adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Business

No more clumpy lipgloss: How TikTok’s ‘deinfluencing’ trend became a marketing tactic

Published

2 years ago

 on

Just a few weeks ago, Lauren Rutherglen’s 10,000 TikTok followers would have expected advice on what beauty products to buy.

But as she rummaged through the creamy Glossier eyeshadows, Ilia serums and Charlotte Tilbury liquid bronzers in her drawer, the Calgary-based content creator was reminded of the expensive but disappointing products that the Internet had convinced her she needed.

So she made a “deinfluencing” video — a TikTok-coined term that describes the rejection of viral, cult-favourite beauty or lifestyle products (typically associated with influencer culture) in favour of more affordable choices.

“I just wanted to share my opinion on things that I was influenced as a consumer to buy and just didn’t really like,” Rutherglen told CBC News.

She doesn’t mince words during her TikTok video, which has upped her follower count by a few thousand. “It dries out, it’s hard to blend. I hate it. I hate it so much,” she says of one product. Wrinkling her nose at another, she claims that it “literally smells like rotting Play-Doh.”

But deinfluencing is a content strategy in itself, according to the Canadian creators, industry and marketing experts who spoke with CBC News. As the cost of living goes up, content creators are striving to build trust with audiences who can no longer afford the expensive products that some influencers get paid up to half a million dollars to promote.

A marketing strategy in itself

A young woman leans against a wall.
Lauren Rutherglen, a Calgary-based content creator, made a deinfluencing video that garnered thousands of likes. ‘I just wanted to share my opinion on things that I was influenced as a consumer to buy and just didn’t really like,’ Rutherglen said. (Maya Francis)

The deinfluencing hashtag on TikTok had accumulated over 228 million views as of Feb. 23.

Some TikTokers directed their followers away from trendy, pricey products that they felt were a disappointment or a waste of money, instead recommending cheaper, more functional alternatives (which they might still be paid to promote).

Why get the $50 Stanley tumbler when you can just get a water bottle, they asked? Why do you need $175 Ugg minis if you can buy a regular pair of boots? Why buy Kim Kardashian’s shapewear products if you can get inexpensive pantyhose?

A curated social media feed can serve the same purpose as a fashion magazine or a beauty catalogue, and users tend to follow people they trust will recommend high-quality products, said Jess Hunichen, the co-founder of Toronto talent management agency Shine.

“Trust is the number one commodity that these influencers have,” Hunichen said. Her firm represents about 250 people working in the influencer industry. “If they lose that with their audience, this whole thing goes away for them and they don’t want that.”

Deinfluencing is a tool that can build that trust, she added. It’s not unlike the in-person retail experience, where shoppers at a cosmetics store or a clothing boutique might seek advice or validation from a salesperson working the floor.

“When you have a sales associate say to you that you look amazing in everything you like, maybe they just want to sell,” she said. But taking a critical approach might have a more powerful — and lucrative — impact.

“When they say to you, ‘you know what, this looks incredible,’ [or] ‘I don’t love that colour on you,’ you immediately trust them,” because they’re willing to give you an honest answer, Hunichen said.

Rutherglen, who says she has acne and textured skin, uses her platform to connect with others who share her need for specialized products — but don’t want to be duped by an advertising or branding scheme.

Pedestrians walk by a large Sephora cosmetics store.
Deinfluencing is a tool that can build that trust, said Jess Hunichen, the co-founder of Toronto talent management agency Shine. (Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press)

“A lot of businesses [want] honest reviews from people that have communities of people who trust what they’re saying,” said Rutherglen. She doesn’t make an income from her social media, nor does expect to receive a sponsorship deal from the companies she criticized in the video — but it’s all water under the bridge.

“I would rather burn these bridges and be honest with everyone then sell something that I’ve either altered to look good or I just really don’t like and don’t use, because then [my followers will] be in the same boat that I was after purchasing all those products,” she added.

