Ethical Considerations in Influencer Marketing Literature Review CMST 3590 Media Ethnography Influencer marketing has become the most significant development in the marketing industry in the last decade. It has created an incredibly complex online ecosystem with many influencers and an even larger audience. Due to the parasocial relationships created on social media, audiences tend to feel like they know and trust influencers. Marketers have become increasingly aware of mass media's decline and social media marketing's rise. In turn, small and large businesses alike have poured tons of money and energy into influencers. Ultimately, social media influencers are decisive in the marketing world nowadays. But as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. In modern-day influencer marketing, assessing the ethical considerations and challenges influencers face in maintaining transparency, authenticity, and integrity in their sponsored content and partnerships is essential. Anyone can become an influencer; therefore, discerning the ethics of influencer marketing takes a lot of work. Yesiloglu & Costello (2021) explain that there is no preeminent professional organization for social media influencers, so there is no ethical framework for them to look to. Other fields, such as public relations and journalism, have organizations that can guide them, such as the Public Relations Society of America or the Society of Professional Journalists in America. While there is no code of ethics in the influencer industry, there is a general agreement about what drives their ethical decision-making. Yesiloglu & Costello (2021) conducted a study with media professionals that showed that most influencers tend to hold authenticity as a moral principle. They consider authenticity when navigating "which commercial brands to work with, what type of content to produce, how to disclose financial relationships to audiences, and whether to obscure practices that might otherwise damage their personal brands.” Influencers are sometimes faced with ethical conundrums when identifying sponsored posts and partnerships. The research of Fisher et al. (2021) on the role of disclosure in building trust with audiences has been underscored and they think that hidden endorsement payment must be considered as deceitful advertising and ethical violation. Influencers should avoid mixing up the promotion of brands and products with their organic posts so that their audience doesn’t get confused. Not informing partners well enough can result in getting backlash, lack of credibility, and even legal punishment. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) does have endorsement disclosure guidelines, however at times the rules are not clear, and they may not be enforced uniformly, creating a gray area for influencers to navigate. Hence, influencers must emphasize openness and ethical disclosure to earn and keep their followers’ loyalty. Another moral dilemma for bloggers is keeping their content and their brand partnerships authentic. Leung et al. in 2022 introduce the “authentic influencer marketing concept” that focuses on the similarity between influencers’ beliefs and the brands promoted by them. Sometimes, endorsements of products or services that do not match with an influencer's personality and beliefs can be seen as inauthentic and result in lost trust. Influencers need to be selective when it comes to brand partnerships and make sure these align with their brand and speak to their target audience. However, influencers should also consider the consequences of excess commercialization which can make their content resemble a continuous stream of sponsored posts that are not believed to be genuine in the eyes of their followers. Integrity is among the foremost ethical aspects for influencers. Kim & Kim (2021) write about the necessity of influencers having editorial control over their content and avoiding situations when brands try to exert undue influence and set restrictions on their artistic freedom. Influencers who put money above art will lose their audience and disconnect from the brand. Defending the line between sponsored content and personal viewpoints is important for ethical purposes. Beyond this, influencers should be keen to avoid unethical actions like buying fake followers, misleading the reach of their product, or promoting goods and services with unproven or harmful claims. Along with this, ethical concerns regarding the harmful impact of influencers’ content on vulnerable groups, including children and adolescents, should be taken into consideration. Wellman and colleagues (2020) among others look into the possible negative effects of influencer marketing on body image, consumerism, and other related social pathologies. The duty of the influencers is to understand how they can affect the youth, especially those who can be used to propagate negative propaganda. For example, marketing unrealistic beauty standards or unhealthy products can bring poor body image or self-esteem to adolescents. Hence, influencers should integrate positive, comprehensive, and adolescent-centered media materials. Besides that, regularity and appropriate regulation of influencer marketing give rise to ethical concerns as well. Jun & Yi (2020) underline the necessity of the industry confidentiality of the guidelines and rules dealing with consumer rights and ethical business practices. Because the influencer field is changing rapidly, influencers need to be educated and update their strategies in order to be ethical and to live by the law. These efforts would involve cooperating with regulators, emulating the industry’s leading examples, and promoting self-regulation to maintain ethical standards. In the context of the continuous growth and expansion of influencer marketing, it becomes of utmost importance to design a clear set of ethical standards that will be used to protect consumers and restore the reputation of the entire industry. References Fisher, C., Flew, T., Park, S., Lee, J. Y., & Bullock, U. (2021). Improving trust in news: Audience solutions. Journalism Practice, 15(10), 1497-1515. Jun, S., & Yi, J. (2020). What makes followers loyal? The role of influencer interactivity in building influencer brand equity. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 29(6), 803-814. Kim, D. Y., & Kim, H. Y. (2021). Trust me, trust me not: A nuanced view of influencer marketing on social media. Journal of Business Research, 134, 223-232. Leung, F. F., Gu, F. F., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022). Online influencer marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(2), 226-251. Wellman, M. L., Stoldt, R., Tully, M., & Ekdale, B. (2020). Ethics of authenticity: Social media influencers and the production of sponsored content. Journal of Media Ethics, 35(2), 68-82. Yesiloglu, S., & Costello, J. (2021). Influencer Marketing Building brand communities and Engagement. Routledge.
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