The Rise of Virtual Influencers in the Digital Economy

In recent years, artificial intelligence has gradually begun to influence the situation of the contemporary Internet celebrity economy. One of the most significant changes is the emergence of virtual Internet celebrities, that is, virtual social media characters generated through computer software technology, whose behaviour imitates real Internet celebrities. Although these virtual digital images do not exist in the real world, they will still publish content, interact with fans, and cooperate with brands. This rise shows that technological innovation is reshaping the influence structure of digital marketing, media production, and online culture.

Figure 1. Lil Miquela virtual influencer.

[Source: Wired – “Lil Miquela and the Rise of Digital Humans.”]

Lil Miquela and the Rise of Digital Celebrities

Lil Miquela is one of the most well-known virtual Internet celebrities, a computer-generated character by Broode in 2016. Despite being a fictional character, Lil Miquilla has more than 3 million followers on Instagram and has partnered with major fashion brands including Prada, Calvin Klein, and Samsung (Marwick, 2015; Moustakas et al., 2020). There are many other virtual Internet celebrities, such as Imma and Shudu Gram from Japan, who have also attracted a large number of fans online. These digital figures combine the fields of entertainment, advertising, and artificial intelligence through social media platforms.

The Expansion of the Influencer Marketing Industry

The rapid development of virtual Internet celebrities is closely related to the expansion of the global Internet celebrity marketing industry. According to recent market research, the value of the Internet celebrity marketing industry will exceed $21 billion in 2023, which reflects the increasing importance of social media celebrities in digital advertising (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2023). The rise of virtual Internet celebrities also represents the beginning of a new stage, enabling companies to design fully controllable brand spokespersons by computer. Unlike human Internet celebrities, virtual Internet celebrities will not grow old, do not need to pay a salary, and will not have the risk of personal scandals. These great advantages are very attractive to brands seeking stable marketing methods.

Figure 2. Lil Miquela virtual influencer.

[Source: The Diiigitals and Virtual Rags Studio]

Virtual Influencers in the Media Economy

From the perspective of media economy, virtual Internet celebrities represent a new form of digital labour and cultural production. The concept of media economy explores how media content is produced, distributed and profited in the business system (Napoli, 2011). For virtual Internet celebrities, creative studios, marketing agencies and technology developers will work together to create digital roles with marketing value. These roles create value through sponsoring posts, brand collaborations and online interactions. Therefore, virtual Internet celebrities blur the boundaries between media production, artificial intelligence and advertising.

At present, some scholars have begun to study the audience's views on these virtual digital characters. Research shows that virtual Internet celebrities can produce a similar degree of participation to human Internet celebrities, especially among young audiences who are familiar with digital characters and game culture (Djafarova & Trofimenko, 2019). Some studies even show that the novelty of virtual Internet celebrities can better attract people's attention and curiosity, thus increasing the interaction between the audience and sponsored content (Moustakas et al., 2020). However, some studies point out that in some cases, consumers may still think that human Internet celebrities are more authentic and credible in comparison (Lou and Yuan, 2019).

Authenticity and the Future of Virtual Influencers

The development of virtual Internet celebrities has also raised important questions about the authenticity and representativeness of digital culture. In the traditional sense, the development of social media Internet celebrities depends on the perception of authenticity. Fans believe that they are interacting with real bloggers who share their personal experiences online (Abidin, 2016). Virtual Internet celebrities, on the other hand, challenge this hypothesis by revealing their virtual images. Their personality, views, and lifestyles are carefully designed by the behind-the-scenes marketing team and designers, which also raises questions about transparency and the influence of enterprises on online discourse.

Figure 3.Serah Reikka, left, and Shudu, right, are virtual influencers and models

[Source:New Scientist]

Despite these concerns, the use of virtual Internet celebrities is still expanding. Many brands see them as creative narrative tools, prompting companies to explore new forms of creativity, while the rise of virtual Internet celebrities also shows broader trends in digital media. Their emergence reflects the integration of artificial intelligence technology in content production, communication, and marketing. In a word, the emergence and growth of virtual Internet celebrities reflect the growing relationship between technology, the media industry, and online culture.

As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, virtual Internet celebrities are becoming more and more common in advertising and other entertainment fields. But their rise has also raised important questions about the issue of authenticity, the issue that companies will control corporate discourse, as well as the future role of the creativity of human beings in the digital economy.

Reference List

Abidin, C. (2016). Visibility labour: Engaging with Influencers’ fashion brands and# OOTD advertorial campaigns on Instagram. Media International Australia, 161(1), 86-100.

Djafarova, E., & Trofimenko, O. (2019). ‘Instafamous’ – credibility and self-presentation of micro-celebrities on social media. Information, Communication & Society, 22(10), 1432–1446.

Influencer Marketing Hub. (2023). Influencer marketing benchmark report 2023. https://influencermarketinghub.com

Lou, C., & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: How message value and credibility affect consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 58–73.

Marwick, A. E. (2015). You may know me from youtube:(micro‐) celebrity in social media. A Companion to Celebrity, 333-350.

Moustakas, E., Lamba, N., Mahmoud, D., & Ranganathan, C. (2020). Blurring lines between fiction and reality: Perspectives of experts on marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers. International Journal of Information Management, 55, 102–112.

Napoli, P. M. (2011). Audience evolution: New technologies and the transformation of media audiences. Columbia University Press.

De Veirman, M., Cauberghe, V., & Hudders, L. (2017). Marketing through Instagram influencers: The impact of the number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude. International Journal of Advertising, 36(5), 798–828.