Social media influencers have risen to prominence over the last decade, with some becoming household names. But should the marketing industry treat them as celebrity wannabes or a new wave of creatives?
Contrary to popular belief, influencer engagement didn’t start with the launch of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The concept was actually popularised by Malcolm Gladwell, whose book The Tipping Point became an international best seller when it was first published in 2000.
In it Gladwell espoused “The Law of The Few”, writing: “There are exceptional people out there who are capable of starting epidemics. All you have to do is find them.” Brands and marketing agencies needed no further encouragement. When the now familiar social media platforms launched a few years later, influencer engagement went into overdrive.
Fast-forward to today and influencers are an established part of the marketing mix. As concerns about ad blocking grow, influencer marketing is becoming increasingly important to brands. Last year, a study by Schlesinger Associates found that 84% of marketers surveyed said they planned to launch an influencer campaign within 12 months. The need for video content is another driver. Influencers can help brands create unique pieces of video content that don’t look like ads and has distribution baked in.
But, as the number of influencer deals increase, so too do the concerns. The budgets required for working with the top YouTube influencers such as Casey Neistat now rival those of TV ads. Meanwhile, thorny questions about value for money and a lack of transparent performance metrics are causing some to call out influencer marketing as a sham. In May this year, a social media executive published an online ‘confession’ claiming that the industry had ‘thrown too much money’ at influencers. Other marketers, such as Dom Burch, the former senior director of marketing innovation at Asda, have since agreed.
Life isn’t a bed of roses for influencers either. The YouTube video by 19-year-old Australian Instagram model Essena O’Neill went viral late last year when she dramatically quit the internet and exposed some of the hard truths about the reality of being a paid influencer.
Some social channels are also suffering from an exodus of influencers. Despite the hype surrounding the launch of Vine in 2012, research undertaken by the influencer management company Markerly reveals that the platform has lost more than 52% of influencers with more than 15,000 followers since January 2016.
By contrast Snapchat continues to grow at a pace. This is creating yet another wave of influencers such as OperAmericano, a 19-year-old Snapchat artist who recently took over Disney’s Snapchat account to celebrate Disneyland’s 60th anniversary.
Other winners include rewardStyle, co-founded by Amber Venz Box. This online platform has attracted 9,000 influencers – referred to as ‘premium digital style publishers’ – by enabling them to monetise their content. Venz Box claims to have driven $1bn in retail sales through her site, proving that it is possible to directly link the use of influencers to sales.
Where does all this leave marketers faced with a multitude of influencer agencies, talent managers and platforms? Here’s some advice to help navigate the maelstrom.
Don’t drink the Kool-Aid
Given the obvious appeal of influencer marketing to engage audiences with authentic content, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and believe that an endorsement from the latest influencer on social media will shift the dial for brands. While it may be true that influencers can help to lift sales, tactical campaigns are unlikely to drive brand value in the long-term.
Fit influencers into an overarching strategy
While influencers don’t represent a magic bullet, they are a vital part of the marketing mix when deployed strategically. Research conducted by L2 shows that the brands winning in digital are those that combine the use of influencers as part of an omni-channel strategy. For example, Calvin Klein’s #mycalvins campaign featuring Justin Bieber alongside many other influencers, saw ecommerce underwear sales increase by massive 21%, proving that influencers can drive sales as well as social buzz.
Build communities of influencers
Duncan Watts, a sociologist specialising in social dynamics, argues that contrary to Gladwell’s ‘Law of The Few’, it is actually small-world networks of connected cliques and hubs that drive trends. Building connections with networks of influential communities can yield significant results.
If at first you don’t succeed – learn
With so many over inflated promises and snake-oil salesmen around, it is easy to become disheartened by the real world challenges of working with influencers, especially if the results fail to transform the fortunes of your brand overnight. But don’t give up. Like any successful relationship, working with influencers takes time and requires good communication skills. However the rewards in the long-term are worth it.
Jonathan Akwue is chief executive at Lost Boys
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