quality With the proliferation of Instagram SMIs, quality of images has emerged as a significant differentiator in allowing content creation to transition into a profitable pathway. This opportunity was confirmed by an agency interviewed who asserted:
“...a lot of brands we work with will purchase additional usage rights for some of the images in the campaign, to put in EDMs or they might put it in paid social media. And for those influencers who have their images selected, we pass that payment onto them, so they get paid extra as well.”
A second agency stated,
“It’s about content creation and good quality content and it’s about what those brands do with it. And from a brand’s perspective, I think it is really a huge advantage for them to use ... to take that content and use it elsewhere. My previous roles, I was in digital marketing for fashion brands and things, and I know how much work and how much time is involved in creating digital aspects, so having … any other digital agency that can create great quality content for them that they can put across any of their channels, or even briefing in specific channels ... Like, I’d love you to create a video for a pre-roll ad on YouTube, so it’s only 10 seconds long, but I’d also love you to put a 19-second version up on your Instagram ... I’d love to have some stills that I can put into our EDM. So, I think the future for us is pure content creation and I think from a brand’s perspective, looking at how they can leverage that across all their own digital channels.”
Hence, it is apparent that a high-quality image is ultimately of use to brands who commission content creation, regardless of whether it is gifted or paid, as it allows the images to be reposted on a variety of media channels, particularly those that may require images of different dimensions. As a result, agencies and brands often request to receive high-quality images of those that may be posted on social channels. It is thus apparent that a high-quality image is more likely to be of increased utility to a brand. The transition from ordinary user to SMI therefore appears to run parallel with an effort to increase the quality of photos being uploaded:
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“Yes, I used to take photos of my daily food I was making. As my standards for my content have got higher ... I now do a weekly ‘shoot’. I add the photos to an image bank, which I take from when I go to post. I also incorporate lifestyle and art, which I take when I’m out and about”.
This dedication of time to shooting imagery (or the desire to dedicate more time to shooting) was a consistent discussion raised by SMIs and agencies alike. For example, one representative of a SMI platform discussed,
“So, what is going to tip someone over that edge is the quality of their content. So, one of the influencers we have worked with for a long time, he had I think maybe about 5k following when we started with him. And we introduced him to a few different other influencers who shoot – so they began shooting him on weekends and the quality of his photography ... he said it was like instantaneous. The minute that he started producing and uploading content his inbox flooded with brands. So, I think, quality of content is really a differentiating point. I can have someone who has 25,000 followers saying I want to join Vamp. But if their content isn’t high quality and it’s really amateur and really inconsistent, I don’t consider them an influencer”.
Similarly, SMIs themselves echoed this sentiment, speaking of the increase in time they set aside for creating content, frequently utilising terms such as “shooting”, reflecting the way such content creation is considered by the SMIs themselves as a job rather than simply a hobby:
“I definitely spend more time and energy creating and even thinking about Instagram content than I did when I first started. I have one–two days off per week to focus on Instagram so I always shoot max of two times per week”.
“Because I shoot myself mainly, I normally take about 1.5 to 2 hours shooting content, of various looks ... and only about 30 minutes to edit photos after on Lightroom”.
This again reflects the presence of unpaid immaterial labor, which Wissinger (2007) identifies in the context of modelling as the work required to succeed in the industry
153 that is not directly remunerated, such as exercising to maintain shape, the upkeep of physical appearance including hair, skin and nails, and the constant relationship building. Additionally, Wissinger (2007) discusses the oft-spoken need to network with key industry players during down time to increase their chances of being selected for future campaigns, as well as the requirement to wait through at times lengthy periods of no work, whilst consistently going to castings. Such forms of immaterial and unpaid labour can be identified as similarly necessary for success as an SMI. Hence, the importance of high-quality images is ultimately embedded within the cycle of collaborations. Namely, an account that features high-quality images is more likely to be engaged in paid collaborations, as brands are able to utilise such images as content for websites, EDMs and the brand’s own social channels. Thus, producing high-quality images increases the likelihood of engagement in collaborations, therefore expanding exposure and subsequently growing one’s account. As a result, the quality of content can be considered a key element of SMI status.
4.6.4 Profile Aesthetics Maintaining a consistent profile aesthetic holds a dual significance for content creation for both follower acquisition and engagement in brand collaborations. First, having a recognisable aesthetic allows one’s feed to instantly showcase their creative composition. As a result, a potential follower can immediately observe an overview of the style, quality and content of an Instagrammer. This can provide an initial reason for personal importance SMIs place on the visual layout of their images, referred to as “feed consistency”: “I like to think I have more of a cohesive feed now than I used to and like sticking to that beach-vibe theme”, “I still post my images to look professional and business-like and keep it nice for people in general to look at” and “I now pay much closer attention to the aesthetic flow of my feed, making sure the images fit well together. I would say it’s quite varied as well. I try to make sure I have a consistent switch between food, workout and lifestyle/travel pictures”. Therefore, as a visually aesthetic feed is often regarded as a key indicator in encouraging an individual to follow an account, SMIs widely considered maintaining their profile aesthetic as of crucial importance. In a social media context, an aesthetic (such as a snapshot aesthetic, where images appear as captured by consumers rather than professionals) that is “congruent and meaningful” can be processed “more fluently, leading to more
154 favourable responses to the images” (Colliander & Mardar, 2018). Whilst this finding is directed to a brand context, it could arguably be applied to SMIs. The second element of profile aesthetics is brand directed, as maintaining a consistent feed acts a portfolio to brands communicating the style and quality of content imagery the SMI could create if engaged in a collaboration. Namely, the consistency of an SMI’s “profile aesthetic” is matched up to brand aesthetic for goodness of fit by brands. Subsequently, multiple SMIs spoke of their own self- imposed strict standards they aim to uphold. One SMI asserted for example, “I definitely spend more time now, choosing and editing photos. I’ve always been very particular about the type of photo I upload. If I’m not 100% happy with a post, I won’t post it” and, “I keep my feed minimal and elegant. I’ve tried to keep my Instagram and what I feature to my niche market”. As a result of such attention to the consistency of one’s profile, brands are able to view a feed as an indicator of the SMIs’ niches and photographic style for brand fit. This is illustrated in Figures 1.3 and 1.4, of two examples of visual feeds that have a minimal and clean aesthetic flow, carefully curated by the SMIs. This is reflected through the maintaining similarity in flow with framing and editing, as well as ensuring adjacent images do not visually clash (for example, avoiding uploading two selfies next to each other to minimize clutter). Agencies reflected this assumption:
“So, it’s kind of like these layers of looking at all of these data points to determine if the influencer is right; with them, it still comes back to something that is very subjective, which is, does it look good, does their content look like our content? So that’s definitely taken into consideration before we work with anyone”.
SMIs thus consistently spoke of the increase in the time allocated to producing quality content to fit within their scheme, which has risen in correspondence to their follower’s growth and involvement in brand collaborations. Speaking of the origins of her account, an interviewee reports,
“Back then, I didn’t edit my photos – I’d just take a 10-second snap of my breakfast and move on! Now I take the time to set the scene, edit, write meaningful captions, and post at the correct time of day. A lot more work and planning goes into my Instagram now for sure!”
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Hence, it further becomes apparent that in an increasingly saturated SMI landscape, profile aesthetic has emerged as a form of competitive advantage. As a result, becoming an Instagram SMI requires a significant investment of time in the form of hope labour, namely working for free or for minimal payment in the hope that it will generate future paid income (Wissinger, 2007). This observation appears more important as competition for brand collaborations, particularly those that are paid in nature, increase in difficulty.
Figure 1.4. A SMI Feed (Micro E).
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Figure 1.5. A SMI feed (Micro A).
4.6.5 Authenticity Authenticity has become attached to the SMI environment as a buzzword, signifying that an individual’s online profile is representative of their offline self. This growing importance of the concept of “realness”, is of particular significance given the sheer number of collaborations with brands, many of which are paid in nature and hence, are not guaranteed to represent the true opinion of the SMI. Such emphasis of authenticity can be regarded as characteristic of “contemporary brand culture” (Banet-
157 Wesier, 2012, p. 13), resulting in the blurring between the “authentic self and the commodity self” (Cunningham & Craig, 2013). Authenticity can also be conceived as a form of online branding which, according to Gandini (2016), points to a form of authenticity curated through consistently performing a certain visual (e.g. the consistent style of images in Figures 1.4 and 1.5). This is further revealed throughout the data analysis. For example, an SMI viewed her own profile, filled with content of healthy, vegan food as “inauthentic” due to a lack of representation of other elements of the multifaceted self. Speaking of this decision to expand her profile from posting photos primarily of food, she explained;
“So, that was really good, I feel like that was a nice change, you know? It was a nice change of pace for me and I feel like I connect better with people that way. You have more people that message you and say thanks, ask you questions. They can confide in you because they can see you are a real person. So yeah, what I post is now the real me”.
Hence, it appears a sense of authenticity is also conducive to an engaged follower base as it creates familiarity with the online profile, subsequently generating a sense of trust. For some SMIs, the need to remain authentic has resulted in a rejection or minimisation of paid collaborations, for fear of being branded as inauthentic or a “sell out”. The dangers of this is subsumed within notions of overexposure, which has been seen to weaken relationships between celebrity ambassadors and brands (Yannopoulos, 2012). This reflects a similar concern to traditional celebrities, whereby an overuse of promotion can detract from trust (Yannopoulos, 2012). Such concern was emulated by several SMIs. One stated,
“I don’t feel comfortable being paid for a post as I feel this isn’t genuine. Since I’m not short of content, I don’t really see the point of trying to find collaborations. I prefer to post content I think my followers will like and promote products I truly love and personally use”.
Hence, the narrative emerging through SMI interviews is a perceived need to balance between producing content for the purpose of collaborations and maintaining “authenticity”. This perceived “disinterestedness” in paid collaborations is similarly
158 reflective of the artist retaining a distance to the economic value of their art (Bourdieu & Nice, 1980). This balance can be difficult to maintain, evident through SMIs implementing various strategies to preserve a personal sense of authenticity. For example, one SMI with a focus on beauty asserted,
“Paid collaborations are hard; brands approach me but I am quite finicky about the promoting of products or items without first using them. It’s a lengthy process of testing before agreeing to publish for payment. I am very stringent on testing everything first. I am not a fan of receiving payment without having a sound knowledge of what you’re promoting.”
“Particular brands will send me a private message and we will talk from there. At the moment, all of the branded photos that I have shared on my page have not come from brands messaging me. I have purchased these products myself and have wanted to share them with my followers.”
Other SMIs spoke of attempts to reduce the frequency of collaborations to maintain a greater sense of control over their content. This is clear through the following SMI responses when asked how often they engage in collaborations,
“A lot less than I used to. I’m becoming more and more picky with who I work with and what emails I should be responding to. I always like to check the company out before I say anything and see whether or not I could see myself wearing their clothes or using their products. If not, I will kindly decline the offer (even if it’s paid), but if I do like them, I always send a media kit and rates to gauge whether the collab will be paid or unpaid”.
“I guess I have a little more experience now, so my expectations are higher and I have come to realise that my time is worthy of compensation in some form. I also used to find myself like, agreeing to almost every collaboration offer because it was all new and exciting, but now I am way more judicious with what I accept because I don’t want to post about anything I’m not passionate about”.
Moreover, SMIs expressed a desire for collaborations, both paid and unpaid in nature, to appear authentic for the purpose of their audience. Strategies employed to shift the
159 focus from “being too promotional” were revealed as through captions and alternating between paid and organic content:
“I tried to make the caption as natural as possible by framing it in a fitness context. I don’t like to look too promotional and try to keep my captions as raw and casual as possible, so I also mentioned the weather to ... deter from the fact that it was a sponsored post, do you know what I mean?”
“Half of the content is paid content with brands I already love and use. The other half are my personal thoughts, loves and things that make me happy that I want to share”.
Hence, a further strategy revealed was the attempt to collaborate as frequently as possible with brands or products already used:
“I have to really weigh it up… but then I did one with [7/11’s Slurpees] and was like, hell yes … I was with my dad like two days prior getting a Slurpee and then I get this collab, and I’ve never even mentioned Slurpees on Instagram…. And I was like, no way, this is money for nothing, it’s something I love… especially since I’m all about balance…”
Discussing the same campaign, this SMI also spoke about her negotiation with the brand to maintain her authentic tone:
“I hate it when I’m given a caption to write...I’m like, no, I’m writing whatever I want. So, I spoke to them and they were happy with it, they still pre-approved everything. And I got paid about $2,000 for the 4 posts”.
Other SMIs also spoke of varying levels of acceptance for brand intervention with imagery and captions produced:
“Brands must allow me free range before I work with them. I will not work with a brand that wants to tell me what I should write or post. This, of course, can be limiting but I have managed to make some amazing close relationships with both brands and PR agencies over the years for it”.
160
“I mean, if I don’t feel comfortable with something, I’ll obviously tell them, and negotiate it. The other day, for example, I was told I need to write out a caption and send it to them for review, but that was okay because they didn’t ask to change anything...but you know how sometimes they say you have to put their hashtags in and I don’t really like that, I feel like me tagging their brand is enough. So sometimes I might say to them, I’ll be tagging you both the photo and the caption. I’ll even happily tag you in the caption multiple times but I don’t want to put your hashtags in, because I don’t really put hashtags in my captions anyway, most of the time. So, I usually just try to negotiate that, and try to make it so I don’t feel uncomfortable with what I am posting”.
“At the moment I actually have been getting a few places requesting me to send images to them for approval and also captions. The captions have to be within the guidelines and brief of the company also. This is quite nerve-racking but at least you know before posting that the brand has accepted my work”.
Interview responses thus reveal that one strategy to maintain authenticity is to minimise obvious sponsored posts, an action that can avoid diluting the opinion of the SMI. This is in line with past studies on “celebri-marketing”, namely that using celebrities to as part of marketing material exists in a “mutual constitution of meaning,” (Hackley & Hackley, 2016, p. 8). Here, the brand benefits from the celebrity, in the same way the celebrity benefits from associations with the brand. Despite this arrangement, if consumers believe the endorsement is “incongruent… negative attitudes may result” (Hackley & Hackley, 2016, 8). It is worth noting, however, that SMIs with a higher follower count appeared to hold a greater ability to decline collaborations. This can be attributed to the sheer amount of brand collaborations offered to them, especially for macro SMIs, resulting in a greater ability to be selective to those of interest to the influencer. This was conveyed through one macro influencer interviewed, who holds a following of over 100k:
“I’ve turned down so many $100 collaborations, even $200 ones... and I could be getting five of these smaller ones a week...What you learn when you do this job – Instagram and YouTube – is that you get so much in return, you can travel for free,
161 you can get all your products for free … You don’t actually need to earn as much money as you think you need”.
This ability to decline collaborations was echoed by a second macro SMI who spoke of her attempts to maintain authenticity, which was made easier through being represented by an agent:
“They [her agency] send through a brief and say this brand wants to collaborate, this is the product and the link to the website and explain what the arrangement for the post would be like in terms of money and posts and I just say yes or yes but this or no. And that’s it. I don’t have to sit there and phrase an email and instead of me receiving all of these emails for slim teas and weird stuff like that offering me money, my agent just sends through what is relevant to me. As I explained to her at the beginning, this is what I’m interested [in].”
In such instances, SMIs with a higher follower count hold greater flexibility and agency to accept and decline the collaborations offered to them. Hence, there currently exists problematic discourse surrounding authenticity and its role in the decision to accept collaborations. This was revealed as a significant difficulty for SMIs, especially those of a micro standing or those who rely on collaborations as a primary (or supplementary) source of income. For these SMIs, declining involvement with a collaboration ultimately results in a lack of payment. This is of greater risk for SMIs without agency representation in a competitive environment where the next incoming collaboration and potential payment is unknown, a concern typical within neoliberalism (Gandini, 2016). However, those with a higher level of social capital, evident through followings and relationships with agencies, are able to exert a “disavowal of the economy” (Bourdieu & Nice, 1980, p. 265) as a strategy to maintain authenticity and thus can focus more freely on being a “creative” and sharing their passions. Hence, authenticity in the collaboration process remains a complex arena for SMIs to negotiate, as authenticity holds a direct ability to construct online capital for SMIs. Therefore, within the social media landscape, collaborations function as a form of online capital.
162 4.7 The Field of Instagram and Driven Shifts As introduced thus far, the commercial value arising out of Instagram has resulted in continual shifts to the platform of Instagram itself, thus evolving the field of social media. Instagram as a platform thus functions as a “field” in the Bourdieusian sense, with its own set of complex laws where “goods are produced and circulate” (Bourdieu & Nice, 1980, p. 262). Each of the following developments of Instagram as a platform offer new ways and methods of developing such “Instacapital” through content creation in differing ways. Hence, the continuity of change on social media reinforces the field as able to define “the temporal status of taste” (Bourdieu & Nice, 1980, p. 290). As asserted by Bourdieu, as new tastes enter the market, so too do new producers (Bourdieu & Nice, 1980, p. 290). Subsequently, the need for key industry players to remain on top of such shifts becomes paramount. Such shifts including Instastories, comment pods, video content, SMI dedicated press and changes in the public visibility of likes will subsequently be discussed as additions to the social media field. Each of these assists in understanding the way in which such functionalities can contribute to the creation of online capital for SMIs.
4.7.1 Instastories Instastories are a function of Instagram launched in August 2016, as a way to share temporary video content, lasting 24 hours, to followers of an account. According to Instagram’s blog, “Instagram has always been a place to share the moments you want to remember. Now you can share your highlights and everything in between, too” (Instagram, 2016). Initially accused of appropriating the features of Snapchat to reduce competition for user share, the feature was simultaneously applauded for providing a space to showcase the “uncurated” self, an example of “authentic self branding” (Banet-Weiser 2012, p. 80). Instastories are thus a means for SMIs to construct and further reveal their authenticity (and subsequent legitimacy) to audiences as conveyed through data analysis. Examples of this include, “Usually, I post every day, especially on my Instagram story. I believe this helps me to build a connection with my followers” and “Instastories is great for showing collaboration and unboxings. I guess it also makes everything more transparent when you share this with your followers”. Here, authenticity is constructed through consistency in branding the self (Gandini, 2016) by posting snapshots of everyday life for their audience. The result of
163 such postings can be an increase in perceived intimacy with the SMI. This is reflected in the acts of “confessions and disclosure”, which successfully contribute to perceptions of authenticity and which also increase loyalty among celebrity fandoms (Kanai, 2015). Pressure to post on Instastories “every day” to generate authenticity also reflects the “always on” mentality as a form of labour required to increase exposure within the attention economy (Duffy, Pruchniewska, & Scolere, 2017). This perceived need to post on Instastories more regularly than one’s feed is manifested in the focus on SMIs viewing Instastories as a way to share a different side to the polished life one may share on their feed. One SMI stated,
“I try to make the photos as good quality as possible, so sometimes I take a photo and I’m like, that’s cool, that’s a good photo but I don’t think I'll put it on my feed because ... that’s what I think Instastories is so good for, because I’ll take so many photos throughout the day but I don’t necessarily want all of them to make it up on the actual feed.”
In this instance, Instastories are considered a way to share images that may not be perceived as “appropriate” for the feed, portraying a less curated and authentic sense of self. It allows for a glimpse into the “behind the scenes” or the “backstage” (Goffman, 1959), assisting in such constructions of authenticity through a greater focus on unedited footage, in contrast to the more posed and edited photos posted onto one’s feed. As noted by Marwick and Boyd (2010), however, authenticity can hold several meanings for different people, hence, SMIs’ maintenance of authenticity will ultimately differ. Regardless, Instastories act as an additional method for SMIs to reveal the self and subsequently gain distinctions within the field. This was similarly echoed from an agency perspective, with Instagram stories holding a complimentary function to the photos on one’s feed:
“I think that because Instagram, especially if you are a content creator, generally your feed is quite polished, so people love seeing Instagram videos, they love seeing what’s going on behind the scenes.... what they are doing day to day. They love seeing your voice, especially if you don’t normally produce video content, so I think sometimes it can be even more engaging ... particularly bookings, like events, where I think sometimes the content might not naturally sit on your feed so well, because the lighting
164 might be dark or there might not be a great photo opportunity ... so Instagram stories are a great place to show that content”.
Instastories are thus often requested within brand collaborations, as an additional content channel offering exposure. As discussed by the SMI agencies interviewed, this may include video content captured at an SMI event, unboxing of a gifting collaboration or speaking direct to camera about a product, service or experience. These forms of content also allow the product to be represented “in-use”, albeit in a temporal manner due to the 24-hour nature of Instastories. Nonetheless, the amount of views, as well as “taps” onto the profile of any brands or accounts tagged in the Instastory, are analytics available to an SMI if they are on a business account. This data is often requested by brands and agencies in the form of screen grabs, acting as an additional legitimating tool for measurement of the success of a campaign, contributing to an SMI’s social capital. Hence, Instastories hold a dual purpose for SMIs in both authentically connecting with followers, and for sharing collaborations with brands.
4.7.2 Comment Pods Comment pods are a relatively new option that arose following the changes in Instagram’s algorithm, announced in March 2016, which shifted the feed from chronological to being based upon an algorithm that takes into account, “the likeliness you’ll be interested in the content”, “your relationship with the person posting” and the “timeliness of the post” (Instagram, 2016). As a result of this change, many of the SMIs interviews observed a decrease in engagement, as according to one SMI, the new algorithm “favours sponsored brand posts and high engaged accounts over the average blogger”. Namely, whilst macro and power bloggers may not notice a sizeable difference in engagement, mini, meso and micro SMIs are likely to observe a noticeable decrease. Hence, comment pods are a response to this shift. They function by joining similar Instagram accounts, usually in a direct message group, whereby each individual alerts the group when they have uploaded a new post so fellow members can like and comment, effectively enhancing their engagement metrics. The purpose of comment pods thus represents an element of the “struggle for recognition” within the field of Instagram, whereby knowledge of the rules is necessary to achieve distinction and subsequent capital (Bourdieu, 1996). While the exact parameters
165 surrounding the algorithm remain unclear, the SMIs interviewed were aware of the importance of comments in increasing overall exposure on an upload, subsequently assisting in the growth of one’s account and their subsequent Instacapital. Additionally, as suggested by Cottor (2019), many Instagram users remain uninformed that the “rules of the game” of Instagram even exist, therefore reinforcing the social capital required to succeed within the field (Bourdieu, 1985) and to ultimately grow Instacapital. Whilst the ethics of such pods have been questioned, SMIs interviewed have associated their participation in a pod as, “creating a community of like-minded Instagrammers….we all support and inspire each other… and it’s an opportunity to actually ask questions from others in the same position as you, who you don’t really come into contact with much otherwise” and “Yes, being in the industry it’s mutually beneficial to connect with other similar accounts. I love the community and working with other young, creative people”. Other SMIs interviewed asserted that comment pods can be either a positive or negative experience, contingent upon the individuals involved in the group itself: “I think they can be a good way to connect with others on the platform and reach new people, but it all depends on the intention of others within the comment pod, which can make it tricky. If you’re in a pod with people who genuinely love creating content and just want to connect with others who create similar content and build a community, I think they’re great and can actually help build a good and genuine engagement within your page. I’ve met and continue to follow some people I’ve engaged with through pods, even if I’ve left that pod. If, however, you’re in a pod where people are simply trying to rack up numbers and don’t care much for creating a community, they can be less effective”. Regardless of an individual’s decision to be involved in a comment pod or otherwise, it is important to avoid negating them as a way to generate fake engagement. Many SMIs have thus been able to use such comment pods to create a community of like-minded individuals that provide support to fellow members. Comment pods should also be considered as an instance of unpaid labour (Abidin, 2016; Wissinger, 2007) necessary for the maintenance and growth of exposure within the struggle for recognition in the field (Bourdieu, 1985). Hence, comment pods remain a key strategy in both assisting the engagement of posts and creating SMI communities and thereby should be further monitored for their effect on the future of the SMI landscape.
166 4.7.3 The Growth of Video Content As part of an Instagram update, videos were first able to be uploaded onto the feed in 2016, allowing for a new method of content creation. This growth effectively acted as a strategy to compete with the platforms of Snapchat and YouTube, resulting in the subsequent increase in SMIs focusing on communicating through the medium of video. Hence, video content has emerged as a further way SMIs can engage in cultural production to compete for value and status (Bourdieu,1985) within the social media field. This shift was reflected through numerous SMIs who despite working with brands primarily on still photography, expressed a desire to create more video content: “I have started to dedicate a lot more time to YouTube … I’ve just started up a channel” and “Mostly ‘What I eat in a day’ style videos, which a lot of vegans do. I’ve also done a few beauty tutorials, with vegan makeup, that kind of thing. But most of my followers have come from my Instagram, I’d say, but I am trying to grow my YouTube”.
Brands particularly also have begun both requesting and creating video content with SMIs for posting on brand and SMI channels, as video content holds an additional mode of exposure within the online attention economy (Marwick, 2015). This further reflects the ability for cultural intermediaries to drive shifts within the field through their focus on both economic and cultural values (Perry et al., 2015). One SMI gave an example, “I was also emailed by Popcherry to do an influencer-style video shoot for their new basics range. I was picked along with three other girls to shoot in their studio and got to make short videos for their IGTV and feature on their website, and also to share these videos on my own Instagram.” Hence, the increasing importance placed upon video content becomes apparent, and including the ability for such content to be shared across multiple platforms, is a rising trend for SMI and brand collaborations. SMI agencies have also recognised its growing importance, but as complementary, rather than a substitute for static content. One agency asserted,
“I think they can work for different purposes, so … I think video is going to be continually growing … I think in the industry and just in marketing in general, it’s just a bit of a buzzword at the moment, and people are all hyped about it. But I guess it’s one of those things where it will generally get hyped up before a lot of adoption happens. So people are doing a lot more video, and doing more Snapchat, more YouTube…. but if you look at Instagram influencers and you look at YouTube
167 Influencers, they’re… pretty much a completely different breed. So, the way that the audience will engage on YouTube, and follow them is quite different to Instagram”.
Hence, it appears that video content on social media channels such as Instagram and YouTube differs, most notably in terms of audience engagement. Moreover, Instagram’s introduction of IGTV, provides an additional interface that allows an upload of longer videos up to 10 minutes in length (and 30 minutes for verified accounts). IGTV contributes to a push toward video content and can be viewed as an extension of Instastories producing videos in long-form content similar to YouTube. As this mode was introduced after the collection of data, comments from SMI and agencies are not available, however, this additional format should be monitored for its impact on the SMI field.
