It is the new establishment. They make money -some undeclared and therefore tax-free-, they have armies of followers, they enjoy appeal and acceptance, they are sought after and often expensive. In fact, as the above sizes grow, so does their tendency to impose their aesthetics, point of view, reason, habits and lifestyle.
They are the social media influencers. Otherwise, the people to whom one owes at least the foresight to ride the wave of the 4th Industrial Revolution in time, build new or reinvent existing careers and make a living by placing themselves in the role of the postmodern platier cutter. Once marketers and marketers hawked their wares at fairs, now there’s Instagram, which still touts itself as the undisputed hotbed of influencers, the TikTokthe Facebookthe Snapchat and of course the OnlyFans.
The sword of Damocles
Only the European influencers, as we learned and eventually got used to calling this new professional caste, have a comparative disadvantage to their counterparts in the rest of the world. And this is because at least those who live and operate in any of its 27 member countries The European Union since last February, they have had a Damocles sword over their heads, the particularly strict provisions of the law on digital services and digital markets. Now they may even be starting to recognize and smell the danger.
Watch the video: The Big Business of influencers
Last week, the Ministry of Development published the results of a pan-European audit carried out on a sample of 576 influencers from 22 EU countries, Norway and Iceland, with the aim of identifying any misleading practices they may have towards followers/potential consumers. In the research for which the Cooperation Network of the National Authorities of the member states for the enforcement of consumer legislation (Consumer Protection Cooperation Network) cooperated, 20 domestic influencers were also checked, which proved in this particular case to be completely in line with the acquis of their European colleagues. That is, prone to misleading and consistent in concealing commercial activity.
The results of the survey, although announced by the European Commission on February 14, reached our country with a delay.
Better late than never. According to the Commission’s conclusions, 97% of the influencers that were checked promoted commercial content through social networks, but only 20% of them informed their followers about product placement. And this despite the fact that almost 1 in 2 (percentage 44%) has its own eshop for making sales. It is also characteristic that only 36% of those checked had declared their business activity in the countries in which national legislation requires it, while only 30% gave consumers some additional information about the commercial entity, such as address, telephone or contact email.
In our country, all 20 Greek influencers were found to be engaged in commercial activity, but only 5 of them (1 in 4) disclose this in their posts, half hide their commercial identity, while only 1 in 2 confirmed that they are registered in the General Commercial Registry of the country. All 20 local influencers, who are proving to be great at hiding and pretending to be something other than what they really are, will in the coming weeks receive a letter from the Ministry of Development to comply with European legislation. Furthermore, the details of the pan-European audit were also transferred to the local Authorities in order to identify any tax violations. As it were, influencers’ ears will begin to sweat. Or not.
The accusations
The answer is that all of them are, or anyway are treated by brands and companies that want to promote (and eventually sell) their products and services as influencers. Except that everyone plays in a different category – and collects the corresponding fees -, based not only on the number of v’s they have, but also on the penetration their posts have on the public.
Besides, in the digital world everything is measurable. There are the mega influencers with a flock of more than 500,000 followers, the macro influencers with an audience of 100,000 to 500,000 followers, the micro influencers with an audience of 3,000 to 30,000 followers and the nano influencers, whose reach does not exceed the threshold of 3,000 followers. It is even said that the last two categories are the most up-and-coming and preferred by many advertisers, since it is considered that people with such accounts can maintain a closer and more personal relationship with those who follow them and thus influence them more drastically in their consumption behavior.
The profits
Although no one – not even AADE – can be sure about the amounts that end up in the bank account of the influencers, there is a common understanding that the amount of 10,000 euros is the ceiling of the fee for a post by social media personalities who have not only broad audience base, but also bring tangible results to the coffers. Of course, if we are talking about campaigns or advertising actions that unfold in a series of posts, then the rate reasonably goes up. However, even these amounts, which probably seem outrageous to someone who works a whole year to get them, pale in comparison to the commercial effect and footprint they can have. Generally, advertisers pay a pittance, but enjoy luxury bread.
At the moment, the average salary in our country seems to be around 6,000 euros. They are considered a fair price for a post, but without forgetting that there are also those – even well-known influencers – who make themselves available and provide promotion and advertising services for free. It goes without saying that hype is half the battle for any budding influencer who envisions himself at the top of his genre’s food chain. Before cash (or often cryptocurrency) starts flowing into his coffers, his pay is usually in kind.
And this can include products such as clothing or personal care, and even reach services such as a free visit to the dentist – with a sample of white dentures in a story and a reference to the doctor -, a free meal, accommodation in a hotel unit, a journey that will be captured frame by frame in Instagram, until the followers exclaim “repent!”. It takes virtue, boldness, and above all, enough free work to build one’s outwardly good testimony, create the right environment, and ultimately promote paying clients. The work, that is, the marriage of influencers and brands, is of course now undertaken by special mediators – here’s another booming profession! – while even Meta (see Instagram’s mother company) has created a platform-channel of communication (you can call it a consulate) between the advertisers and ideal advertisers of the adjacent account. Somehow there has to be a line in the ever-expanding universe of social media.
On Instagram
It is precisely this growth that has stimulated the reflexes of the European Commission, which, in addition to the controls, has put into operation since last year an online compass for apprentice influencers. This is the Influencers Legal Hub, which does what is commonly called “liana” what an influential product placer is allowed and required to do and what is considered from faux pas to criminal hell according to European law. However, there are countless opportunities to become an influencer of any size and scope, as well as countless ways one can use one’s social media account to indirectly promote goods or services.
In fact, in addition to traditional social media – although the big game is still played on Instagram and less on TikTok, Facebook and X -, the OnlyFans factor and the corresponding platforms that host and creators of adult content (see pornography). The money in said Media which distributes 80% of the subscriptions to the creators and keeps 20% as a commission may be proportionately many times more than what goes out to the Instagram. According to official figures, OnlyFans has distributed $5 billion to its creators in seven years, while its active users (which here equate to subscribers) have reached 420 million monthly from just 7 in the summer of 2019.
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Tags: secrets .. tax evasion famous influencers
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