Technology is constantly shaping the way we live our lives and with the frequency of its updates, sometimes you’re in the dust trying to keep up! Social media and influencers might be like that for some people who spend their time online.
I mean, after all, the concept of a single person plastering their life online and getting millions of likes is a bit strange at first. This phenomenon has actually been taken a step further. As if the internet didn’t set enough limits in the first place!
What are you?
In 2023 we welcome the Virtual Influencer on our screens. In layman’s terms, this is an influencer who has a social media account but is technically just a bunch of pixels on a screen. The Japanese were perhaps the first to do something within this paradigm Hatsune Mikuthe virtual pop star popular all over the world to this day.
@gamepur
Exists online only, Virtual influencers have a large following due to their likeable characteristics and realistic looks. They have recently been picked up as a marketing tool for businesses online and on social media.
Some examples of virtual influencers
With the realism of these influencers, it’s no surprise that many of them manage to amass millions of followers. Most popular is @Lilmiquela on Instagram with 2.9 million followers.
Miquela has quite a following and has become well known in the mainstream too! She was listed by Times Magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential “People” on the Internet. She has also modeled for high-end fashion brand Prada and has completed millions of streams on Spotify.
There are a lot of other influencers of this kind. In 2011, Prada again included a virtual character in one of their campaigns.
British and French supermarket chain Marks and Spencer surprisingly have their own Robot influencer named Mira. Mira is used to promote her clothing collections. M&S’s main audience segment is older generations, so this is definitely an interesting move from them, but groundbreaking nonetheless.
How does it work?
Through the clever use of artificial intelligence and computer-generated imagery, these characters come to life. They appear and act like humans. I can’t lie, when I first saw Mira it took me a few seconds to realize that it wasn’t a real person.
Everything down to the virtual influencer’s location and their outfits are designed by their owners/creators. There is always a mastermind behind such things, and they are the ones who benefit from branded deals and posts made on the accounts.
If brands have attempted to use the virtual influencer, it has turned out well for them. The current status quo with virtual influencers is actually pretty positive as people are generally interested in the concept.
@ Virtual Humans
What’s in it for brands? Surely it’s more logical to use a real influencer? Well, you can be wrong. Choose With Virtual Influencers, brands can choose how the campaigns are structured and her tone.
How human and personable these characters are ticks the authenticity box for consumers, bringing them closer to these influencers and brands as well.
Followers of the Sims game series will have seen the Avatar influencers fueling their marketing efforts. Cool, quirky designs were pumped into this idea and kept The Sims, a fairly old game, afloat and still relevant in the modern gaming industry among gamers.
Can this work in Web3?
The idea of a virtual influencer can absolutely workI don’t have a crystal ball, but the realistic CGI experience that has been put forward is totally adaptable in Metaverse land.
Fashion and entertainment brands have already entered the Metaverse, and as those experiences become more immersive from Decentraland Review and Meta, influencers like this one will absolutely drive brand awareness.
Virtual reality should welcome virtual influencers as they share similar traits. It may be a while before virtual reality catches up with the realism of current computer-generated influencers.
