A construção de carreiras de influenciadoras digitais: uma abordagem netnográfica em perfis dos nichos fitness e moda

Abstract

The context of online social networks has caused changes in communication, organizations, the labor market and, consequently, in the possibilities of building careers independently of business structures. Careers practically non-existent years ago have gained prominence today. Considering the new career paths, studies that seek to understand the process of construction of these careers in a globalized economy influenced by the Internet are demanded. It is from the construction of the online world that digital influencers create relationships with the public, to gain legitimacy, and build their careers. The context of the majority participation of women as digital influencers, linked to changes in their performance in the labor market in recent decades, stimulated the development of the following research objective: to understand the career construction of women digital influencers in the online social network Instagram in the fitness niches and fashion. From the proposed general objective, the specific objectives of the study were defined: a) to characterize the profile of digital influencers; b) know the trajectory of the women surveyed and their career transitions until they become digital influencers; c) understand the role of women as digital influencers; and d) analyze how socially constructed gender relations interfere in the career of digital influencers. The method used to carry out the study was netnography in profiles of female digital influencers on Instagram. The research is characterized as a qualitative approach in which three data collection techniques were used: observation, sociodemographic questionnaire and interviews with a semi-structured script. In all, 12 influencers participated in the survey. Data collection was carried out between September 2020 and March 2021. As a result of the research, it was identified that the beginning of the influencers' trajectory was marked by the sharing of their routines as a hobby and influences from other influencers. The main reasons that led the research participants to act as influencers were: purpose, flexibility, work routine, content creation and conciliation between personal and professional demands. The main difficulties reported by women in acting as influencers were the lack of recognition, the invisible work and the demand for time, factors that are related to the precariousness of the work of digital influencers. Elements that are associated with the socially constructed female figure in the social imaginary were identified in the participants' profiles, represented by the predominant colors in the feed, by a language aimed at the female audience and photos with medium or high body exposure. It was also identified that socially constructed aesthetic bodily and behavioral patterns are being reproduced in the virtual world. Thus, it is considered that the work focuses on the objective and subjective dimensions of the construction of the careers of digital influencers, represented by factors related to the work of influence and by the perceptions of women about these factors. The implications of social expectations in relation to women that often guide their performance in their profiles were also addressed.