‘I don’t think anything’s accidental’

A woman wearing glasses poses for a professional headshot.
‘I think the message isn’t really about consuming less, but just consuming maybe more thoughtfully or intentionally,’ said Lia Haberman, an adjunct professor of influencer marketing at the University of California Los Angeles Extension. (Submitted by Lia Haberman)

Several critics have questioned whether deinfluencing indicates a rejection of the influencer industry, or whether the trend could backfire on content creators whose shunning of consumer culture leave a bad taste in the mouth of their sponsor brands.

The industry was worth about $16.4 billion in 2022, with the industry expected to grow to $21.1 billion in 2023, according to a report from research firm Influencer Marketing Hub. The experts featured in this story ballparked it around the same, with projections to keep growing.

“I don’t think anything’s accidental. I think influencers are very strategic, very intentional,” said Lia Haberman, a Canadian adjunct professor of influencer marketing at the University of California Los Angeles Extension, who wrote about the deinfluencing phenomenon in a recent article.

“It’s more of a curation strategy versus any kind of anti-consumer message,” added Haberman. “So they’ll tell you, ‘Don’t buy this mascara, but I love this one.’ … I think the message isn’t really about consuming less, but just consuming maybe more thoughtfully or intentionally.”

Rutherglen said that the trend is taking off as people who are worried about their employment status and a possible recession are making more thoughtful spending choices. “If you’re wanting to purchase something, you want it to be something that’s of value and reflects what you worked for and the money you earned.”

A photograph of makeup models is displayed in a cosmetics store.
Several critics have questioned whether deinfluencing indicates a rejection of the influencer industry, or whether the trend could backfire on content creators whose shunning of consumer culture leave a bad taste in the mouth of their sponsor brands. (Robert Bumsted/The Associated Press)

Jess Hankin, a Vancouver-based content creator who earns an affiliate commission from Amazon for her TikTok videos, agreed. She pointed to an incident in which the cosmetics company Tarte sent dozens of influencers on a glitzy three-day, all-inclusive trip to Dubai this past January.

“Sending a whole bunch of influencers just to have this little glamorous Instagram kind of life somewhere else, where so many of us are like, ‘dude, my mortgage is through the roof,’ or, ‘I can’t even afford to buy a house,’ is just not something that a lot of people want to see right now.”

Honesty is an influencer’s best currency

A woman with brown hair in a colourful costume sings into a microphone while standing powerfully on a stage lit bright red.
Doja Cat performs at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 24, 2022, in Indio, Calif. The singer last year complained about having to write a jingle for Mexican fast food joint Taco Bell on her social media feeds. (Amy Harris/Invision/The Associated Press)

The rush to “deinfluence” viral Internet products began around the same time that an American beauty influencer named Mikayla Nogueira posted a TikTok touting the powers of a L’Oreal mascara. “This looks like false eyelashes,” she said during the L’Oreal-sponsored video.

The criticism was swift: she was wearing actual false lashes, many of her followers said, and deliberately misleading her audience into buying the product.

“When you embrace a brand too fully, it can make it seem like you’re just embracing them or endorsing them because you have a contract and you know you’re sponsored by a brand,” said Haberman.

A recent marketing move by Taco Bell shows that brands might be warming up to a reverse psychology-style of promotion, she added. The Mexican fast food joint paid singer Doja Cat last year to complain about having to write a jingle for their brand on her social media feeds. It was negative attention — but attention nonetheless.

Taco Bell’s move “was deinfluencing before deinfluencing,” Haberman said. “Most companies are not that comfortable with the idea of, ‘we’re going to pay an influencer to complain about us or to say anything negative at all about our product or our brand.'”

“But I think kind of the braver, bolder, more progressive companies on social media are going to jump on this and find a way to turn it to their advantage.”

 

728x90x4

Source link

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Business

The #1 Skill I Look For When Hiring

Published

23 hours ago

 on

September 17, 2024

By

File this column under “for what it’s worth.”

“Communication is one of the most important skills you require for a successful life.” — Catherine Pulsifer, author.

I’m one hundred percent in agreement with Pulsifer, which is why my evaluation of candidates begins with their writing skills. If a candidate’s writing skills and verbal communication skills, which I’ll assess when interviewing, aren’t well above average, I’ll pass on them regardless of their skills and experience.

 

Why?

