14 Reading the News 1

MEDIA LITERACY
I. MEDIA

Media is the term used to refer to different types of methods that provide us with import-
ant information and knowledge. Media has always been part of our society, especially in
the digital world.
As time passed, people experienced different modes to update news. Based on the type
of medium, their role may be different, but they all exist to communicate to the audience
and affect their perceptions.

Different Types of Media

In general, we can classify media in three main categories.

Printed Media

This type of news media used to be the only way of delivering information to the public. For
the generations of the 80s and 90s, print media was the only media of entertainment. People
relied on newspapers and magazines to learn everything, from recipes and entertainment
news to important information about the country or the world. Print media includes:
Newspapers – printed and distributed on a daily or weekly basis. They include news
related to sports, politics, technology, science, local news, national news, international
news, as well as entertainment news related to fashion, celebrities, and movies. Today’s
parents grew up with this type of printed media.
Magazines – printed on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. It contains
information about finance, food, lifestyle, fashion, sports, etc.
Books – focused on a particular topic or subject, giving the reader a chance to spread their
knowledge about their favorite topic.
Banners – used to advertise a company’s services and products, hung on easily-noticed
sights to attract people’s attention.
Billboards – huge advertisements created with the help of computers. Their goal is to
attract people passing by.
Brochures – a type of booklet that includes everything about one company – its products,
services, terms and conditions, contact details, address, etc.
Flyers – used mostly by small companies due to the low cost of advertising. They contain
Reading the News 1 15

the basic information about a company, their name, logo, service or product, and contact
information, and they are distributed in public areas.
Broadcasting Media

Broadcasting media includes videos, audios, or written content that provides important or
entertaining information shared by different methods:
Television – in the past, there were a few channels sharing various types of content,
whereas now we have hundreds of TV channels to choose from. Each channel delivers a
different type of content, so you have a separate channel for news, drama, movies, sports,
animation, nature, travel, politics, cartoon, and religion.
Radio – uses radio waves to transmit entertaining, informative, and educative content to
the public. Due to its high reach to the audience, radio is widely used for advertising prod-
ucts and services. Radio is one of the oldest means of entertainment, and today people
often hear it to find out the weather and traffic while commuting.
Movies – film, motion picture, screenplay, moving picture, or movie has world-wide
reachability. It’s the best type of mass media to promote cultures and spread social
awareness. Movies have always played a huge part in the entertainment world.
Internet Media

Nowadays, we are relying on the Internet to get the news a lot more often than traditional
news sources. Websites provide information in the form of video, text, and audio. We can
even choose the way we want to receive the news. Types of Internet media include:
Social networks or websites – including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr,
LinkedIn, Snapchat, Quora, Reddit, Pinterest, etc. They are user-friendly and widely used
by people around the world. Although we can find any news here, they may be misleading
because of the lack of regulations on the content shared. Online newspaper sites are also
sources of news where people can find information just in one click.
Online forums – Virtual places where we can comment, message, or discuss a particular
topic. Forums allow us to share knowledge with other people with the same interest.
That’s why it’s regarded as the best platform to seek support and assistance.
Podcast – a series of audios focused on a particular topic or theme. We can listen to
them on a computer or a mobile phone. It’s a platform that allows anyone to share their
knowledge and communicate with the world.
To conclude, we use different types of media to find out news, learn new things, and
entertain ourselves. With the advance in technology, we can choose the type of media
we want to use, no matter the time or place. Thanks to the Internet, you can search for
whatever you want just in one second, but choosing a reliable and authentic source of
 16 Reading the News 1

information to learn and update news is of great importance for students.

If you read news from the Internet, be skeptical and critical because who knows where
the Internet can lead you to. The following part will guide you how to be skeptical when
you read online.

