For the more ethical, when there's a disjuncture between who you are and how you're projected on social media, you simply pack it in. That's true of a tiny minority of 'influencers' on social media whose twitter, Instagram and YouTube followers can number anything between tens of thousands and tens of millions. This story is about the retailers who've jumped on the bandwagon to pay very big money to 'influencers' to promote their brands. Only it seems, the bubble has burst in some cases as viewers realise that those promoting the products don't actually use them, or worse still, fraudulently inflate their follower-figures in a digital world where accurate tracking is nigh impossible. The social media celebrities who eschew money for reputation are far and few between, though several are profiled here. Imagine $100,000 for a single YouTube video or Instagram photo of you with some product? One impediment; you need to be a big-name social media star. Imagine a group like SA's Ndlovu Youth Choir, who made the finals of America's Got Talent this year, promoting products? Their very essence, that authentic youthful vigour and naïveté, would be instantly destroyed. – Chris Bateman

Online influencers tell you what to buy, advertisers wonder who's listening