Question of the Week: How Will the Lack of Net Neutrality Impact Influencer Marketing?

That’s a good question. And if we had a crystal ball (or believed in them) we could answer it (or pretend to). 

As professional marketers, we can only guess what the impact will be on influencer marketing at this point. What we can say for certain is that there WILL be an impact.

And it might happen sooner than later.

What Was the Benefit of Net Neutrality?

Those who favored the now halcyon days of net neutrality are concerned that Internet providers will start giving preferential treatment to sites that pay them or that they own. And if history has anything to say about it, that sounds about right. 

Furthermore, without net neutrality, those same providers are able to legally discriminate against sites that they don’t like. And they can choose to not like them for any reason at all. 

It doesn’t even have to be a good reason. They may simply not like the cut of the site’s jib. As such, they will make it much harder and SLOWER for people to access those sites.

Now, since influencer marketers rely on their websites,

content, and audience engagement to grow, they’re obviously concerned that without those fair access principles in place, their presence will be weakened. (Like going from a triple shot espresso to a cup of diner coffee.) 

Especially if the ISP Grand Poobahs - like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast - start placing commercial interests  first. 

So what does this all mean?

The Loss of Net Neutrality Will Change Influencer Marketing

And while several ISPs have publicly vowed to maintain neutrality, not all of them have. Over time, this is bound to have some repercussions.

1. Say Good-Bye to Unlimited Data

The repeal of net neutrality will likely be felt on the mobile level first. Broadband companies - if they so choose - could put the kibosh on streaming services and choose pay-by-play data packages instead. 

Influencers who rely on Instagram and Snapchat will probably see a reduction in the streaming content these platforms produce. Again, to keep data usage costs down.

2. Influencers Will Have to Charge More to Brands and Agencies

With net neutrality, audiences became accustomed to getting their content quickly. But as this starts to change, influencers and influencer networks will have to start paying out to the ISPs to get speed. (Sounds vaguely like a drug deal.) This cost will then be passed down to the agencies and brands who hire influencers.

Which leads us to point #3.

3. All Hail the Micro-Influencer

It could potentially become more and more expensive for brands to work with high-tier influencers. So rather than use a well-known influencer (think Beyoncé), they may have to leverage several micro-influencers (think The Backstreet Boys) across a campaign to get the word out. 

For the money they’re paying, these agencies will need to squeeze as much out of those micro-influencers as possible. And those Backstreet Boys are just not the chipper upstarts they once were. 

4. “You Can’t Put a Price on Knowledge”

Unless you’re an ISP.  

The thing is, most Americans get their news and info from search platforms and web-based encyclopedias. The sheer volume of content and the archival nature of the data on these sites makes them more expensive to host. As ISPs are now free to charge these “heavy-hitter” sites, the sites are then forced to charge users a subscription fee to offset those costs. 

And don’t believe for a minute that you can just get all your information from the “Uncle Larry’s Cavalcade of Interesting Facts” website. If the ISP feels that Uncle Larry wronged them, they’ll make it really difficult to see Uncle Larry. Or make him “disappear.” 

While this last point on paying for knowledge has a less direct impact on influencer marketing, it is a scary thought overall.

The Loss of Net Neutrality May Not Be That Bad

Again, we just don’t know.

It would be nice to believe that these ISP empires will recognize they don’t need to make any more money. It would also be nice to believe that nobody ever suffers. Especially puppies.

The bottom line of the loss of net neutrality could very well mean higher prices for the end user. At first, it may not seem like much. But who knows what it says for the long run?  

We sure don’t. But we can guess.