The Making of an Egyptian Social Media Influencer

Abstract

This qualitative study, set against the backdrop of Egypt, examines how social media influencers construct their online identity and build their online persona. Social media, which have been primarily developed in the West, have infiltrated the Egyptian society; they have opened doors to different forms of personae and content such as social media influencers. In Egypt their numbers have increased, and they have become an important part of the social media scene. They aim to build their audiences and fan bases with the ultimate objective of monetising their presence. This study focuses on nine Egyptian social media influencers, through employing in-depth interviews, and seeks to explore how they construct their online identity and how they build their distinct personae. The analysis revealed that they build a distinct online person for themselves to impress their audiences and fans. Moreover, they perform authentically; they seek to be perceived as authentic and to display this authenticity they undertake a number of processes.