Why Do Influencers Promote Products That They Don’t Use?
By: Ryan Nephew
Tags: Marketing, Ethics, Instagram, Social Media, Advertising

And how John Stuart Mill’s Principle of Utility could help.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

First of all: What is an Influencer?

Social media is a ubiquitous part of modern society, nowadays it seems that nearly everyone participates in some capacity.

Whether it’s your Grandmother, who has 20 Facebook friends, or Kylie Jenner, who has 200 million Instagram followers, social media engagement can be found in all walks of life.

With a meteoric rise in different online platforms, a new celebrity has emerged: the influencer. This term is often associated with individuals that have a certain level of online appeal. When they type, tweet, snap, or story, people tend to take notice. The goal of this new and lucrative career path is to attract the attention of brands and ultimately carry out the coveted #sponsered post.

Top influencers, like Kylie Jenner, can make around $1 million per post, and companies’ budgets allocated towards influencer marketing seem to be growing…by a lot. Business Insider projects that brands are expecting to spend around $15 billion annually on influencer marketing by 2022. Just for some added perspective, a total of $7 billion was spent in 2019.

When an industry is booming, interest grows; more and more people tend to want in on the action. This can lead to the ethical dilemma of influencers endorsing brands or companies, even if they do not actually use them. This can create distrust between the influencer and consumer, and even tarnish the reputation of the brand in question. A desirable social media platform that is typically used by influencers to promote brand deals is Instagram.

Questionable endorsements in previous years…Diclegis

Since its creation in 2010, Instagram has grown to be a social media powerhouse. It currently has over 1 billion active users every month. In addition to being used as a way to share personal memories and life updates, Instagram is also utilized by influencers around the globe to promote and share sponsored content.

At times, these types of brand endorsements can be questionable, as influencers may promote companies or products for the sole purpose of receiving a paycheck. In the past, sponsored posts were not well regulated; influencers could simply peddle commodities to their followers regardless of if they used the product or trust the brand.

An example of this was in 2015 when Kim Kardashian shared a post to Instagram promoting Diclegis, a drug used for morning sickness.

Kardashian promoted this pharmaceutical without disclosing common harmful side and endorsed the potentially harmful drug with no evidence of actually ever using it. Lack of clarity/transparency regarding sponsored content eventually led to a crackdown on the growing problem.

Kim K’s 2015 post was eventually deleted after public backlash. Screenshot Courtesy of David Kroll on Forbes

Introduction of stricter FCC rules:

In 2017 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) placed a series of restrictions and rules in an attempt to regulate deceptive/manipulative marketing tactics used by influencers in the United States. Included in these new regulations were “General Considerations”.

According to section 255.1 in the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,

“Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experience of the endorser.”

Rules like this were created specifically in response to the steady increase in the numbers of brand deals on social media platforms. These FTC restrictions were an attempt to limit the deceptive tactics and manipulation that influencers were practicing, specifically when participating in brand deals online.

The current issue is, even with all of these new rules put in place, influencers and celebrities continue to promote products without using them, both domestically and internationally.

Unethical brand endorsements: Cyanide drinks?

Unfortunately, the new FCC’s restrictions only apply to the content shared in the United States; however, this is an issue that is relevant across the world. A 2019 news investigation, conducted by BBC Three, targeted 3 English former reality TV/current online influencers.

Lauren Goodger, Mike Hassini, and Zara Holland had a combined audience of approximatley 1.3 million Instagram followers at the time. The investigation captured these influencers agreeing to promote “Cyanora”, a fictitious weight-loss drink that supposedly contained the fatal chemical hydrogen cyanide; the entire incident was filmed.

Holland’s agent mentioned that she would have to try the product first, but Goodger didn’t seem interested in trying a sample, blatantly stating, “I’ve not tried skinny coffee”, a product she previously promoted online.

While this may be an extreme example of irresponsible celebrity endorsement, the sting operation highlighted the negligence and danger of influencers blindly promoting products that they don’t use.

Left to Right: Lauren Goodger, Mike Hassini, and Zara Holland agreed to promote “Cyanora”, a fake weight-loss drink. Photos Courtesy of Jeans for Genes Day UK, Luis Gouveia, and Dave Cook on Flickr

So, is this a new problem?

Well, not exactly. Sponsored content and celebrity endorsements are nothing new. These types of advertisements have been placed on network television, in magazines, and on billboards for decades. For example, in 2019 comedian Kevin Hart starred in a Hyundai car commercial when in reality, he actually doesn’t drive a Hyundai.

Ok, why does it matter now?

The current problem with this specific phenomenon is the level of influence that influencers have on their audience. Influencers have access to tens of millions, potentially even hundreds of millions, of consumers in an instant.

The Kardashian sisters alone (Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kylie Jenner & Kendall Jenner) have over 760 million Instagram followers combined. That’s bigger than the entire population of Europe.

In 2019, Instagram reported that 68% of its users come to the platform specifically to interact with influencers. As mentioned, influencers like the Kardashian’s have massive, “cult-like”, followings. When consumers seek out these celebrities, they listen to what they have to say and expect the information to be truthful/transparent.

In fact, according to Influence.co, 82% of users want to know if influencers have actually used the products they recommend and 77% believed Influencers should be required to educate followers about any possible side effects. These numbers clearly demonstrate that majority of Instagram users do not want to be deceived and manipulated by Influencers that they follow.

What do these influencers value?

In these circumstances, influencers value money and sponsorship. Rather than sharing products and brands that they stand behind, many influencers are eager to promote anything, as long as they are being paid.

This is not only potentially harmful to the consumer, but these deceptive tactics can also create a lack of trust between the influencer and their followers.

The ethical principle that applies: Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarian philosophy applies to all aforementioned instances of unethical influencer brand promotion. This ethical theory is based on the premise of making decisions in the interest of “the great or good”. By following this theory, influencers can avoid being caught up in a promotion-related scandal.

By choosing to promote brands that actually use, influencers are considering what’s best for their followers, ultimately shifting their loyalty to the consumer. Thinking about the potential consequences and repercussions before partnering with a brand benefits both the influencer and consumer.

This relates to Mill’s Utilitarianism, as being transparent and honest with the masses is doing what’s best for humanity. By avoiding deceptive tactics, influencers also eliminate the risk of any unethical promotion backfiring and negatively impacting their future, the involved brand's future, or the consumer’s future. It is in an influencer's best interest to stick to promoting the products they use and trust.