II. HOW TO BE SKEPTICAL ON THE INTERNET

It’s important for you to recognize that every time you click on something, you’re cre-
ating a trail that brings information to yourself. The question students always ask is that
should we trust everything we read online, especially the potential of the problems may
arise when almost everyone can publish a blog or web page? For example, the “Help Save
the Endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus from Extinction” site (https://zapatopi.
net/treeoctopus/) looks reliable and seems to provide trust-worthy information about an
endangered species of octopus dwells in the trees of the Pacific Northwest. However, you
must be surprised to learn that no such animal as a tree octopus exists and you had fallen
for an Internet hoax.
These are three strategies to read critically on the Internet:
Examining initial markers or superficial characteristic of a website that can help us make
an initial judgment about its credibility.
Many students were convinced of the site’s validity because of the numerous images
(for example, the image that shows an octopus residing in the branches of pine tree in
the abovementioned site), the large amount of text (which included scientific names), the
professional-looking layout of the site, and numerous links to other sites about octopuses
and endangered species (many of which lead to legitimate sites). However, none of these
markers were guaranteed indicators of the validity of information on a site. These are
some of the features of a web page that would give it credibility.
First, students should look for information about the author or sponsoring organization
of a website. Sites that prominently displayed contact information can be more reliable
than those that do not. If can identify an author, we can learn through further research
about any credentials the author might have. Identifying the author of a site may also help
us in determining possible bias of that author or the author’s motive for publishing this
information online.
Another marker that we can look for is the timeliness of the site. Students can look for a
note on the web page about when it was last updated, which will often appear near the top
or bottom of a web page. A site that is rarely updated or posts no information about when
it was last updated might be less trustworthy. More importantly, when we are looking for
relevant and timely information online, sites that haven’t been updated for a long time
might not be appropriate for our needs or may not even be correct anymore as more new
information that has come to light since the site’s publication.
Reading the News 1 17

The next marker that students can follow when examining a site is to examine the content
of the connected sites. A site seems more credible if the author provides links to source
materials for the information, not links to other sites of interest. To examine a website,
students can enter “link” into a Google search box. You can see other sites linked to the
doubtful site which are personal blogs but no other scientific sites that discussed the en-
dangered animal. This may make you to think twice before accepting the information.
Finally, students can look at the overall layout and at any additional content on a website.
The abundance of advertisements on a site could be a clue that the site’s author might
be more interested in commercial gains than in distributing accurate information. A site
with numerous grammatical errors or an amateurish appearance could also be suspected.
However, some personal blogs or forums are physically formatted in a recognizable way;
which may lure students to believe in the information founded in these sites. Students
should be careful with such sites since they tend to be forums for personal opinion or
supposition rather than sources of factual information.
Students should keep in mind that many sites can look professional and polished, offer a
lot of information and link to legitimate sites but still contain questionable information.
Corroborating information (or confirming information)
First, students can use their common sense to judge the information. For example, if
something we encounter on the Internet sounds too good or too odd to be true, then it most
likely is. If information we find online does not seem to match what we already know, it
is also likely to be suspected. When reading something on a website, we should pause and
think before accepting the information as the truth.
However, our common knowledge sometimes is not strong enough to make judgment
about what we are reading. In this case, the easy access to information provided by the
Internet is a wonderful tool. For example, a Google search for the key word “tree octo-
pus” allowed students to find other sites that exposed the truth about this fictional animal.
Another link that students prefer to visit for information is Wikipedia because it’s quick
and easy to read and understand. Given Wikipedia’s controversial history in academic
circles, we encourage students to check what they find with more trusted encyclopedic
sites such as Encarta (http://encarta.msn.com) or Encyclopedia Britannica Online (http://
www.britannica.com) to confirm the information.
Determining author bias

Along with helping students see the value of information, it’s also important to recognize
the author behind the information. People publish on the Internet for many reasons, and
not all of these are noble or unselfish. Recognizing whether authors have bias or a hidden
agenda can be particularly challenging for students. Below are a series of questions the
students could ask themselves about a site and its author:
 18 Reading the News 1

• Who is the author? What do you learn from a Google search on him or her (or
organization that sponsors the site)?

• What do you think the author’s purpose in publishing this information is? Does
the purpose seem legitimate or trustworthy?

• Is the author trying to sell something? Is there a product attached to the information
or commentary on the site?

• Examine use of language in the website. Are any of the words used particularly
hateful or provocative? Does the author (through his or her words) seem to be trying
to incite you to a strong emotional reaction?

• Does the content of the site seem to be largely opinion or do you see a fair amount
of facts that you can corroborate?

With asking yourselves these questions, you can understand the author’s intent and possible
bias. Students should distinguish between facts and author’s bias to get exact information.

III. HOW TO IDENTIFY FAKE NEWS

With resources like Google at our fingertips, information isn’t hard to find. What is
challenging is determining whether that information is credible and can be trusted.
A Google search is often our first stop to gain a basic understanding of the main ideas
about a topic, but since anyone with access to a computer can publish anything online,
it is crucial that you evaluate the information you find, especially when completing a
research paper, or looking for important information (like health, election, or financial
information).
There are some strategies that students can use to choose a reliable website to read and
get information:
• CURRENCY: How recently was this information published/posted/updated?
Can you find a publication date?

