Narrowing my field sitE - Lifestyle Content 'Digital Trust'
- Lauren Avero
- Aug 13, 2020
- 3 min read
Hello and welcome back to discovering the wonderous world of ethnographic research!
In last week’s blog I determined my media niche is Lifestyle Influencers and this sense of ‘digital trust’ they build to fulfill successful social media marketing. This week I’ll begin to narrow down exactly what I want to ethnographically research. By constructing a field site map, researchers can define the objects and subjects of their research. It involves deconstructing a network of relationships identifying where the researcher should ideally be located as a participant observer (Massimo, 2018). Due to the digital nature of the field site however, it brings into question, that culture and community are not self-evidently located in place, thus then neither is the ethnography (Virtual Ethnography, 2000, p. 64). Thus a field site map is crucial when researching fields that appear as online, virtual or digital as it creates a visual output of a digital community rather than a real-life tangible one.
I’ve constructed a field site map to help breakdown my field site into a basic map. It’s this business side of lifestyle content that my sparks interest. I’m Majoring in Visual Communication and taking Marketing subjects which has generated curiosity for all thing’s communication. Marketing and branding strategies are all around us and this new age profession of social influencing is a new strategy to share brands and marketing with new niche audiences from a trusted source (influencer) to consumer (the influencers-built trust in its audience).
Many social media influencers can also be addressed as micro-celebrities as they are in the public eye and have gained a following. Most influencers have a strong connection to their audience “by sharing details of their personal lives, interacting with followers across social media platforms, and encouraging a sense of community” (Lawson, 2020).
SarahsDay is an Australian social media influencer who describes herself as ‘an Aussie holistic, health and fitness YouTuber with a love for functional fitness’ being part of her audience for 3 years now I can genuinely say she’s an honest and genuine in her online persona through YouTube and Instagram who shares her raw experiences of life. This is an interesting aspect to investigate as she’s built ‘digital trust’ in her audience but where does her responsibility as a creator come in with what she shares. She’s created many brand affiliations with products such as @Tropeaka and @White Fox Boutique but she also has a creative output to create her own products as well like her skincare line alongside @Labangbody, workout eBooks and an upcoming cooking project which will be interesting to investigate too.
At this current point I plan to gain a deeper understanding of the way in which lifestyle creators create a ‘digital trust’ within their audience and are able to share brand affiliates and offer my perspective being an audience member of various influencers. An ethnographic approach to researching marketing can reveal not only how consumers purchase and use products that influencers post about but their qualitative connection and experience with that product as a whole. This can include uncovering the connection whether it be attitudinal, emotional and behavioural, the consumer has made to the influencer that lead them to purchase that product. This research is also a great opportunity in regard to the marketing side of social media and will offer immense knowledge into my career prospects.
Thanks for tuning in, next week we’ll explore the research process,
Until next time, Live and Laugh,
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