4.7.4 Insta Press The impact of SMIs on the media and marketing landscape is further supported by the introduction of an emerging SMI industry press. Referring to dedicated online media websites that publish SMI news and content, examples include Husskie Press (see Figure 1.6) and Fohr. As well as dedicated SMI press, many of the SMI agencies additionally cover industry news and SMI interviews on their own websites, offering an additional avenue to see beyond the publicly-presented lives on SMIs’ own channels. Husskie, in particular, is an Australian-based “influencer-focused fashion, beauty and lifestyle website”, which “takes a look at what life is like behind the camera (or iPhone) of top influencers” (Husskie Press, 2019). Sites such as these act as a further indication of SMIs as both a professionalising industry and independent field (Bourdieu, 1983), deemed notable enough to be discussed within the public sphere. Moreover, Husskie, in particular, publishes interviews with SMIs, asking professional as well as personal questions, indicating that such individuals have shifted into the realm of the micro celebrity through the “erosion between public and private” (Senft as cited in Hartley et al., 2013, p. 351). It is thus possible to conceive of the way in which these SMIs have used their online identity to transform themselves into “stars”. Namely, their accumulation of capital allows a shift “from citizens to corporations, vis- a-vis the proprietary organisation of the attention of others” (Senft as cited in Hartley et al., 2013, p. 351). This interest in the lives of SMIs acts as a further indication of the significance of the attention economy and how media coverage of their online identities
168 acts as legitimation of their public status. It can thus be asserted that SMIs attain value and cultural authority through being discussed in public spaces, such as Husskie and Fohr. Namely, by being conceived as a “member of a field” and thereby being spoken about, an individual’s work and their external lives begins to be circulated beyond their immediate SMI following (Bourdieu & Bourdieu, 1993, p. 32). One SMI agency confirmed this interest, discussing their own website’s blog as an additional channel to explore the lives of SMIs. One SMI agency stated, “It’s our baby, the blog... we love writing for it. We always try to get new tips and interviews. We love hearing the little pearls of wisdom that come out. It’s really fascinating, the types of normal lives and jobs that influencers have – it’s so varied and we love sharing that”. Hence, these SMIs’ focused sites reveal the public interest in the lives of SMIs, extending beyond what they share on their personal channels, reinforcing the SMI landscape as an independent field (Bourdieu, 1983).
Figure 1.6. The Husskie homepage.
169
4.7.5 Trials for the Removal of Visible Likes The recent trial of Instagram removing likes for certain national audiences, including Australia, is at first glance, troubling to SMIs relying upon engagement as a legitimising metric. However, in actuality, it serves to increase the power of consumption intermediaries (Bourdieu, 1985) within the Instagram landscape. This change was instigated by Instagram in Australia from July 18 2019, as a temporary measure, though at present this feature remains in place. Under this update to the app, no longer can one judge a SMI by their “likes” (though this engagement metric is still easily accessible to anyone through visiting an Instagram profile on a web browser rather than the app). In the absence of immediately visible likes, however, legitimacy will be increasingly judged by the collaborations SMIs engage in, the events they attend and the follower count of the people they socialise with, hence elevating the value place of visible displays of social capital (Gandini, 2016). Furthermore, the removal of visible likes also points to increase in significance of social media agencies as cultural intermediaries, legitimating SMIs through requesting SMI engagement metrics prior to engaging them in collaborations. A direct result is the potential enhanced pressure on SMIs to continually establish themselves as influential through their content, enhancing visible Instacapital through paid collaboration with established brands. Regardless of this change, it is necessary for any SMI to opt in to holding a business account, in order to access engagement metrics to pass on to agencies and brands desiring to work with them. These engagement metrics available include “likes”, “profile visits”, “reach”, shares or link taps, subsequently representing interest in the content the SMIs produce – and thus attention to the brands they are sharing. An agency able to analyse and pass on these metrics to brands can exhibit themselves as a worthwhile addition to the SMI sphere. As a result, they can advocate as experts in the field and hence like an advertising agency, reinforce that “the realms of production and consumption are strictly distinct” (Cronin, 2015, p. 359).
5. Conclusion Mapping the SMI landscape unveils a complex intersection that has resulted in a growth of cultural intermediaries to manage and profit from. In recent years in particular, SMIs’ intense growth has resulted in a highly lucrative field, reflected in their increasingly widespread categorisation based largely upon follower count. Each of
170 these categories of SMIs, from mini to macro, offers several benefits for different brands and as a result, exposes various challenges for both the industry and SMIs themselves. These industry characteristics for SMI success have been identified as engagement, reach, quality, profile aesthetics and authenticity. Furthermore, new shifts in the landscape reveal a constantly changing field. Key areas of growth requiring attention in future research therefore include Instastories, comment pods, video content, the emergence of an SMI dedicated press and measures of engagement. Thus, it becomes apparent that the SMI industry remains in its infancy and will continue to shift and change in the coming years. As a result, the SMI industry as a whole requires continual discussion to understand its impact on brands, content creation and the future of the marketing industry.
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182 Essay Two
Analysing Processes within the Circle of Production: Narratives of Creation and Conversion of Online Social Capital by Social Media Influencers
Abstract Social media influencers (SMIs) are a rapidly growing phenomenon in the ever- expanding online celebrity marketing context. It is, however, unclear as to what the key processes are that are able to transform an ordinary social media user into an Internet sensation, who may be able to sustain a viable economic career by leveraging the social capital they generate online. As a result, it becomes necessary to examine in a systematic way the processes within the field of SMIs, which foster the development of the social, cultural and economic capital of these SMIs. Drawing parallels from the SMI landscape to Bourdieu’s conception of the field (1986) is a useful starting point from which to conceptualise the emergence and growth of the SMI industry. This study has used a narrative approach to examine data from in-depth interviews with prominent figures in the Australian social media landscape to identify key tipping points, which help in transforming an SMI’s online social capital into legitimated cultural capital, which can then be leveraged to gain economic capital. In addition, this essay incorporates visual data from these SMIs’ archival postings to analyse elements of success as a second source of data triangulation. A final source of data for the analyses are interviews with the newly emerging SMI management agencies within the field. An SMI’s ability to read the field in order to transit successfully through these stages can assist in understanding the characteristics of the field that is the social media influencer industry. Therefore, it becomes evident that to actively convert influencer-generated social capital into cultural capital and then ultimately economic capital, SMIs should remain conscious of the interdependent relationship between their independent growth and the surrounding field of production – a relationship that will only intensify as the industry matures.
183 1. Introduction The growth of SMIs has disrupted the marketing and communications landscape, opening a host of new opportunities for both SMIs themselves as well as for the corporate brands who collaborate with them. An SMI can be best described as “an online content creator” – an individual who develops a following online based on the imagery they post. Whilst an SMI can grow and exist on any social media platform, this study will focus upon SMIs whose main form of content creation occurs on the photo-sharing application Instagram. Instagram’s adoption by individuals as a platform to share lifestyle images of the self and their consumption patterns has particularly thrived in the areas of fashion, beauty, food and travel. The conditions that allow certain social media accounts to not only gain a following, but also leverage this interest to access opportunities and gain economic rewards are not fully understood, and little studied. Thus, this essay seeks to utilise Bourdieu’s (1986) conception of the field to first understand the field; and second to trace the growth of an SMI through the development of social, cultural and economic capital. As a result, three key aspects of this emerging industry landscape become clearer from the data in this study. The first involves the processes, key events and players in the legitimisation and authentication of the social capital garnered online by SMIs. Second, the ways in which this social capital becomes recognised within the industry to be “approved” and “verified” to then pass into a form of cultural capital, will be considered. Finally, the chapter looks at how this legitimised cultural capital or authority helps social media influencers earn economic returns in both the online and offline space.
2. Background Rationale SMIs exist within a complex field, which can be understood through many potential lenses. This essay takes a Bourdieusian approach in order to understand the way the field is constituted and the many players that exist within it. It examines the labour in terms of time and effort invested into online profiles and the possible subsequent payoff, as an example of how first social capital, subsequently cultural capital and ultimately economic capital (Bourdieu, 1986) are acquired. As Julien (2015) suggests, “interactions of digital inhabitants, who invest themselves online and subsequently have a stock of social capital that exists and is exchanged online, have been overlooked and misunderstood” (p. 357). Hence, this paper attempts to build an understanding of the processes and actors who help create such capital and then
184 subsequently transfer and transform this online. The assumption that social media has removed barriers to participation in a particular community fails to recognise the complexities and knowledge required to distinguish oneself online (Helsper, 2012, as cited in Julien, 2015, p. 361). Rather, it should be recognised that despite the seeming democratisation of entry into online spaces, this online field has nonetheless developed modes for exclusion and for creating barriers to entry (Julien, 2015, p. 362). Such recognition reinforces the importance of Bourdieu’s (1986) assertion of the necessity of being able to read the field. As a result, an application of Bourdieu’s (1993) conception of the field to online social media networks can be also reinforced. First, Julien (2015) identifies that all online interactions are accompanied by either implicit or explicit judgment by others. Julien (2015) thus argues that the Internet itself “constitutes a new field” – one where individuals are able to post images of their perception of the world centred around a “digitally oriented habitus” (p. 362). Therefore, it can be argued that an understanding of the digital field can inform the conception of SMIs and the subsequent factors contributing to their growth. Bourdieu’s (1986) conception of the field traces the different forms of capital that exist and the way they are mediated by the surrounding status of actors. All actors exist in a “social space, or topography, according to economic, social, and cultural characteristics” (Anheier, Gerhards, & Romo, 1995, p. 860). Bourdieu’s (1984) theoretical foundations are thus useful in understanding the social media landscape as a field; and that “all relations that a determinate category of intellectuals or artist may establish with any and all external factors – whether economic, political or cultural – are mediated by the structure of the field” (p. 24). Furthermore, as Bourdieu espouses, the function of a field of power is to replicate existing formations of difference that exist between groups in society (Wacquant, 1993, p. 19). Gaining a place in such “spaces of positions”, particularly those of a higher social status, requires one to obtain, possess and maintain various forms of capital (Wacquant, 1993, p. 21). Bourdieu, in an interview with Wacquant (1993) further extends such spaces as able to be disseminated into “sub-spaces” (p.21), which themselves can correspond to various sub-fields which act to reproduce such relations and the position they occupy within it. Contextualising these structures in relation to the SMI field helps in understanding the subsequent development of capital in all its forms in the online space. In this online context, this research uses textual and visual data to reveal some of the relationships between forms of capital online.
185 This research has immediate and particular importance as marketing budgets increasingly assign value to influencer marketing at the expense of traditional media campaigns (Alon, Gamzu, & Tennenholtz, 2012; Dahlén, Granlund, & Grenros, 2009). Moreover, as an increasing number of SMIs are forgoing traditional occupations to pursue the title of a full-time “influencer”, it is useful to trace the creation of social capital and its subsequent transformation into cultural and, ultimately, economic capital and the specific processes through which this is managed within the online field. Whilst Bourdieu has been applied to some facets of social media, such as social media activism on Twitter (Loader, Vromen, & Xenos, 2014) and musical authenticity on YouTube (Abolhasani, Oakes, & Oakes, 2017), looking at the actual processes by which this theoretical frame applies to capital created online by SMIs is largely under- examined. Before applying such theory to the collated data, a brief background rationale of existing theory is presented. Wacquant and Bourdieu (2013) highlight the significant and symbolic effect of the relationship that the upper classes develop with objects and ways of consuming them (p. 293). Thus, individual selves and the life different classes project online ascribe symbolic properties to their social media profiles, facilitating the acquisition of capital in all its forms online. Social capital according to Bourdieu (1985) refers to “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources that are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition” (p. 248). This is, namely, the potential access to resources and opportunities made available or enhanced by one’s relationships to others within the social world. This conception of social capital has been applied to numerous contexts (Carpiano, 2006; Holt, 1998), due to its ability to showcase the assistance individuals can access through involvement in certain groups, and the ability to purposefully create such social ties for the development of certain resources (Portes, 1998). Building one’s social capital further benefits the individual through the subsequent ability to generate both cultural and economic capital. Cultural capital is the capacity for the symbolic appropriation of material and cultural production (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 2013, p. 295). It can be created through “contacts with experts or individuals of refinement (i.e. embodied cultural capital); or, alternatively, they can be affiliated with institutions that confer valued credentials (i.e. institutionalized cultural capital)” (Portes, 1998, p. 4). In turn, both social and cultural capital are reducible to economic capital, “defined as accumulated human labour” (Portes, 1998, p. 4). As
186 Bourdieu and Wacqaunt assert (2013), we exist in a world where individuals are consistently segmented and ordered based on possessions and characteristics, and the social media world is no different. Moreover, as asserted by Wacquant, the “constitutive power” of such symbolic systems lies in their “capacity to shape reality by shaping shared representations of the world” (2013, p. 282). The growth of SMIs and their interaction with the social media landscape can thus be more deeply understood through the lens of the “circle of production” (Bourdieu, 1980). The application of Bourdieu’s conception of capital (1986) to online interactions is, at present, fairly limited. One paper that does apply this theoretical lens is Julien’s 2015 application to the context of online memes. Julien (2015) directly asserts that “online interactions themselves contain and extend social capital” (p. 365). However, Julien (2015) posits that digital social capital deviates from Bourdieu’s (1986) notion of it in two distinct ways. First, for digital social capital to be convertible, those in the physical world must also know or understand online culture and conceive of it a positive capability (Julien, 2015, p. 365). Second, digital social capital allows participants to post memes as a way to “gain distinction, validity and hierarchy in the digital world because the Internet comprises of a new field to which agents enter” (Julien, 2015, p. 366). Specifically, in relation to Internet memes, to understand their intent reveals one’s membership through their ability to read such coded and covert signs (Julien, 2015, p. 366). Understanding the particular language or vocabulary is a type of digital social capital that allows one to successfully become included within a group. Julien (2005, p. 368) thus argues that the Internet itself is a “field” within Bourdieu’s conception, as fields hold particular barriers to entry. Thus, whilst Julien does not apply digital social capital specifically to SMIs, he does reinforce the Internet as a field in which the entry and approval of individuals are constantly resisted (Bourdieu, 2000; Wacquant, 2008). In this vein, the study of the Internet as a field, and by extension, the study of SMIs is validated as individuals require possession of, and are continually shaped by, the particular skills and knowledge needed to interact online (Julien, 2015, p. 368). This sort of “joint social space” is further asserted by Levina and Arriaga (2014) as able to simultaneously unite and divide platform users through common interests, allowing users to distinguish themselves from others. The role the consumer plays in the context of the SMI can be further understood by first taking note of the way in which the consumer’s emotions are “mobilised, packaged and sold back” to them (Bonsu, Darmody, & Parmentier, 2010). Bonsu,
187 Darmody and Parmentier’s 2010 paper is a useful conceptualisation of the “prosumer” in the context of reality television, a notion that can be extended to online contexts. Citing Bourdieu (2010), the paper first recognises the role of television in the organising of individuals within a society. Reality television by extension delivers an “authentic reality of normal living” (Bonsu, Darmody, & Parmentier, 2010, p. 92) to create commercial success through ascribing specific roles to the collective audience. The audience takes on the role of a “prosumer”, namely one who “produces by consuming”, a blurring of the boundaries between “consumption and production” (Bonsu, Darmody, & Parmentier, 2010, p. 92). A prosumer thus performs what can be defined as immaterial labour, namely actions not typically regarded as work. Reality television thereby succeeds through its ability to host personalities that hold an emotional appeal to audiences, forging “close, personal bonds” (Bonsu, Darmody, & Parmentier, 2010, p. 94). Thus, the way in which reality television utilises prosumers to elicit such bonds signifies the intertwined role of the consumer in both the production and consumption of such content, a relationship that can be assigned similarly to the followers of SMIs who help produce as well as consume similar emotional connections. As a result, further study on co-creation remains useful for understanding the growth and role of SMIs within the wider marketplace. Bonsu and Darmody’s (2008, p. 355) earlier paper employs a case study of the virtual technology game Second Life to explore the way co-creation can empower consumers whilst simultaneously implicating consumers into producing for the firm. Co-creation is largely inescapable on the Internet as a whole, driving brands to persuade consumers to actively use their productive capacity to produce content that promotes the brand to other consumers (Bonsu & Darmody, 2008, p. 356). Whilst such actions are not typically regarded as work, it is necessary to consider the way in which co-creation exists through the immaterial labour of participants. Furthermore, co-creation online is prevalent in numerous other contexts such as service work, product personalisation and fan communities (Cova, Dalli, & Zwick, 2011; Zwick, Bonsu, & Darmody, 2017), hence necessitating further examination in the context of SMIs. Another area of research around co-creation relevant to the analysis of SMIs is digital self-tracking. Lupton’s (2016, p. 62) work on “life-logging”, namely, the increasing tendency to compile and analyse digitised information of the self, is one example. Lupton’s (2016) work is situated within research on “practices of selfhood,
188 embodiment and data,” which has been a critical contributor to policy, education and healthcare (p.3).This is achieved through a critical view on the sharing of quantified health data, such as Fitbits and Nike+ Fuel bands, as indicative of adherence to the values of an “ideal citizen” as taking responsibility for one’s own health (Lupton, 2013, p. 397). Namely, society is encouraged to enact a form of self-surveillance and self- regulation through the tracking of health data. As a result, this “digital health revolution” (Lupton, 2013, p. 393) can be conceived as a type of convertibility of the body and health into a type of social capital. This finding therefore holds the potential to contribute to research on the presentation of the healthy body on social media as a generator of social capital, able to be transferred to offline contexts. Here, research conducted suggests health as increasingly entwined within the digital sphere, reinforcing the need for further study and the ability for the proposed research to contribute to the field. In the absence of much academic research on SMI agencies, it is necessary to consider the role of other similar institutions in other fields, such as advertising agencies. In Cronin’s (2004, p. 249) paper, the advertising practitioner is defined as both constructing and constantly redetermining the relationships between markets and consumers. As a key component of the culture industry (Adorno, 1991), advertising can thus be perceived as functioning as “mediating between the needs of producers and the desires of consumers” (Cronin, 2004, p. 350). The need for commercial mediation thus requires the practitioner to be skilled in understanding the many elements of each sphere, negotiating between the two and managing any tensions that may exist (Cronin, 2004). This can be illustrated specifically when the various demands of individuals involved in a campaign, who may hold diverging expectations of advertisements, have to be managed. The result of this is the implicit building and rebuilding of the connections between brands, products and consumers. Subsequently, the advertising practitioner also holds a responsibility to “mediate the legitimacy of consumer capitalism” (Cronin, 2004, p. 362). That is, to engage in mythmaking practices that assist consumers in making sense of the often-paradoxical messages brands create (Cronin, 2004, p. 363). Moreover, advertising practitioners provide a “tangible site around which agencies’ claims to that commercial legitimacy and creative expertise are centred”, allowing two brands to function as an “organising nexus, drawing together and articulating the commercial imperatives of agencies, practitioners’ role in qualifying products, and consumers’ imaginative investment in
189 their potential relationship to the product” (Cronin, 2004, p. 364). It is this function that can be paralleled to the role of the SMI agency, who enact the same response through connecting SMIs to brands, to create advertising messages on behalf of brands. Hence, the advertising agency holds a structural similarity to SMI agencies, assisting in expanding an understanding of agency roles as an intermediary between brands and the SMIs themselves.
3. Methodology This study has employed qualitative methodology to best explore the creation of social capital in the online contexts of SMIs. The following essay examines a distinct aspect of how SMIs generate, maintain and transform “instacapital” in the online field. Thus, in-depth interviews have been utilised as a way to uncover SMIs’ meaning making of their worlds as understood through “their expressed subjective narratives” (Arsel, 2017, p. 939). As Arsel (2017) asserts, interviews remain an effective and authentic data collection source due to their “interactive, flexible but focused nature” (p. 939). Interviews were conducted with loosely-structured questions whilst remaining flexible to any new paths initiated by those being interviewed (Arsel, 2017, p. 939). As a result, the interviews were able to uncover valuable insights to assist in answering the initial research question. A narrative approach was furthermore selected due to its successful application in other marketing research contexts (Dutta-Bergman, 2004; Wiles, Rosenberg, & Kearns, 2005). Narrative analysis in particular is able to be applied to the data to uncover an individual’s self-perception of their actions (Creswell, 2013, p. 15). The sample selected was established through consulting extant studies (Stern, Arnould, & Price, 1998; Thompson, 1997; Thompson & Troester, 2002), subsequently modified to suit the research question. A purposive sample of SMIs was utilised with each individual classified as either meso, micro or macro SMIs.1 Furthermore, each SMI account was screened prior to interviewing to ensure they held a legitimate following (namely growth had occurred over a steady period of time to confirm followers were earned rather than purchased). Purposive sampling resulted in in-depth face-to-face interviews with seventeen SMIs and three SMI agencies, all in the Australian context. Permission was obtained for analysis of the archival posts of each of the SMIs interviewed. Thus, three sources of data were gathered and
1 See Glossary for a definition of meso, micro and macro SMIs.
190 analysed: Individual interviews with SMIs themselves, interviews with SMI agencies, and visual data from the SMI Instagram archives. Prior to this stage, two secondary sources of data were also analysed, namely key publications in the SMI space (SMI- focused websites Husskie and Fohr) to gather ethnographic understanding of the context of the SMI phenomenon. The data collection methods thus attempted to uncover metanarratives and their associated identity projects as expressed within the consumer cultural theory (CCT) tradition (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultans, 2008). All interviewees also gave permission for analysis to be performed on their archival Instagram posts, which was guided by Rose’s (2016) methods of visual analysis. It was therefore ensured that online and interview data were used in a contextually appropriate manner to maintain textual integrity of the data (Gannon & Prothero, 2016, p. 1863). In-depth, unstructured interviews, and the accompanying analysis of archival posts worked in tandem to enhance the validity of the subsequent data analysis. Each interview was open coded to best allow for the emergence and conceptualisation of themes (Creswell, 2013). Data was thus initially segmented into separate distinct themes (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultans, 2008). This was followed by axial coding to review and compare identified themes to confirm any connections, facilitating their suppression into a smaller set of emergent themes (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The interviews also underwent narrative analysis including a structural and linguistic analysis (Franzosi, 1998). Structural narrative analysis was further implemented through identifying and collating common structures within interview transcriptions, as guided by Labov (1982). These structural themes were further supplemented and confirmed through visual narrative analysis of the images and text posts, including examining the structure, style and position as guided by Rose (2016). The resulting analysis thus allowed key insights into the narrative creation of the SMI selves online to be explored.
4. Analysis 4.1 The Legitimisation and Authentication of Social Capital Generated Online by SMIs The ability of SMIs to read “distinctions” in the field is a key factor in the growth of an individual from an ordinary social media user, to one who gains a loyal following online, regarded as both legitimate and authentic. Bourdieu’s (2011) conception of the field
191 and the role of social capital is therefore a necessary tool in understanding the factors fuelling an individual’s acquisition of followers through sharing one’s life online in a manner that is ultimately interesting enough to gain the attention of others and legitimate enough to gain the attention of brands. Hence, social capital conceivably can be applied to discuss the various factors that signify to an ordinary social media user that a particular profile is worth following.
i. Critical Mass and Quality of Digital Social Capital Creation To support an understanding of how SMIs develop an authentic and legitimate following online first requires application of how social capital is initiated. “Bourdieu’s definition makes clear that social capital is decomposable into two elements: first, the social relationship itself that allows individuals to claim access to resources possessed by their associates, and second, the amount and quality of those resources” (Portes, 1998, pp. 3-4). Namely, the first element of social capital’s application to an SMI is the opening of opportunities an SMI is subsequently allowed access to. When those interviewed were asked if they considered themselves to be an SMI, responses centred around a narrative of opportunity and increased access. One SMI asserted, “I basically think I became an ‘influencer’ at around 3,000 followers because that’s the point when I started getting more collabs and getting invited to influencer events”. Here, collaborations and invitations to exclusive social gatherings signified that this social media user could now conceive of herself as an SMI. Similarly a second SMI asserted this as, “When I introduced myself at events I was invited to by knowing others online [in the interior space] and people there would recognise me by my Instagram name, saying, ‘Ooh, it’s [Instagram handle]’”. Again, the ability to access exclusive events and be “known” and recognised (legitimation) within the space has been allowed through developing into an SMI. Hence, attending an event within the SMI space can be regarded as a legitimating practice, as consumption practices can be regarded as progressing one’s “collective goal of attaining cultural legitimacy through marketplace recognition of their identity position” (Coskuner-Balli & Thompson, 2012, p. 30). The second element of Bourdieu’s social capital as understood by Portes (1988) is the “amount and quality of those resources” an individual is able to access (pp. 3-4). This also became particularly apparent amongst SMIs interviewed, who narrated the quality of the opportunities accessed, such as brand collaborations and
192 invites, which increased in proportion to their follower count. Hence, when asked of their favourite opportunity so far in being an SMI, well-known brand names were referenced in almost all responses, signifying an increase in the quality of such resources. This is again in line with writing on legitimating practices as asserted by Arsel and Thompson’s (2010) awareness that “another’s field-dependent knowledge and social centrality can play an equally critical role in sustaining nuanced symbolic distinctions” (p. 803). Examples of brands referenced by SMIs throughout interviews include, “Being flown to Melbourne for a photoshoot with Cotton On Body – that was pretty surreal and lots of fun! I actually felt like a real-life celebrity or model or something ... was seriously so cool”, and “Representing Tumblr at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia. I helped curate and create content for their official fashion page and represented the network at fashion shows and events.” Both of these SMIs echo this nuanced understanding of which brands most significantly act as a legitimating force towards their role as an SMI. Therefore, acknowledgment of the conception of social capital is implicitly evident through SMI interviews, as such opportunities arose as a direct result of their social media following. Subsequently discerning how such processes operate within the social media landscape can be further understood through a parallel of Bourdieu’s discussion of the art world, its actors, cultural intermediaries and their roles in producing value within the competitive commercial field (Wacquant, 1993). Bourdieu’s “artist” can be paralleled to an SMI as a content creator. This includes their primary motivation for creating, relationships with the field, and their reception by other SMIs. Just as artists may produce a work first and foremost for themselves, many SMIs interviewed still regard their work as primarily driven by their innate need to create and share their work with others. This creative desire endows SMIs with a certain form of cultural capital, which has “its own laws of acquisition, transmission and accumulation” (Wacquant, 1993, p. 23). Creating for one’s own innate satisfaction is evident though interviewee quotes such as: “I often take photos that I like just because I want to look at it … I create my feed for me, for my own visual satisfaction, it feeds my creativity”. Namely, it is the “value of works of art in general – the basis of the value of each particular work – and the belief which underlies it, [that] are generated in the incessant, innumerable struggles to establish the value of this or that particular work” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 265). SMIs further spoke of their initial struggle to gain recognition for content they were willingly producing in the absence of any economic rewards. This struggle
193 was reflected within interview transcripts: “It was becoming so competitive at the time and even now, it was only models and really pretty people [who] were just getting all the opportunities and the fashion labels weren’t really looking for people who genuinely liked the brands or who had a unique sense of style ... but obviously I kept posting”. Other SMIs interviewed also stated their original intentions of creating a social media profile so as to establish a space to share their life with close friends, and to creatively post what inspired them. One SMI stated, “I’ve always been a very visual person ... very interested in visuals and aesthetics. I’ve always taken a lot of photos. Even now that my account is more business, I still have a private account where I post inspo pics and snaps I take just for me, where I don’t have to worry about pleasing followers or about engagement”, and “I started my Instagram in 2011 when it was the days of filters, borders and grainy iPhone pictures, when I was just sharing photos because I loved it”. This is similarly echoed by accounts who stressed they did not actively desire or post with the intention of becoming an SMI, but rather started gaining followers organically. Such SMIs retained a sense of disbelief in their current status as an SMI: “Well, I guess it has just slowly grown ... as more people have followed ... I don’t really know how this has happened! I guess I just posted photos, and more coverage eventually came about”, and “I was really just put into the box of an influencer/blogger as when I first started the whole idea of online media was very new and relatively unknown. I wasn’t a publication by Bauer (then ACP) or Pacific Magazines, I wasn’t a freelancer either so people got a little confused. Now I just roll with it and embrace it”. Others, particularly in the health and wellness space, spoke about initially beginning their account as a way to motivate their health journey by publicly tracking their consumption and exercise habits. One SMI stated, “I started [my Instagram] as a way of holding myself accountable during my fitness journey … and I thought it would be fun”. Similarly, a second health-oriented SMI revealed her reasoning for starting an account was to “motivate myself to be creative with my eating and also to experiment with healthy vegan food”. This was echoed further by an SMI who spoke of her initial account as progressing to her full-time occupation encouraging herself and others to switch to chemical-free, natural beauty products: “The basis of my business regardless of Instagram and social media has always been to inspire people to make a difference, so in a way I’ve always been aware of my ability and the ability of [her Instagram
194 account] to influence change. Social media has been a great vehicle for this influence to grow and to reach further than I physically can, which is really exciting”. Using social media for such avenues can be viewed as part of a larger behavioural trend of the quantified self (Lupton, 2016) or “lifelogging” . Lifelogging as “effecting and maintaining behaviour change is a key motivation for engaging in these practices” (Selke & Klose, 2016, p. 68). Hence, this health subcategory of SMIs can be regarded as “self-quantifiers” who “use data to construct the stories people tell themselves about themselves” (Davis as cited in Lupton, 2016, p. 9) . According to Selke and Klose (2016), individuals engaging in self-tracking practises can be regarded as participating in acts of “selfhood”. As asserted by Lupton, the notion of change is crucial within self-tracking (as cited in Selke & Klose, 2016, p. 68), reflecting the way in which transformative narratives of change (such as from “unhealthy” to “healthy”) are a central composition of many SMIs interviewed. Moreover, as Lupton explains, much of the significance of self-tracking data consists off performances of selfhood and narratives of the healthy self, allowing for a presentation of oneself to others in a numerical way (such as calories burnt in a workout) (Lupton as cited in Selke & Klose, 2016, p. 68). Hence, the success of such accounts that trace their attempts at behavioural change may begin as deeply personal and centred around individual growth as part of a desire for self-improvement. Such performances of the self online, however, can act as a successful initiator for the development of social capital online.