• RELEVANCE: Does the information relate to your topic? Who is the intended
audience? How does this source compare to other sources you may have found on
the topic?

• AUTHORITY: Who wrote the information - are they an expert or knowledgeable

in their field? (i.e. for health information, did a doctor or nurse write it? For science
information, did a scientist or researcher write it?)

• ACCURACY: Where does the information come from? Is it supported by

evidence? Has it been reviewed or refereed? Can you verify the information in one
or more other sources?
Reading the News 1 19

• PURPOSE: Why was it written? To sell something? To sway opinion? To

educate? What is the point of view?

IV. HOW TO IDENTIFY RED FLAGS OR UNRELIABLE WEBSITES

Here are some tips to identify whether websites are credible enough to use for research
or updating information.
• Website does not look professionally designed

• Lack of citations or links to verifiable information

• No author/sponsoring organization is listed, either on the main page or in an

‘About Us’ section

• The page’s purpose is to sell something (almost all .com)

• There is a lot of advertising on the page

• The publisher is promoting a specific point of view

V. SUGGESTED SITES TO READ NEWS

We suggest that you read news from the following sites in order to update information as
well as to enlarge your background knowledge in English:
• Encarta: http://encarta.msn.com

• Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com

• The Asia Times: https://asiatimes.com/

• The Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/

• The Economist: http://www.economist.com/

• The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/

• The Japan Times: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/

• The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/

• The Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/news

• The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/

• VN Express: https://e.vnexpress.net/
 SECTION 1. NEWS AND FEATURES

1. NEWS

People primarily read the newspaper for … news! News can be a breaking story, where
the facts are changing moment by moment, or it can involve a recent event in a long-
running story, where it is important for the reader to know the background. With hard
news the most important factor is that it is read today – we rarely pick up yesterday’s
newspapers to read about current news.
Think about an article you have read in the newspaper recently. Why was it in the news?
Was it a breaking or long-running story? How important and significant was it?

UNDERSTANDING NEWS ARTICLES

News stories answer the following questions:

• What happened?

• When did it happen?

• Who was involved?

• Where did it happen?

• Why/How did it happen?

Those questions are answered briefly in the first or second paragraph of the articles, as the
purpose of the article is to elaborate on the answers.

2. FEATURES
Feature articles are less “time-dependent”. In other words, they are not so tied to an exact
moment in time, but address contemporary areas of interest to the reader.
Before reading a feature, it is useful to ask yourself what you know about the subject. In
doing so, you will do the following:
• Predict vocabulary which may occur in the article; this can help reduce the “processing
load” – the amount of new information you need to cover in order to understand the text.
Reading the News 1 21

• Think about how much you know about the background to the story. If you know
very little, you will look for this information in the article. If you know a lot, you
might skim over parts of the text which provide readers with this information.

• Identify questions you want the text to answer; this will give you a “reason for
reading” the text.

UNDERSTANDING FEATURE ARTICLES

The purpose of a headline is to get the reader’s attention. A good headline should make
the reader curious and provoke interest in the article.

3. THE ARTICLES
This section contains six main articles as follows:
• Why consumers care about influencers, and why you should too?

• Arctic animals’ movement patterns are shifting in different ways as the climate
changes

• Facebook plans to sue Thais over order to mute critics

• UK university students wasted £1bn in a year on empty accommodation

• Do ‘environmentally responsible’ products help the planet? Or do they just get us to buy
more stuff?

• Black, female and carving out their own path in country music
 22 Reading the News 1

UNIT 1
Influencer Marketing
PRE-READING TASKS
1. Read this excerpt from a blog about influencer marketing. Would you like to read
for more information from this blog? Why or why not?
What is influencer marketing?

At a fundamental level, influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that

uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers–individuals who have a
dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche. Influencer
marketing works because of the high amount of trust that social influencers have built
up with their following, and recommendations from them serve as a form of social
proof to your brand’s potential customers.

2. Have you ever bought any products based on the review of an influencer? What
are the differences between a mega and micro influencer?
3. What is your own experience of any influencers or any products they endorse?
Share your experience with a partner
4. In your opinion, what kinds of product/service/activity would influencers often promote?