 

Because business is fundamentally about getting other people to do things—getting employees to be productive, getting customers to buy your products or services, and getting vendors to agree to a counteroffer price. In business, as in life in general, you can’t make anything happen without effective communication; this is especially true when job searching when your writing is often an employer’s first impression of you.

 

Think of all the writing you engage in during a job search (resumes, cover letters, emails, texts) and all your other writing (LinkedIn profile, as well as posts and comments, blogs, articles, tweets, etc.) employers will read when they Google you to determine if you’re interview-worthy.

 

With so much of our communication today taking place via writing (email, text, collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, ClickUp, WhatsApp and Rocket.Chat), the importance of proficient writing skills can’t be overstated.

 

When assessing a candidate’s writing skills, you probably think I’m looking for grammar and spelling errors. Although error-free writing is important—it shows professionalism and attention to detail—it’s not the primary reason I look at a candidate’s writing skills.

 

The way someone writes reveals how they think.

 

  • Clear writing = Clear thinking
  • Structured paragraphs = Structured mind
  • Impactful sentences = Impactful ideas

 

Effective writing isn’t about using sophisticated vocabulary. Hemingway demonstrated that deceptively simple, stripped-down prose can captivate readers. Effective writing takes intricate thoughts and presents them in a way that makes the reader think, “Damn! Why didn’t I see it that way?” A good writer is a dead giveaway for a good thinker. More than ever, the business world needs “good thinkers.”

 

Therefore, when I come across a candidate who’s a good writer, hence a good thinker, I know they’re likely to be able to write:

 

  • Emails that don’t get deleted immediately and are responded to
  • Simple, concise, and unambiguous instructions
  • Pitches that are likely to get read
  • Social media content that stops thumbs
  • Human-sounding website copy
  • Persuasively, while attuned to the reader’s possible sensitivities

 

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI, which job seekers are using en masse. Earlier this year, I wrote that AI’s ability to hyper-increase an employee’s productivity—AI is still in its infancy; we’ve seen nothing yet—in certain professions, such as writing, sales and marketing, computer programming, office and admin, and customer service, makes it a “fewer employees needed” tool, which understandably greatly appeals to employers. In my opinion, the recent layoffs aren’t related to the economy; they’re due to employers adopting AI. Additionally, companies are trying to balance investing in AI with cost-cutting measures. CEOs who’ve previously said, “Our people are everything,” have arguably created today’s job market by obsessively focusing on AI to gain competitive advantages and reduce their largest expense, their payroll.

 

It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most AI usage involves generating written content, content that’s obvious to me, and likely to you as well, to have been written by AI. However, here’s the twist: I don’t particularly care.

 

Why?

 

Because the fundamental skill I’m looking for is the ability to organize thoughts and communicate effectively. What I care about is whether the candidate can take AI-generated content and transform it into something uniquely valuable. If they can, they’re demonstrating the skills of being a good thinker and communicator. It’s like being a great DJ; anyone can push play, but it takes skill to read a room and mix music that gets people pumped.

 

Using AI requires prompting effectively, which requires good writing skills to write clear and precise instructions that guide the AI to produce desired outcomes. Prompting AI effectively requires understanding structure, flow and impact. You need to know how to shape raw information, such as milestones throughout your career when you achieved quantitative results, into a compelling narrative.

So, what’s the best way to gain and enhance your writing skills? As with any skill, you’ve got to work at it.

Two rules guide my writing:

 

  • Use strong verbs and nouns instead of relying on adverbs, such as “She dashed to the store.” instead of “She ran quickly to the store.” or “He whispered to the child.” instead of “He spoke softly to the child.”
  • Avoid using long words when a shorter one will do, such as “use” instead of “utilize” or “ask” instead of “inquire.” As attention spans get shorter, I aim for clarity, simplicity and, most importantly, brevity in my writing.

 

Don’t just string words together; learn to organize your thoughts, think critically, and communicate clearly. Solid writing skills will significantly set you apart from your competition, giving you an advantage in your job search and career.