ii. Tensions Between the SMI Artist and the SMI as an Entrepreneur As the collected interview data maintains, SMIs can experience growing tension between their initial motivations of posting online, and the increasing pressure through opportunities offered to commercialise their account. Likewise, Bourdieu’s conception of the artist is initially driven by the “opposition between ‘genuine’ art and ‘commercial’ ... art [which] corresponds to the opposition between ordinary entrepreneurs seeking immediate economic profit and cultural entrepreneurs struggling to accumulate specifically cultural capital, albeit at the cost of temporarily renouncing economic profit” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 268). Hence, the commercialisation of an individual’s social media content creation was not the primary intent for some SMIs interviewed. However, commercialisation brought to the fore this tension between producing for an audience and producing for
195 oneself. This tension arises in admissions such as, “When I do post for brands though I do feel really awkward about it ... like I am almost lying. But I don’t ever work with brands that I don’t genuinely believe in, that I wouldn’t use myself anyway.” Similarly a second SMI stated, “I mean, I’m not a huge influencer as there are a lot of bloggers with heaps more followers than me – but I do engage in a lot of collabs and I do have high engagement levels”. This lies in the continuous changing of the field, where key figures, “claim to establish the frontier between what is and what is not, between ‘bourgeois’ art and ‘intellectual’ art, between ‘traditional’ art and ‘avant-garde’ art” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 162). Therefore, meso and micro influencers, in particular, exhibit a personal questioning of their own conception as an SMI, a notion embedded in a self-questioning of one’s own legitimacy, reinforced by the multitude of accounts that exist online. Notably, the “question of the legitimacy of capital is immediately raised by virtue of the fact of the existence of a plurality of competing powers which, in their very confrontation, ceaselessly bring up the problem of their justification” (Wacquant, 1993, p. 25). Interestingly, many of the narratives that arose from interviews align with Bourdieu’s (1980) conception of this opposition, as many SMIs spoke of an increased drive to create content as their follower count grew. Namely, SMI profile growth inspired the individuals to devote an increased level of time and attention to their subsequent posts, in the hope of further increasing their following and reaching a stage of potential financial gain. This perceived ability to grow one’s following resulted from an existing observation of the field and the key players within it. In this regard, the field is always “an opposition between small-scale and large-scale (‘commercial’) production” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 268). For example, one SMI shared, “I was like, these girls, or guys are doing really well ... I like looking at other people when they share places they eat and the clothes they wear, and I was like, I can do that as well!” Another confirmed this perception, stating, “It was really when I started this account and became part of this community, that I decided that I wanted this to be more than just a hobby and to pursue a job in the industry”. Within this scanning of the field and competitors, many SMIs reinforced their perceived need to present unique content in order to differentiate themselves from others, for example: “I genuinely believe when it comes to Instagram, you need to step up your game and create unique content that people can’t find anywhere else, rather than just being a carbon copy”. Such statements are evocative of Bourdieu’s
196 assessment of the avant-garde: “a production based on denial of the ‘economy’ and of profit (sales targets, etc.) which ignores or challenges the expectations of the established audience and serves no other demand than the one it itself produces” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 268). It can thus be reinforced that SMIs must remain reflexive of their position in the industry, aware of what is needed to succeed as a content creator. However, just as the artist is eventually reminded of their success by “demand through sales figures” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 2), so too is the SMI alerted to the validity of their work as mediated by a set of metrics. Namely, engagement and followers are numerical expressions that ultimately serve as validators of the creative worth of an image. This reinforces the evolution of social media platforms as ultimately driven by commercial value, or alternatively, the ability of engagement and follower count to confirm an SMI’s social worth so that it can subsequently be converted into economic capital both online and offline. Hence, regardless of an initial desire to create or share, it is difficult for an emerging SMI to ignore the potential monetary value of their work. An SMI, like the artist, remains “utterly and completely reducible to their commodity value” (Bourdieu, 1982, p. 2). Just as the artist is able to sell their art in exchange for financial rewards, so too can the SMI commercialise their content, in some cases to the extent of a full-time career. This commodity value of an SMI is directly related to their ability to drive sales to a product, a key relationship that has opened up the title of SMI or “content creator” as a viable career path. However, the “convertibility of social capital into economic capital is costlier and more contingent” than any form (Anheier, 1995, p. 862). As a result, the various processes that assist this transfer are not necessarily clear cut, requiring a closer examination of the various factors that assist this growth. However, as recognised by Thompson and Ustuner (2006), under the conditions of Bourdieusian status distinctions: socially advantaged competitors would accumulate symbolic capital at a faster rate than those in disadvantaged positions, and hence, the social disparities among these differentially resourced factions would increase, even if they are located in the same institutional field and playing the same status game. (p. 257) It is therefore necessary to note that whilst the democratic nature of social media essentially allows anyone with a smartphone the ability to become an influencer, individuals who already possess social capital, such as in the form of connections,
197 access to experiences or their appearance, begin with a “step up” from their competitors, thus continuing a favouring of the elite. This assumption can be confirmed by the number of SMIs who work as models (such as the Australian power SMI Steph Claire Smith), reinforcing the way in which, “the agents who are already predisposed in such a way that the work of inculcation is made considerably easier” (Wacquant, 1993, p. 32). Hence, offline social connections prevent the online “field” from becoming a completely level one, reinforcing the lack of overt distinctions between online and offline. Particular advantage is afforded to those who already hold access to exclusive events (through connections) and the ability to create desirable content for visual applications, such as the capital required to holiday in exotic locations or purchase designer accessories. This field advantage thus appears as a maintenance of existing holdings of offline cultural capital. For example, Bourdieu in an interview with Wacquant (1993), speaks of the way prestigious schools contribute to the reproduction of power for the cultural elite, through the teaching of certain social dispositions and any technical proficiency required for success in specific fields. Cultural capital employed through one’s upbringing is initially conceived through one’s family, subsequently extended through schooling (Wacquant, 1993). Despite this recognition, “the acquisition of social capital requires deliberate investment of both economic and cultural resources” (Portes, 1998, p. 4). In addition, engaging in each step, to be discussed in the following section, does not guarantee an Instagram user will become an SMI. Rather, they can potentially assist an individual in follower growth and subsequently enhance their ability to create social capital online that can be transferred into cultural capital. Hence, the following sections outline the way value is created, how types of subcapital are accrued and the different ways such capital is legitimated (types of legitimacy). iii. Co-Creation of Value with Followers Engagement within this field can be defined as likes, comments and messages from individuals who follow one’s account, offering a tangible indication that individuals are “seeing” and “enjoying” the posts on social media. Genuine engagement, such as questions about a posted product, signifies further interest and an indication of the growth of a community surrounding an SMI’s profile. In these instances, co-creation of capital is evident through both the followers and the SMIs themselves (Bonsu & Darmody, 2008). This is reflected through responses to being asked when an
198 interviewee first considered themselves to be an SMI, which reinforce the essential nature of this type of engagement. Responses included: “...when I was posting images of collaborations and people were interested in that, and asking about the items I’m wearing or whatever”, and “I discovered this when I was getting inboxes from people all around the world telling me how much I have helped them find the motivation to push towards reaching their goals.” This response represents the initial beginnings of what Bourdieu speaks of as the “only legitimate accumulation ... in making a name for oneself, a known, recognized name, a capital of consecration implying a power to consecrate objects (with a trademark or signature) or persons (through publication, exhibition, etc.) and therefore to give value, and to appropriate the profits from this operation” (Bourdieu, 1982, p. 262). Engagement as a co-created value subsequently assigns meaning to a particular post and by extension, the SMI’s profile as a whole. Moreover, positive enagement provides direction to an SMI due to confirmation that their content is being consumed and enjoyed, thereby encouraging continued posting. Arguably, it is this initial growth of a grassroots community that is the foundation of any further accumulation of social capital that may later extend into cultural and economic capital. This can be attributed to the recognition that growing one’s engagement level to an amount that signifies followers are consuming the content created by the SMI opens up the individual to further social relationships and opportunities. As asserted by Portes (1998, pp. 3-4), access to such resources increases in quality as social capital itself increases. It can therefore be posited that as engagement increases, the quality of such opportunities open to the SMI also increase. The result is an interdependent relationship between an SMI’s engagement and their followers. As engagement and followers grow, so too does available opportunities (brand collaborations and event invitations), and relationships with other SMIs and brands. This relationship was reflected in interview responses such as: “I can just do my own creative stuff most of the time, but every so often if I am doing a collaboration for a brand that I really want to do well, I will put in a certain prop that I know has got a lot of engagement in the past (such as my expensive pink candle) – it works 90% of the time”. This enhanced attention to attract engagement is further reflected in the following quotes: “I obviously want to have that perfect layout … and I just want to make it flow and look visually appealing … when you have less people following, as a whole, it’s not as important”, and “I often will borrow my sister’s Gucci bag for photos ... the brand is super ‘in’ at the moment and so will always attract some extra likes”.
199 These instances therefore represent an act of co-creation between two groups, followers and the corporate brand, to deliver value in the form of increased engagement metrics to the SMI. It is this growth of relationships and understanding of the field (for example, what style of posts generates the greatest engagement) that reflects the different elements of cultural capital and its various forms of existence online. Holt (1998) asserts: cultural capital exists in three primary forms: embodied as implicit practical knowledges, skills and dispositions, objectified in cultural objects; institutionalised in official degrees and diplomas that certify the existence of embodied form ... cultural capital is fostered in an overwhelming manner in the social milieu of cultural elites. (p. 3) In each of the above quotes, the SMIs have developed an awareness of what generates likes and engagement. This finding confirms the assertion that “cultural capital is expressed through consuming via aesthetic and interactional styles that fit with cultural elite sensibilities and that are socially scarce” (Holt, 1998, p. 4). Hence, growing as an SMI can be advanced by observation and the subsequent ability to apply such learned behaviours to the field. iv. Co-Creation of Value with Corporate Brands SMI status was also revealed as evident through dialogue with brands and the subsequent collaborations that result. A collaboration in this context is defined as an offer of goods or services to an SMI, in exchange for coverage on their social feeds. This can be negotiated as a one-off short-term agreement (for example, one photo in exchange for one Instagram post), or on a longer-term or recurring basis, often referred to as a brand ambassador. Regardless, collaborations as a form of co- creation between the SMI and corporate brands can be defined as a key marker of SMI success, acting as an indicator of the feed’s social worth as a promotional channel to brands. This role will be further examined.
4.2 Narratives of Transformation: Recognition and Legitimation of Social Capital so it can be Converted to Cultural Capital The prevalence of brand/influencer collaborations amongst SMIs lends itself to recognition as a key measure of influencer success. Throughout the data collection,
200 SMIs consistently narrated their first offer of a collaboration as a key tipping point in the transition from an ordinary social media user to an SMI. This was conveyed through a question asking interviewees when they first considered themselves an influencer, eliciting responses such as: “When I first received my free samples of something silly like fake tan”; “When I got my first ever collaboration, with Triangl bikini. I was so excited, especially because they are so Instafamous! They emailed me, and I got a free bikini and I told all my friends”; and “I became an influencer at around 3,000 followers because that’s the point where I started getting more collabs and getting invited to influencer events”. Hence, there appears to be an overwhelmingly positive response to being involved in a collaboration. As such, an arrangement signals both to the SMI and other key figures within the field a sort of “‘credit’, which, under certain conditions, and always in the long run, guarantees ‘economic’ profits” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 262). Moreover, whilst a gifted product may not offer economic benefit in the present, it does offer a potential future of paid collaboration. This initial guarantee is heightened when collaborations are ongoing with a particular brand, as it offers a significant tangible awareness that the collaboration has been beneficial enough for the brand to consider working with the SMI on more than one occasion. The relationship between brands and SMIs is reinforced by interviews, which discussed a rise in the prestige of gifted brands and products as their associated follower count, or status, grew. For example, one SMI spoke of her positive response to being loaned a car in exchange for social coverage: “It made me feel like my feed was considered, I guess, more prestigious…. that it would be considered for that collaboration. Generally only people with a larger following collaborate on cars and holidays”. Hence, the greater the prestige of the brands willing to collaborate with a certain SMI, the more likely it is that their content creation will be linked with potential economic success to the brand. Moreover, the public relations or social media influencer agency that initiates the creation of SMI content in tandem with a brand essentially “brings the producer into the cycle of consecration” (Bourdieu, 1984, pp. 263-264), just as the art dealer brings the artist into the circle of production. Hence, through multiple collaborations, an SMI is able to build up what can be considered as a portfolio of collaborative content. This effectively assists the SMI’s ability to showcase their work with brands and to create a consistent style of content, both of which assists in their growth as an SMI and signals their potential to interested brands. This “portfolio”, when combined with engagement from followers, represents distinct social capital for the
201 SMI. It thereby becomes necessary to be able to differentiate between these types of capital as they have come to exist in the SMI field.
4.3 Subtypes of Social Capital in the Social Media Field Social capital created through an SMI’s content creation can be distinguished through three distinct lenses: commercial capital, aesthetic capital and parasitic capital. Each of these exist as independent forms, whilst also working in tandem to further contribute to an SMI’s success.
i. Commercial Capital Commercial capital refers to the social capital assigned to an SMI through a brand collaboration. As indicated through narratives of SMIs’ first collaboration, it can signify their worth from a brand perspective, and subsequently espouse their potential for economic success through their online profile. This is reflected through SMIs’ own reflections on the role of collaborations in their growth as a content creator, for example: “I guess this is because posting collabs [collaborations] shows credibility – it means companies think I’m influential enough to promote their stuff, and I think that ... encourages people to follow you”. The processes behind such connections between brand collaboration and this growth of capital can be subsequently analysed. Namely, this form of commercial capital can increase in value through both the strength of the brand fit between the SMI and the collaboration itself; and furthermore, through the brand’s own level of existing cultural capital. To detail the first instance, brand fit, one SMI agency interviewed asserted, “When it comes to a campaign, then it’s really about the right influencer, meeting the brand fit, and also the brief of the campaign ... so if a brand is really honing in on one subculture then it is in their best interest, providing their product and their branding is a good fit for those people”. This recognition of the importance of brand fit was further reflected by SMIs themselves: “I think my followers know that everything I post is completely genuine and can therefore trust when I rave about a certain project”. Thus, a sense of authenticity is projected as a key element in gaining social capital through commercial collaborations, enforcing the ability to transfer such credentials to the social page they feature on. This is evident in images such as Figure 1.1, where the branding of the products for this collaboration is of central prominence in both the image and caption. As stated by an SMI: “I loved working with MAC because they are such a big makeup brand – I was pretty excited
202 that they wanted to collaborate with me, so I felt extra pressure to do a good job”. The image in this vein functions as a form of social importance, alerting its audience to the “webs of material and symbolic ties”, which constitute the image as a “proper object of social analysis” (Wacquant, 2013, p. 275). The audience is thus aware of the ties within the image, alerted to by the tags of the makeup brand embedded within the upload, and the clear proximity of the product’s branding, as well as the choice of caption, which narrates the SMI’s experience with the brand (displaying it in a positive light). In this instance, the commercial capital of the brand MAC is effectively transferred to the SMI. Subsequently, future brands and agencies who may view this image also become aware that this SMI was selected to collaborate with a well- established international brand. Moreover, the SMI delivered to a brief with a clear, aesthetically pleasing photo, which prominently showcases the brand and narrated a positive experience. Hence, the SMI has effectively built upon the cultural capital of the brand she has collaborated with to position her favourably for future collaborations.
Figure 1.1. SMI collaboration (Mini B) with MAC Cosmetics Australia.
A second benefit afforded to the SMI through engaging in this brand collaboration was exposure, as is evident in Figure 1.2. Here the brand “regrammed” the image created
203 as part of the collaboration to their own social feed, which holds a follower count considerably more than the SMI who produced the image. The brand credited her Instagram handle in the uploaded image, thus exposing her Instagram handle to their 129,000 followers. This exposure thus functions as a mobilisation of capital (Skeggs, 2004, p. 73). Hence, especially as a meso or micro SMI, exposure is a necessary attainment for the growth of social capital. This is reinforced by Anheier (1995), who, in speaking of Bourdieu’s conception of the field, states, “actors are assumed to compete for social positions. This competition gives rise to social structure” (p. 860). Hence, in an increasingly saturated field of SMIs, the collection of commercial capital becomes a necessary step in the generation of social capital.
204
Figure 1.2. Regram of SMI image (Mini B), produced as part of a collaboration.
To further situate collaborations as narrative tipping points in the transition from social media user to SMI, it is necessary to uncover what enabled the profile or images to be initially considered by brands, especially in the absence of any existing collaborations. In asking SMIs their perception of what enabled them to first reach such a point where they were effectively deemed worthy of a collaboration, answers generally agreed upon two main points: consistency in terms of engagement and high-
205 quality content. Not only did interviewees state the need to have a certain following before they were contacted, they also were required to attract the attention of potential collaborators. One way to achieve this was raised as purchasing and posting a photo of a branded product, for example: “I tagged one of my favourite granola brands in one of my shots. They commented and messaged me, wanting to send me products and work together. I was very excited”, and “I do try and reach out sometimes and it does work, but it’s time consuming, plus I don’t really like reaching out unless I LOVE a product. If I love it, I would probably mention it anyway though”.
Figure 1.3. SMI post (Macro B) with a brand of chocolate.
Hence, posting and tagging a brand in an upload not produced in collaboration with that brand was asserted as a possible way to initiate a relationship with a company an SMI felt particularly aligned with, even as an already established SMI. As evident in Figure 1.3, the individual took time setting up the photo and ensuring the brand name was visible in the image, despite the product being personally purchased. Doing so, however, alerted the brand of the burgeoning SMI and her potential to create branded content, thus essentially generating exposure that resulted in an ongoing paid collaboration.
206 A second SMI narrated her efforts in the process of initiating an ongoing relationship with the brand Nike:
It took a long time to get them [to collaborate] ... they were doing those Nike She Runs and Nike tours and I really wanted to do that … so at the time [my photographer] and I started shooting a lot of Nike to be like, “Hey, this is what we do, and we really want to work with you”. And, I can’t remember, it took ages to find a contact, but we got really lucky and started working with them, towards the end of their first or second Nike tour. And, we did great coverage with that and then they were like, “You did such a great job”. And I’ve been working with Nike ever since. So, it’s almost like I keep doing stuff for Nike just to keep on their good side. But that’s just the way it is, and I have a really good relationship with their PR company and their internal PR as well.
Figure 1.4. Content produced by an SMI (Mini C) in collaboration with Nike.
This process is essentially representative of content “produced in the struggle for recognition by the artists themselves” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 289). Thus, it becomes possible to compare the individual who creates content in the hope of being discovered
207 by brands, to Bourdieu’s (1980) conception of artist who creates for commercial rather than artistic purposes (p. 268). The difference between “genuine” art and “commercial” art thereby corresponds “to the opposition between ordinary entrepreneurs seeking immediate economic profit and cultural entrepreneurs struggling to accumulate specifically cultural capital, albeit at the cost of temporarily renouncing economic profit” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 268). The SMI in this instance invested her time and efforts in creating content for a brand in the absence of any promise of recognition. Such narration is situated within Bourdieu’s (1986) assertion of “accumulation of cultural capital in the embodied state”, which “implies a labor of inculcation and assimilation, costs time, time which must be invested personally by the investor. Like the acquisition of a muscular physique or a suntan, it cannot be done at second hand” (pp. 17-18). As is evident in Figures 1.3 and 1.4, this process can be an effective mechanism that can lead to ongoing paid brand partnerships. Hence, attracting the attention of a brand can act as a primary step in initiating a working relationship, thus creating commercial capital for an SMI.
ii. Aesthetic Capital
Aesthetic capital refers to the consistent visual aesthetic presented through content to attract a following for the appearance of a feed that the SMI subsequently becomes known for. Within the field of Instagram specifically, a clean, white aesthetic has come to dominate much of the content produced by SMIs. The aesthetic similarities among SMIs that has arisen could thus be argued as a form of “submission to external demand” (Bourdieu, 1980, p.17). This is described by Bourdieu (1980) as, “characterised by the subordinate position of cultural producers in relation to the controllers of production and diffusion media, principally objects the imperatives of competition for conquest of the market” (p. 17). Therefore, in order to compete in a crowded market of influencers, reaching such a base aesthetic can assist an SMI in being regarded as holding aesthetic capital, signifying their future potential to replicate such content, in the same style, if they were to engage in future collaborations with a particular brand. This encourages SMIs to ensure their feed is consistent in terms of appearance, a requirement reflected numerous times. An example of this is reflected in:
208 I pay a lot of attention to my scheme – for me, more than anything as I am a very visual person. I like my feed to look nice as a whole, not just as individual photos. So, I edit them, in mostly the same way and mainly have white or marble backdrops. I also “whiten” the background of most of my photos on Facetune, so it is a real white, rather than shadowy or creamy.
Displaying an example of her feed (as is evident in Figure 1.5), the SMI’s desire to maintain a consistent colour palette becomes apparent.
209
Figure 1.5. An example of the clean aesthetic, with a dominant white colour scheme (Micro SMI B).
210
Figure 1.6. Content created with a brand of protein (Mini SMI B).
A second SMI (Figure 1.6) similarly sustained this desire as mediated by the brands she works with: “A lot of the brands I collab with will have a relatively plain feed, so it works well when I find white walls or plain backgrounds to shoot in front of – it means my photos are more useful for a brand if they can regram it too”.