Beauty products Charity Fashion/clothing line

Technical devices Supplement diet Books/educational programs

READING FOCUS
Focus on the newspaper: INTRODUCING A TOPIC
Sometimes articles introduce a new idea of a product. To do this, the writer must give
detailed explanations.
1. Read the article as if it was the first time you had heard of influencers. Can you
understand what an influencer job is after reading the article without your prior
knowledge of the topic?
a. Who are influencers and where do you find them?
b. What makes influencers different from celebrities in product endorsement?
c. When did influencer marketing begin?
d. How can someone become an influencer? How do they stay in business?
2. Do you think the author did a good job explaining the effectiveness of influencers
in marketing? What would you add?
Reading the News 1 23

Why Consumers Care About Influencers, and Why You Should Too?

More than half of people globally have bought something in the past six months
based on the recommendation of an online influencer.

By Jason Falls February 10, 2021

1
What do you think of when you hear
the word “pudding”? For most people, it
probably brings up some childhood memory
of after-school snacks. But one group
of people who may have a very different
answer is women who love their curly hair.
Pantene Pro-V Curl Defining Pudding is a
popular finishing-touch item in the brand’s
Gold Series of hair care products. It helps
curly hair stay moisturized, retaining its
natural curl without frizzing.
2
According to several dozen product
reviews I read, it also smells good and leaves
hair shiny. The Curl Defining Pudding
was often mentioned by influencers in
Pantene’s Gold Series campaign in the early
summer months of 2019. The Procter &
Gamble brand chose 25 Black women who
were Instagram influencers, with content
centered on beauty, hair and lifestyle. Four
of the influencers had a good number, but
not millions of subscribers on YouTube.
Each was engaged to place at least one
sponsored post apiece on each channel. The
goal was to drive awareness of Pantene’s
Gold Series Collection, which includes the
Curl Defining Pudding.
3
At the time of the campaign, the
online influencers’ audiences ranged
from ChiziDuru’s (@chiziduru) 122,000
Instagram followers to Lisa-Jean Francois’
(@lisaalamode) 36,000. (Duru also had
381,000 YouTube subscribers, which were
enough to place her on both lists of Pantene
Gold Series influencers — Instagram and
YouTube.) In total, the potential reach of the
influencer effort based on their number of
followers was more than 2.5 million people.
The proof is indeed in the pudding.
4
These numbers are strong, if not
outstanding. More important for the brand,
the main talking points and unique selling
propositions were called out by each of the
influencers. The specific products in the
line, including the Curl Defining Pudding,
were mentioned. The fact that the Gold
Series was developed by a team of Black
scientists was prominent in many of the
posts. The influencer campaign did exactly
what the brand team hoped to accomplish:
create greater awareness of the Gold Series
Collection within the intended target
audience.
5
This was a Winfluence campaign,
not just an influencer marketing one. It
leveraged online influencers, but in a
targeted manner with strategic purpose
that moved the business forward. It wasn’t
just buying sponsored posts on famous
Instagrammers’ accounts and hoping
people would think you were cool by
association. Another factor that makes this
a Winfluence campaign is its construction.
 24 Reading the News 1

Even the largest advertiser in the world — 8

Read that again. Not because of a
Procter & Gamble — with its bleeding- recommendation from a family member, a
edge marketing approaches, didn’t spend friend or an online review. More than half
marketing dollars on mega-influencers of people globally have bought something
with millions of followers. It focused on in the past six months based on the
mid-tier and even smaller influencers with recommendation of an online influencer.
engaged audiences who could persuade Consumers also confirm another assertion
those fans to take action. we’ve discussed: It’s not always about
popularity. An influencer’s ability to
Fish where the fish are connect with them in a meaningful way
is a better indicator of persuasive success
6
So let’s take a look at why Procter & than how many followers they have or
Gamble is investing their considerable how famous they are. Edelman’s namesake
resources in influence marketing online. president and CEO, Richard Edelman, told
They’re doing it because the internet is Ad Age while discussing the report,
where consumers decide to buy products. “Influencers matter. They’re credible.”
People who buy hair care products don’t
watch TV commercials, look for an ad in 9
The indicators are there. So is the data.
the Sunday paper or flip through magazines Consumers give a damn about influencers.
anymore. Instead, they’re looking for Enlightened brands know this and give a
information online. And more than any damn about them, too.
other company in the world, P&G knows
to fish where the fish are.
7
People don’t trust traditional media.
And people demand trust. For several
years now, the Edelman Trust Barometer
has been the bible on understanding
consumer trust. And the special report
on brands may as well have been a big,
flashing neon sign that said, “Consumers
Trust Influencers!” In it, 63% of people
said they trust influencers’ opinions of
products “much more” than what brands
say about themselves. And 58% — almost
six out of ten consumers — confirmed
they had bought a new product in the past
six months because of an influencer’s
recommendation.
Reading the News 1 25

