IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ijrema/v41y2024i3p427-435.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The creator’s dilemma: Resolving tensions between authenticity and monetization in social media

Author

Listed:
  • Hofstetter, Reto
  • Gollnhofer, Johanna Franziska

Abstract

In social media, remaining authentic while taking advantage of monetizing opportunities is a key dilemma for online content creators—the creator’s dilemma. Individuals typically start as small-scale creators, creating the content they enjoy. As they grow, the temptations of monetization increase, creating tension with their sense of authenticity. This can affect how genuine their content appears, potentially altering how they and others perceive their authenticity. Five in-depth interviews with mega-creators (content creators with more than one million followers) provide qualitative insights into how this dilemma can evolve and what strategies creators use to balance authenticity and monetization. The interviewed creators suggest three strategies, by moving (1) from paid advertising to co-creation with brands, (2) from staging content to improvising content, and (3) from producing content to growing their own creator brand. This non-representative and conceptual discussion motivates future research into the creator’s dilemma.

Suggested Citation

  • Hofstetter, Reto & Gollnhofer, Johanna Franziska, 2024. "The creator’s dilemma: Resolving tensions between authenticity and monetization in social media," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 427-435.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:41:y:2024:i:3:p:427-435
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2024.07.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811624000557
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2024.07.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hinz, Oliver & Skiera, Bernd & Barrot, Christian & Becker, Jan, 2011. "Seeding Strategies for Viral Marketing: An Empirical Comparison," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 56543, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    2. Scott K. Shriver & Harikesh S. Nair & Reto Hofstetter, 2013. "Social Ties and User-Generated Content: Evidence from an Online Social Network," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(6), pages 1425-1443, June.
    3. Audrezet, Alice & de Kerviler, Gwarlann & Guidry Moulard, Julie, 2020. "Authenticity under threat: When social media influencers need to go beyond self-presentation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 557-569.
    4. Edward F. McQuarrie & Jessica Miller & Barbara J. Phillips, 2013. "The Megaphone Effect: Taste and Audience in Fashion Blogging," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(1), pages 136-158.
    5. Amy Pei & Dina Mayzlin, 2022. "Influencing Social Media Influencers Through Affiliation," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(3), pages 593-615, May.
    6. Gil Appel & Lauren Grewal & Rhonda Hadi & Andrew T. Stephen, 2020. "The future of social media in marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 79-95, January.
    7. Jaeyeon (Jae) Chung & Yu Ding & Ajay Kalra & Amna Kirmani & Andrew T Stephen & Sarah G Moore, 2023. "I Really Know You: How Influencers Can Increase Audience Engagement by Referencing Their Close Social Ties," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 50(4), pages 683-703.
    8. Teresa Borges-Tiago, Maria & Santiago, Joanna & Tiago, Flavio, 2023. "Mega or macro social media influencers: Who endorses brands better?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Fine F. Leung & Flora F. Gu & Robert W. Palmatier, 2022. "Online influencer marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 226-251, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gerrath, Maximilian H.E.E. & Olya, Hossein & Shah, Zahra & Li, Huaiyu, 2024. "Virtual influencers and pro-environmental causes: The roles of message warmth and trust in experts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Liyanaarachchi, Gajendra & Mifsud, Matthieu & Viglia, Giampaolo, 2024. "Virtual influencers and data privacy: Introducing the multi-privacy paradox," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Rosengren, Sara & Campbell, Colin & Rapp Farrell, Justine, 2024. "Tricks of the trade: Understanding and utilizing influencer tactics to improve retailer performance," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Fine F. Leung & Flora F. Gu & Robert W. Palmatier, 2022. "Online influencer marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 226-251, March.
    5. Spörl-Wang, Katja & Krause, Franziska & Henkel, Sven, 2025. "Predictors of social media influencer marketing effectiveness: A comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    6. Adrian Waltenrath, 2024. "Consumers’ ambiguous perceptions of advertising disclosures in influencer marketing: Disentangling the effects on current and future social media engagement," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 34(1), pages 1-24, December.
    7. Liao, Junyun & Chen, Jiada, 2024. "The authenticity advantage: How influencer authenticity management strategies shape digital engagement with sponsored videos," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    8. Conde, Rita & Casais, Beatriz, 2023. "Micro, macro and mega-influencers on instagram: The power of persuasion via the parasocial relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    9. Zafar, Abaid Ullah & Shahzad, Mohsin & Ashfaq, Muhammad & Shahzad, Khuram, 2023. "Forecasting impulsive consumers driven by macro-influencers posts: Intervention of followers' flow state and perceived informativeness," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    10. Andonopoulos, Vasiliki & Lee, Jenny (Jiyeon) & Mathies, Christine, 2023. "Authentic isn't always best: When inauthentic social media influencers induce positive consumer purchase intention through inspiration," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Eelen, Jiska & Özturan, Peren & Verlegh, Peeter W.J., 2017. "The differential impact of brand loyalty on traditional and online word of mouth: The moderating roles of self-brand connection and the desire to help the brand," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 872-891.
    12. Brüns, Jasper David & Meißner, Martin, 2024. "Do you create your content yourself? Using generative artificial intelligence for social media content creation diminishes perceived brand authenticity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Xi Chen & Ralf van der Lans & Michael Trusov, 2021. "Efficient Estimation of Network Games of Incomplete Information: Application to Large Online Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(12), pages 7575-7598, December.
    14. Alnoor, Alhamzah & Abbas, Sammar & Khaw, Khai Wah & Muhsen, Yousif Raad & Chew, XinYing, 2024. "Unveiling the optimal configuration of impulsive buying behavior using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis and multi-criteria decision approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. Lianren Wu & Jinjie Li & Jiayin Qi & Deli Kong & Xu Li, 2021. "The Role of Opinion Leaders in the Sustainable Development of Corporate-Led Consumer Advice Networks: Evidence from a Chinese Travel Content Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-20, October.
    16. Li, Wenting & Zhao, Fang & Lee, Ji Min & Park, Jiwoon & Septianto, Felix & Seo, Yuri, 2024. "How micro- (vs. mega-) influencers generate word of mouth in the digital economy age: The moderating role of mindset," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    17. Liangfei Qiu & Zhan (Michael) Shi & Andrew B. Whinston, 2018. "Learning from Your Friends’ Check-Ins: An Empirical Study of Location-Based Social Networks," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 1044-1061, December.
    18. Wang, Feng & Zhang, Xueting & Chen, Man & Zeng, Wei & Cao, Rong, 2022. "The influential paradox: Brand and deal content sharing by influencers in friendship networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 503-514.
    19. Aw, Eugene Cheng-Xi & Chuah, Stephanie Hui-Wen, 2021. "“Stop the unattainable ideal for an ordinary me!” fostering parasocial relationships with social media influencers: The role of self-discrepancy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 146-157.
    20. Thomas, Veronica L. & Fowler, Kendra, 2023. "Examining the outcomes of influencer activism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:41:y:2024:i:3:p:427-435. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-research-in-marketing/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.