The importance of this consistency is further reflected from an agency perspective: If their content isn’t high quality and it’s really amateur and really inconsistent, I don’t consider them an influencer. I think the reason is, if a brand is going to work with them, they need to have confidence that they are going to produce quality work. So, I think it’s a bit of a mixture, traditionally of reach but quality of content for me is a massive turning point in who an influencer and content creator is. Hence, the importance of consistent content becomes apparent from a brand perspective as providing a sense of confidence in the future work output of the SMI. It is moreover often a reflection of an SMI’s wider intention when creating content, namely to advance or maintain economic capital. To best reach this potential, the aesthetic capital of an SMI is reminiscent of what Bourdieu (1993) defines as “middle-
211 brow art” – the “product of a productive system dominated by a quest for investment profitability; this creates the need for the widest possible public” (p. 126). By incorporating the current dominant white aesthetic throughout their content, the SMIs are able to best position their images for public consumption and subsequently, exposure. In doing so, a consistent aesthetic moreover “confers properly cultural value on the producers by endowing them with marks of distinction (a speciality, a manner, a style) recognised as such within the historically available cultural taxonomies” (Bourdieu, 1994, p. 7). An SMI who is able to create content that is distinctive, yet also usable by brands through utilisation of a particular aesthetic, positions themselves in a positive space for future collaborations. As a result, SMI content is largely embedded in the recognition that the “expressivity of social actors is increasingly intertwined with economic activity embedded in consumption” (Jansson, 2002, p. 6). Aesthetic capital is thus positioned as a significant form of capital for an SMI, influential in their subsequent growth.
iii. Parasitic Capital Parasitic capital refers to the ability to obtain symbolic capital either offline or online, through relationships with other SMIs. By engaging in relationships with those of an equal or higher status online, parasitic capital holds the ability to raise an SMI’s own status, and thus their social capital. In order to benefit from such relationships within an SMI context, however, these relationships must be visible online. One way to attract such attention is to collaborate with other SMIs whose content is continually viewed by brands and agencies. An example of this is, “I feel like my account consistently started growing more when I started going to events and showings with [an SMI] … I think it was the one of me, where me and B went to the Antipodes event. I think it was just that photo ... there were definitely also other photos of us as well. The fashion week one did really well”. Here, an SMI recounts various instances of uploading photos with her SMI friend as acting as a tipping point in her own growth as an SMI. This is further evidenced through interviewees stating their observations of their own follower growth, for example: “Sometimes when I collaborate or go out with other influencers and get tagged in photographs, my following spikes because of exposure, most likely, and being connected with other people known on Insta”. Such actions espouse Bourdieu’s (1984) existing theoretical underpinnings as the “quality of the writer, artist or scientist ... [that] exists only in, and through co-optation, understood as the circular
212 relations of reciprocal recognition among peers” (p. 6). Developing a relationship with other influencers thus allows SMIs to benefit from any subsequent exposure that may or may not result. This is reflective of Holt’s (1998) assertion that, “Bourdieu emphasizes that status is continually reproduced as an unintended consequence of social interaction because all interactions necessarily are classifying practices; that is, micropolitical acts of status claiming in which individuals constantly negotiate their reputational positions” (p. 4). Thus, relationships between SMIs do not necessarily need to exist offline in order for an SMI to benefit. This was evident with one SMI who spoke of her increase in followers after a larger power SMI, @kaylaitsines, engaged with her on Instagram due to tagging her in a workout image using her guides: “At one point Kayla Itsines liked and commented on one of my photos and my following increased by about 300 people in one day”. In instances such as this, the SMI has effectively been “endorsed” by an SMI of a higher standing. Hence, the ability from this online interaction to direct followers to the SMI’s account reinforces that such interactions both renew and extend social positioning (Julien, 2015, p. 366). Therefore, an exchange of social capital occurs through such online interactions, benefiting the SMI through subsequent attainment of parasitic capital. Parasitic capital can be further generated through continual observations of the field. This can occur through SMIs and brands ability to take note of potential “acquisition of embodied cultural capital” through “new or heightened awareness of opportunities, experiences and capabilities” (Thompson & Ustuner, 2006, p. 257). That is, the more an SMI observes key trends in the field, both of their own accounts and of their peers, the more likely they are to engage in the behaviours observed that are beneficial to their growth. This is particularly important in the field of SMIs where training and assistance (such as through agencies) is only readily available once an individual has already reached a certain level of influence, as evidenced by the interviews conducted. Moreover, in the absence of industry training or formal markers, SMIs are often unaware of processes of their peers. As a result, there exists a lack of solid guidelines surrounding payment and collaboration processes, creating a tenuous terrain where SMIs may hold a very similar follower count, yet receive vastly disparate economic opportunities. Speaking on the lack of knowledge regarding collaboration payment, SMIs interviewed asserted, “I wasn’t sure on how much I should be negotiating when it comes to payment with brands”, and “When brands have asked
213 me what my rate is, I’ve said, ‘Honestly, I don’t know, so I’ll just do it for free if you send me the product’”. Thus, difficulties in ascertaining comparative SMI rates, especially in the absence of an agent, resulted in many SMIs either receiving minimal pay, or none at all. Developing relationships with other SMIs, particularly those on a similar follower count, can thus offer an opportunity to become aware of potential rates. This was explained by an SMI as, “I have met heaps of influencers at events and we have a little supportive group now where we always chat when we see each other and try to always like each other’s photos, which is nice! I also have two close friends who are on similar follower counts to me, so we create a lot of content and attend events together, see what we charge and stuff like that, which is super convenient and fun”. Similarly, an agency spoke of their own influencers first finding their agency via the sharing of knowledge among SMIs: “It’s pretty straightforward; we find now that most people have heard of us from other influencers that are in the space”. This exchange of knowledge is afforded through parasitic capital allowing access to “relationships that enable entitlement to others and things” (Skeggs, 2004, p. 80). Such knowledge could include rates for brand collaborations, the existence of SMI agencies and apps. Therefore, parasitic capital can result both through online and offline relationships to assist SMIs as they transit through follower growth.
4.4 Gaining Legitimacy in the Field: Attaining Cultural Consecration As introduced previously, legitimacy is a key concept strived for by SMIs and agencies alike, an indicator of authentic success in a context where unsubstantiated engagement can be purchased. This is unlike traditional occupations, where recognition in a field is traditionally institutionalised, such as via industry awards, reviews and promotions (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 12). It is through these means that legitimacy is constructed, as the maintenance of “cultural consecration” of both “institutions which conserve capital and institutions which introduce agents within a ‘cultivated disposition’” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 12). It is here that the SMI landscape differs. Whilst there are some institutions that hold the ability to reinforce an SMI’s cultural worth, such as recognition in a print magazine title, the production of legitimacy is no longer primarily institutionalised. Rather, this responsibility increasingly lies within the visibility of relationships with brands and an SMI’s numerical engagement, both of which exist in a symbiotic relationship. This raises the question of, is this form of legitimacy more transparent than the traditional field? Whilst this may be the case once
214 an SMI is defined as a meso, micro, macro or power, the initial stages of entering the SMI field and gaining such legitimacy is far less overt. To gain entry in this area requires a certain knowledge of the subtleties that drive the field of play, many of which are constantly in flux. Subsequently, five types of legitimacy reflected amongst SMI interviews have been identified: commercial legitimacy, disinterestedness distance, follower authentication, consistency aesthetic and authenticity. Each of these methods of gaining legitimacy as an SMI represent both similarities and divergence from Bourdieu’s (1984) field of cultural production. Hence, it can be argued that social capital legitimated becomes cultural and economic capital, reinforcing its importance in the SMI field.
4.5 Types of Legitimacy i. Commercial Legitimacy Commercial legitimacy involves an SMI who has been recognised by brands and their associated entities, financially or otherwise. This type of legitimacy is therefore highly visible, recognisable through collaborations with products and services, ambassadorships and attendance at branded events. Commercial legitimacy may at times be attempted to be hidden, in an effort to present an authenticity not misconstrued by commercial interests. However, commercial relationships are also often openly displayed, as an SMI being paid to promote a branded product signifies a certain level of trust in the SMI and their ability to both produce content and influence. Thus, it can be argued that brands have become the key figures that alert an SMI’s legitimacy. This can be regarded as confirmation that an individual SMI is a credible source of information, as the brand has trusted the individual with content creation.
215
Figure 1.7. An image created for a brand of collaboration with a protein company (Macro SMI B).
SMIs themselves when interviewed asserted recognition of the benefit of commercial legitimacy for attaining future collaborations: “My Insta has been instrumental in my career ... It is like my online portfolio or CV. Companies in my niche scroll through Instagram actively, looking for people like me who fit their brand to work with. Also, as I get bigger … I create my own personality brand”. Hence, one of the SMI’s posts, as evident in Figure 1.7, visually displays her ability to create a high-quality post, that clearly showcases the branding of the products, whilst allowing it to seamlessly integrate into her daily life as presented online (in this instance her morning smoothie). Therefore, an interested brand can view this image and conceive the style of content the SMI might produce if they were to agree to a collaboration. This process was further reflected by agencies, who spoke of using past brand collaborations when presenting a potential SMI to a brand at the initial stages of a campaign: “And then the brand comes back in and reviews all those pictures [that an SMI has previously
216 uploaded] and they accept or decline.” Such a process can be simultaneously implemented by both brands and PR companies working with SMIs, reinforcing Bourdieu’s (1998) assertion that, “a distinctive property...only becomes a visible, perceptible, non-indifferent, socially pertinent difference if it is perceived by someone who is capable of making the distinction” (p. 9). Hence, words used in captions such as “collaboration”, “sponsored post”, sharing a personalised promotion code for followers to use and even the tagging of PR companies all provide distinction through legitimised social capital, in the same way that understanding the language of memes gives distinction to them as social capital (Julien, 2015, p. 367). Commercial entities thus fulfil the role of “cultural intermediaries, who define which cultural knowledge and practice is worth knowing and acquiring, institutionalize judgements that can be used as arbiters of taste-making in self-formation” (Skeggs, 2004, p. 78). The importance of commercial legitimacy is further reflected in what a successful collaboration communicates to potential clients. In showcasing past SMI work that has been produced, an agency asserted:
[SMIs are] their own media channels. And the reason for that is that obviously ... you know influencers are stylists, photographers, retouchers ... everything. You get the whole package. And we are constantly, you know, promoting influencers as these powerhouses … they are marketers, right. You’ve built up this huge following on your own – that is in essence brand marketing. You’ve got your own brand. And also, [are] extremely creative, have many skills, so it is essentially brands utilising these talents to either partner with influencers to get more branded exposure, or partner with influencers to have bespoke content to their campaigns. So, we work with some big companies who have done campaigns with us where it’s not just posts on Instagram but “Can you write a blog post for us?”, “Can you create video content for us?” We’re going to create a microsite for this campaign – that’s where it’s going to sit. We’re going to turn your imagery into banner advertising; we’re going to put in on display pages, to do homepage takeovers – so it’s really, I think at its core, evolving into purely content creation, but then also as a by-product, leveraging their network.
217 As a result, commercial legitimacy is a key indicator that presents to future collaborators the potential of an SMI as a content creator and their ability to share such content with their established audience for the purpose of brands.
ii. Disinterestedness Distance Legitimacy constructed through disinterested distance draws directly from Bourdieu’s recognition of the artist whose “very functioning is defined by a ‘refusal’ of the ‘commercial’ which is in fact a collective disavowal of commercial interests and profits” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 261). Thus, it is necessary to recognise a second form of legitimacy – one that an SMI can attempt to attain by presenting a “disinterestedness” to commercial interests and collaborations. This “disinterestedness distance” theme was seen clearly in many of the narratives of the SMIs, who spoke of their decision to not seek out collaborations or join influencer agencies, but rather only engage in collaborations if they occur naturally and fit in to existing lifestyle patterns. These examples echo Kozinets (2002), who projects the way art is embedded in attempts to generate communal authenticity. As further espoused by Ruvio and Belk (2018), “consumption rituals are as important to self-authentication as possessions” (p. 105). Thus, as collaborations showcase SMI consumption patterns on a public scale, they become an integral component of their personal authentication process. This was reflected by SMIs interviewed: “I prefer working with small and independent brands and receiving personal emails from them makes the collaborations more meaningful”; “I don’t work with many brands currently, but that’s just because the messages I receive aren’t for brands I would personally use and I never want to promote something I don’t truly love”; and “I don’t find them [SMI agencies] that particularly helpful because if a brand wants to reach out to me, I’d prefer them to have found my account organically and understood my messages before contacting me, as opposed to just finding someone that meets their criteria”. Such narratives are thus reflective of Ruvio and Belk’s (2018) assertion that, “we have the illusion of an ‘authentic’ core self, projected to the world via possessions and consumption rituals” (p. 102). As a result, some SMIs seek to distance themselves from overtly paid collaborations, especially if they are perceived as “selling out”, as one SMI narrated as leading her to decline a paid collaboration with a teeth whitening company:
218 Me promoting it makes my audience think that I would actually use it, that I’m interested in it. If I have no use for it or I don’t really want it, I’ll say no, which a lot of other people on Instagram don’t do ... if I think, ooh, this is actually really good, I’ll take them up on it, because if I find a new product I really like I would want to share that with people, naturally.
In distancing herself from other SMIs who accept collaborations they don’t see themselves “using personally”, the respondent instead presents herself as an SMI who shares what she ordinarily would use as part of her daily consumption patterns. She thereby presents her disinterestedness with the paid nature of collaborations, instead constructing herself as engaging only in organically occurring collaborations – “stuff that I would actually use … that I would actively go out and buy.” The SMI subsequently detailed her ongoing collaboration with a brand of kombucha, which she perceives as “natural” and consistent with her lifestyle: “Most of the time I prefer to have long-term commitments to a brand rather than go through a different skincare brand every month or whatever. For instance, Remedy Kombucha and I have a long-term arrangement. I picked up a package from them this morning, actually. That’s a long-term, ongoing thing, which is my favourite way to work, as I would buy it if I didn’t get it for free”. This further reflects the struggle Bourdieu outlines as faced by artists as, “between the ‘bourgeois’ and the ‘artist’, in which the artists seek symbolically to discredit economic capital, to the benefit of cultural capital which they consider the only legitimate form of power” (Wacquant, 1993, p. 26). However, as asserted by Bourdieu, even the “most ‘anti-economic’ and most visibly ‘disinterested’ behaviours, which in an ‘economic’ universe would be those most ruthlessly condemned, contain a form of economic rationality” (Bourdieu, p. 261). Hence, the very presentation of lifestyles is, as asserted by Featherstone (1987), implicitly embedded within the “attainment of economic capital” (p. 62). Many SMIs presented their wish to maintain their own feeds in a manner that coexists with the commercial, as evidenced by one SMI: “At the end of the day, my social feeds are my own and I don’t like being dictated to unless I am being paid”. Hence, recognition of the difficulty in removing oneself from commercial interests continued to re-emerge throughout the SMI landscape, as even if those who are highly selective with such collaborations are inevitably bound by commercial restraints through the act of engaging in such arrangements.
219 iii. Follower Authentication/Verification Bourdieu’s recognition of the role of the art authenticator as a verification of a production’s cultural worth remains relevant in SMI contexts as a key form of the generation of legitimacy (Bourdieu, 1980). The role of the art authenticator in its traditional contexts is bound through its “power to consecrate objects or persons ... and therefore to give value, and to appropriate the profits from this operation” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 262). In the SMI context, two main authenticators exist: Instagram itself and SMI agencies. Despite running a platform that had created the exponential growth of the SMI, Instagram currently does little to authenticate SMIs or confirm their legitimacy. One of the few ways in which they perform this function, however, is through the “verification tick”, a form of cultural capital endowed by Instagram itself, to indicate that the influencer has an authentic following and no “bought” followers. The blue tick or verified badge is, according to Instagram (2017), “a check that appears next to an Instagram account’s name in search and on the profile. It means that Instagram has confirmed that this is the authentic account for the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents”. One macro SMI described on her Instastory the process of discovering her addition of a tick to her profile, expressing excitement that she was now “verified”. She shared with her followers that she was not involved or aware she was being considered for the tick, and reinforced that she remains unaware of the process involved in being assigned this authenticator. Regardless, the addition of the verified badge on her profile acts as a form of cultural capital, indicating her recognition by Instagram as a legitimate and authentic public figure. This was further evident by the SMI’s visible excitement as she expressed the discovery of the tick, espousing the event as a narrative resulting from the effort and time she devotes to her Instagram as an SMI. Holding the verified badge is thus a factor of legitimation, particularly in an environment where “buying followers” can be a relatively simple and inexpensive exercise. The second key agent of verification in the SMI landscape is influencer agencies – businesses who both manage SMIs and act as brokers in their relationships with brands. Through a deep knowledge of the field, these agencies are able to obtain the cultural capital required to judge the potential influence of an ordinary social media user and assess their future potential worth as an SMI. As a result, such agents must apply their cultural capital to both “understand and appreciate properly to imply that their consumers apply distinctive practices and so serve as surrogate
220 representations of these practices” (Holt, 1998, p. 5). The agency itself thus holds authority through their “credit-based value, which exists in the relationship with the field of production as a whole” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 264). Hence, as Bourdieu (1984) asserts, cultural intermediaries such as critics exert a significant role in the circulation of culture through their ability to both identify and represent the cultural goods to be valued, framing them accordingly. In this way, SMI agencies parallel the art critic, holding the ability to employ their discernment to identify, and thus elevate, a rising artist (Bourdieu, 1980) or in this case, an emerging SMI. This role of “assessing and formulating systems of thought” and subsequently making a judgement, is significant in instructing the market as a “central nexus where economic meaningfulness of aesthetic goods is constructed” (Currid, 2007, p. 387). One SMI agency asserted, “...so all of our influencers are manually approved, that we would work with, so one of our team checks all their accounts. We look for engagement rates, for comments, basically checking for authenticity and to sort of benchmark them against other influencers to make sure they’re legit”. By assuming this role, the SMI agency effectively acts as a verifier of SMI authenticity and as gatekeeper, of the “genuineness, such as expressions of a true self or sense of place” (Koontz & Josh, 2017, p. 752). In doing so, the agent positions themselves as a necessary intermediary in the growth of an SMI, as they can hold the power to withhold opportunities to SMIs who they deem to be inauthentic (and hence not of cultural value). This was represented by one agency who asserted the positives of only working with legitimate SMIs who deliver the content briefed as “it ends up benefiting everyone and if we are all educating the industry then we all profit, the influencer profits and the agencies profit and the brands profit, so it’s a win-win for everyone”. Here the agency as a form of art authenticator is presented as a significant figure in guiding an SMI towards a career that is both authentic and sustainable and that the agency is subsequently able to profit from.
iv. Consistency Aesthetic The fourth form of legitimacy presented through interview analysis is the narrated desire to portray a consistent aesthetic and individual style through content. As SMIs were asked to describe the style of their account, it became apparent that creating an identifiable aesthetic was considered of significant importance. SMIs oft identified their desire to showcase consistency through their content as coinciding with their growth
221 as an SMI. One SMI stated, “Before I was an ‘influencer’, my photos were very candid. I didn’t put much thought behind what I uploaded. It was more of a collation of stuff I did and food I ate. I hardly edited my photos, or if I did, I just used the ugly standard ones that Instagram gave us”. Such expressions reflect SMIs’ inherent belief in the importance of consistency in Bourdieu’s sense of the avant-garde, of “making one’s mark, achieving recognition (in both senses) of one’s difference from other producers, especially the most consecrated of them; at the same time, it means creating a new position beyond the positions presently occupied, ahead of them” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 289). In the overwhelmingly visual preoccupation of SMIs, the content one produces directly corresponds with their success, thus requiring an increased investment of both time and effort. One micro SMI asserted, “I definitely spend more time now, choosing and editing photos. I’ve always been very particular about the type of photo I upload. If I’m not 100% percent happy with a post, I won’t post it. I’m not one of those people where I’m like I have to post a certain amount of times a week or anything. If I don’t like it, I’m not posting it”. This sense of belief in one’s aesthetic was further projected through the majority of respondents’ ability to easily describe the visual look of their feed, as well as their narrated desire for their feed to suit their aesthetic preferences: “I obviously want to have that perfect layout … and I just want to make it flow and look visually appealing”, and “My general content is focused on health and positivity so lots of healthy food pictures and some of the beautiful places I have explored. Because it’s such a broad style, I like to make all my photos very bright and colourful!” Consistency was thus expressed most prominently through colour, quality and content, which were communicated as indicators of personal satisfaction with one’s feed. Such satisfaction was moreover often narrated as coinciding with further measures of success as an SMI: So that’s when it [her account] blew up the most; there was like a mix of food, landscape, bikini shots, lifestyle, what I was wearing ...everything. Whereas now ... I guess ... Well, with my kind of photos, I don’t like to pose as much ... even though I do because I have to take photos for brands, but I like to keep it a bit more raw and so I think that when I don’t feel inspired it comes across. I guess that’s why I post more when I’m travelling – I’m a bit more inspired.” Here, the SMI narrates her belief in the need to appear “raw”, unposed and genuinely “inspired” as directly corresponding with an increase in follower count.
222 Legitimacy can thereby attempt to be constructed through developing such a sense of consistency through one’s feed, namely the 3x3 grid that is first visible when entering a social media profile. Moreover, it was expressed that this sense of legitimacy was controlled through a deliberate attempt to maintain their desired quality and style: I try to make the photos as good quality as possible, so sometimes I take a photo and I’m like, that’s cool, that’s a good photo, but I don’t think I’ll put it on my feed because ... that’s what I think Instastories is so good for, because I’ll take so many photos throughout the day but I don’t necessarily want all of them to make it up on the actual feed....But yeah, I like to keep the photo content as light and pure as possible”. Here, the SMI discusses her personal criteria for sharing an image of her feed, and her subsequent sharing of photos that she wishes to exclude from the feed as a temporary Instastory. By upholding such criteria, the SMI is able to maintain a consistent aesthetic, thus contributing to the gaining of legitimacy in the field. The need for such content control for legitimacy was reinforced by SMI agencies: “If someone isn’t consistent, or their lighting isn’t great, or you are not sure which photos are theirs and what is a regram because they are not being transparent about it, the confidence is lost.” Quality was moreover asserted by agencies as of significance as a tipping point for an SMI: But really, you can start to see the seeds of it in the quality of content. So, what is going to tip someone over that edge is the quality of their content. So, one of the influencers we have worked with for a long time, he had I think maybe about 5k following when we started with him. And we introduced him to a few different other influencers who shoot – so they began shooting him on weekends and the quality of his photography ... He said it was like instantaneous; the minute that he started producing and uploading high quality content his inbox flooded with brands. So, I think the quality of content is really a differentiating point.
This need for consistency of aesthetic, in this instance the quality of the imagery itself, is not unlike consistency aesthetic amongst the art world, which functions to link an artist to a school of art. Maintaining a recognisable but unique style can benefit an artist from an increase in attention. Bourdieu asserts this through the need to fit within an aesthetic style (for example, postmodernism), advancing those able (through cultural capital) to assume, “mastery of the means of grasping the distinctive properties
223 which this particular form takes on in its relations with other forms” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 246). Artistic intention to be placed within a particular school of art or gallery, or as an SMI a certain subgroup, can therefore be useful for the growth of legitimacy. Thus, multiple agencies signalled the content imagery and aesthetic as a differentiating factor for SMIs, especially those who begin to increase their ability to work with brands and establish their legitimacy. By improving the quality of one’s content, the SMI was able to experience significant growth, reinforcing the importance of the consistency aesthetic for SMI legitimacy.
v. Authenticity The final type of legitimacy is reflected through an SMI’s projection of an authentic self, one that is ultimately considered as reflective of their offline persona. This type of authenticity can be difficult to maintain in the current SMI context where gifting and paid collaborations can result in SMIs promoting products they have not necessarily used or enjoyed. In describing the production of a post (Figure 1.8), the micro SMI stated: To be honest, the protein in this image isn’t actually the protein packaged because I didn’t want to open it before using up my other protein ... I tried to make the caption as natural as possible by framing it in a fitness context. I don’t like to look too promotional and try to keep my captions as raw and casual as possible, so I also mentioned the weather to ... deter from the fact that it was a sponsored post.
224
Figure 1.8. A sponsored collaboration with a protein company (Micro SMI D).
In this instance, despite not having tried the product, the SMI narrated her own process of maintaining authenticity through her content, including creating a caption that was “raw and casual”. In doing so, the SMI has incorporated the protein as a part of her everyday routine, thereby promoting the sponsored product without necessarily diminishing the authenticity of the image. This strategy was revealed as common amongst SMIs as collaborations hold an important role in the growth of the SMI, yet too many obvious advertisements were conceived as detrimental to an SMI’s authenticity. Thus, collaborations can essentially be situated within a “field of struggles” (Bourdieu, 1980, p. 290). For example, in Figure 1.8, the SMI wishes to accept such collaborations, and presents a desire to utilise the product in the future. Thus, despite promoting a product she has not yet tried, she attempts to restore her authenticity through her decision to promote the product as she simply “didn’t want to open it” before using her other protein. Such attempts reflect Bourdieu’s (1980) conception of the struggle that, “the intellectual has never before so directly participated, through his work on art and the artist, in an artistic work which always consists partly of working on himself as an artist” (p. 292). Hence, the artist, or SMI, is directly responsible for ensuring their work is aligned with their own conceptions of authenticity, which can be problematic when one has to also adhere to commercial demands. As presented in this context, the content produced by the SMI such as in
225 Figure 1.8, despite being a collaboration, is still reflective of their offline persona, thus reinforcing why such attempts to maintain authenticity were widespread among those interviewed. SMIs’ own recognition of presenting an authentic self online is further evident through narrating self-imposed authentication processes. One SMIs’ process was explained as: I’d say I work with a new brand every two weeks or so. It generally happens when a brand messages me offering to send me samples (because I won’t agree to collaborate with them unless I’ve tried the product first), then I’ll give my review and we’ll make some sort of plan for my posts, whether it be a recipe, a coupon code, just having their product in the photo. I recently made a recipe for a chocolate berry acai bowl to put in my coconut bowls and promote their products with my coupon code offering 10% off any of their products. I took everything into my own hands to do, made the blog & Instagram posts, and just shared my coupon code telling people how amazing the brand is, which I truly believe!
Figure 1.9. A sponsored collaboration (Micro SMI F).
226 Here, and with the accompanying image posted (Figure 1.9), the SMI reinforces a personal sense of legitimacy by refusing to agree to a collaboration unless she has personally tried the product. This allows the SMI to share her opinion with confidence in her authenticity as evident through narrating that she “truly believes” in the product. Hence, the sponsored post is reflective of her own authentic lifestyle. This apparent need for a product to sit authentically within a feed is further supported by SMI agencies: But I would say the majority of campaigns brands are looking for is what I would say is a “lifestyle influencer” who covers a whole range of topics and who have a thread of whatever their brand vertical is weaved throughout it. So, for example, a fitness brand would never say, “Let’s work with this person who has never posted a fitness photo on their whole feed ever” ... But then at the same time not every photo needs to be fitness. There might be one in every....20 posts that is a fitness post – it’s just incorporated as part of their feed. So, it really just depends on the brand, but definitely we work with a huge variety, and a bunch of different niches ... it’s vast! I mean, it all comes down to authenticity, right!? You can tell when someone is being authentic and real and true. Then you are going to trust them and listen to what they have to say. I’ve tried so many products from influencers that I love [laughs] all the time. I’ll buy things they wear, I’ll try beauty products, because I trust them, and I believe that they are real and authentic. But if it is somebody who I can see is doing something all the time, I think I might be inspired by them but if I am not 100% sure they are being authentic then I am more hesitant, so yeah, I 100% agree with you, it’s that relatability and credibility.
Authenticity, according to this SMI agency, is thus dependent upon being both relatable and credible simultaneously as a key factor in the development of trust. In a capitalist society that offers countless consumer options, attempts to create distinction often occurs through consumption practises (Holt, 1998, p. 5). Thus, the social media user looks to platforms like Instagram to discover what SMIs, as arguable cultural elites, recommend for consumption. However, if an SMI promotes products too overtly, they hold the potential to diminish their status as a legitimate tastemaker. Subsequently, the strategies employed by SMIs to maintain their authenticity is clearly a key factor in the processes of legitimation.
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5. Conclusions and Future Research In sum, this essay has examined SMI practises that are routinely implemented for the generation of online social, cultural and economic capital. Through employing Bourdieu’s (1993) “circle of belief”, these processes become apparent, including the way in which legitimacy is constructed online in the absence of traditional structures that mark the growth of capital accumulation offline. Hence, the SMI community remains largely unregulated and consistently evolving. It thus at some points shifts towards a divergence from Bourdieu’s (1993) theoretical underpinnings, particularly concerning the subtypes of social capital and emerging ways of gaining legitimacy in the online field. Such divergences can be encapsulated in his assertion that, “the Harvard MBA who has forgotten his accounting … forever remains a Harvard alumnus and enjoys throughout his entire life all the privileges that come with that status” (Bourdieu, 1993, p. 28). Whilst this assertion on social capital remains true for traditional forms of capital, can the SMI’s social capital remain worthwhile in the same way? Future research thus becomes necessary concerning the question of whether SMIs can continue to leverage this legitimacy found online. Will the cultural and social capital created through social media channels hold the same longevity as forms of capital generated offline? These questions will be explored in the subsequent essays.
