Beneath The Followers

Article written for feature writing module (A grade)

Sonia Chew, 17, Fashion blogger and social media influencer @Okaysonz on Instagram. Photo: Sonia Chew

ANN TEO sits down with a social media influencer to reveal the truth behind a glamorous life and the not so picture-perfect struggles that come along with it.

Several sponsorships by Sephora, Daniel Wellington and Victoria’s Secret later, “I don’t want to be an influencer right now- or anymore,” were some of the very first words uttered to me from fashion social media influencer, Sonia Tan, better known as @Okaysonz on Instagram.

However, ungratefulness wasn’t the culprit for the venom behind her words. Since the 17 year-old’s rise to fame in 2014, Sonia’s Instagram has reached a shell-shocking follower count of over 61.7K. And despite the nice ring of big digits, she revealed to me that the highlight reel was far from the behind-the-scenes grime.

“People started to take more notice of whatever I do,” she recalled. “At that point of time it made me happy- but now it’s...Discomforting.” Pressure to maintain mechanised flawlessness in every post was scrutiny not just limited to Sonia but instead part of any influencer’s daily grind. It’s this combination of competition and need for perfection that has driven some influencers to join the rising trend of buying followers.

Melissa Hong, 27, Senior Marketing Executive at So Drama! Entertainment. Photo: Ann Catherine Teo

But the reasons behind these purchases are more than screen-deep. For influencers, social media is more than a popularity contest, it’s their job. “Over the years, the rise of online influencers has really disrupted the media advertising landscape, particularly for fashion and beauty,” said Melissa Hong, the Senior Marketing Executive at So Drama! Entertainment.

In this era of social media dominance, it’s no surprise that marketing teams are flocking to influencers like Sonia, as explained by Sebastian Wong, Creative Director at PixelMusica, a creative media agency, “[Influencers] have this power to reach out to the masses on this level and scale at an age where television is dying and people walk past billboard advertisements without ever noticing it because everyone’s glued to their phones”.

“Even though they’re not real, people start to take notice,” said Sonia when asked about the perks of buying followers. “ [You] gain more opportunities, much more businesses and clients will approach you.” Besides attention, their follower count also helps grow their pay-check. “Some influencers charge S$2,000-3,000 per blog post,” reveals Sebastian. “You need to have that kind of outreach to command that kind of money.”

Sebastian Wong, 31, Creative Director at PixelMusica. Photo: Ann Catherine Teo

And because the benefits are so indisputable, it’s easy to forget what influencer’s are actually buying; a dangerously sharp double-edged sword. The fickle weapon can hurt more than the influencer’s credibility and respect from their supporters, it threatens their possibility of ever getting another job offer again. “While a high follower count might get you the job, it doesn’t help with the [campaign] results,” said Melissa while explaining the dangers of buying followers. She then unapologetically added that failure to deliver as promised “would be the end of it”.

Although committing the crime may be a breeze, not leaving fingerprints isn’t so easy anymore. “As digital marketers get more savvy, we know that a high follower count doesn’t mean everything. We look for engagement from their followers”, said Melissa. Similarly, when asked the secret to spotting a buyer, Sonia revealed under-performing likes are an easy red-herring, using the example of fellow influencer @Mongabong, “for someone who has a 100K plus following, you’d expect she’d have a minimum of 10K and above of likes” unlike her usual 6K.

Sonia strongly believes Instagram should erase the bots for good “for it to be a fair playing field for the influencer community”, stressing that despite what appears to be a silver-spooned lifestyle, there are influencers who relentlessly slave away at their career and “for someone who just simply gains? I think it’s not fair”.

Unfortunately, Instagram has reached a plateau in its user-numbers, making it nearly impossible for mid-tier influencers to reach the next level of Instagram royalty organically, turning the pursuit of larger numbers into the carrot-on-a-stick for influencers.

But Sonia, who’s recently been fighting hard to rid herself the title of “influencer” is determined to keep Instagram as “just a platform to share [her] life”, refusing to be sucked back down the rabbit-hole of eternal chasing, “I used to post what people want to see, I didn’t really show myself”. In fact, her steadily decreasing follower count is more than what she’d hoped for, “Now I want followers to follow me, for the real me”.