Determining Influencers using SWOT Analysis
While personal judgement is so tangible using social media platforms to form an opinion on someone, swot analysis are a better and more efficient way to determine if one is a “great” social media influencer vs. a “good” one. A swot analysis is a strategic way of finding the strengths and weaknesses in relation to a business or company that needs social media influencing. Swot analysis are more resourceful to go by because it focuses on the potential internal and external threats that a candidate includes.
Jeffree Star is an American entrepreneur known for Youtubing, Modeling, Dj’ing, but he is most known for being a makeup artist. He started his makeup line ‘Jeffree Star Cosmetics’ in 2014 and it quickly took off soon after. In 2017 old comments from the artist resurfaced the internet and “cancel culture” took its’ course. There were pictures of him with a confederate flag from before he was famous, and even other celebrities said to have noticed the racist behavior.
If one was to run a swot analysis, it would be clear to the public eye that he is threatening his own opportunities, and a threat to the environment/audience he portrays himself in. These actions are a threat to his opportunities because if another company wanted to collaborate with him on a new product, then the company will have a bad reputation for teaming up with someone who is racist. This is also a threat to his audience because the POC who do/did buy products from his brand no longer feel supported by the man of his brand.
Businesses that did associate with Jeffree Star before confronted their issues to the public and made a statement that they do not support or condone such behavior.
Although Jeffree has some bad traits, there are still some strengths that he has to offer also. With Jeffree being a YouTuber, he created an internet personality that his audience chose to fall in love with. He does a great job staying up to date with new products that will release soon, and he did the right thing and apologized for his past and present behaviors that involve racism.
With everything being said, he still continues to sell out in certain products because his fans either forgave him, or because the quality of his makeup is so different and pigmented compared to anyone else’s. Doing a swot analysis is a beneficial way to interpret whether one has a good advocator for the business/marketing/influencing industry.