228 References
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235 Essay Three
Person Brand to Object Brand Matches: The Brand-to-Brand Relationship in the Social Mediascape
Abstract The online social media influencer (SMI) phenomenon has expanded from an emerging field to a global trend. It is now recognisable as not only offering the potential for a full-time occupation but also able to create legitimate and profitable personal brands (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017). Of the countless micro SMIs in existence, however, few move beyond this follower count into macro and celebrity status, and even fewer last to becoming personal brands in their own right. SMIs need to garner 30,000 or more followers to be noticed by marketers as macro SMIs. This follower count coincides with widespread media attention, high-profile collaborations and ambassadorships, and is thus recognisable as a key, critical milestone towards online celebrity status. It therefore becomes of interest to understand the strategies employed by these SMIs that allow for the conversion of social media followers into social capital that helps them build a distinct personal brand that attracts commercial endorsement contracts and can be converted into some form of surplus economic capital. Drawing upon content derived from macro and celebrity SMIs within the Australian landscape, alongside in-depth interviews with SMI agencies, this essay utilises both textual data from interviews and visual content analysis to understand this conversion of social capital into economic capital. In building upon Bourdieu’s (1986) conception of the field, this essay focuses on a potential adaptation of his theoretical understandings to social media self-branding to offer an explanation of both enhanced fluidity and status mobility. Attention capital (Van Krieken, 2012), authenticity capital (Gnegy, 2017), aesthetic capital (Colliander & Marder, 2018), and feminine capital (Huppatz, 2009) are identified from the data as collectively building an aggregate “affective capital” from the SMI’s overall potential to build affective associations (Arvidsson, 2013, p. 374) with their consumer following. Findings thus reveal the significance of SMI person brands (PB) co-branding with object brands (OB) for the value creation of a profitable collaboration, functioning as a kind of brand-to-brand relationship. It therefore becomes evident that actively transitioning from micro SMI to
236 a power SMI requires the development of an online profile that has high affective capital (derived from four distinct forms of subcultural capital: attention, aesthetic, authenticity and feminine capitals). This then positions the SMI as a distinct PB, which links consumers affectively to the OB for whom they are “ambassadors” in a symbiotic relationship of value co-creation. The role of authenticity and aesthetic, attention, and feminine capital in determining the strength of fit for this relationship is examined in detail.
Introduction The growth of social media influencers (SMI) in the social media space has created an evolving institutionalised field for numerous market actors to engage directly with SMIs by facilitating brand-to-brand relationships online. As a result, SMIs have become embedded within the contemporary advertising landscape, both as brand ambassadors and content creators. They serve not only as publicists for their own PBs but also for OBs they include in their content. As a result, it becomes necessary to examine the role of SMIs themselves as intermediaries in such collaborations and the way in which they help structure the field. This essay follows through and extends Bourdieu’s (1986) conception of social, cultural and economic capital to the online world. It also, however, examines where the SMI landscape potentially departs from Bourdieu’s conception of the traditional cultural field. Subsequently, key observations of the online context generating both fluidity and mobility are identified as able to exist in the absence of traditional distinctions. This study utilises narrative analysis from in- depth interviews with Australian SMIs and key SMI agencies, based on textual and visual data from them. Resulting from this investigation, it is argued how SMIs are able to effectively translate their online social and cultural capital as economic capital offline under certain conditions. SMIs as personal brands is a relatively recent phenomenon resulting from their success in leveraging their online follower base. SMIs can be traced to the emergence of microcelebrities, a term coined by Senft (2008) to refer to camgirls online (females who “broadcast themselves on the web for the general public while trying to cultivate a measure of celebrity in the process” (p. 1)). However, it was not until the early 2000s that microcelebrities became linked with SMIs (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017). In these instances, SMIs are no longer restricted to social media platforms for their earning capacity. Rather, their ability to convert online social capital
237 into several forms of subcultural capital and ultimately offline economic capital results in the creation of a personal brand (Bardhi & Eckhardt, 2017; Labrecque, Markos, & Milne, 2011; Mathwick, Wiertz, & De Ruyter, 2007; Sepp, Lijander, & Gummerus, 2011). This building of a personal brand is key to opening opportunities including developing the PB that connects with and enhances the OB. Therefore, in this capacity, SMIs as PBs act as a form of mediated affective capital, as consumers are encouraged and positioned to engage in unpaid labour for brands. This is similar to the form of unpaid labour in brand communities that Arvidsson (2013), and through reality television that Bonsu, Darmody and Parmentier (2010) describe. Building upon Arvidsson’s paper of the consumer “publics” engaging in such labour for brands (2013), an SMI’s followers are therefore vital in building an SMI’s authenticity, through following the SMI, liking, commenting and reposting. The accumulation of such actions assists in developing several types of capital and subsequently building a leverageable personal brand. The following section will thereby explore these various types of subcultural capital (attention capital, aesthetic capital, authenticity capital and feminine capital). How these types of capital collectively generate affective capital, an emotional form of capital (connection capital) that the SMI as a PB develops with consumers, will be examined as simultaneously allowing an OB to collaborate with SMIs and symbiotically connect with their followers. This will be discussed in the subsequent section.
2. Background Rationale The SMI field remains young, dynamic and largely understudied. As a result, it is necessary to examine the various institutions and actors within it. This would enable a more theorised understanding of the evolving social mediascape, specifically, the creation of aesthetic, authenticity, attention and feminine subcultural capital resulting in the accumulation of affective capital (Arvidsson, 2013) for the PB; and secondly, how this helps the OB to connect with consumers. This becomes evident through studying the brand-to-brand relationships and through a clear understanding of the four forms of subcultural capital in the context of the online social mediascape. Affective capital as the sum of these forms of subcultural capital is then discussed and data used to show how it acts as an enabler of effectively linking the OB to consumers.
238 2.1 Brand-to-Brand Relationships The SMI functions by engaging market actors, ultimately facilitating brand-to-brand relationships online. Hence, it is necessary to hold an understanding of brand-to-brand relationships that can subsequently be applied to the context of SMIs. There are several variations of comparable brand-to-brand relationships, including brand extensions (Aaker & Keller, 1990; Boush & Loken, 1991; Fedorikhin, Park, & Thompson, 2008; Park & Kim, 2001), brand licensing (Hosany, Prayag, Martin, & Lee, 2013; Sherman, 2004) and celebrity ambassadorships (Hackley & Hackley, 2015; Seno & Lucas, 2007; Thompson, 2006), the latter of which is particularly of use for application to SMIs as PBs who collaborate with existing OBs. Particularly, brand-to- brand relationships can be of benefit due to transfer of positive affect (Spiggle, Nguyen, & Caravella, 2012), as existing attachment to one brand can be effectively transferred to an affiliated brand (Yeung & Wyer, 2005). It is thus possible to also apply such understanding to the transfer of positive affect between SMIs as human brands and the OBs they often represent through media coverage, advertising and brand ambassadorships. The concept of celebrities as human brands has been previously explored within existing marketing literature (Banister & Cocker, 2014; Fournier, 2010; Parmentier, 2010) and is useful to understand how SMIs operate as human brands. Human brands hold an elevated relatability to OB (Parmentier, 2010) and can be defined as an individual “engaged in a field of practice as the sets of associations that audiences within and beyond the field identify with the individual” (Parmentier 2010). Thompson, in particular, defines celebrities as human brands due to their actions (particularly regarding endorsements as handled by managers, as well as holding similarities to OBs such as the ability to build brand equity (2006). He advances the need to understand human brands and their relationships with consumers due to their oft-employed role as endorsers of OBs and the subsequent ability to transfer attachment from consumer to brand (Thompson, 2016). Similarly, Seno and Lukas (2007) assert the role of a celebrity endorser as a co-brand, allowing both brands to subsequently experience growth in their individual brand equity. Despite this, Thompson (2006) warns of the negative potential for a human brand to be categorised as being opportunistic and subsequently having “sold out” (p. 116). This is similarly of concern for SMIs engaging in collaborations, hence, brand-to-brand relationships can also be applied to SMIs as microcelebrities generating attention in
239 the same vein as traditional celebrities. Whilst this is often at a smaller scale, due to SMIs largely being defined as a local rather than global celebrity (Ferris, 2010), SMIs nonetheless are active engagers in brand-to-brand relationships. Specifically, as human brands endorsing a product, the brand personality of the human brand can be successfully transferred to the OB (Ambroise, Patin-Sohier, Vallet-Florence, & Albert, 2014). McCracken’s (1989) transfer model is therefore useful in understanding the way in which a celebrity brand personality can be transferred from human brand to OB, and subsequently to the consumer. McCracken (1989) traces the movement of cultural meanings, originating in the cultural/social world and transferring to consumption objects and finally on to the consumer (p. 313). McCracken (1989) thus argues the increased intensity of using a celebrity in advertising over a model or unknown, as celebrities, “‘own’ their meanings because they have created them on the public stage by dint of intense and repeated performance” (p. 315). As brand identification can be argued as a core element of consumption (Escalas & Bettmen, 2003; Fournier, 1998), human brands can thus make such identification an easier process for the consumer. Moreover, human brands can assist in an elevation of brand identification, namely the brand’s ability to deliver particular meaning for the consumer (Albert, Merunka, & Vallette-Florence, 2013). Further, celebrity ambassadorships can effectively enhance the strength of a brand’s personality, namely the descriptors of the “inner characteristics of a brand, constructed by a consumer, based on behaviours exhibited by personified brands or brand characters” (Aaker & Fournier, 1995, p. 391). Brand-love literature is thus also of note here as a form of brand attachment useful to consider (Albert & Merunka, 2013; Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006). Adding to the existing literature, Batra, Ahuvia and Bagozzi (2012) are particularly helpful to conceptions of human brands through defining brand love as a “higher-order construct” (p. 2) that extends brand attachment. Such attachments occur when brands are able to align or contribute to a consumer’s identity, therefore providing “intrinsic benefits” (Batra, Ahuvia, & Bagozzi, 2012, p. 12). Batra, Ahuvia and Bagozzi’s (2012) research can thus assist managers in the process of supporting the development of brand love. These strategies include encouraging behaviour driven by passion (such as personalisation), integrating brands with consumer values and identity, and encouraging “positive emotional connections, trust and value” (Batra, Ahuvia, & Bagozzi, 2012. pp. 13-14). Addressing these factors could be assisted by brands or
240 agencies employing SMIs including building authenticity and self-identity through aligning with SMIs positively viewed by their following. Furthermore, Rageh Ismail and Spinelli’s (2012) paper is also of use in considering the effect of word-of-mouth marketing on brand love with fashion brands. Their resulting findings indicate that brand love is often particularly strong with fashion brands amongst young people as consumers often hold an emotional link with clothing brands that assist in establishing a positive self-image (Rageh Ismail & Spinelli, 2012). As a result, the authors link such establishment with a potential attribution of human characteristics to such brands (Aaker, 1997; Fournier, 1998), resulting in “loving the brand as an emotional outcome” (Rageh Ismail & Spinelli, 2012, p. 387). The literature of brand anthropomorphism (i.e. the act of “endowing the brand with humanlike characteristics (Gretry, Horvath, & Belei, 2017, p. 626)) thus becomes useful to understand this phenomenon (Agarwal & McGill, 2007; Belk, 2014; Brown & Ponsonby-McCabe, 2014; Daston & Mitman, 2005). Anthropomorphising an OB essentially makes it easier for consumers to connect emotionally to a seemingly personified or humanised OB. This link has been strengthened through several studies, including increased saving when money is anthropomorphised (Wang, Kim, & Zhou, 2017). Similarly, the ability for anthropomorphised brands to raise selling prices and decrease the buying prices for used objects (Kim, Puzakova, Kwak, & Haeyoung, 2017) and greater the willingness for individuals with higher levels of morality to purchase anthropomorphised brands (Levy, Kim, & Reed, 2017) has been illustrated. Similarly, a study by Kiesler and Goetz (2002) revealed anthropomorphised machinery can enhance cooperation and efficiency. This finding can also be applied to individuals who hold a greater tendency to anthropomorphise objects, if their experiences with it aligns with their future expectations (Kim & McGill, 2011). Studies have also found the ability to incorporate anthropomorphised design for objects to enhance positive consumer response and subsequent market success (Landwehr, McGill, & Hermann, 2011). Anthropomorphised design was also found to increase trust, such as when car models appear anthropomorphised (Waytz, Heafner, & Epley, 2014). Hence, the process consumers engage with when humanising brands can vary, including conceiving of brands as “like” themselves, being connected with brands with associated identities or holding similarities to their own relationships (MacInnis & Folkes, 2016).
241 Brand anthropomorphism, however, is not always well suited to specific brands. Studies reveal several examples where anthropomorphised OBs may not be as effective as a human spokesperson, such as for individuals with higher interpersonal trust who react more strongly to human communication (Toure-Tillery & McGill, 2015). This can be attributed to the human link such as when brands are accused of wrongdoings; an anthropomorphised brand is more likely to be negatively affected (Puzakova, Kwak, & Rocerto, 2013). Of significant contribution here is consumers judging a brand in a similar manner to a person, relying upon their existing social beliefs (Puzakova, Kwak, & Rocerto, 2013, p. 96). Enhanced need for caution is further asserted by Gretry, Horvath and Belei (2017), who have considered the dialogue between the consumer and brand from the perspective of the consumer. Specifically, consumers display a reduced likelihood to reveal personal information to anthropomorphised brands, requiring caution of its use in particular consumer sectors (Gretry, Horvath, & Belei, 2017). Moreover, it is important to note the innate need for both a human and object to be involved in order to influence behaviour – in other words, an object alone cannot effectively persuade behaviour (Belk & Humayun, 2015, p. 21). Belk and Humayun (2015) draw upon the brand Moleskin notebooks to advance this understanding. The authors identify how the brand’s identity is co-created and extended through associations with famous authors such as Hemingway, co-branding with brands such as Evernote, and further co-created through consumer postings in blogs (Belk & Humayun, 2015). The result is a multifaceted brand that holds a strong identity, reinforcing the strength of brand-to-brand relationships. The ability for brands to be co-created has therefore increased exponentially with the social media landscape and is an important part of the following analysis.
2.2 Attention Capital Attention capital refers to the ability for a publicly visible individual to attract significant attention, which can be converted into other forms of capital, such as “esteem, status, wealth, influence ... and power” (Van Krieken, 2012, p. 5). The abstract concept of “attention” can therefore exist as a tradable commodity, able to be sustained and expanded for the purpose of cultural and economic gain (Van Krieken, 2012, p. 2). Van Krieken (2012) thus builds on Elliot’s (1998) definition of celebrity as part of a wider social structure, enforcing the “capacity to attract attention” (Van Krieken, 2012,
242 p. 2). As a result, public visibility beyond one’s immediate social circles has become progressively more profitable, with subsequent economic rewards continuing to expand for even lesser known celebrities. This is furthered by Kotler, Rein and Stoller (1997), who assert a celebrity to be any individual whose name holds the ability to attract attention (and therefore profit). Attention is thus a “valuable commodity” for a career in the public eye, one reflected particularly strongly through the fame of reality television contestants (Fairchild, 2007, p. 372). Franck (2019) expands this conception of attention capital as “measured in circulation and viewing figures, ratings, likes, visits and so on” (p. 8), able to both accumulate interest and allow income even for those individuals involved on the periphery. Franck (2019, p. 9) therefore argues that celebrity begins once attention is paid to the individual through the media, and amplified when publicly discussed. Thus, through modern society, celebrities have been transformed into “objects of mass consumption”, presented and discussed simultaneously as “both special and utterly ordinary” (Furedi, 2010, p. 493). This has allowed celebrity culture to infiltrate everyday lives, bringing closer the symbolic distance between the public and celebrity (Furedi, 2010, p. 494). This observation of the “celebritisation of society” as a concept (building upon Gabler (2001)) has become increasingly significant in the Internet age, as holding status in a virtual community can be equivalent to status in a tangible community (Van Kreiken, 2012, p. 138). Van Krieken (2012, p. 135) furthermore asserts the continual expansion of the celebrity field through the proliferation of reality TV stars, bloggers and YouTubers, resulting in an increasing visibility of alliances between celebrities and meta and (micro)celebrities to increase their attention capital. Social media thus offers a possible pathway through growth of an audience to reaching the status of a celebrity as a following on social media allows one entry into the attention economy (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017, p. 196). This conceptualisation of attention capital is further echoed by Driessens (2013) who defines the term “celebrity capital” as a form of “accumulated media visibility” (p. 543), which can transform into other forms of capital, such as economic or political capital. Rojek (2012) reinforces this interpretation of celebrity as a feature of modernity enabling the accrual of attention capital, through the means of “self-promotion and exposure management” (p. 4) via various media. Growth of attention capital is therefore only possible when enabled through cultural intermediaries, hence, Rojek (2012) draws upon Bourdieu (1984, 1996) to strengthen understanding of the “socially
243 constructed nature” (Rojek, 2012, p. 9) of celebrity status with the field. Of note is the observation that any form of self-promotion must be enhanced by (and legitimized by) gatekeepers of taste within the field for the growth of such attention capital (Rojek, 2012, p. 11). These cultural intermediaries include agents, the media and other industry professions who can exponentially increase attention placed upon an individual. Driessen’s (2013, p. 547) assertion similarly builds upon Gamson’s (1992) conception of the celebrity as an entity that is “co-produced” by the celebrity themselves and the various other cultural intermediaries that enhance their visibility to the public. The ability for a celebrity to attract attention not only to themselves but also to any products they represent is therefore significant, escalating through celebrity branding and the influx of celebrity ambassadorships from the 1990s (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2015, p. 200). Of further note is the proliferation of celebrity society in the early 2000s with the rise of reality television and its subsequent production of reality stars. Many of these individuals were able to move beyond the platforms that first offered them this visibility capital to become successful personal brands in their own right (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2015, p. 202). Regardless of how such figures progress from reality television participant to celebrity, it is evident that it is the attention capital afforded through such exposure, which allowed these individuals to subsequently attain wealth, and social and economic capital. Brand ambassadorship is one arena offering considerable economic rewards to individuals who hold attention capital. Khamis, Ang and Welling (2017) discuss the ability of celebrities to draw awareness to brands through their own media channels. Such an ability is emblematic of a celebrity’s capacity to attract attention, particularly when a brand, product or service is able to become synonymous with the celebrity themselves (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017, p. 193). Competition for self-branding has also exponentially increased in the contemporary attention economy due to the increasingly saturated mediascape, where audiences are “distracted, dispersed and privatised” (Khamis et al., 2017, p. 195). As a result, niche markets are more readily able to connect with public individuals who match their interests. This is reflected in the prominence of attention capital in the creation of microcelebrity through the rise of SMIs and their creation of personal brands online. Marwick (2018, p. 162) identifies SMIs as a form of microcelebrity, a term that she recognises as problematic and shifting, however, generally referring to the projection of self-presentation/performative labour practices. Moreover, the importance of
244 attention as a measure that can be signified by followers is enhanced by platforms such as Instagram, whereby “audience size is not only built into social media, it is emphasised” (Marwick, 2018, p. 163). Subsequently, Instagram specifically requires a differentiation from blogs, necessitating specialised research approaches. The growth of attention afforded to individuals through the Internet has enhanced celebrity numbers, to the point where some scholars have declared that “fame has replaced marriage as the imagined means to realising feminine dreams” (Hopkins, 2002, p. 4). This has resulted in the increasing observation of “hope labour”, conceptualised by Keuhn and Corrigan (2013, p. 9) as work that is not compensated at all or under-compensated as a possible exchange for experience, exposure and/or the hope that economic or other future opportunities will emerge from such labour. Whilst such hope capital can be conceived easily within the notion of traditional celebrity (Keuhn and Corrigan (2013) use the example of aspiring actors going to castings), this kind of labour is increasingly common amongst emerging SMIs, who may not always hold the follower count required for paid collaborations. This conceptualisation is explored in emerging research in relation to social media (Duffy, 2017; Marwick, 2018), which identifies the pursuit of online fame as a form of “aspirational labour” for the nebulous, future promise of social status, freedom from traditional employment and economic success. According to Duffy (2017), such labour is “(mostly) uncompensated, independent work that is propelled by the much venerated ideal of getting paid to do what you love” (p. 4). Duffy (2017) recognises, however, that this remains for a majority an “unfulfilled promise” (p. 221), resulting in the ability for brands to capitalise/use content creators with the promise of attention and exposure rather than any real monetary compensation. Similarly, Mavroudis (2019) refers to such forms of labour as “fame labour” through his research on male microcelebrity SMIs and their perceived need to continually increase their visibility by enhancing their online status. Mavroudis (2019, p. 89) identifies several types of labour intensive, emotion work conducted by SMIs, including accepting an implicit understanding of one’s personal brand and being ready and willing to take and edit at all points of their everyday lives. Continually maintaining such labour allows for the development of an online reputation that can be leveraged within the “fame economy” (Mavroudis, 2018, p. 91). SMIs can thus be conceived as significant because of their potential as holders of attention capital as micro celebrities within the fame economy. Lagner, Hennigs and
245 Wiedmann (2013) offer insight into traditional definitions of a social influencer, with a focus on individuals who hold social capital within their social circles, existing external to the digital field. In particular, the authors draw attention to research conducted on consumers’ attraction to brands that reflect their own social identity (Lagner et al., 2013, p. 32), displaying the potential for consumer products to remind one of their “ideal” self-image within society (Ahuvia, 2005; Belk, 1982; Holt, 1998; Stuppy, Mead, & Osselear, 2019). Moreover, Lagner et al. (2013) assert that a “consumer’s social capital arises from social dominance gained from specific and sustained relationships within a social group” (p. 35). It is therefore possible to argue that gaining social capital through online means reflects the manner in which such capital is attained offline. Just as traditional social influencers offline are often asked for advice within their social groups (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955 as cited in Lagner, Hennigs, & Wiedmann, 2013, p. 36), so too are online SMIs. SMI advice is thus considered by their followers due to the ability to foster online “emotional investment, trust and attention capital in para- social relationships” through their “micro-celebrity status” (Baker & Rojek, 2019, p. 10). Such influence becomes particularly relevant amongst the increasing questioning of traditional expertise (illustrated, for example, through the growing interest in alternative medicine), where SMI advice can be considered “more authentic” than professional practitioners (Baker & Rojeck, 2019). This increased authenticity is further reflected in studies such as Djafarova and Rushworth (2017) who assert that participants viewed “non-traditional celebrities” (referring to bloggers, vlogger and the Instafamous) as more credible and relatable than traditional celebrities (p. 1). The finding was enabled through in-depth interviews of 18-30-year-old females based in the UK who were active Instagram users, resulting in the conclusion that non-traditional celebrities are viewed as more “relevant and credible” than traditional celebrities due to generating greater levels of trust when recommending products and services (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017, p. 18). This is reflective of Ohanian’s (1990) writing on celebrity endorsements and source credibility, which asserts that celebrity endorsements are positively affected by the consumers’ interest, attraction and respect for the celebrity. Ohanian’s (1990) construction of a scale for source credibility offers three main factors as attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise, each of which helps explain the potential success of a celebrity endorser for a particular audience. Hence, it can be argued that social media platforms
246 offer individuals opportunities to share (and profit from) knowledge and advice despite their lack of formal and professional expertise.
2.3 Aesthetic Capital Aesthetic capital refers to a complex characteristic of beauty or attractiveness that is constituted of “social processes, relationships and networks” (Enwistle, 2002, p. 332; White, 2002). Aesthetic capital can be drawn upon to assist in understanding the way in which social media exhibits preference towards certain aesthetic forms that are consistently seen to be attractive to viewers online. However, aesthetic capital is socially measured and judged through access to cultural resources (Bourdieu & Darbel, 1969 as cited in Prior, 2005). Such cultural resources provide explanations for art’s ability to be differentiated and valued as either “highbrow” or “popular aesthetic” (Bourdieu, 1984). This framework of understanding is reinforced by Hanquinet, Roose and Savage (2014, p. 113) who liken aesthetic construction to a social process linked to status. Drawing upon Bourdieu’s (1984) understanding of the role of possessing a certain level of cultural capital to allow appreciation of high art, Hanquinet et al. (2014) discuss the issues around cultural capital and the subsequent effect upon the appreciation of particular aesthetics. In their study of art museum audiences, Hanquinet et al. (2014. p. 127) affirm that aesthetic inclination and appreciation of symbolic goods and cultural signifiers remain necessary for an appreciation of contemporary art. However, they also question the necessity for such cultural capital when valuing postmodern art (Hanquinet et al., 2014, p. 127), recognising the shifting values of aesthetic and its potential for new forms. Similarly, Entwistle (2002) brings to the fore “temporal fluctuations” of aesthetic value in the fashion world, evident through the shifting value of trends and model aesthetics. Within the field of fashion and modelling, aesthetics is fundamental to the production and sale of commodities (Entwistle, 2002, p. 323). Entwistle (2002, p. 323) speaks of the modelling industry as its own functioning field of production (Bourdieu, 1983), albeit one that largely mirrors the wider artistic/creative field. This field is one that is dynamic because of the rapid turnover of product and staff in relation to shifting trends, necessitating those within the industry to possess the cultural capital to both sense and work with the fluid, dynamic preferences of consumers and cultural intermediaries across global cities. This allows the differentiation between commercial and high fashion models, as Entwistle (2002, p. 327) delineates the cultural capital,
247 including knowledge and “aesthetic sensibility” required. This is constructed by a model over time through an aggregation of industry knowledge, acquiring high fashion contracts and building a reputation that allows them to increase their own economic value and salaries (Entwistle, 2002, p. 321). Furthermore, aesthetic capital in the fashion sphere is sustained through generating symbolic capital such as prestige, which can potentially be translated into economic capital (Entwistle, 2002, p. 329). Shilling (2017, p. 47) draws attention to the body as a form of physical capital with value attached to the size and appearance of one’s body, a notion contained within Bourdieu’s (1983) work. In particular, Shilling (2017, p. 50) asserts the apparent way in which different bodily forms are associated with different levels of implicit physical capital, subsequently holding differing opportunities in converting physical capital into social, cultural or economic capital. Shilling (2007, p. 51) thus draws upon past studies, particularly black men in sports (Hobberman, 1997 as cited in Shilling, 2017), to illustrate that being of the working class provides additional limitations in converting physical capital into other forms of capital. Shilling (2017), however, distinguishes prominent physical capital developed by women as situated more prominently in the field of “fashion and marriage markets” (p. 57) rather than an athletic physicality. This notion is also developed by Huppatz’s (2009) writing on feminine capital, also lending itself to the observation that males with a large following on social media are more likely to focus on content such as bodybuilding, whereas for females, dominant content is situated around fashion and lifestyle. This is reinforced by Bishop’s (2018, p. 70) study on YouTube vloggers and her subsequent finding that males most prominently feature content such as gaming, sport, technology and humour. Entwistle and Wissinger (2006) build upon the concept of aesthetic capital within the fashion industry to further assess the “aesthetic labour” required by models, which involves physical and emotional bodywork as a continuous “ongoing production of the body self” (p. 774). Such body work can range from exercise and dieting to tanning, regular hairdresser appointments and erasing the signs of the aging body, all of which contribute to the upkeep of image required to continue working (Entwistle & Wissinger 2006, p. 785). Such body projects are often required outside of working hours, resulting in an “always on” the job anxiety, especially within the creative industries (Entwistle & Wissinger, 2006, p. 790). The resulting impact upon such creative freelancers (a segment in which SMIs are also situated) is the need to
248 independently work to align their “embodied self” with fluid aesthetic trends (Entwistle & Wissinger, 2006, p. 791). Entwistle and Wissinger (2006) emphasise that such physical and emotional body work is a necessity for employment, and cannot not be dismissed as superficial, but rather understood as hard, constant and enduring aesthetic labour. Wissinger, in her 2009 paper title “Modelling Consumption”, explores the relationship between modelling both as employment and as a branding process. She argues that models perform this dual function in their role as cultural intermediaries, as they remain an integral part of the process from production to consumption, contributing to the images that symbolize the trend of the day, of the “look” (both body and style) (Wissinger, 2009, p. 274). Furthermore, Wissinger (2009, p. 278) identifies that a model’s ability to influence the consumption of particular styles or the brands they work for is heightened as they grow towards “supermodel” classification, allowing them to assume greater control of their image and the brands they promote. As this paper was written in 2009, proceeding the introduction of Instagram, it is possible to posit that social media has increasingly allowed (and empowered) models to gain this control, resulting in a modelling landscape where holding attention through a social media presence is imperative. It is thus increasingly difficult to distinguish between models and SMIs, though models can be regarded as “embodied human agents”(Wissinger, 2009, p. 280). Their street style, as well as the campaigns they partake in, both contribute to the circulation of fashion imaging and subsequently, the production of the brands they work with. Aesthetic capital can thus be regarded as purposively presented through visual branding. Beverland (2005) discusses the role of authenticity in creating iconic brands, a notion that can be directly correlated to SMIs’ own ability to create a profitable personal identity that holds the ability to function independently within brand-to-brand relationships. Beverland (2005) developed a model for crafting authenticity within the category of luxury wine, resulting in a typology of processes that identify crafting of brand sincerity, including, “public avowal of hand-crafted techniques, uniqueness, relationship to place, passion for wine production and the simultaneous disavowal of commercial motives” (p. 1003). The latter of such processes is directly aligned with Bourdieu’s (1983) “disinterestedness” of the artist in producing the circle of belief, illustrating the link between brands performing within existing cultural production.
