Over the last few years, social media platforms turned from being all about virtual socialization with people we know in person and following our favorite TV stars to the creator of new stars who get their publicity from sharing aspects of their daily lives or knowledge with whoever follows them on their social media accounts.
The increasingly growing number of followers on the accounts of Egyptian social media public figures, who label themselves as “influencers”, implies the presence of some impact on their audience. This is also apparent in how some social media figures manage to create a certain trend due to their wide popularity and reach. The trust and community-like relationship influencers manage to build with their followers make them like a treasure for businesses looking for promoting their products. However, the budget varies from a blogger or influencer to another in a non-controllable way.
“I am against the belief that everything promoted on a big account should be paid for or require a very big budget” said the Hijabi blogger, Chymaa Radwan. When the promotion is for a new brand, small project or an emerging business, this can be for free in order to support them.
Whenever there is a budget for promotion and needs requirements, I take a reasonable price, not an exaggerated one, according to Radwan. The bigger promotions require effort and the brands themselves have requirements so this should be paid.
Radwan added to “Trendify” that the exaggerated budgets of many bloggers should not be normalized and “at least I don’t like to do this”. The payment should be in correlation with the amount of effort put into the promotion not the amount of followers.
The product or business promotions that depend on influencers is based on the Return on Investment (ROI), According to Gamel E-Feky, business consultant. This means that the profits that the project will gain will increase in proportion after the influencers market the product.
El-Feky added that the social media bloggers or influencers estimate the fees they take for some promotion depending on their popularity, number of followers, ther accounts’ insights of potential reach and engagement.
“Influencers should be monitored and have their activity regulated” El-Feky said to “Trendify”. The practices of Egyptian influencers can be considered a hidden economy that is not censored by any way. Egypt should develop a system to regulate this industry like Saudi Arabia does where they give licenses to influencers to practise their work as a full time job.
El-Feky mentioned that what Egyptian social media bloggers do in promotional content is going “out of control” where some competitions of increasing followers bring about an average of no less than 2.5 million Egyptian pounds.
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