Published by Manny Udrija using Shortly.ai
What is influential Marketing?
It seems like influencers have taken over all social media channels nowadays. Chances are, if you spent some time online these days, you probably witnessed someone refer to themselves as an influencer promoting some product or service. The definition says that an influencer is a person who has a certain degree of influence over people. You may have been influenced by your parents, friends, or even your favorite celebrities to purchase something like, for example, food or apparel. In today’s generation, the power of influence used in marketing is more significant than ever. Social media channels such as Instagram and Snapchat have made it easier for brands to reach their audience through influencers who are also social media users.
In the digital age, it seems that the general population is likelier to trust influencers over celebrities such as Taylor Swift because they feel like they know these individuals better than they know Taylor Swift. Speaking of celebrities and influencers, do you know who the most followed person in the world is? You guessed it… You thought it; it was Kylie Jenner! With over 103 million followers on Instagram, Kylie Jenner is easily the most followed person in the world. She has been featured in Vogue magazine and Forbes Magazine as one of the most powerful women in the world for 2016. Who is your favorite influencer?
Source: Instagram @kyliejenner
How do Influencers affect marketing?
With the explosion of social media, influencer marketing is becoming a necessity for most businesses. However, there is a difference between word-of-mouth marketing and influencer marketing. Word-of-mouth marketing involves using consumers to share information about the company and its products through personal interaction. This can be as simple as telling your friend about a great experience at your favorite restaurant. On the other hand, influencer marketing is where companies work with social media’s top personalities to endorse their products, advertise on their channels, or get them to post something they created on their social media accounts. Brands are doing this because it allows them to reach a larger audience than they could imagine.
In fact, according to a Forbes article, 90% of people are likely to trust a recommendation even online from a stranger. Word of Mouth Marketing goes hand in hand with influential marketing. Roughly 6 trillion dollars spent annually are due to word-of-mouth marketing. In 2021 alone, $3.7 billion was spent on influencer marketing, a 30% jump from the previous year. Marketing or advertising on social media is essential for any business. It allows companies to reach their customers through the most used medium. It also lets companies know what their target audience wants, leading to better company and products. Influencer marketing has become increasingly popular because social media stars can connect with consumers more directly than celebrities. For example, an influencer may provide a more authentic message because they can speak from firsthand experience rather than just promoting something they think their fans want them to promote. You don’t need millions of followers on your social media accounts to become an influencer. Most experts agree that roughly $1k followers are a good starting point to becoming an influencer!
What are some types of Influencer Marketing?
Most influencers on social media tend to specialize in one niche, such as beauty products or gaming. However, some of the biggest influencers are active in multiple different places. This is called cross-over marketing. Cross-over marketing is when a brand and an influencer intersect their demographics and audiences simultaneously by sharing similar interests with the audience. For instance, if Kylie Jenner has an Instagram account with 93 million followers, she may transmit an image saying she loves a particular perfume from a company she has designed clothing for or sponsored by them. This type of marketing allows brands to reach a larger audience and influencers to support different types of brands.
An excellent way for companies to reach their target audience is through collaborations with popular social media influencers. Companies need to get these influencers on board if they want to compete with other brands in their marketplace. Another great thing about collaborations is that it is relatively cheap for companies/brands. A brand only pays an influencer when the product sells, not every month as other advertisements would require.
Another type of marketing is called Talent Marketing, which involves signing up popular social media users and content creators as sponsored or paid affiliates without disclosing it. These influencers differ from traditional advertisers because they receive compensation for endorsing a product. An example of this type of marketing is when a YouTuber receives payment to endorse or promote a product without disclosing that they are being paid to do so.
This type of marketing is effective because a person can become an influencer overnight and have just as much influence as a celebrity. With technological advancement, people have become increasingly interested in social media. Social media has become even more accessible through our mobile devices.
Which industries are the most successful with Influencer Marketing?
According to a technology survey done in 2016, 32% of the people surveyed said they trust what influencers say on social media. So in this digital age, it makes sense that the most booming industries are the ones that use Influencer Marketing. Surprisingly, even companies that do not sell traditional products still succeed through influencer marketing. A great example is when wearable technology company Fitbit partnered with Youtuber Bethany Mota to create a fitness challenge. This advertisement promoted Fitbit’s newest product and boosted Mota’s statistics. And since the challenge had many views, Fitbit could reach a new and broader market. Another successful collaboration comes from the fashion industry. Companies hire Instagram models to post pictures of clothing or brands without tagging the brand directly. These photos give off a sense of closeness between the influencer and the consumer because they seem like friends.
This type of marketing has also grown in popularity within the food industry. Food companies use social media influencers to promote all aspects of their company and their products, such as food package designs or cooking recipes. These types of influencers are referred to as “Foodies.” Foodies work very well with food companies because they create unique content that allows consumers to determine which brands they do and do not like.
Source: GetHyped
Another aspect of marketing through technology is called Augmented Reality. Through augmented reality (AR), a company or brand can show a picture of an object on their phone or computer and have the image appear in real life in front of the consumer. For example, a brand may be able to put a picture from their website on their app and allow consumers to view it as if it were in front of them.
What does the future look like for Influencer Marketing?
With the increase in technological advancements, it is only natural that influencer marketing will also advance. One passage is called influencer marketing automation. Influencer marketing automation looks at the content created by influencers and analyzes the best times to run ads on their content to have maximum outreach. Another form of technology that helps with marketing is chatbots, which allow a company or brand to converse with followers through an instant messenger application. Chatbots allow companies to release advertisements, respond to customers’ questions about their products, and much more. Chatbots can make conversations more personal by using language-specific responses from previous discussions. This allows brands to connect with consumers at a deeper level. Another technology that will shape the future of influencer marketing is blockchain. Blockchain is a technology that allows information to be shared between parties without the need for an intermediary. For example, if a company wanted to share price information with developers, blockchain could transfer the data from one party to another without needing an intermediary. Influencer marketing will continue to evolve as technology continues to advance. We will begin seeing more social media influencers become paid sponsors and take on different roles than just being influencers to make more money.