Clouds are gathering over the golden world of online influence

2023-05-05 17:42:24

Shaken by repeated scandals and undermined by scams, the golden world of influencers on social networks is now paying for its excesses with new rules and sanctions imposed by the authorities, but the sector remains flourishing.

Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, who supports a bill currently under discussion in parliament to regulate online influence, announced this week that a list of influencers “who have not followed the rules” would be revealed “in the coming days”.

Out of 50 checks carried out in the first quarter, 30 influencers were in violation, according to the latest campaign of checks by the DGCCRF, responsible for ensuring compliance with consumer rights, published on Wednesday.

“None was transparent as to the commercial nature of his approach and the identity of the person on whose behalf he was acting,” said the institution which is preparing to issue 18 injunctions to cease illicit practices and 16 trials. – penal verbal.

In order to improve the image of a controversial sector, the new Union of Influence Trades and Content Creators (Umicc) published a column in the JDD at the end of March asking not to “break the virtuous model” of marketing. of influence because of a “minority” of influencers.

The Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire at the National Assembly, May 2, 2023 in Paris (AFP – Bertrand GUAY)

Some signatories, among the best known on the web, have dissociated themselves from the text but, in essence, all seek to stand out from the bad actors and point the finger at the practices of reality TV stars, who are largely in the minority.

“You should know that of the 200,000 creators in France, only 1% come from reality TV,” relativizes to AFP Bastien Tardy, influence expert at Reech. “Some respect the rules, others do not respect them, they are overrepresented” in the controversies, according to him.

Influencers from this background have, for years, displayed a luxurious lifestyle, assumed for some their tax exile in Dubai and promoted various controversial products to their often young audience, from crypto-assets to cosmetic surgery operations, including money games.

– Reality show –

On Twitter, the rapper Booba is committed once morest those he calls “influvoleurs”, alongside a collective “to help the victims of influencers”.

Influencer Magali Berdah, September 14, 2022 in Paris (AFP/Archives - Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
Influencer Magali Berdah, September 14, 2022 in Paris (AFP/Archives – Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)

In a virulent crusade made up of personal attacks and unsourced videos, he denounced the practices of Magali Berdah, boss of the agency Shauna Events, specializing in relations between many personalities from TV and brands. Now isolated, she accuses him of cyberbullying.

Unstoppable, Booba recently targets new social media figures, including Dylan Thiry, who appeared on the show “Koh Lanta” in 2017, whom he accuses of promoting child trafficking, or Maeva Ghennam (“Les Marseillais”), who announced that he needed a “break”.

But these repeated controversies seem far from compromising the outlook for the sector.

According to a study by Reech, carried out in partnership with the Regulatory Authority for archyde news Professionals (ARPP) and the Union des Marques (UDM), 78% of advertisers declared in 2022 that they intended to increase their budget dedicated to influence.

Globally, the market, which has more than doubled in size since 2019, might reach $40 billion in 2025, according to Statista. It has been helped in particular by the boom in time spent online during the pandemic and the rise of Tiktok.

Rapper Booba, July 15, 2022 in La Rochelle (AFP/Archives - ROMAIN PERROCHEAU)
Rapper Booba, July 15, 2022 in La Rochelle (AFP/Archives – ROMAIN PERROCHEAU)

The application’s algorithm is particularly suitable for bringing out new profiles, a generation of influencers who do not come from television.

And the brands are joining: according to a report by influencer marketing firm Izea, the revenue per content of influencers with less than 200,000 subscribers has increased since 2020, while those of stars with larger audiences have decreased.

In September, the ARPP, which awards certification of responsible influence following training, also claimed that transparency was improving, following sifting through 30,000 content on Instagram, Youtube or Tiktok.

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