249 Through tracing the steps of several brands, Beverland (2011) asserts that successful brand identities can be purposely constructed in marketing contexts. Beverland (2011, p. 1003) suggests that for the wineries, the act of “appearing authentic” was a critical form of reinforcing status, allowing them to maintain high value/prices against competition. It is therefore a difficult balance for brands to both create and maintain a sense of authenticity that ultimately enables their access to commercial success. This can be aligned with the continuation of the struggle identified by Bourdieu (1983) of the tension the artist often faces in selling their art. Namely, it is the production of the circle of belief between all the players in the art marketplace that assists in creating value within one’s motives as an authentic creative (McRobbie, 2003, p. 6). Therefore, artists experience a tension as Bourdieu (1984) identifies pure artistic products are most often part of small-scale production, subsequently aligning mass production with “commercial cultural goods” (Hesmondalgh, 2006, p. 214). Beverland (2005, p. 1004) also acknowledges these inevitable tensions that arise in crafting authenticity, such as the brand need to remain true to their authentic identity whilst simultaneously advancing their identity to remain relevant and popular. In the online social mediascape, these tensions further reflect the challenge of developing iconic brands and the difficulty of crafting a cohesive brand identity as a micro, macro or power SMI, staying true to their authentic and essential core values and yet appealing to the mass, to maintain their social capital.
2.4 Authenticity Capital The growth of SMIs from social media users to “celebrities” recognises the ability of such figures to successfully construct an identifiable public identity online. This recognition necessitates an understanding of the development of personal online brand identities themselves and the elements that ultimately enable them to gain recognisable success. Moulard, Garrity and Rice (2015) conducted research on consumer perceptions of celebrity authenticity, finding key attributes of the need for perceived rarity and stability. For a celebrity to be perceived as authentic, their behaviour over time should be largely stable across differing situations and have qualities deemed to be largely uncommon (Moulard et al., 2015, p. 177). According to Moulard et al.’s (2017, p. 17) research, celebrities who embody these two factors are subsequently successful in being viewed as authentic to their true self. Hence, any
250 brands they associate with are subsequently viewed as reflecting behaviour aligned with their internal personal self (namely, intrinsically motivated as opposed to by external causes) (Moulard et al., 2017, p. 17). These perceptions of celebrity authenticity are important to understand, as celebrities reflect these values onto the brands they promote (Moulard et al., 2015). Bourdieu (1983) suggests the existence of tensions between authenticity and commercial success, which is further reflected in existing branding literature (Escalas & Bettman, 2004; Gilmore & Pine, 2017). Bourdieu’s (1984) assertion of this tension is most prominent through his notion of “disinterestedness” as a “significant marker of artistic identity” (Webb, Schirato, & Danaher, 2002, p. 177). This is due to a “disavowal of the economic” (Bourdieu & Nice, 1980, p. 261), where commercial distance within the field of cultural production is valued. The avant-garde artist is thus one of high aesthetic value, due to their “ultimate values of ‘disinterestedness’ … so that disavowal of the ‘economy’ is placed at the very heart of the field, as the principle governing its functioning and transformation” (Bourdieu & Nice, 1980, p. 266). This tension can result in “ubiquity and over- commercialisation” reducing the perceived authenticity of a brand (Moulard et al., 2015, p. 178), revealing a challenge for celebrity endeavours. Therefore, there is a need for constant vigilance and for maintaining a fine balance between authenticity and commercial collaboration. Similarly, Ilicic and Webster (2015) emphasise the significance of authenticity in the construction and maintenance of celebrity brands, particularly the perception of appearing genuine and acting in accordance with one’s declared values. In likening celebrity brands to OB, there are several “intangible assets” necessary in crafting this celebrity persona, which can only be seen as authentic when consumers “accept what celebrities claim to be” (Illicic & Webster, 2015, p. 410). Furthermore, the authors posit a direct relationship between a celebrity being perceived as reliable and consistent, and the advancement of loyalty through “parasocial relationships” (llicic & Webster, 2015, p. 412). Such relationships hold plentiful opportunities to be developed online through the following of SMIs. Therefore, the results that emerged from Ilicic and Webster’s (2015) research remain relevant for an understanding of how SMIs can develop authenticity capital online. The authors illustrate how openly revealing faults and mistakes can enable one’s followers to more easily identify with them (Ilicic & Webster, 2015). This can moreover illustrate a celebrity’s behaviours as consistent to one’s perceived values and which can maintain transparency in their actions vis- à-vis
251 their followers (llicit & Webster, 2015, p. 180). All of this helps reinforce and strengthen a celebrity’s relationship with their fans. Such findings are further confirmed by Morhart, Malar, Guevremont, Girardin and Grohmann (2015, p. 200), who identify several factors that influence consumer perception of the authenticity of a brand from a constructionist perspective. The authors suggest that the consumer projects their own beliefs onto the brand itself, allowing the ability for the brand to align with a consumer’s sense of the perceived “true self” in terms of values (Morhart et al., 2015, pp. 202-3). This alignment determines the strength of the consumer–brand connection (an affective link). Subsequently, Morhar et al. (2015, p. 211) suggest strategies to strengthen perceived brand authenticity including maintaining a true voice through communication, avoiding scandal and ensuring employee actions align with brand values. Gnegy (2017) applies such conceptualisation of authenticity for a PB to beauty SMIs on the platform YouTube. In particular, her digital ethnography of three beauty vloggers reveals the potential for monetization of vlogs, through paid brand sponsorship, affiliated links, and gifts, which can affect the perceived authenticity of a beauty vlogger (Gnegy, 2017). Using Aaker’s model (1996), Gnegy categorises beauty vloggers on YouTube within the “person as brand” category, as the personality projected by the vloggers is key in the construction of relationships between the PB and the customer (or in this instance, follower). This “authentic” brand relationship is assembled largely through the sharing of one’s lifestyle via their YouTube channel, enabling them to build a community emotionally connected to their PB (Gnegy, 2017, p. 111). Gnegy (2017) identifies that sustaining and growing this engaged community is achieved through emphasizing trust and similarity, which contributes to social capital (p. 111). This is initiated through “bridging capital” as viewers seek out vloggers online who can assist in finding solutions to their beauty problems (for example, how to do a winged liner or how to contour). By voluntarily seeking out the vlogger themselves and choosing them for their perceived similarities, followers are more likely to trust them and their offerings as authentic, particularly if they see the vloggers offering consistency in style and content. Due to this, social capital can be affected by deviations within presentations of an authentic self. Vloggers (and by extension, SMIs on platforms such as Instagram) are subsequently in a unique position of having to display both “personal” and “branded” authenticity (Gnegy, 2017). Keeping both forms of authenticity consistent
252 and in synchrony is essential. Drawing upon Aaker’s (1996) model of brand identity, one could argue that the process of anthropomorphising brands enhances the ability for individuals to relate the brand’s personality to the individual’s self-images (the implication is that people connect emotionally more easily with objects that have humanised characteristics). Namely, the brand functions in the same way as a person, consistent to the characteristics of the brand object itself, both tangible and intangible (Aaker, 1996). Gnegy (2017) thus applies this process asserting that the beauty vlogger, when engaging in such collaborations, becomes a stand-in for the brand, “replacing anthropomorphised characteristics with actual individuals” (p. 183). A close alignment between the PB and OB therefore appears necessary for maintaining vloggers’ perceived PB authenticity. Furthermore, distrust in the PB can transfer to the OB (and vice versa) (Aaker, 1996; Aaker, Fournier, & Brasel, 2004; Aggarwal & McGill, 2011; Fournier, 1998; Laroche, Habibi, Richard, & Sankaranarayanan, 2012), resulting in a threat to their social capital. Using an ethnographic approach, Marwick (2013) also draws attention to the need for bloggers to sustain authenticity. She identifies authenticity as the differentiating characteristic between mainstream fashion, such as magazines and runway shows, to bloggers and hence posits that its maintenance is critical to their perception by their audiences as representative of a more accessible subsection of fashion (Marwick, 2013, p. 1). However, she acknowledges that maintaining this authenticity requires constant labour due to high levels of competing brands in this highly crowded sphere (Marwick, 2013, p. 7), a field of endeavour discussed in the following section.
2.5 Feminine Capital In analysing the growth of SMIs, it is necessary to acknowledge the high representation of female lifestyle SMIs compared to their male counterparts within the field (Duffy, 2017). This disproportionate participation was similarly represented in data collection for this study, whereby all SMIs interviewed were female-identifying. This imbalance can be asserted as directly related to the type of content that social media platforms, such as Instagram, best lends itself to – namely, the aesthetics of fashion, health and lifestyle, as well as displays of the “body beautiful” (Featherstone, 1982). It can thus be argued that social media sites support the concept of “feminine capital”, a term employed by Bourdieu (1984) and built upon by others such as
253 Huppatz (2009) in her discussion of gender in paid caring work. Bourdieu, in his writings on cultural capital, briefly discusses the existence of feminine capital, asserting, “certain women derive occupational profit from their charm(s), and that beauty has acquired a value on the labour market” (Bourdieu, 2000, pp. 152–153). In his paper titled, “Reworking Bourdieu’s ‘Capital’: Feminine and Female Capitals in the Field of Paid Caring Work”, Huppatz (2009) recognises Bourdieu (2000) in asserting, “petit-bourgeois women are aware of the market value of beauty” and are more likely to invest in beauty capital and thus, “cultivate their bodies accordingly” (Huppatz, 2009, p. 47). However, she maintains that this form of capital has been largely overlooked throughout Bourdieu’s (2000) work and so subsequently applies past studies of feminine capital to the “disproportionate participation of women” (2009, p. 50) in the field of paid caring. Similar, Lovell (2000) also brings to the fore this notion of femininity as a form of cultural capital “tradable for economic, if not for symbolic capital” (p. 25). That is the recognition that femininity is “culturally learned” and thereby can operate as a form of cultural capital (Huppatz, 2009, p. 49). Huppatz (2009), however, differentiates female capital (any advantage gained from holding a female body) to feminine capital (the capital that is resultant from “a disposition or skill set learned via socialisation, as well as the recognition of the body as feminine” (p. 50)). This distinction is illustrated through Huppatz’s (2009) research of the field of paid caring, where she identifies the implication of feminine capital as having advantages in gaining employment in fields such as nursing and teaching (p. 52). According to Huppatz (2009), feminine capital is legitimised in the caring industries as it is viewed as a “natural and innate feminine past time”, “naturalized” (Huppatz, 2011, p. 52) by the consensus of hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005) that results in a general perception of trust for women who perform such roles. Alternatively, men seeking employment in these fields are viewed with suspicion, because “caring” does not align with the gender stereotype of hegemonic masculinity. As a result, in such fields of endeavour the symbolic capital of femininity works to legitimate and transfer into economic capital. Similar, Skeggs (1997) proposes that gender can be regarded as a form of cultural capital in certain fields, however, only when “symbolically legitimated”, such as via class. Skeggs (1997) supports this argument through referring to studies such as one by Adkins and Lury (1999), which highlights occupations such as female airline attendants where women are expected to act in a “feminine” manner of emotionally
254 attending to customers’ desire. Such gendered behaviour is naturalized by socialisation and thus expected, resulting in not necessarily being rewarded (Adkins & Lury, 1999, p. 605). This is further supported by Fujimoto (2004), who asserts that feminine capital helps women seeking employment in clerical positions in Japan, particularly for young females who could be perceived in a supportive, secondary role to male employees. However, feminine capital does not assist when they seek employment in non-clerical positions in Japanese businesses, highlighting the complexity and nuance within the idea of feminine capital (Fujimoto, 2004). Transforming feminine capital into economic capital can similarly be ascribed to the social media field, where there is a higher participation of female influencers on social media sites such as Instagram. This is particularly true amongst SMIs, through the dissemination of fashion, health and lifestyle content that is “naturalized” as being feminine concerns. Despite this, there exist few examples of research application of feminine capital to the field of blogging and social media. Whilst not referring directly to feminine capital, Abidin and Gwynne (2017) assert the use of “feminine corporeality” (p. 385) as a form of empowerment amongst Singaporean lifestyle bloggers. Online expressions of consumption of fashion and cosmetics are asserted as a method of female identity construction. As a result, monetisation by bloggers is Singapore is mobilised by makeover narratives surrounding ‘“normative feminine performances” (Abidin and Gwynne, 2017, p. 397). Hence, the bloggers posit that consumption of female-marketed makeup and skincare products are positioned as enabling self- improvement. Such narratives seem crucial for the economic success of these female Singaporean bloggers (Abidin & Gynne, 2017), and can therefore be regarded as an example of the employment of feminine capital to gain economic advantage (Huppatz, 2009). Similar, Van Cleaf’s research on “mommy bloggers” (2014), posits the way the female experience of motherhood is shared online can result in the accumulation of Internet fame. Through sharing such experiences, mommy bloggers are able to commoditise their online spaces. This sharing heightens their (authenticity) value by the ability to share directly with their audiences the aspects of motherhood “previously sanitised by medical discourse and mainstream media” (Van Cleaf, 2014, p. 164). Additionally, the ability to blog in one’s own time, fitting in around the role of parenting (such as being able to pick up children from school), further encourages classification of blogging as a “feminine” undertaking. As a result, blogging
255 motherhood has become an economically viable field, capitalised by brands, and is a strong example of the transformation of feminine capital within the SMI field. An additional element to consider is Bishop’s (2018) argument that the platform of YouTube rewards “hegemonic and normative performances of femininity” (p. 81) through the algorithmic design, in an effort to maximise incoming profit from both brands and advertisers. Through a case study on beauty vlogging on YouTube, Bishop (2018) argues that female vloggers whose content centres around key feminine consumption, such as beauty and fashion, are prioritised in algorithm searching, due to their ability to be more seemingly matched with advertisers of such products. Bishop (2018) notes, however, that the “constructing and materiality of algorithms” (p. 72) remain largely hidden from both the industry and content creators themselves. Hence, such knowledge of the relationship between the algorithm and encouraging gendered practice is generally acknowledged by aspiring and successful vloggers as they navigate the platform (Bishop, 2018, p. 73), and engage in ongoing hope labour for SMIs. Whilst this research is limited to YouTube, one can nonetheless draw parallels with other social media sites that utilise consumption as a platform for visibility and are similarly mediated by advertiser preferences. Namely, content creators can exploit feminine capital within fashion, beauty and lifestyle advice because of the “naturalised” link between the consumption of such products by women looking to enhance their femininity.
2.6 Affective Capital Affective associations are defined by Arvidsson (2013) as a form of community, whose members are connected because of their “affective intensity” (p. 374) towards a certain common objective. Such affective intensity can be directed towards a brand or celebrity, where the individuals may not necessarily engage with each other, but hold an affective connection in common with each other toward the PB. Arvidsson (2013) employs the example of retweeting a message on Twitter to illustrate the fragmented attention awarded to one’s followers. He asserts such associations do not fit seamlessly with traditional conceptions of community, despite each individual reading the tweet being united through the act of following the same Twitter account. Moreover, such membership is highly transitory, as followers can easily and without consequences, follow and unfollow. Hence, in the absence of a strong, mutually connected community, Arvidsson (2013) instead employs the term “publics” to capture
256 “how information is elaborated and re-elaborated as it is circulated” (p. 373). This fluid public is linked by an “ethos” or common affective intensity towards a certain brand (Arvidsson, 2013, p. 377), or as can be applied in the context of this essay, following the SMI as PB. The SMI as a PB therefore can be regarded as offering mediated affective capital to OBs, namely a symbiotic harnessing of the PB by the OB. Holt’s (2004) conception of cultural branding becomes useful here, due to the parasitic way brands can ride off cultural myths. Namely, iconic brands most often build upon existing myths, such as “affirmative myths” and “myths of resistance”, and consequently provide a “material connection” (Holt, 2004, p. 41) to such myths through tangible products. One can draw a parallel here to the way the OB gets to “ride” symbiotically off the PB narrative. This offers an opportunity for OBs to vicariously connect to potential consumers, mediated through the SMI. This is the symbiotic relationship that will be developed and explored further using illustrative examples from the data.
In the following section, illustrative narratives from the data will be used to show the interaction of the four types of capital (as discussed in the earlier sections) and found on social media – attention capital, aesthetic capital, authenticity capital and feminine capital. The way these types of capital create a connective synergy will be discussed as building emotional links between the OB and the PB’s followers (publics) that symbiotically feeds off the affective capital (in the sense that Arvidsson (2013) speaks of) garnered by the PB. These examples illustrate and unpack the notion of affective capital and how it operates to bind the OB with the PB.
3. Methodology A qualitative methodology was selected for this study to be able to richly explore the intricacies of the OB to PB relationships in the online social mediascape. In-depth interviews are the primary source of data, due to their ability to “give voice to people’s lives and their perceptions of experiences important to them” (Arsel, 2017, p. 939). Interviews were loosely structured in an effort to allow the direction of content to be steered by the interviewee, and thereby draw out their own narratives (Arsel, 2017, p. 939). Subsequently, interviews were effective in uncovering and revealing the individual perspectives and meanings within the participants’ narratives. This allowed for the common threads to be drawn from the individual narratives of the SMIs and
257 agencies interviewed (Dutta-Bergman, 2004; Wiles, Rosenberg, & Kearns, 2005). Specifically, narrative analysis is useful in untangling an interviewee’s conception of their online selves and interactions with their social worlds online (Cortazzi, 2014, p. 39). The sample of interviewees was selected by examining the Instagram SMI media to identify key players in the field and refined to suit the specific research question in a purposive manner. Permission was obtained from each participant SMI for an analysis of their archival posted content on Instagram platforms, which was subsequently visually analysed using Rose’s (2016) methods. Online data was analysed building in the context of the interview data to maintain its textual integrity and participants’ meaning (Gannon & Prothero, 2016, p. 1963). As a result, both visual and verbal narratives were analysed using a visual analysis combining Rose’s (2016) visual methodologies with more traditional narrative analyses. This resulted in a detailed and nuanced understanding of SMIs and the purposeful decisions they make in the creation of content. In doing so, the methods of data collection employed sought to bring to light the metanarratives present within the SMIs’ own identity projects, as suggested within the CCT tradition (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultans, 2008). This employment of data from both the unstructured in-depth interviews and the archived posts functioned together to strengthen the validity of the analysis. Open coding was selected to facilitate the emergence of themes (Creswell, 2013). First, data was distributed into an exhaustive set of codes (Hurwitz, Greenhalgh, & Skultans, 2008), which later underwent axial coding to consolidate them into key or coalesced conceptual connections and subsequently undergo further segmentation into a more refined theme set (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Illustrative data from this final set of themes was then subject to a second level of analysis, with particular attention given to structural and linguistic analysis (Franzosi, 1998) as well as the visual structure, style and positioning (Rose, 2016).
4. Analysis 4.1 Macro SMIs as Person Brands Macro SMIs, as introduced earlier, are SMIs who hold over 30,000 followers on a social media platform, subsequently holding significant influence over their online community. Where macro (and by extension celebrity) SMIs differ from micro SMIs, is their ability to repurpose their online self represented on social platforms for the gain of economic capital. In other words, their distinction lies in an ability to utilise their
258 social following as a major source of income, thus obtaining an occupational status of full-time SMI. Whilst many micro SMIs interviewed spoke of income received from SMI posting, it was most often conceived as a part-time job or income prioritised temporarily whilst studying full time. In comparison, a larger proportion of macro SMIs interviewed considered their online following as generating their principal source of income. In these instances, the SMI and the PB they project online are intimately fused, “labouring to produce a seamless account of the self to digital audiences in which the intimate and the commercial are deeply intertwined” (Kanai, 2018, p. 9). To apply Bourdieusian terms (1993), their economic capital is accrued as a direct result of their social capital attained online. The ability to monetise their following to support themselves in a way beyond that they could earn from traditional occupations signals a departure from traditional conceptions of status mobility. This divergence is heightened by such SMIs often seeming to lack traditional cultural capital (such as professional education and experience in the area of expertise they profess online) often traditionally required for increases in status mobility. SMIs therefore exemplify what Kanai (2018) describes as the “proliferation of neoliberal consumer culture that operates on the freedom of each consumer citizen to tailor, improve and aestheticise their life” (p. 10). Thus, while SMIs are not the only entrepreneurs able to successfully create and monetize their identity within this widening “gig” economy, they do represent an expanding group of individuals who profit from sharing their self- presentation practices online (Gannon, 2016). SMIs thus effectively construct a lifestyle image and in doing so, package and offer ways of achieving such lifestyles to their own audiences – these audiences being persuaded to achieve this lifestyle most often by purchasing something the SMI is promoting. The neoliberal environment that has fostered the availability of such a career option, especially amongst young women, is indicative of the economic convertibility of attention, aesthetic, authenticity and feminine capital. This is exemplified by one macro SMI who built her following and career online, now considering it her full-time occupation, through leveraging her following as a brand. Macro SMI A asserted: I’m not so much a full-time influencer as I am a full-time business owner. Working as an influencer is one part of my business, but I also freelance: write for publications, consult to brands and create content and social media strategies. These are opportunities that have developed as a result of my work as an influencer/blogger.
259 A significant aspect is this SMI’s consideration of her Instagram as just one component of her business, despite it being the most visible. Rather, she espouses the way in which social media has enabled her to create a profitable online identity that, in essence, can now exist independently, outside of the social media channel that first granted her exposure. This opportunity to essentially govern the branded self has been made available through the construction of the self online, a self-reflexive insight clearly articulated by this SMI. This identification was widespread amongst the SMIs interviewed, and is a focus in line with a wider increase in attention towards branding and design in the current period (Moor, 2008, p. 409). A second macro SMI interviewed who identified as a full-time blogger reinforces this, also inherently conceiving her content as a “brand”. Macro SMI B stated: My Instagram account is an extension of my business, which I use to educate, inspire and raise awareness about the importance of natural beauty, organic food, exercise and mindfulness among my tribe. I love to mix up the content I share from snippets of my personal day-to-day life, my food, exercise and inspiration to products I’m loving, my favourite recipes and quotes that inspire me personally. Of particular note is the SMI’s inherent understanding of her personal brand and her purposive decision to “mix things up” with her content. Figures 1.1 and 1.2 display two different styles of her content, indicative of her implementation of variety. Figure 1.1. is a styled image, where the SMI’s makeup has been professionally applied by one of Australia’s leading makeup artists – the image itself having been professionally captured. The caption makes a “callout” to her self-appointed mission, to “cultivate beauty from within and without by making conscious beauty, health and lifestyle choices”. This style of caption is reminiscent of an OB, and thus indicates the branded way in which the SMI both perceives and consciously constructs her own social media brand. By listing some of the brands and publications she has “had the pleasure of being featured in”, the SMI effectively authenticates her online self as an expert within the beauty space. Whilst visual analysis of her content reveals she has posted each of these collaborations in separate photos in the past, sharing repeatedly with her audience has a twofold purpose of both reaffirming her authenticity and also establishing it for any new followers or brands discovering her social media profile. The need to consistently enact this type of personal branding work is reaffirmed by Stoldt, Wellman, Ekdale and Tully (2019), who draw upon Duffy (2017) to assert,
260 “cultivating, communicating with, satisfying, and retaining an audience requires an always-available, always-on brand form of affective labour” (Stoldt et al., 2019, p. 7). Namely, the SMI, whether consciously or unconsciously, has recognised the complex nature of branding as requiring constant labour that blends her “work” and her “private” spheres for both maintenance and advancement. Hence, whilst Figure 1.1 reinforces the SMI’s authority to share her conscious lifestyle online, such professionalising posts are shared interchangeably with less curated self-shot imagery, as evident in Figure 1.2, an unedited, makeup-free selfie. Sharing such an uncurated image as an everyday “beauty blogger” functions to ensure the SMI maintains her relatability, perhaps due to awareness, whether implicit or explicit, of the type of authentic (unmade-up skin, a form of revealing a true self) vulnerability that has enabled her to build her platform of followers. The accompanying caption further confirms this, portraying a personal, authentic self through capitalisation such as “I LOVE” and “YOU ARE ENOUGH”, increasing authenticity through their written form being reflective of verbal speech (Murphy, 2012). Her tone is thus reminiscent of a personal conversation, directing her caption specifically to her readers (“self lovin is key my loves … and is something I’m personally working on every single day”) to reveal her vulnerability and to use affect to connect with her audience as a PB.
261
Figure 1.1. SMI post (Macro D).
262
Figure 1.2. SMI post (Macro D).
