YouTube’s Controversial Deal is Just Another Way to Scam People
Digital marketing has been working hard to make the internet free, open, and a vital place for everyone online. But still, the question lingers, how much can you trust information online?
The phrase that “Content is King” could never be truer than ever, especially in today’s social media verse. The brains behind those high resolution images and quirky captions are a line of people, often forgotten, but the actual force to be reckoned, known as the “content creators”. Self-claimed content creators are everywhere in the internet: bloggers, v-loggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers (if that even counts) and list goes on.
Admittedly, along with the increasing number of fans and followers, the voice of these content creators is sometimes even stronger than politicians or celebrities in a traditional sense.
The idea of relatable and personal-level engagement is extremely attractive for general public, especially the millennial.
According to statistics, 70% of teenage subscribers on YouTube trust influencer’s opinions more than other people, and 2/5 of the millennial subscribers say that their favorite creators understand them better than their friends.
Creating Wealth
In general, there are two business models that work for content creators that are not independently wealthy in order to make money: they can either survive off of the generosity of their fans or they can live off of ads and sponsored contents.
Beyond simply making contents worthy of social media shared, often brands will compensate these content creators for creating content for them, either financially or with free products. These brands may also post the content on the company’s own social media channels and websites to help these creators grow their presence even more.
Balancing the vision of the sponsors, the personal style of the creators, as well as authenticity for the audiences is the key for a successful collaboration.
But, either way, the fact is, there is a lot of power invested in these internet-savvy creators that can practically stir the direction of how the audiences react towards certain brands. At such, both creators and companies have concerns regarding the misuse of sponsorship deals to deliver vague information for personal goals.
Controversial Deal
In 2018, YouTube faced its most controversial sponsorship deal yet. In a placement made by BetterHelp, the company paints itself as the “world’s largest online counseling platform”, which aims to help people dealing with mental issues such as depression, stress, anxiety, self-esteem, addictions, relationships, grief, and many more.
So what could possibly go wrong with online therapy sessions?
When dug deeper, curiously, the company’s website explicitly declares that the service should not be used for people dealing with severe mental illness or those with the tendency to self-harm. The company also states that they do not control the quality of Counselor Services that they offer and are unable to determine whether any counselors are qualified to provide specific service or whether they are the right matched for the clients. In addition, the company is also trying to brush off any responsibility by mentioning that their services are not a complete substitute for a face-to-face examination and/or a session by a licensed qualified professional.
Mental health has become a wide-spreading topic in YouTube community and many of the fan-favorite and well-known YouTubers have partnered with the platform and posted heartfelt videos addressing their triumphant victory after decades of struggles with depression by using service provided by BetterHelp. As you might have guessed, when the whole scandal with BetterHelp unveiled, these YouTubers started to get a ton of backlashes and being accused of exploiting their fans with mental illness. Apparently the YouTubers have been paid from every person who signed up by using their referral links.
Truth to be told, it is not necessarily their attempt to ‘make money’ over their depressed fans or the patient-doctor privacy issue that sent the internet to rampage, it is the fact that the fans discovered the “ugly truth” about the YouTubers that they adore. The whole facade of ‘authenticity’ is torn apart and fans are left unsure if the people they listen to are actually genuine or just another “famous people”.
As the controversy continues to heat up with a growing number of negative reviews surfaced, eventually, these YouTubers have either ended their sponsorship deals with BetterHelp or put it on a temporary hold.
Lesson to Learn
At the end of the day, content creators rely heavily on authenticity and credibility to establish their viewers’ database. Building trust isn’t easy and may take years to accomplish, yet it only take seconds to break. The BetterHelp drama shows how influencer’s credibility could significantly be affected overnight and they should take responsibility for every sponsorship decision they made.
Remember what Uncle Ben always says, “With great power comes great responsibility”.
=======================================
Viral Access is an AI and data-driven social communication company — we help you tell your story through social media. We pair your brand with relevant micro and nano influencers that help you increase awareness, engagement and conversion. We have the systems and team in place to support large scale communications throughout Asia.
For business inquiries, contact us at: info@viralaccess.asia.