UNDERSTANDING THE ARTICLE

1. Why do corporations like P&G hire influencers to promote their haircare
product? Look and the list of reasons below. Skim the article and then check which
ones are mentioned.

a. As a way to tell the customers about the new product

b. As a way of getting attention
c. As a way to promote the company
d. As a way of feeling popular
e. As a way of connecting with potential customers
2. Can you add any more reasons to the list above?

3. Has the article changed your viewpoint of influencers and influencer marketing
in any way? If so, why?

VOCABULARY WORK
1. Guessing from context. Read the following words taken from the article from i to
v, guess their meaning by circling the suitable answer A or B.

i. Retain (para. 1) A. Maintain B. Continue to hold

ii. Leverage (para. 5) A. Balance between two B. Use something to maximum

things advantage
iii. Bleeding-edge (para. 5) A. New, experimental B. Dangerous, unsafe

iv. Assertion (para. 8) A. Confident statement B. Belief

of fact
v. Indicator (para. 8) A. Trend or fact to prove B. Trend or fact to measure the
something level of something

2. Complete the sentences below with a word from Exercise 1. You may need to
change to the plural form.

a. …………………… are substances that change colour when they are added to acidic
or alkaline solutions
b. This book began with the ………………… that it is the optimists who get things done.
c. Under the constitution, the provinces ……………………….. all the powers not
delegated to the federal government.
 26 Reading the News 1

d. You can ……………………….. private sector investment through loans.

e. However, in many cases ……………………….. software is pushed out to help validate
it and try out new features.

EXAM PREPARATION TASKS

1. Words and phrases explanation

Explain the following words and expressions, as used in the article.

a. finishing-touch item
…………………………………………………………………………………………

b. drive awareness
…………………………………………………………………………………………
c. The proof is indeed in the pudding
…………………………………………………………………………………………
d. target audience
…………………………………………………………………………………………
e. the bible on understanding consumer trust
…………………………………………………………………………………………
f. give a damn about
…………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Comprehension questions

Read the article and answer the following questions.

a. What kind of product does the author mention in the article? How does it differ
from other similar products?
…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

b. What did P&G do to promote their new product?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………
Reading the News 1 27

c. What kind of influencers did P&G hire for their campaign?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

d. What did influencers do to increase sales?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

e. Was their ad campaign successful? Why or why not?

…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
f. What does the author mean by saying “fish where the fish are”?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
g. Why do customers trust influencers more than TV commercials or newspaper ads?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
h. Why does the author take P&G as an example of an enlightened brand?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………

