Influencer marketing
As social media continues to become a major platform for advertising, there has been a significant increase in sponsored posts on Instagram in just this past year. Buzzoole, an international marketing agency, found that the use of #ad on Instagram has increased by 44 percent in the first half of 2018.
Social media influencers are people who have built a network of followers that endorse products online. Brands have ditched traditional advertising techniques and trust these influencers to promote their products to target an audience.
Because brands are becoming more responsible about how they spend their marketing dollars, Instagram influencers create an opportunity for brands to reach audiences they would have otherwise had to spend a lot of money to advertise to on a different platform. Influencers typically generate their own content, making this marketing strategy appealing because of its efficiency. Although this strategy seems like a smart choice, the issue of authenticity and fake followers has become a problem for companies and agencies investing in influencer marketing.
Cody Pittman, director of marketing at PR Hacker, a marketing agency based in San Francisco, said that this new wave of advertising is a smart tactic for brands.
“You can think of an influencer as a mini marketing agency that creates their own content, manages their own audience, and manages their content distribution,” he said. “They are an incredibly useful tool and asset for an agency or brand to leverage and have a partnership with.”
Instagram influencer, Morgan Shlegel, who has 39,500 followers, has been posting sponsored pictures since 2015.
“I really started to see a lot of companies contact me when I got to around 20,000 followers my sophomore year. I remember living in my sorority house and constantly getting these packages from little clothing startup boutiques, and jewelry stores. In exchange, I would just post something for them,” she said.
Shlegel said that companies reach out to her at least once a week, but only accepts offers when they align with her values or the content that she is trying to post.
“I try to keep it real,” she said.
Hallie Cain, a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, follows around 100 influencers on Instagram.
“I’m super easily influenced by what I see on Instagram,” she said, “I only find new clothing and makeup brands, through influencers. I absolutely never find things on my own.”
Pittman believes that this type of marketing will continue to rise. Given how economical and efficient using Instagram influencers can be, essentially there is no waste in media expenses. This approach allures companies and brands wanting to grow their audience.
“I think the role of influencers and influencer marketing is not at its peak yet,” Pittman said.
As influencer marketing continues to grow and evolve, companies are now seeing the faults of this online advertising.
In a study done by the Journal of Business Research by Casaló et al., found that if Instagram followers perceive that the influencer is only sponsoring the product for the compensation they receive, it can negatively affect the user’s opinion of the influencer as well as the company.
Page Grossman, a freelance marketing writer and blogger, has caught some of the faux pas in influencer marketing.
“You want to have that radical transparency and honesty in your marketing and telling an influencer what to say and do, people are going to see right through that and it’s not going to be successful.”
Even though influencer marketing budgets have increased exponentially, the money is being spent on influencers who buy their followers or engagements on their posts. This puts companies at risk of promoting their product to bots as well as working with ineffective influencers who cannot target their audience.
Academic digital engagement strategist and adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, Matthew Duncan, believes influencer marketing is overused and has been abused by marketers.
“There’s some new things going around with influencers using fake accounts to look more important than what they really are,” he said. “Companies are wasting money where they could be spending it elsewhere.”
Duncan suggested that it is also important from a business standpoint to think about a sales funnel. The top layer of the funnel is awareness of the product, but the consumer is not ready to make any decisions. The bottom of the funnel, the conversion layer, is when the consumer has decided and is willing to buy the product.
“Influencers tend to be at the top part, just general awareness. Yes, I know about your brand but I’m no closer to buying your product than I was before that.”
Influencer marketing can be successful if done right. Companies must choose authentic and genuine influencers who can make a meaningful connection to their audience to see beneficial results from this strategy.
Contact Information:
Cody Pittman: (317) 413-5064, Cody.Pittman@prhacker.com
Morgan Shlegel: (314) 374-2302, Instagram: @mschlegel
Hallie Cain: (314) 359-8429
Page Grossman: (817) 296-2397, page.grossman@gmail.com
Matthew Duncan: matt.duncan@colorado.edu
Sources:
Casaló, L.V., Journal of Business Research (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.005