Applying Theoretical Perspectives to Social Media Influencers: A Content Analysis on Social Media Influencers the LaBrant Family

Introduction

The current media landscape invites people to share their lives with a mass audience on social media, often for monetary gain. Consequently, it is difficult to identify components of social media content that are genuine and real, versus tactics that are intentionally used to manipulate or mislead audiences. With the intersection of influencer marketing, social media platforms that were once places to connect family and friends are now intersections of entertainment and persuasion.

As we confront issues influenced by the abundance of information and misinformation online, particularly during the global pandemic, there is an urgent need for people to discern the difference between real information and fake information in online communications. In order to sufficiently understand a culture where millions of people are influenced, it is essential to increase our understanding of topics that are prevalent in today's society—the phenomenon of social media influencers and the cultural shift taking place in our society. The authors argue that in order to shift perceptions about information and communication on social media and focus on important topics such as pandemic management, it is imperative to understand the role we play in accepting information as worthy and significant. The authors infer that the more social media becomes a platform to make money, the more that people will participate with intent to persuade, and the more that persuasion and inauthentic relationships on social media become a cultural norm.

Managing information on social media is best understood when we recognize that no matter what the topic is, we all participate in how the media landscape changes (Jenkins, 2006; Jenkins, 2020), making it always relevant to examine the dynamics of information and communications on social media, particularly in niche environments where persuasion is flourishing. More specific, it is relevant to examine the presence of persuasion in the messages that social media influencers incorporate to communicate messages and influence behavior.

To comprehend our participation, the authors focus on social media influencers who are in the business of communication and persuasion, the LaBrant family. Their capacity to engage audiences and influence behavior makes this research relevant across disciplines and institutions. While the LaBrant family are entertainment-oriented influencers and do not focus on health care, the study of their persuasion techniques is significant for understanding how persuasion is used in social media during the global pandemic (Brossard et al., 2020).

Social media influencers exert influence and have established credibility with expansive social media audiences (Chung-Wha & Youn-Kyung, 2019). The social media influencers included in this content analysis illustrate basic concepts of influence and mass communication in a participatory culture, especially when considering communication strategies and human behaviors; their subscriber count illustrates their prominence as individuals who influence decision making.

This chapter is situated in principles that are applicable in any situation. Because of the pervasiveness of social media influencers, and the current need to identify influential communications on social media, the authors consider research that makes connections to the phycology of human behaviors and strategies for behavior change with COVID-19 (Brossard et al., 2020). When considering communication strategies, such as tailoring communications about the pandemic, the authors consider how “it is crucial for organizations to understand how different groups of users influence, receive, curate, and interact via social media” (Kilgour et al., 2105, p. 326). It is pertinent to learn about social media influencers and the tactics of manipulation that encourage people to comply with requests from others.