DISCUSSION PROMPTS
1. “Influencers make us feel individual”. How far do you agree with this statement?
2. How popular is influencer marketing in your country?
3. What kind of marketing strategies do you think will be popular on the Internet
in the future?
 28
EXTRA READING
How Influencer Marketing Took Power, and What the Future Holds
By Kay Van Antwerpen
Image credit: Violeta Stoimenova | Getty Images
1
In the last decade, the rise of social
media rewrote marketing norms most of
us had taken for granted. The relationship
between advertising, brand development,
and storytelling looks different today than
it ever has before.
2
While marketing teams used to gauge
success in search impressions and website
clicks, that’s not entirely the case anymore.
Impressions are never bad, of course, but
they fail to indicate how closely your
ad campaigns are resonating with your
audience.
3
Audience attention and engagement is
the new goal.
4
Consumers are often unengaged with
traditional advertising formats. Your ad
campaign may appear in front of millions
of people, but how many of them actually
consciously internalized the message you
were sending?
5
The present-day consumer is flooded
with television commercials, billboards, and
banner ads all grabbing for their attention.
They’ve learned to subconsciously tune
them out. To reach your audience, you
Reading the News 1
December 8, 2020
have to break through the noise. Arguably
the most successful way to do this is to
seamlessly integrate yourself into the
social media experience alongside your
users. Don’t intrude upon their experience
— rather, become part of the experience.
6
This new philosophy is the reason
influencers have become essential.
The ideal influencer
7
For those without an influencer budget,
let’s get you up to speed: The most important
function of a social media influencer is,
essentially, to eliminate blatant advertising
and invisibly bridge the gap between the
advertiser and consumer. Ideal influencers
are people who:
• Are already using and enthusiastic
about your product.
• Cast a wide social media net that
includes your target audience/consumer
demographics.
• Are already capable of creating
conversations about purchasing choices
with your target.
• Is capable of both creating conversation
around your product, and influencing
their followers to make a purchase based
on perceived knowledge, authority, or
position (whether or not there is tangible
authority is irrelevant - these decisions
are made based on style, branding, and
popularity, not connoisseurship).
8
In old-school marketing terms, an
influencer is a multiplier — a single person
who is capable of returning multitudes of
purchases to your company.
Reading the News 1
9
This may sound unusually risky to those
steeped in old-school marketing tactics. To
an extent, you are giving up some control
over your online conversation by putting
the power of your brand in the hands of an
influencer. However, the trust built with
consumers by having this sort of two-way
relationship with a brand representative
pays back in dividends.
10
There are also many, more traditional
methods to gauge the efficiency of an
influencer, including:
• Quality of content
• Rise or fall in page views
• Search engine rankings
• Improved reputation
• Consumer awareness.
Why TikTok is a path to the future
11
Tik Tok isn’t part of the Facebook/
Google duopoly, so it’s often overlooked
despite being the seventh largest social
media platform in use with 800 million
users. It’s a shame, because Tik Tok is
exceedingly friendly to businesses — both
small-time entrepreneurs and corporations
alike.
12
Its user interface is almost perfect for
storytelling and brand development. For
starters, it removes the option to intrude
on user experiences — there are no static
banners, no forced pre-roll, no GIFS —
everything is immersive. If you run a video
ad, it will appear in a user’s feed alongside
the other users they follow.
13
Tik Tok is about how you tell your story
and how you connect with your audience
and community. The best storytellers with
the best stories rise to the top. As its Global
Business page tells marketing leaders:
“don’t make ads, make Tik Toks.”
29
14
As an example, The Pasta Queen — a
single chef — built a following of over a
quarter-million followers in less than three
and a half months.
15
In another instance, Dunkin Donuts
(rebranded now as simply Dunkin) snagged
Tik Tok superstar and self-proclaimed
Dunkin Cold Brew junkie Charli
D’Amelio. In addition to sponsoring the
influencer, Dunkin renamed its cold brew
“The Charli.”
16
As a result, Dunkin’s app downloads
spiked 57 percent above the previous 90-
day average, and the app itself set a new
record for active daily users. There was
a 20 percent spike in cold brew sales on
the first day, and a 45 percent spike on the
second day.
What an uncertain economic future
means for influencers
17
Of course, there’s another elephant in
the marketing room. Covid-19 has changed
the way all businesses operate. Influencers
are no exception.
18
Fortunately, influencer advertising
seems to run on par with the rest of
the advertising world. While there was
an advertising downtick in early 2020
(businesses wanted to avoid appearing
insensitive to the worldwide crisis, and
were already seeing a boost in natural
traffic during lockdown initiatives) the
gears of advertising seem to be spinning as
usual once again.
19
If anything, the biggest hurdle to
overcome is the change of spending
priorities. Because many consumers have
lost a fraction of their income, discretionary
spending is down while they focus on
groceries and other household necessities.
 30 Reading the News 1

20
The problem here isn’t necessarily
a lack of work for social media influencers,
instead its a creative barrier.
21
Instead of marketing to buyers with
a wad of spending cash in their pocket,
influencers now must find new angles
to sell necessary products. Beauty
representatives have to sell their makeup
and hair products to people who primarily
appear before clients through zoom calls,
or work in pajamas. Tech influencers
will likely push new ways to stay in
communication with socially distanced
friends.
22
The point is, the need for advertising
is there — it’s just that the problem
marketing agents are solving has changed.
We’re no longer selling to a world with
discretionary income — we’re selling
products based on necessity, self-care,
and comfort during lockdown.

Extra Reading Tasks

1. Read the article and write some key points that you can grasp from the article.
2. Discuss the following questions with your partners:
a. How have social media changed the way people do marketing nowadays?
b. What is the function of a social media influencer? What should an ideal
influencer do?
c. What good and bad effects does the uncertain economic future have on
influencers?