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- The (not so) secret life of senior social media influencers: an analysis of the top five 'granfluencers', on InstagramPublication . Antunes, Ana Cristina; Miranda, Sandra; Gama, AnaThe changing media landscape and consumption along with the decreased efficacy of traditional advertising have confronted brands with the challenge to unravel different and innovative ways to effectively communicate with their targets. Influencer marketing is one of the strategies that is thriving and proved valuable for marketeers in this pursuit of new ways of reaching out to their audiences. Despite the relevance that digital influencer communication has recently gained for brands, academic research has been slow to catch up and some of the aspects related to digital influencers remain understudied. Within this context little is known about this exercise of influence by senior digital influencers and how they communicate with their followers. Traditionally associated with a more passive role of content receivers, some of the older citizens have been developing their digital knowledge and skills and are now active content creators on social networking sites and even, in some cases, building up a vast audience and a wide range of interested, involved, and engaged followers. Yet, there is scarce evidence regarding these elderly digital content creators. To help fill this gap, this exploratory study aims to study the Instagram profile of the top five older influencers and examine their personal brand subjectivities, communicative styles, and social media practices. A qualitative methodology was adopted, involving a set of dimension analyses such as the tone of communication, posting frequency, themes/subjects of interest, audiovisual and multimedia resources, as well as their interaction and engagement with followers. The results challenge the negative stereotype associated with old age and suggest that senior influencers already take part in the influencer economy. Academic and business implications of the study are examined for influencer marketing.
- A different type of influencer? Examining senior Instagram influencers communicationPublication . Miranda, Sandra; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, AnaThe aging of the population, the advance of ICT, and the opening of social networks have allowed the reception of massive phenomena led by the so-called digital immigrants. Indeed, despite the digital divide and a lesser predisposition of older people to deal with technology, it turns out that the market for senior digital influencers begins, gradually, to be marked by its growth, revealing specificities, and differentiating elements. This means that in addition to the traditional role of content receivers, older people are now active content creators, occupying a space that for a long time was restricted to younger generations, contributing to the building up of a vast audience and a wide range of interested, engaged and interactive followers. Using an exploratory approach, this research aims to study the Instagram profile of the top ten most popular elderly influencers and compare the posts of the top two digital influencers (man and women, each). For this purpose, a qualitative methodology was carried out, we examined and compared the posts of @Baddie Winkle, @Iris Apfel, @ George Takei and @dinneranddance, using several dimensions of analysis such as the topics covered, the tone of communication, and the audiovisual and multimedia resources used to create interaction and engagement with followers. The results show that fashion is one of the central themes, punctuated by a communication full of humor, fun, and eccentricity, challenging the paradigm and negative stereotype related to aging and breaking with the traditional image of decline, frailty, and disability associated with old age.
- Challenging old paradigms about aging and social networks: seniors as social influencersPublication . Miranda, Sandra; Antunes, Ana Cristina; Gama, AnaThe advances of the Network Society and the dissemination of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are associated with potential phenomena of exclusion, such as a set of skills and predispositions less present among older generations – the so-called digital immigrants. Despite the difficulties widely portrayed in the literature, it appears that in addition to the growing adherence of seniors to ICT and the internet, older people are gradually appropriating social networks and digital tools to give voice to content channels starting to stand out as digital influencers. Using an exploratory approach, this research aims to study the Instagram profile and analyze the posts of the top two most popular elderly women digital influencers: @Baddie Winkle (4 million followers and considered, in 2020, by Forbes one of the most influential people on the network) and @Iris Apfel (2 million followers). For this purpose, a qualitative methodology was carried out, where thought a content analysis of the posts, we examined several dimensions such as: the topics covered, the signs, the tone of communication and the audiovisual and multimedia resources used to create interaction and engagement with followers. In total 47 posts were analyzed. The results show that fashion and arts are the central themes of Baddie and Iris posts, allied to the rupture of the image of weakness and fragility of seniors, punctuated by a communication full of humor, fun, grace, and some emotional tone. Artistic photography is the dominant visual resource, some of them in a sponsorship format. In addition to the high (young) number of followers that senior influencers have, there is a high engagement with followers who interact mostly through likes, views, and comments. In relation to these last ones, it is verified the presence of an extremely positive and friendly feedback marked by respect and admiration.