Exploitation but make it collaboration 

We’re sure the title of this blog gave it away but, in case you didn’t realize, we’re going to be talking about influencer collaboration. Before you mention it, yes, we get the irony of a digital marketing agency covering this topic but, hey, acceptance is the first step right?

So, what is influencer collaboration? Technically, it is a partnership to leverage the reach of an existing content creator who has built a large following and strong brand reputation to support and endorse a brand to increase brand awareness and drive sales. In reality, it is an unpaid internship that’s a tad more exploitative (we pay our interns, don’t come at us). 

With influencers having a wide reach and personal connection with their audience, they have become the perfect vehicles for brand promotion. Gone are the days when brands felt the need to pump money into high production TVCs featuring celebrities, because as the capitalism bible says, you don’t make millions by paying for labour. 

The influencer market hits the real sweet spot for brands – an unregulated market with no real bounds on what is ethically acceptable. So as expected, huge brands that once paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to celebrities, won’t part with even a penny for influencers. 

They send their products to influencers who are expected to market them for absolutely nothing in return. 

We love hearing success stories of people making it from nothing. Unfortunately, more often than not, that’s all it is – a story. The apparent “rise” to fame of influences like the Kardashians and the D’Amelio’s, led us to believe that their careers were built from scratch. However, dig a little deeper and you will find that many of the biggest ‘self-made’ influencers are backed by money and connections. Naturally, these influencers could afford to take up unpaid collaborations during their climb to fame and in the true essence of capitalism as we know it – the rich only get richer. 

While you have the self-made myth being peddled by the deluded rich, there exists the other side of the coin – content creators who hold no such privilege and rely on monetary remunerations for their labour. These influencers don’t have the option to say no because they lose the “opportunity” to someone who will say yes. There will always be someone who will say yes. People are replaceable, so to grow and stay relevant, you need to be cashing in on your “experience” currency.  

In recent years, influencers have started to speak up about their experiences of stolen content, unsound contracts, unpaid invoices and ignored calls. But when you become a “notorious activist”, you lose work. This makes influencers doubly vulnerable. Influencers work hard to create content and grow their audience, only to have big brands hitch a free ride. This form of exploitation has been gift wrapped so well that most people are unable to see it for what it is.

With the influencer industry growing and becoming an increasingly popular pursuit, this is an issue that definitely needs to be addressed. Until then remember, if you’re good at something never do it for free.