Hence, the makeup-free selfie might be at odds with her usual posts centred around make-up application, yet it holds a specific significance in constructing her PB online. Namely, it serves to reinforce the SMI’s distinction between her actual and idealised self (Willis-Tropea, 2011). This is successfully enhanced by her caption, which calls out the makeup-free nature of the selfie, thus reinforcing her position as an ordinary person, despite her assertion of expertise through her SMI status. As asserted by Eagar and Dann (2016), selfies essentially function as “human-branding techniques” through their presentation of “narrative material” (p. 1836). Moreover, selfies can work to authenticate consumption behaviour and situate it within one’s narrative, which can simultaneously assist in building an online community (Eagar & Dann, 2016). This function is further explored by Kedzior, Allen and Schroeder (2016) who assert the way in which selfies can aid in the growth of authenticity and the development of a community. Such a purpose of selfie posting is further aligned with Pounders, Kowalcyzk and Stowers’ (2016) findings that revealed impression management was the primary motivator amongst selfie posters.
263 SMIs can thus develop authenticity capital online through revealing “faults” and enabling audiences to identify with the SMI. This is further supported by Gnegy (2017, p. 11), who discusses the importance of relatability through cultivating an emotionally engaged community, hinting at the use of a type of “affective capital” (Arvidsson, 2013). Similarly, a study of SMIs on Chinese social networking platforms found that congruency between an SMI’s image and the audience’s ideal self-image resulted in higher likelihood of the SMI’s ability to influence subsequent purchases (Shan, Chen, & Lin, 2018, p. 139). An SMI therefore exists within a challenging space of the need to maintain one’s image as projected online, whilst simultaneously exposing “behind- the-scenes practices” to their audiences to maintain authenticity capital (Brydges & Sjoholm, 2018, p. 123). This is an online construction that requires constant work, and treads a fine line between revealing oneself and careful curation, posting such content in a continual cycle to maintain such a level of reliability, accessibility and intensity of the SMI as both an ordinary individual presenting their life online, as well as a personal brand capable of delivering inspiration and expertise to those who follow them. It is this continual interaction that ultimately enables SMIs to develop an engaged audience. As a result, when the SMI next posts a sponsored brand collaboration (for example, Figure 1.3), she has already generated a level of trust and authenticity, allowing her own personal brand ethos to be effectively transferred to the OB she is collaborating with, while simultaneously having her personal brand enhanced by the association with the OB if well matched. This mutual enhancement between OB and PB is indicative of the symbiotic relationship between the two, each helping to co- create the affective connection with consumers (Figure 1.4).
264
Figure 1.3.Brand collaboration social post example (SMI Macro D).
Figure 1.4. The symbiotic relationship between the OB and PB.
Understanding this symbiotic relationship further supports the consistent finding that macro SMIs are a self-constructed PB, who when asked were immediately and succinctly able to project the essence of their brand to the interviewer. They thus exist within a middle ground that allows an individual, often without “qualifications or
265 professional affiliation” to “establish a credible authorial voice ... curiously positioned between insider and outside, expert and layperson” (Crewe, 2012, p. 772). The ability of SMI to share their lifestyle visually through a “snapshot aesthetic” (Schroder, 2013), in a way that can be simultaneously perceived as both casual and authentic, thus allows the SMI to continually construct their brand through successive social media posts. This is further confirmed by the content of the macro SMI accounts of those interviewed, which each held an immediately distinguishable aesthetic “theme” or “feed”, thereby visually linking their images and creating a consistent and visual personal brand. Such consistent aesthetics can be directly related to a second key element in transitioning to a macro SMI status, namely establishing one’s online self within a particular aesthetic style. The result of this is twofold. First, followers expect a largely consistent form of content and thus are compelled to follow or to remain following the account. Second, OBs are able to more intuitively and subtly match PB collaborations, allowing them to ultimately engage in partnerships that appear more authentic and subsequently more effective for both the SMI and the brand, tightening their symbiotic relationship. Particular stylistic roles can be based upon a particular type of content or aesthetic, with successful SMIs interviewed addressing the perceived pressure for their content to remain within their chosen stylistic aesthetic. For example, one SMI interviewed who grew an authentic following through posting makeup and skincare stated, I generally don’t tend to post anything that is not related to beauty in any way. No travel, fitness, health, food, personal life; it’s all 100% beauty! That being said, I sometimes incorporate elements of each into posts, but beauty is still the main focus.
266
Figure 1.5. Instagram post of products received at an SMI event (SMI Macro C).
An example of a post by this SMI is evident in Figure 1.4, which displays an abundance of makeup from one singular brand, artfully displayed in the form of a flatlay. The accompanying caption expresses excitement and gratitude (“Our heart is beautifully full thanks to Tarte!”), ultimately producing a relatable excitement over being gifted the makeup pictured, an insight into the SMI’s “true self”. The SMI as a PB therefore extends the perception of the personality of the OB, creating a “human personality” for the OB that the consumer can more readily identify with through their self-schema (Puzakova, Kwak, & Rocerto, 2009, p. 415). This excitement further contributes to the building of brand trust within the community of followers, which subsequently transfers towards brand loyalty (Laroche, Habibi, Richard, & Sankaranarayanan, 2012, p. 1759). This is in line with the conception of an SMI as a PB, enhanced by Aaker’s (1997) branding model, which iterates that when brands are given human qualities they are perceived as more relatable by consumers. Hence, through conveying transparency with this gifting, the SMI has reinforced her own personal brand, as being perceived by a large international beauty brand as influential enough to be gifted the
267 amount of makeup shared within the image. Moreover, by maintaining a sense of excitement through the caption, the SMI maintains her own sense of authenticity as a relatable beauty lover, despite her follower status granting her access to be gifted and review such products. Thus, there does arise a notable challenge in the perceived need to maintain an authentic online personality, whilst simultaneously producing high-quality imagery capable of being repurposed by the brands that pay for such imagery to be produced. This is reflected by the SMI herself: I genuinely believe that when it comes to Instagram, you need to step up your game and create unique content that people can’t find anywhere else rather than just being a carbon copy. [My] Instagram is like a magazine in some aspects: it contains beautiful imagery, but still has elements of written text and makeup advice. Providing people with a mix of both inspiration and information has worked really well. Feminine capital in such instances is overt, with a focus on expressing the self via use of makeup and skincare. This particular SMI has effectively utilised social media to brand herself as a makeup expert, therefore situating herself within a profitable niche. The success of this SMI’s self-branding effort is further evident through her admission of opportunities afforded to her through her Instagram profile, including attending product launches weekly and being given behind-the-scenes access to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Sydney to create content for the social networking site Tumblr. Each of these opportunities afforded through the SMI’s creation of a consistent profile ultimately reflects the rewards enabled within social media society facilitated through creating a consistent PB to enable successful matches with OBs.
4.2 The Role of Endorsements and Commercial Contracts Endorsements and commercial contracts function as an integral component of the symbiotic relationship between an SMI and OB within brand-to-brand relationships. As previously discussed in the earlier two essays, endorsements and commercial contracts offer many SMIs the ability to generate substantial income via their social platforms. This most often arises through the form of a collaboration, whereby SMIs are gifted product or service (either paid or unpaid) in exchange for social media coverage. The collaboration thus establishes the relationship between a PB and an OB, enabling the SMI’s audience to conceive a connection between the two. However,
268 the strength of associations is largely dependent upon their affective fit, resulting in SMIs enacting various strategies to mitigate elements that may decrease the strength of this connection. Moreover, it is important to note that SMIs of different follower counts hold various levels of agency in enacting control over the terms of such commercial contracts. The larger the SMI, the more power they hold within brand collaborations, as evident via the SMIs’ interviews conducted. Macro SMI C stated: I mean, if I don’t feel comfortable with something, I’ll obviously tell them, and negotiate it. The other day, for example, I was told I need to write out a caption and send it to them for review, but that was okay because they didn’t ask to change anything ... But you know how sometimes they say you have to put their hashtags in and I don’t really like that – I feel like me tagging their brand is enough. So, sometimes I might say to them, “I’ll be tagging you [in] both the photo and the caption. I’ll even happily tag you in the caption multiple times, but I don’t want to put your hashtags in, because I don’t really put hashtags in my captions anyway, most of the time”. So, I usually just try to negotiate that and try to make it so I don’t feel uncomfortable with what I am posting. Here, the SMI is able to use her follower count of 126,000 to assert control in maintaining her self-established preference of avoiding hashtags in her captions. This can be argued as a strategy to maintain her personal authenticity by distancing herself from the overt appearance of commercial collaborations, the parallel to Bourdieu’s (1993) “disinterestedness” of the artist to the commercial world. Hence, the SMI’s assertion of control in her refusal to hashtag assists in her building of authenticity capital. This is further evident in Figure 1.5, which features an SMI collaboration with a clothing line. The brand is tagged in both the caption and the image itself as per the collaboration terms, however, the SMI effectively personalises the collaboration, outlining it “makes her feel like a gypsy goddess” and is “made by one of my favourite, ethical brands”. No hashtags have been used, as per the SMI’s preferences, and it remains ambiguous to the audience whether this content is paid or simply in support of a brand. As a result, this SMI has maintained a balance between the commercial and her authentic artistic expertise, resulting in value creation effectively established through building “disembodied affective associations” (Arvisson, 2013, p. 374). Namely, the SMI is able to build upon her own online identity as a socially conscious individual supporting an ethical brand. Simultaneously, the brand is able to build on its own perceptions of being ethical through alignment with the SMI whose personal
269 brand is centred around being socially conscious. Hence, the gap between the OB and PB is minimal, ultimately resulting in a successful, symbiotic collaboration.
Figure 1.6. A collaboration between a PB (Power SMI A) and OB (a fashion label).
Furthermore, the significance of declining collaborations that fail to establish a symbiotic match between SMIs and OBs was raised in multiple SMIs’ interviews as a complex but necessary negotiation. As stated by a macro SMI, “There is a product I really like [collaboration offer] but has bee pollen in it.... see controversial! I have to really weigh it up because obviously most of my following is vegan…” Whilst this SMI stated in her interview that she no longer strictly follows a vegan diet for health reasons, she acknowledged that much of her following was built upon originally sharing her strictly vegan lifestyle. Thus, the SMI still avoids collaborating with any product containing animal products, revealing her own intrinsic understanding of the need to align OBs with her own PB (even when her personal practice is no longer aligned with her audience’s). Such is indicative of the balancing act an SMI needs to
270 maintain for both authenticity and commercial success. The process employed by this SMI to maintain this balance is detailed through a collaboration she proceeded with for a vegan product and her process in ensuring the caption fitted her audience whilst also meeting the collaboration requirements: They were really strict and structured with what they wanted, which was great. I like having freedom with what I can post but they were just really structured ... and you had to include the certain tags they wanted, logo facing the camera that sort of thing. And now because it’s against the rules … you have to put #sp or #ad … but people still don’t do it, guys! But if a brand does tell you to do it, you have to do it because they are trying to protect themselves, they’re future- proofing themselves. So, they just told me the required tags and … I hate it when I’m given a caption to write. I’m like, “Hang on, that doesn’t fit with my audience” … They gave me an outline and I was like, “No, hang on, I’m writing what I want”. And I gave it to them and they were actually happy with it – they preapproved everything.
Figure 1.7. An example of an SMI selfie (Macro A) for a paid brand collaboration.
As a result, the SMI in Figure 1.6 involves her community through her caption callout, “...clearly not getting stuff done as I dive into a tub of @benandjerrysoz non-dairy ice cream”, effectively maintaining an affective connection through presenting a situation relatable to her audience. Furthermore, the posting of the selfie with the branded item
271 clearly visible effectively acts as an assemblage that encompasses the SMI as a consumer of the product within her daily life (Kedzior, Allen, & Schroeder, 2016, p. 1769). Utilising the accompanying hashtag #vegan further reinforces her involvement within such an online community. Through discussion of this SMI’s process, it becomes clear the way in which “digital media industries negotiate the tension between participation and control” (Stoldt, Wellman, Ekdale, & Tully, 2019, p.2). In actively negotiating brand-to-brand partnerships, value creation is co-created for the OB and PB, ultimately resulting in a successful collaboration as evident through the upwards of 5,000 “likes” on the image posted. The likes in this case signify co-creation from the SMI’s followers, which can be regarded as a benefit to the OB as it ultimately results in deeper consumer engagement with the brand (Johnson Dretsch & Kirmani, 2014). Furthermore, through collaborating with a vegan product and reinforcing this through using the hashtag #vegan, the SMI consciously creates and maintains her online brand. In this vein, SMIs utilise collaborations to assist in their building of an online identity and personal brand, in much the same way an ordinary person uses brands to build their own personal identity through consumption choices (Holt, 2002; Hund & McGuigan 2019, p. 23). Therefore, a symbiotic relationship tangibly exists between the OB and the PB, each using the other to assist in their own branding projects. It is therefore apparent that SMIs should prioritise strategic and selective choices with brand collaborations, in order to ensure that the brand partnership adds, rather than detracts from their online identity. Additionally, images posted online have the potential to “interfere and possibly destabilize meanings and aesthetics carefully curated by brand managers” (Kedzior, Allen, & Schroeder, 2016, p. 1769). It is therefore vital that OBs carefully consider the SMIs’ ability to contribute to their branding through the posts, and subsequently select SMIs to collaborate with that match the OBs’ existing, or intended, image.
4.3 The Importance of Brand Match to Successful Collaborations An effective brand match can ultimately be regarded as a direct result of the successful creation of affective capital by the SMI. As defined earlier in this essay, affective capital is a form of emotional capital that an SMI, as a PB, develops with consumers, allowing the OBs to collaborate and symbiotically connect with the SMIs’ followers. Namely, the “affective intensity” that an individual holds towards an SMI can be transferred to brands they showcase, especially when the match between the SMI and the brand is
272
Figure 1.8. An example of a niche SMI feed (Power SMI A).
Hence, despite a range of topics covered, her feed successfully maintains visual consistency, with editing techniques routinely utilised to maintain dominance of the pinks, greens and blues within her colour palette. These elements employed clearly align with Beverland perspective (2005), who discusses strategies wine brands often employ to maintain authenticity and construct a successful brand identity. Comparing established wine brands to such SMIs reveals the way in which both clearly exercise similar strategies in creating and maintaining a coherent brand aesthetic identity, reinforcing that an SMI’s label is effectively a brand statement in itself. Similar strategies include protecting status (only collaborating with like-minded brands), commitment to quality (maintaining and sharing equally high-quality photos) and using place as a reference (consistent posting of one’s life in nature and travel for example) (Beverland, 2005). Maintaining such successful branding therefore requires
274 negotiating the challenge of collaborating with brands (with divergent objectives) whilst maintaining authenticity through a selection of which brands to engage with and how to share these collaborations in an aesthetically consistent way.
Figure 1.9. SMI (Power A) content creation example.
Hence, in Figure 1.9, the collaboration presents a good match between the OB and the PB. First, the skincare brand constructs itself as a natural product, reflected through the SMI’s caption: “like my porridge, the products are vegan/cruelty free, all natural (no nasties) and really amazing”. Through the construction of the image artfully arranged in a flatlay, the product is carefully presented as embedded within the individual’s daily routine. Furthermore, despite being sponsored, the collaboration appears a good match between the OB and PB, as the image does not seem/look misplaced on the SMI’s feed. Rather, the image succinctly matches both her conceptual sense of self, as well as her feed and visual aesthetic, with the pink props being selected to match the product, placed adjacent to a bowl of healthy porridge, authentic to the SMI’s previously constructed online identity. Brand match is further reaffirmed through the caption, which details use in the past prior to being sponsored,
275 indicating their authentic long-term links to the OB (“I even used Sukin before I was vegan, so safe it’s tried and tested”) and outlines its use in the future (“lots of mornings with me tucking into a bowl of porridge with a face mask on in the future me thinks…”). The OB itself is also in line with her meaningful consumption choices (Price, Arnould, & Curasi, 2000), ensuring her audience is able to intuitively accept the brand as a natural component of her overall consumption identity. In fact, such products are presented within an inspiring personal narrative of “curated images and self-narration” (Baker & Rojek, 2019, p. 3), which ultimately encourages others to also consider such products in an effort to aspire to the SMI’s lifestyle. Namely, “the sharing of how products have been intertwined with issues of personal significance is an authenticating practice in the context of a life narrative,” (Gannon & Prothero, 2016, p. 1870). As a result, the post has been rewarded with engagement in the form of likes and comments, reinforcing that “certain contexts generate greater advantages, motivations and opportunities for rewards” (Silvia, 2016, p. 75). A close brand match is, therefore, a significant consideration for both SMIs and brands for negotiating successful collaborations. Maintaining such aesthetic consistency and authenticity, however, requires constant weighing up and negotiation as discussed by Macro SMI C. Her process in deciding how to capture a clothing product for a collaboration involves consideration of the product itself and ensuring its presentation in use is organic and authentic to her personal brand: I want to make it as organic as possible. I want to make it like me – it’s like a bamboo, organic activewear T-shirt thing, so I don’t just want to stand around and be like…. I want it to be me doing yoga or running or on a cliff near the ocean, something that goes, yes, this is what you wear it for. But they have emailed me a few times saying, “Hey, how’s that photo coming along?” And I’m like, “I’m so sorry. I’ve tried to take a selfie in the shirt but it just doesn’t look right. It’s gonna take me a while to get this photo to you but it’ll be worth it, trust me”. And I think they understand because they have seen the photos of the other stuff they have sent me but this one is a little harder to do. Hence, the SMI in this instance detailed her need to have the clothing item photographed, rather than taking a quick selfie, in order to show the T-shirt in an organic environment that presents how it is intended to be used. This required a longer lead time necessitating the SMI to communicate the delay of the upload with the brand.
276 It is therefore apparent that the SMI holds an awareness of her own aesthetic style for her feed, and shares an unwillingness to compromise (in this instance, waiting to shoot rather than uploading a selfie), in order to maintain her personal aesthetic even when engaging in paid collaborations with the OB. For this SMI, recognition that a selfie would placate a brand, yet also appear mismatched with her existing feed, reinforces the importance of one’s personal brand within brand collaborations. Here, a brand match is maintained between the SMI and the brand, allowing the collaboration to be authentic in nature, and thus contribute to, rather than detract from, her continual building of an affective intensity with her audience.
4.4 Affective Capital: The Symbiotic Relationship between SMIs and Brands This essay has thus far reflected upon the development of a symbiotic relationship between SMIs as a PB and OB. When SMIs create attention capital, aesthetic capital, authenticity capital and feminine capital, they can use it to effectively leverage affective capital, a construction that is reflected in SMIs encouraging individuals to purchase from their own collaborations with OB. Hence, brands and SMIs in the process of collaborating with each other effectively contribute to each other’s branding processes. The power of such affective capital is clearly evident amongst SMIs who create their own successful brands through leveraging their connection with their followers. Independent SMI brands are increasingly common amongst power, macro and on a smaller scale, micro SMIs, ranging from fashion lines, photo editing presets, ebooks, beauty products and health food lines, with many involved in more than one endeavour. Within just this pool of SMIs interviewed in this study, many either own or have since the time of being interviewed released their own brands or products available for purchase. Such products include an online magazine, a range of nail polishes and photo editing presets. By producing one’s own brand, there is a direct and substantial alignment between the PB (the SMI) and the OB (the product they are selling). This is indicative of the strength of the affective intensity required for an ideal collaboration, an “authentic portrayal of desirable lifestyles … surrounded with the marketplace infrastructures to make elements of these lifestyles for instant purchase” (Hund & McGuigan, 2019, p. 31). This is evident in Figure 1.9, which highlights an SMI interviewed who has created a capsule collection of nail polish, available for sale both
277 on her own blog (enabled with shoppable functionality) as well as the brand’s website and select brick and mortar stores.
Figure 1.10. An SMI promoting her capsule nail polish range.
The range effectively suits the SMI’s existing aesthetic of muted neutrals, and therefore seamlessly fits in with her images and assertion that, “my style is minimal and luxe. I create content around things I love and wear and use daily”. This is further reflected through observation of the SMI’s feed, which reveals consistently wearing and tagging her nail polish range directing her audience to purchase it. The SMI’s Instagram feed can thereby be considered an “always-on, all-encompassing virtual storefront” (Hund & McGuigan, 2019, p. 32). By showing the product in use, the SMI (Figure 1.10) thus shows how the PB serves a key part in linking consumers affectively (Gnegy, 2017) by using their affective capital (Arvidsson, 2013) to the OBs for whom they serve as “ambassadors” in a symbiotic relationship. Moreover, it becomes clear that within such social media posts the “boundary between consumption and production is blurred and where both practices fuse into new forms of public action” (Arvidsson, 2013, p. 367). The SMI, through sharing images of herself wearing her nail polish collaboration, simultaneously shows its use whilst also encouraging others
278 to purchase it. This call to purchase remains organic, however, due to the affective capital the SMI had created prior to the collaboration, as well as the affective capital she continues to produce. Namely, the collection does not appear out of place on the SMI herself, nor on her feed. Rather, it is successfully enmeshed within her continual self-branding, resulting in a form of productive consumption. Whilst releasing personal brands for consumption occurs on a smaller scale through the micro SMI interviewed, it is continually mirrored on a larger scale of macro and celebrity SMIs, who create and sell their own branded products. One notable Australian example is the model and fitness SMI @stephclairesmith with over 1 million followers on Instagram, who at present successfully either owns or co-owns an online fitness program, a health food range distributed through major grocery retailers Coles and Woolworths, a swimwear label and a sunglasses brand. Each of these OBs are fused with her own branded self online and are consistently featured in use on both her static Instagram feed and her stories (Figure 1.10). The SMI’s products are presented in the form of a consumptive enabler to adopting her lifestyle as presented online. As a result, the strength of the affective capital generated through the promotion of her own products and brands is highly significant, evidenced by the financial success of each of her projects. Moreover, the ability for each of these entrepreneurial projects to exist independently signifies her affective capital existing outside of the social media space. This reveals a significant level of value creation in the exchange between the person and OBs, as each function as being intimately intertwined with the SMI’s online self.
5. Conclusions and Future Research In sum, this essay has explored the way in which SMIs employ affective capital, through attention, authenticity and feminine sub-capital, to serve as connectors of OBs to consumer publics. It has shown that SMIs are reliant upon the creation of affective capital in order to bridge the chasm between the SMI and the brands they create content for. The ability for the creation of such capital to fill this gap is through an emotional connection channelled through an SMI post that essentially links the OBs, the individual and images of how they themselves use such brands within their ordinary life. The result is an incorporation of such visuals within the SMIs’ own self- concept, contributing to the establishment of an affective connection that facilitates greater acceptance of collaborations by consumers, ultimately encouraging purchase. This understanding of the need for affective intensity within collaborations can be
279 employed within managerial applications in considering how OBs can be made real to consumers. Affective intensity is also of particular application for managers in considering how to match SMIs with brands authentically in order to create an environment that results in successful brand-to-brand partnerships. Namely, managers must carefully consider an SMI’s online possession of affective capital (through first considering the presence of their attention, aesthetic, authenticity and feminine sub-capital) to ensure the match between the potential collaborators is strong. Ensuring this match is adequate will result in a greater return on investment to brands engaging in SMI collaborations. These findings are also of use to agencies who mediate the relationship with SMIs and brands, as SMIs are also positioned to benefit from strong brand matches within collaborations through a greater accrual of affective capital from followers. Whilst there do exist exceptions to the rules explained in this essay, which are deserving of future study, this essay provides a clear underpinning of the types of capital required in creating affective intensity between an SMI as a PB and the OBs within commercial collaborations.
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300 Conclusion: SMIs as Consumption Intermediaries
This study has thus far taken an in-depth view of the SMI industry, identifying the SMI person brand as a key intermediary link between the object brand and the SMIs’ own audience (consumers) using emotional work that builds affective capital. The three essays have considered the role of the SMI agency as an emerging cultural intermediary (Essay One); and then further delved into the processes and practices by which the individual SMI converts online social capital/status into economic capital (Essay Two); and finally, how the SMI Person Brand (PB) links object brands (OB) to consumers by channelling affective capital that they have accumulated between the OB and their followers. This effectively (and affectively) creates brand-to-brand relationships that are critical for the OB but also of benefit in a symbiotic manner to the SMI/PB (Essay Three). Each of these three ideas together serve to conceptualise the SMI person brand (PB) as what one can label as a “consumption intermediary”. Namely, the SMI/PB gains legitimacy through the accumulation of affective capital (attention, authenticity, aesthetic and feminine sub-capital) to serve as an emotional connector between the OB and the consumer publics. The SMIs/PBs’ ability to occupy this space is ultimately indicative of their value in a consumer-driven society. SMIs therefore add value to the consumption market as a unique form of consumption intermediary. The SMI agencies serve as legitimising cultural intermediaries, but it is the SMI/PBs themselves that act as the consumption intermediary for the OB. While OBs have sometimes personally connected with consumers, the PB can serve as that intermediary by humanising, curating, legitimising and importantly fixing OBs within their own lifestyle assemblages. The effect of this is like that of the traditional physical retail window display, only real, moving and with an actual person using the OB seen in everyday situations, operating beyond the celebrity endorsements of television or print advertisements. Instead, the SMI actively shows the OB in use, allowing for interaction and communication with the consumer and importantly, showing how the brand can be used within a desirable and aspirational lifestyle assemblage. This is evident in Figure 1.1, which displays the way in which SMIs as consumption intermediaries connect the various thematic insights and concepts around the SMI landscape.
301
Table 1.1 Summary of the Three Essays
SMIs as Consumption Intermediaries: Humanising, Curating, Legitimising and Fixing Object Brands within Lifestyle Assemblages Through Linked Narratives
Essay 1 Essay 2 Essay 3 Mapping the field: The SMI agency as an The object brand to person brand SMIs within the emerging cultural relationships and the use of affective context of online intermediary within the online capital as the value add in the co- field. field as curators and creation of brand value online. legitimators. Evolution of the field. Symbiotic relationship between OB Identifying the processes of and PB. Emergence of cultural production and the different types of circle of belief within the SMI Linked narrative of OB and PB. SMIs. field. The match between PB and OB.
Commercial SMI agencies as managing the collaborations. distance between the SMI and the consumer. Professionalising in the industry
Emergence of SMI agencies.
