SINGAPORE: When a TikTok influencer posted in March what he deemed a “brutally honest” review of food sold by a Ramadan bazaar stall, it went viral, with many others chiming in with their opinions.
These cases have stoked negative sentiment online against the businesses, raising questions over whether too much attention and power has been granted to these online personalities. Then there are the “marketing gurus” popping up on social media advertisements, claiming entrepreneurial and investment experience and offering to teach viewers how to make more money.
Closer to home, market research company YouGov found earlier this month that 21 per cent of those surveyed in Singapore expressed confidence in “at least some” health advice provided by social media influencers. This is higher than the global average of 16 per cent. “Previously, our society was very much concentrated on people in positions of power, or people who are particularly famous or successful; these were the very common spokespeople used for various kinds of advertising,” said the professor of communication and technology.
She added that these influencers don't necessarily need to produce well-crafted content to get their messaging across. Other laws that influencers could run afoul of include stirring up enmity against religious groups or inciting people to act in harmful ways, said Mr Woon, who's from the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ School of Law.for attempting to promote ill will among racial and religious groups through online posts.
Agreeing, Ms Wong Pei Wen, a senior lecturer of strategic communication at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, said that upon receiving a bad review or even an outright accusation from an influencer, a business should not be too quick to react. He said he has been offered sponsorship deals in such circumstances, but has always insisted on using the product first to test its effectiveness.
Yet the increased relevance of influencers can have a positive impact as well, especially when they come from marginalised or disadvantaged communities. While not specifically targeted at influencers, there are guidelines for online marketing and social media use developed by the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore , an advisory council under the Consumers Association of Singapore.