Another Influencer Appears to Implode. But It’s Just Drama to Appear Genuine.

[peter]

The terrible ethics of influencer marketing result in another influencer on a roller coaster ride, worried that his followers might have caught on to the grift. I’ll be even more candid, even this video is part of the grift — creating the illusion of ethics in order to build trust. He’s telling his audience that he’s not making money when his views along generate a decent ad revenue stream from YouTube.

And this guy is probably one of the most straightforward influencers in this space. I find him very likable. But the ethics of influencer marketing are, at their core, not really ethical. Brands are paying influencers to be manipulators. That is what influencers are, manipulators.

Years ago, one of the biggest marketing associations in the US called me and told me that I was selected as one of their two picks for top marketing thought leaders for that year. I could have been an influencer.  Thousands of marketing leaders across the world were tuning into my site and listening to what I had to say. I could have made a lot of money off of that influence. I didn’t. I wouldn’t. And it’s not like marketing is a field where ethics matter to anyone — it’s quite the opposite. No one in the field is impressed with good ethics (a very slight exaggeration, but it’s pretty close to reality). Some of us are wired to not be all about greed.

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