SMIs working with the agencies to humanise, curate, legitimise and fix/associate object brands within aspirational lifestyle/consumption assemblages
302 1.1 The Role of the SMI: Connecting Object Brands (OB) to Consumer Publics SMIs occupy a complex position as a consumption intermediary, humanising, legitimising and fixing OBs within lifestyle or consumption assemblages (Canniford & Bajde, 2015; Healy, 2011). The tension to maintain control of ones’ posts, whilst also engaging in collaborations and paid partnerships, represents a commonly-raised contradiction that exemplifies the SMI as interfacing between the OB and maintaining economic “disinterestedness” (Bourdieu, 1980) that keeps their PB authentic and trustworthy within the SMI economy/field as reflected within the data. The growth of the Internet, according to Crewe’s (2013) work (on fashion in the digital age), has resulted directly in a “disintermediation” of intermediaries and knowledge providers, ultimately necessitating a reworking of “relationships between producers, the media and consumers” (p. 769). Rather than consumers engaging in a traditional manner, directly with brands or intermediaries (such as older forms of media/retail), SMIs are instead inserting their own brand into this relationship between the consumer and the OB. Hence, this creation of the PBs’ ability to increase engagement for an OB is enforced by how much the OB can be incorporated into the SMIs’ projected idea of themselves (Hollebeek, Glynn, & Brodie, 2014), a process that an SMI facilitates by their online narrations. Incorporating this OB into their everyday consumption tales narrates the OB into the PBs’ own assemblage of consumption. This is made more effortless when the SMI (PB) eases the affective or emotional connection channelled through their posts and links to the OB themselves and images of how they use it in a seemingly “natural” everyday way. The association between the PB and the OB is therefore created and strengthened, and subsequently maintained, by the everyday narratives of the SMIs’ posts, which places the OB within the everyday lifestyle practices of the SMI/PB. Such projections online hold a greater likelihood of acceptance by consumers, as they are connected to their own self-concept (Sprott, Czellar, & Spangenberg, 2009). Acceptance can be further enhanced by the other OB, the PB assembles in this online “window display” as it forms a whole lifestyle or “consumption constellation” (Davis, 2003; Hogg, 1998; Solomon, 1996). This acceptance by consumer publics of such a brand-to-brand relationship is ultimately dependent on the fit between PB and OB, but also of the overall fit of other OBs assembled by the PB in the display, usually related to a particular lifestyle. This acceptance is evident through the number of the PBs and
303 consumers who engage with the display and help to affirm it by commenting and liking it, co-creating it to establish a marker of collaboration success. Below is one example in Figure 1.2 of Macro SMI B. Here, the SMI has constructed an image using products advertised as part of a paid collaboration. Despite explicitly denoting it as a sponsored post, as evident through the use of the hashtag #collab, the SMI has integrated the products “naturally” into her own lifestyle through both the visual and textual narrative. First, the image is contextualised by confiding with her followers that she has moved house, involving them within her daily life, emotively connecting the OB to consumer publics. Moreover, she explicitly draws attention to the way in which the products seamlessly integrate within her existing tastes, declaring the “fit” as with her own taste (Bourdieu, 1985): “They’re even feeding my pastel pink + white obsession”. Here, she is intertwining the OB’s narrative with her own narrative of everyday life. This is further constructed through the visuals of the image itself, whereby the SMI has purposively selected a pale pink and white outfit to match the bedding (the product being promoted), thereby successfully assembling the OB into her own self assemblage. This is also enhanced through the various other objects within the image, including the green indoor plants, flowers and a mug, which enhance the effect of the bedding. As a whole, this image therefore creates a wholesome image (desired lifestyle) of a clean and tidy, yet lived-in bedroom, appealing to the SMI’s followers of teenagers and young adults, who use the bedroom as a sacred space for identity (Belk, Wallendorf, & Sherry Jnr., 1989). Thus, the image successfully ties the sponsored products within her aesthetic taste, promoting the product as well as its ability to be integrated into one’s lifestyle (Bourdieu, 2013) narrative. Such a construction reinforces the role of SMI collaborations, particularly within their lifestyle assemblage, helping the OB to attain attention capital through association with the PB. For “in a saturated market of aspiring lifestyle gurus competing for visibility and attention on social media, success rests on presenting an inspirational and compelling persona and narrative” (Baker & Rojek, 2019, p. 2). Here we see the narration of the OB into the PB’s lifestyle assemblage as a critical skill, building upon the banked and accumulated affective capital they already have created. This SMI has thus presented an inspirational image that is nonetheless identifiable with her “ordinary” followers (as indicated through the messily stacked books, lack of overtly expensive furniture and the SMI herself, hair in a messy bun), establishing everyday appeal through creating a lifestyle that is aspirational yet
304 achievable. It is here that the online SMI differs from the distant celebrity (Elliot, 2017) or the artist (Bourdieu, 1983), and hence shows a divergence from the original Bourdieusian concept of the “circle of belief”. In the Bourdieusian world of art production, the artist is lofty and distant (Bourdieu, 1983), as is the traditional celebrity. However, the SMI displays their “flawed selves” (which is simultaneously carefully curated) to create the right balance of believability and aspiration. The last sentence inviting her followers to talk to her – “Who else loves decorating their house/room?” – evokes response and reaction, helping co-create this assemblage and reinforcing the narrative link between OB and her own PB.
Figure 1.1. SMI collaboration (Macro B) linking the OB with her PB.
The ability of SMIs to connect OBs to consumer publics is most visible, and most effective, when observing the way in which SMIs are able to embody the brands they themselves attach their name to. This is evident through an Australian power SMI through her collaboration with an activewear label, which involved designing her own
305 collection sold through the brand (Figure 1.3). The SMI consistently presents herself wearing her own collection, both in everyday life and whilst working out, conveying a fusing of the PB and the OB. The effectiveness of this collaboration is evident through the brand’s website crashing on the launch day, needing to constantly restock the items due to selling out, as well as inviting the SMI to design a second collection for the brand.
Figure 1.2. A power SMI PB fusing with the object (activewear) brand.
Here the SMI’s affective capital has not only effectively been extended onto the OB (Belk, 2013) – they have virtually fused. She is offering to her consumer base the consumption of the OB (activewear line) as a pathway to access the SMI’s wholesome lifestyle. In contemporary consumer culture where consumers are encouraged to use commodities to create and display their lifestyles (Arvidsson, 2006), owning and wearing a piece of the SMI/PB’s activewear collection provides a pathway for an ordinary consumer to enact her seemingly healthy lifestyle as a fit and successful entrepreneur. A follower is presented with the opportunity to dress in the same attire as the SMI, and attempt to consciously live their lifestyle, a notion that reflects that
306 consumer selves can be effectively expressed and attained through consumption choices (Belk, 1988, 2013). These OB collaborations visually present the (PB) self as “as a project, available for sale by purchasing products promoted” (Baker & Rojek, 2019, p. 4). This reinforces one of the roles an SMI fulfils, especially within the lifestyle sector, highlighting particular brands and constellations of brands that define or signify a particular lifestyle or aesthetic. Namely, they become the conduit for the OB to PB relationship, building a bridge from their social sub-capital created online to transfer affective PB associations built online onto the OB as a means of facilitating consumers to attain their desire to emulate the SMIs’ lifestyles. As such lifestyles are shared online, presenting consumers with the benefits of an entrepreneurial self (Duffy & Hund, 2015; Marwick, 2013), the assemblage of OBs that help construct the PB become increasingly desired by ordinary consumers. Whilst the consumers themselves may not be OBs as the SMIs they follow, they offer a tangible way in which they can aspire to and adopt a seemingly attainable desired lifestyle. Thus, SMIs serve as a significant emotional mediating connector between OBs and consumer publics and become vital in facilitating consumer–OB lifestyle assemblage matches within the social media space. This role is ultimately reminiscent of more traditional cultural intermediaries such as an advertising agency, which helps connect an OB to the consumer by building communication connections (creating affective or cognitive campaigns). SMIs serve a similar role in the online space, with one important difference: they are themselves a PB that therefore has strong affective capital to value-add to the OBs they showcase. In defining the role of advertising practitioners as cultural intermediaries, Cronin (2004) could easily be describing SMIs, both of which are essentially cultural workers who “mediate between the needs of producers and the desires of consumers” (p. 350). This is particularly of use within the context of the increasing fragmentation of social life and the immense variety of consumption options. The need for consumer assistance in “deciphering the increasingly complex cultural terrain” (Cronin, 2004, p. 351) therefore becomes apparent. Hence, it is the SMIs themselves who occupy this position as a consumption intermediary, humanising, legitimising and fixing OBs within their particular lifestyle assemblages offering a heuristic choice to consumers who emotionally connect with them as PBs.
307 1.2 The SMI as Creators of the Unwritten Rules of Status SMIs as emotional/human connectors between OBs and consumer publics, essentially assume the role of creators/legitimisers of unwritten rules of social status online. Building upon Bourdieu’s (1994) field theory, SMIs can be seen as building a contemporary iteration of the doxa or unwritten rules of status, when they assist consumers to identify and emulate consumption or fashion trends. In explaining his notions of the habitus, Bourdieu (1994) utilises the terms to resolve the question of, “How can behaviour be regulated without being the product of obedience to rules?” (p. 65). Employing the framework of habitus, it can thus be argued that SMIs display their social consumption assemblage. Subsequently, they become the “creators” or writers of rules for their followers on social media, offering a public stage from which to display their lifestyle (Hogan, 2010), through the OBs and the rules by which they consume these. Social media sites can thus be viewed as platforms for “the performance and presentation of a commodified self” (Flisfeder, 2015, p. 554), built up over time through distinct forms of metacapital (Couldry, 2003). The significance of this for an SMI’s status, however, is intensified from the ordinary user. SMIs offer their followers a way to emerge from their existing dispositions (dispotif) through aligning their behaviour with an SMI, who through their follower count (social capital) has been deemed significant within their online social system. A follower can thus make consumption choices that are (both implicitly and explicitly) influenced by the ability to directly align their consumer choices with the SMI they follow. This reflects a “perfect fit like a glove” (Allen, 2002, p. 515) between the consumption choice, and both the consumer’s embodied self and that of the SMI. This FLAG (fits-like-a-glove) framework (Allen, 2002) is elevated within the SMI field, as SMI beginnings as ordinary individuals who have developed capital online become crucial in their display of more attainable and local consumption choices. Namely, the follower can align their consumer selves through consumption choices with an SMI, achieved through buying what the SMI is selling, eating what the SMI consumes, and visiting the same places they do, to name a few. Hence, the SMI is aspirational (in the same way as a celebrity is), yet is simultaneously attainable, presenting their PB as an average person, who visits local places, buys chain store clothes, and consumes protein shakes after a workout and whose everyday life (curated though it may be) is laid bare online. This dual positioning is what makes following an SMI so compellingly attainable and desirable and why they can, and do, act as a successful conduit to OB consumption. It is also what makes the
308 study of SMIs so significant, as their ability to filter the OB choices is immensely more accessible and attainable and therefore more seductive than what a “real life” celebrity may offer. In addition to creating the aspirational life, as asserted by Maton (2014 cited in Grenfell, 2014), the social field can be conceived as a “competitive game” or “field of struggles” in which actors strategically improvise in their quest to maximise their positions” (Grenfell, 2014, p. 53). Social media as a platform makes visible this “field of struggles” (Bourdieu, 1983, p. 312) – whilst simultaneously providing a strategic blueprint of how to achieve this through following the rules/doxa the SMIs reveal to them through their showcased consumption of particular OBs as embodying an aspirational/desired lifestyle. The SMIs hence provide their instructional consumption patterns (templates even) to achieving the doxa or unwritten rules of the game. Doxa can also be conceived through the aesthetic of Instagram, and its position as a visual platform (Highfield & Lever, 2016). This visual aesthetic (often encapsulated through the feed, as referenced in the preceding essays), is obvious to the trained observer yet may not be obvious to the consumer, who only sees it as pattern of style rules set in place by the SMI. SMIs themselves are not always conscious of their aesthetic style, as when questioned in interviews, many respondents were unable to identify exactly what elements created their curated, visual aesthetic style, though they commonly acknowledged it as crucial to their growth and success as an SMI. Thus, this unconscious playing by these “rules of the game” (Deer as cited in Grenfell, 2014, p. 117) present in the social world allows them to ultimately legitimise themselves as an SMI and subsequently grow and sustain their following to the point of being able to set the rules themselves. These images (that follow aesthetic rules) uploaded and displayed to their social media audiences, like any repetition of ideas within the social world, “contribute to the reproduction of the ruling of doxa” (Deer as cited in Grenfell, 2014, p. 123). Subsequently, the evolving SMI aesthetic ultimately becomes embedded within the online world and is continually mimicked by brands (Colliander & Marder, 2017) and other SMIs, as well as those aspiring to become SMIs themselves. Instagram SMIs in this process make a distinction between taste as both a barrier (setting one above the other as a form of prestige), and as a form of affiliation (such as identifying others with similar tastes so as to “belong”) (McQuarrie, Miller, & Phillips, 2012). Hence, SMIs have to first recognise and play by the doxa, then later as they grow their following, are able to start writing the rules/doxa themselves.
309 Namely, they first use taste as a form of affiliation (to belong to a subcultural or aesthetic group on Instagram and play by the doxa). Then as they acquire more social capital, they can use taste as a form of distinction in a more prestigious manner, as a taste leader. Hence, rather than cultural capital, it is social capital, and in particular affective sub-capital, that gives SMIs the authority to speak and write the rules because they belong, and subsequently define, a particular aesthetic of consumption. The SMI field is therefore continually changing and evolving. However, it is necessary to recognise that to enter it initially requires an understanding and acceptance of how the legitimation of online status works. Their subsequent accumulation of social capital allows these individuals to create a significant online social following and acquire status and standing within the field.
1.3 The Construction of Aspirational Lifestyle Assemblages Instagram as a platform has far exceeded any initial conceptions of its potential influence on the wider social world. Its infiltration of the marketplace, and its effects on consumption (Abidin, 2014; Marwick, 2015; Toffoletti & Thorpe, 2018), are both far- reaching and difficult to quantify. One of the most visible aspects of Instagram’s effect on the marketplace is the projection of aspirational lifestyle assemblages that individuals can expose to others online through visual posts and stories. When this is amplified by a large follower base (the “megaphone effect” McQuarrie, Miller, & Phillips, 2014), such lifestyle assemblages become an aspirational vision for individuals to emulate as a means of enacting SMIs’ way of living. The ability for SMIs to monetise this lifestyle is by making it inherently and increasingly consumable. This is reinforced by Schöps, Kogler and Hemetsberger (2017) who assert, “Instagram has become a primarily visual digital marketplace where user interests and commercial interests meet and collide” (p. 1). Despite this acknowledgement of the platform as a digital marketplace, it is more than just monetary exchanges that occur (Russo, 2011). Rather, Instagram also functions as a space of “massive textual and visual conversations and negotiations” (Schöps, Kogler, & Hemetsberger, 2017, p. 3). Here, “successful fashion blogs represent a public display of taste, and fashion products and their brands are intrinsic, rather than extrinsic to the taste asserted” (McQuarrie, Miller, & Phillips, 2014, p. 153). This link between taste and brands reinforcing the importance of brand to brand relationship match. McQuarrie, Miller and Phillips’ (2014) employment of Bourdieu and capital in the context of fashion blogs is significant here.
310 However, this thesis has built upon their work in laying bare the processes and implications for the creation of brand-to-brand affective capital. As established, how well the OB matches up the PB is vital, and it is the narrative of the PB that enables the linkage and fusing of the two to occur. SMIs as PBs thus produce a megaphone effect for particular individual visual aesthetic styles (McQuarrie, Miller, & Phillips, 2014), as do OBs, through (the SMI PBs) encouraging consumer-generated content in line with their “brand-related cultural scripts” (Schöps, Kogler, & Hemetsberger, 2017, p. 13). Hence, just as advertising practitioners use past campaigns as benchmarks (Cronin, 2004), SMIs rely on past posts (both theirs and their peers) to understand what posts generate the best engagement with their followers and thus reproduce and advance such lifestyles and trends. Hence, SMIs are also tasked with having to continually “prove” themselves as influential and embodying of a positive lifestyle, in order to maintain their position as mediator between the producers and consumers, as a PB. Research on brand assemblages has identified the role social media technologies have in “disruption and potentially altering the meanings of brands” (Rokka & Canniford, 2015, p. 2). Initiating a collaboration with an SMI/PB, especially when it is filtered through an agency, offers a way for brands to attempt to “stabilise” and enact some control over how the brand is spoken about on social media. A positive association through a trusted SMI thereby assists in stabilising brand meanings through the SMI as a trusted conduit to their followers, integrating the OB into the PB’s lifestyle. This is particularly of use when brand meanings are increasingly fluid, with immense opportunities for any individuals to post about brands online, potentially negatively destabilising brand narratives created over time (Parmentier & Fischer, 2015). Hence, whilst posts on Instagram can perform functions in line with retailers (Carah & Shaul, 2016) and serve as a window display, SMIs move beyond this position, through actively embodying and “animating” products so they become easier to emotionally or affectively connect to. Hence, the affective capital links the consumption flows through the SMI as an intermediary to animate the OB. Understanding SMIs in this way presents one strategy for overcoming the challenges of brand management through uncontrolled social postings (Rokka & Canniford, 2015, p. 20), as well as connecting the OB visibly, creating and maintaining positive associations. Hence, as discussed in the previous paper, co-creation of brand meaning is established through both the OB itself and the SMI as a person brand.
311 Such co-creation can enhance engagement with the OB (Johnson, Dretsch, & Kirmani, 2014), assisting in the development of a symbiotic relationship between the OB and PB. The implications for OBs are to therefore carefully select SMIs who offer optimal brand match, between the OB and PB, as discussed in Essay Three. Strategies such as creating a longer-term retainer for content creation between an SMI and brand (rather than a singular collaboration post) offer an increased likelihood of the OB becoming aligned within the SMI lifestyle assemblage, hence increasing the likelihood of resulting consumption by their followers. As discussed, this becomes most effective when the SMI is able to integrate their name into OBs themselves (such as in Figure 1.3) and share their control over the design process. It is therefore acknowledged that there is a fine line between having the PB and OB so fused, and maintaining the necessary “disinterested distance” (Bourdieu, 1983) for authenticity and affective trustworthiness with the SMIs’ consumer base. The closer this process is, the more embedded the OB becomes within the SMIs’ lifestyle assemblage, hence offering a direct connection for their followers to access their lifestyles as shared online, through consumption.
1.4 Contributions to Social Media Study As the social media landscape continues to expand, and both individuals and brands use platforms such as Instagram for the growth of capital in its various forms, this thesis has contributed to this area of study. With little in-depth consumption research on SMIs on Instagram and SMIs’ place within the industry, this study helps build contributions to nuanced methodological approaches to textual and visual narratives. Guided by Rose (2016), both visual and textual data was analysed to reflect their purposeful construction to create an intended and cohesive meaning. This involved careful visual analysis of purposeful positioning within Instagram captures and the intentional connection between the image upload and caption, including the use of keywords and hashtags. To obtain the full and comprehensive meaning from such data requires an ability to contextually situate the posts with the SMI context, including understanding the often-hidden requirements of collaborations between brands. The lexicon and practices of use within the platform calls for more in-depth analysis of the image from a dual standpoint of both the SMI/brand and the consumer/audience, necessitating analysis beyond initial qualitative value. It is subsequently
312 recommended that future methodology on SMIs’ social media posts considers this dual need in order to reach a comprehensive and useful level of interpretation. From a theoretical standpoint, each of the three essays contained within this thesis assist in explaining the complex positioning of the SMI and their place within the Instagram world. The three essays help to explain how affective capital works to bind the OB with the SMI as a PB, through collaborations and the intertwined narratives of the PB and OB. Uniquely, this research therefore brings together an understanding of SMIs as mediated and produced by SMI agencies, while serving as consumption intermediaries themselves – leveraging their affective capital online to bind consumers closer to OBs. The data analysed has revealed the significance of the process whereby SMIs (PB) interchange with (object) brands’ narratives of value co- creation, forming, building and constantly maintaining strong affective capital that cements (person) brand to (object) brand relationships. The intensity of the affective links created by the SMI around themselves as PB and the OB is key to capturing these consumer publics as is the affective labour value- add that OBs seek in the SMI field (Figure 1.2). The intertwining of the OB and PB narratives is the process by which SMIs transfer affective capital onto the OB. SMIs thus hold a complex and crucial role within this ever-expanding digital economy. This necessitates an in-depth understanding of their creation, maintenance and growth of Instacapital. Their relationship with brands and, ultimately, their existence as an independent and successfully functioning brand themselves is therefore a crucial addition to social media study. Specifically, SMIs act as consumption intermediaries who enable and animate a brand through connecting them to their own PBs through their consumption narratives, subsequently offering an aspirational and consumable lifestyle available to purchase and consume.
313
Figure 1.3. SMI brand-to-brand relationship.
1.5 Implications for Marketers Each of the three essays have outlined gaps in the understanding and study of social media platforms as a field of potential economic endeavour, and has subsequently presented a comprehensive theoretical understanding of SMIs and their mediating use of social capital within the online field. This is of practical use to marketers and brand managers as they increasingly look to SMIs to assist the construction and maintenance of brand meanings (Gensler, Völckner, Liu-Thompkins, & Wiertz, 2013) within a fragmented and fluid online world. Hence, when deciding to work with SMIs as PBs, as well as selecting which SMIs to work with, consideration of the (Person) brand to (Object) brand match needs to be assessed carefully. This could be delineated in three stages, each detailed by the essays within this thesis. First, marketers should have an in-depth understanding of the social media landscape and the various actors involved in the field and potential for co-creation of content. Employing cultural intermediaries (such as a reputable SMI agency) is increasingly available, in order to utilise SMIs effectively and reach intended objectives and
314 consumers. The key processes where input is needed is how the SMIs can help use their accumulated affective capital to attach meanings to brands. This is particularly worthwhile to brand managers whose control over brand meanings and narratives can become disrupted through consumers posting online or subverting brand meaning (Rokka & Canniford, 2016). Second, brand managers should consider the growth of SMIs (Essay Two) and the several features that contributed to their growth of social capital. Engaging in collaborations that distance an SMI from the audience they have constructed over time by forcing collaborations that do not align or threaten their existing online presence (commercial legitimacy, disinterested distance, follower verification, consistency aesthetics and authenticity) are detrimental, and reduce the effect of any potential affective meaning transfer to the OB. Moreover, misaligned collaborations serve to reduce the legitimacy of the SMI themselves and reduces their likelihood of working with the brand in the future. Finally, recognition that the SMI is a PB themselves reinforces the need to achieve a brand match in order to leverage the affective capital of the SMI. This is not a traditional “endorsement” by a celebrity. If the SMI’s audience is not interested in the object, the potential for a successful transfer is diminished. If the brand-to-brand relationship is closely aligned, however, this affective capital transfer has a higher chance of succeeding. Additionally, the SMI is more likely to grant exposure beyond the agreed contract, showing the OB as closely integrated into their life and style. For example, wearing the clothing item in an SMI’s everyday life as showcased in posts or Instastories adds additional benefit to the initial sponsored post by increasing authenticity to consumers. Hence, strong brand matches between OBs and SMIs as PBs offer greater opportunity for followers to attempt to emulate the SMIs’ consumption behaviour within an aspirational (yet attainable) lifestyle assemblage. Hence, brand managers should consider SMIs as a form of relatable window shopping – a consumption intermediary showing OBs in use, allowing them to become personified and humanised within an everyday curated lifestyle, which is both simultaneously attainable and aspirational. Employing SMIs in this way will increase the likelihood of a successful collaboration that increases brand value and is therefore crucial for SMIs, SMI agencies and brands alike.
315 1.6 Limitations This thesis has aimed to build a sociological and theoretical understanding of a social media platform as a field with structures, types of capital/sub-capital and processes of transfer from a consumption perspective. The study has therefore traced how SMIs accumulate social capital online (in particular, affective sub-capital) (Arvidsson, 2006; Bourdieu, 1986) and subsequently employ this capital to emotionally connect OBs to their own PB and offer as a kind of consumption intermediary lifestyle/consumption assemblages to their consumers to consume. Whilst comprehensive, this research is not an exhaustive study and hence holds some limitations. One limitation of this data was the use of a pool of SMIs consisting only of females. Whilst this reflects the current gender makeup of the SMI landscape, which lends itself to feminine capital (Huppatz, 2009), expanding the sample to include male SMIs could provide additional context and comparisons. This could be specifically for brand managers considering engagement with SMIs for brands with a more balanced gendered audience. Similarly, a further limitation of this study is its focus on the Australian SMI industry. Whilst this enabled a close study of a local industry, a cross-cultural comparison would be of use for extending the results of this research. Studies on SMIs in overseas contexts (such as Singaporean lifestyle bloggers: Abidin, 2017; Sinanan, Graham, & Zhing, 2014), could thus be consulted to initiate a more global perspective of social media study. Additionally, the SMIs and agencies interviewed gave their input on their own specific situational perspectives of their experiences in the SMI industry. Whilst this offered key insights, a longitudinal study to pertain how social capital develops over time, as well as the ability to trace changes in the SMI processes, would be of use.
1.7 Future research The role of SMIs and their place within the online economy is continually expanding, however, there remains much to explore, especially as the SMI field continues to grow and develop. Future research should therefore assist in continuing to explicate this subject of research, specifically the significant implications for brands, SMI intermediaries and the SMIs themselves. The findings within this thesis rely on the Australian SMIs across micro, macro and power status. Whilst applicable to the wider SMI industry when such contexts mirror the Australian industry, it is recognised that the local industry is a smaller market and hence, such research on a global scale could result in some differences in the data (Backaler, 2018). In addition, future research
316 would benefit from consumer perspectives through interview data of SMI followers and their subsequent purchasing behaviour (Lim, Radzl, Chea, & Wong, 2017). Moreover, expanding research to also cover SMIs on other platforms, particularly YouTube (Schwemmer & Ziewiecki, 2018), could reveal potential differences pertaining to this study that may arise on various social media platforms. In line with such expansion of research, it would be of use to consider demographic and gendered differences in such behaviour and the impact strength of transfer of affective capital from SMIs to brands. Future studies of SMIs should therefore continue to examine SMIs as consumption intermediaries who personify, humanise, curate and fix meanings to OBs using the affective capital of their PB constructed online.
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324 Appendices
Appendix A: Sample Semi-Structured Interview Questions for SMIs
1. When did you start your Instagram account? 2. Was your account always health/wellness focused? 3. Could you describe the general style and content of your Instagram account? 4. Is there any content you generally avoid posting? 5. Were you interested in health, fitness and wellbeing before Instagram? 6. Would you describe your Instagram as ‘personal’ or ‘business’? 7. Where do you source your information on health, fitness and wellbeing from? 8. Do you prescribe to a particular diet, i.e. vegan, paleo? If so, does this effect your social media following? 9. How often do you post information about what you eat and when you exercise on social media? 10. What are social media accounts you regularly use? How much time/attention do you devote to them in contrast to Instagram? 11. Do you consider yourself a ‘digital influencer’? At what stage did you first consider this? 12. Could you describe the growth of your Instagram account? 13. How much time per a week do you spend creating content for Instagram? Has this changed since you first began your account? 14. How often do you work with brands? Could you describe this process? 15. Could you show me a post where you engage with a brand and describe the process of how the photo and caption eventuated? 16. Are you ever paid for your posts? If so, how are your rates negotiated? 17. Do you ever engage with influencer agencies? What do you think about these agencies? 18. Do you have an agent? If no, would you consider having one in the future? 19. What opportunities have arisen through your following? 20. Could you talk me through your favourite opportunity/moment of being a social media influencer so far?
325 21. Do you ever attend ‘industry’ events? Would you consider these networking opportunities? 22. Are you friends, or do you work with other ‘digital influencers’? 23. Have you ever been recognised in public based on your Instagram? 24. Do you view being a social media influencer as a long-term career? How long do you foresee yourself being an influencer?
326 Appendix B: Ethics Approval
327