By Zia Darakshan
Promotion of products, services, events and brands has undergone a sea change. This change has made the traditional mode of advertising and promotion redundant and it is the social media which has been driving this change. The impact of social media does not need any endorsement and there is no soul which has not been influenced by this mass media.
Over a period of time, social media proved an effective platform for a breed of people who later came to be known as influencers. These are the people who create and share content on this platform, often focusing on specific genres or topics about which they have knowledge or expertise. These influencers have been attracting sponsorships and collaborations from companies in various sectors based on their audience and the content they produce. We have been seeing companies approaching influencers for partnerships depending on the influencer’s niche, reach, and the demographic makeup of their followers. This collaboration has been allowing companies to leverage the influencer’s audience for promotional purposes.
PAST
Let’s journey back to the era of traditional promotion, devoid of the internet and influencers. TV, cinema, newspapers, and hoardings were the primary channels for brand promotion. Celebrities were the trusted ambassadors, and their endorsement carried significant weight. Consumers, influenced by their favorite stars, would rush to purchase products without hesitation, confident that celebrities wouldn’t endorse fake or fraudulent items.
In those days, the bond between consumers and companies endured, shaped by the authentic association between celebrities and endorsed products. For instance, the iconic Saritaji ad, featuring the renowned actress from the popular DD serial ‘Udaan,’ portrayed her as a symbol of goodness. Surf Excel wisely capitalized on this connection, making her their brand ambassador, and the combination of Saritaji and the whiteness of Surf Excel remains exceptional.
PRESENT
Move on to the contemporary world, where customers remain loyal ,but technology has undergone a changeover. TV gave way to the internet, and the internet steered in the era of social media. The shift in influence moved from beloved TV and Bollywood personalities to social media influencers, with an added emphasis on regional influencers. Social media became the new frontier due to its accessibility, available at the tap of a phone screen anywhere in the world.
In this evolving landscape, people view product endorsements by influencers as personal recommendations rather than sales pitches. Trust has transitioned from TV and Bollywood personalities to social media influencers. Consumers now place greater trust in the influencer, seeing them as relatable personalities rather than distant corporate entities.
Precisely, the role of influencers has become pivotal. With their power to persuade, influencers bear a heightened responsibility.
KASHMIR STORY
In the era of social media dominance, Kashmiri influencers too have emerged as powerful voices, whose digital charisma and online presence have afforded them considerable sway over public opinion. They influence not only in their niche but also branching out as authorities in diverse fields.
Take the case of the recent financial fraud in Kashmir that shook the confidence of general masses. Actually, a Chennai based online investment firm, Curative Survey, operating under the guise of launching beauty products, conned thousands in Jammu and Kashmir. The firm had claimed doubling of money in 15 days, but allegedly robbed people of their hard earned money and vanished in thin air overnight leaving gullible people in lurch.
Local social media influencers played a double role in the scam. Two influencers, one from Jammu and another from Baramulla, reportedly played a pivotal role in convincing people to invest in the scheme. Their endorsement, targeting mainly students and homemakers, lured people with promises of substantial returns.
Contrary to this, another group of local influencers exposed the doubtful operations of the company as a scam.
Here, to gain a clearer insight, it merits high priority to unknot the deceptive intricacies of the company’s trap. Basically, it operated as a Ponzi scheme.
What is a Ponzi Scheme?
A Ponzi scheme, named after its originator Charles Ponzi in 1919, is a deceitful investment scam offering unrealistically high returns with little to no risk. The scheme relies on a continuous influx of new investors to pay returns to earlier ones, creating a chain that inevitably collapses when new investments cease.
The modus operandi of Ponzi scheme
To grasp the workings of a Ponzi Scheme, when someone is offering you remarkably high returns on an investment outside the formal financial system? Be watchful you might be stepping into a Ponzi trap.
The ‘Curative Survey’ Case:
In the ‘Curative Survey’ case, the Ponzi scheme preyed on people’s greed and fear, drawing them into a web of deceit. What makes this case particularly appalling is the alleged involvement of local influencers who endorsed the scheme, leading their followers into a financial abyss.
We commonly find people falling prey to such frauds either for being greedy or succumbing to the fear created by fraudsters. Despite high alerts against cyber frauds, people continue to fall in the trap of fraudsters and are lured to invest money in financial schemes they do not understand. Ultimately, they end-up losing their hard-earned money to a variety of frauds.
Online financial frauds have become an organized sector which is only growing in size with its operators mostly remaining untraced. If reports about loss of money in such frauds are taken into account, billions of dollars across the globe are lost by the gullible investors every year.
GROWING INFLUENCE OF LOCAL INFLUENCERS
J&K is witnessing a breed of influencers lately who, beyond their original content, delve into various domains, positioning themselves as modern-day polymaths. From lifestyle and fashion to academia and entrepreneurship, these people have become go-to figures for advice and opinions.
Are these influencers genuinely experts in every field they touch, or does their influence sometimes blur the line between genuine expertise and endorsements for personal gains?
As influencers assume roles as authorities, their audiences are often swayed by their opinions and recommendations. The trust bestowed upon these figures can lead followers to invest not only their time but also their resources in endeavors endorsed by influencers.
Many questions arise regarding the authority granted to influencers to endorse products without conducting proper fact checks. Moreover, the credibility of influencers comes into question when considering their qualifications to endorse products, especially in critical areas like financial investments.
The lack of knowledge and expertise among influencers raises concerns about their suitability to vouch for certain products or organizations. Why influencers choose to endorse entities without a comprehensive understanding becomes a critical question, especially when it comes to products or services that may have far-reaching consequences.
The authenticity of influencers, in general, is brought into doubt, prompting the need for governmental intervention.
CONCLUSION
Governments play a crucial role in safeguarding public interests, and there is a pressing need for regulations that curtail influencers from indiscriminately endorsing products from unknown companies. A blanket ban on such practices could be a necessary step to protect consumers from potential harm caused by ill-informed endorsements.
As the influence of social media personalities continues to grow, ensuring responsible practices among influencers becomes foremost for maintaining trust and preventing potential harm to the public. Government regulations can play a pivotal role in shaping ethical standards within the influencer industry.
Financial literacy campaign could provide an additional layer of caution to safeguard gullible people from being carried away by the lucrative offers of those operating within our system.
To sum up , ‘You can bring egg out of hen not hen out of egg’,logic prevails and influencers must understand it.
Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer
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