_____________________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

Continue Reading

Business

Politics likely pushed Air Canada toward deal with ‘unheard of’ gains for pilots

Published

1 day ago

 on

September 16, 2024

By

 

MONTREAL – Politics, public opinion and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major pay gains for pilots, experts say.

Hammered out over the weekend, the would-be agreement includes a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years — an enormous bump by historical standards — according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The previous 10-year contract granted increases of just two per cent annually.

The federal government’s stated unwillingness to step in paved the way for a deal, noted John Gradek, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it plain the two sides should hash one out themselves.

“Public opinion basically pressed the federal cabinet, including the prime minister, to keep their hands clear of negotiations and looking at imposing a settlement,” said Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University.

After late-night talks at a hotel near Toronto’s Pearson airport, the country’s biggest airline and the union representing 5,200-plus aviators announced early Sunday morning they had reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that would have grounded flights and affected some 110,000 passengers daily.

The relative precariousness of the Liberal minority government as well as a push to appear more pro-labour underlay the prime minister’s hands-off approach to the negotiations.

Trudeau said Friday the government would not step in to fix the impasse — unlike during a massive railway work stoppage last month and a strike by WestJet mechanics over the Canada Day long weekend that workers claimed road roughshod over their constitutional right to collective bargaining. Trudeau said the government respects the right to strike and would only intervene if it became apparent no negotiated deal was possible.

“They felt that they really didn’t want to try for a third attempt at intervention and basically said, ‘Let’s let the airline decide how they want to deal with this one,'” said Gradek.

“Air Canada ran out of support as the week wore on, and by the time they got to Friday night, Saturday morning, there was nothing left for them to do but to basically try to get a deal set up and accepted by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association).”

Trudeau’s government was also unlikely to consider back-to-work legislation after the NDP tore up its agreement to support the Liberal minority in Parliament, Gradek said. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has traditionally toed a more pro-business line, also said last week that Tories “stand with the pilots” and swore off “pre-empting” the negotiations.

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau had asked Ottawa on Thursday to impose binding arbitration pre-emptively — “before any travel disruption starts” — if talks failed. Backed by business leaders, he’d hoped for an effective repeat of the Conservatives’ move to head off a strike in 2012 by legislating Air Canada pilots and ground crew to stick to their posts before any work stoppage could start.

The request may have fallen flat, however. Gradek said he believes there was less anxiety over the fallout from an airline strike than from the countrywide railway shutdown.

He also speculated that public frustration over thousands of cancelled flights would have flowed toward Air Canada rather than Ottawa, prompting the carrier to concede to a deal yielding “unheard of” gains for employees.

“It really was a total collapse of the Air Canada bargaining position,” he said.

Pilots are slated to vote in the coming weeks on the four-year contract.

Last year, pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines secured agreements that included four-year pay boosts ranging from 34 per cent to 40 per cent, ramping up pressure on other carriers to raise wages.

After more than a year of bargaining, Air Canada put forward an offer in August centred around a 30 per cent wage hike over four years.

But the final deal, should union members approve it, grants a 26 per cent increase in the first year alone, retroactive to September 2023, according to the source. Three wage bumps of four per cent would follow in 2024 through 2026.

Passengers may wind up shouldering some of that financial load, one expert noted.

“At the end of the day, it’s all us consumers who are paying,” said Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba’s transport institute.

Higher fares may be mitigated by the persistence of budget carrier Flair Airlines and the rapid expansion of Porter Airlines — a growing Air Canada rival — as well as waning demand for leisure trips. Corporate travel also remains below pre-COVID-19 levels.

Air Canada said Sunday the tentative contract “recognizes the contributions and professionalism of Air Canada’s pilot group, while providing a framework for the future growth of the airline.”

The union issued a statement saying that, if ratified, the agreement will generate about $1.9 billion of additional value for Air Canada pilots over the course of the deal.

Meanwhile, labour tension with cabin crew looms on the horizon. Air Canada is poised to kick off negotiations with the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants this year before the contract expires on March 31.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Federal $500M bailout for Muskrat Falls power delays to keep N.S. rate hikes in check

Published

2 days ago

 on

September 16, 2024

By

 

HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.

Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”

Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.

The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.

Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending