Online Media - Influencers

 Select an influencer - this may be someone you already follow or a notable one that you are aware of. Complete a textual analysis of their Instagram page considering;

  • How do they ensure audience engagement?

  • How do they ensure financial gain?

  • How do they use lexis and language to attract audiences?

  • How do they display convergence? (links to other media/products)

  • How do they develop audience habits (encouraging the audience to come back)

  • The posts themselves (costume, make-up, lighting, framing, representation.

Influencer: @wolfiecindy (Cindy Kimberly)




  • Cindy Kimberly ensures audience engagement by posting regularly. On her page, she has her stories archived so people are able to go through them regardless of when she had posted them. This creates more interactions with her audience. She is a hegemonically attractive woman this may be engaging to some audiences as they are attracted to her. Her feed is fairly casual, although she does mainly post photos of herself, she balances it out by posting things such as food, places, things. Which gives more of a personality to her account. She keeps the audience engaged by interacting with them through the comment section etc. She also has another account which uses rarely but it only consists of her photography and art. This lets her audience see her in another light, a more personal, and connects them better. 
  • They ensure Financial grain by having a big following which is increasing due to her popularity. In the photo above, in her bio, she has linked all her managements. She has several which can imply she is quite successful and is 'desired' as a model for companies. As well as this she has included her PR's email and her email address so people can contact them easily. A link to her lastest work/sponsor is also there. Savage by Fenty is a popular and well-known brand, meaning she may grain more recognition, more following thus more financial grain. Amongst her posts she has many more sponsorships, she even has her own clothing line with Boohoo. Magazine pages are also on her feed, recently did a shoot with 'Alo'. All of these factors indicate she is getting Financial grains. 
  • The lexis and language she uses are many causals that may be attractive to her audience as they are fairly young, teenagers. Her captions on many of her posts are short and quick, which fits with her branding of being a 'normal, casual person. Also implies she isn't trying too hard. It forces the audience to divert their attention to the picture itself rather than the caption, another tactic to keep the audience engaged. 
  • She displays digital convergence by giving her audience a variety of different platforms to interact with her. She has a Twitter, she is a model and has included many of her work, Although she rarely does use her own channel she appears in other's video. In fact, she is friends with many people that are well known. Including David Dobrik, Madison Beer, Alissa Violet etc.
  • The caption for this photo is funny and witty which appeals to her audience. As it makes it more casual and makes seem natural. Like a friend joking with one and another.
  • She is in the centre of the photo which again forces the attention to go to her. 
  • She is a hegemonically attractive woman 
  • The mise-en-scene of her costumes which is a bathrobe and towel contrasts massively to her makeup and her jewellery as they are more 'dressy', she has a light red lip look which reinforces the 'laid back' vibe that the photo is trying to achieve 
  • The background of the photo is atheistically pleasing as well
  • Her costume is voyeuristic as it is an open robe 
  • Gold jewellery can have connotations of wealth and power. It is also related to prosperity and femininity. We can also argue that gold is considered more elegant than silver 
  • The background, lighting, fresh tan suggests she is on vacation 
  • All of these things engage the audience as it is promoting her lifestyle it isn't too prestigious or pressuring. The image shows she is happy and her lifestyle as quite desirable. 
  • Her representation can also help her attract audiences as she is a person of colour and she is seen embracing it. Although it more common now for someone of colour succeed and do well in this industry. Before and arguably even now there is a lack of representation in the media. There is usually a certain look that the producers one, which isn't very diverse. 

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