The Influence of Influencers
In the last blog post, the ideas of modern marketing through social media were discussed in regards to viral marketing. While viral marketing is certainly gaining in popularity, there is another keystone of modern marketing that has become essential to any marketing effort. After the emergence of the Coronavirus, many traditional forms of marketing were affected. Large-budget TV ads were almost immediately shut down, in-person promotion events were canceled, and, as eCommerce sales skyrocketed, in-store promotions and sales became worthless. As companies began letting advertising dollars flow again, nearly all of it was focused on digital marketing. While advertising was already trending in this direction, the coronavirus exacerbated the shift as it did in many other sectors. In the new digital marketing world, the social media influencer has become a commodity sought after by nearly every marketing department across the world’s corporations. It is a profession created entirely by social media platforms and powered entirely by the mass of social media users. Now you may be tempted to say that influencer marketing is nothing new and that it is simply a reincarnation of celebrity marketing, a practice still that persists to this day, however, they have many fundamental differences. One of the most popular celebrity marketing campaigns in recent times, for all the wrong reasons, was the Pepsi commercial starring Kendall Jenner. The fundamental difference between celebrity and influencer marketing is presented by a simple question: “What does Kendall Jenner have to do with Pepsi?”.
The strength of influencer marketing is that it does not rely on name recognition to a broad audience but rather an
authentic relationship with a small demographic. Social media has evolved from the days of posting selfies and vacation pictures. People from all sorts of professions and areas of expertise can leverage social media to spread information and content related to their respective topics. For instance, Laurel Bristow, an infectious disease researcher is nearing 500,000 followers by using her Instagram page to inform her followers about covid and debunking false information. She is a great example of how niche topic experts can gain fame on social media and have access to a very specific demographic which brands want to leverage. Another great example is Marques Brownlee, a content creator who has over 3 million followers on Instagram and 15 million youtube subscribers. He exclusively publishes tech-related content about the newest product launches for several brands. In doing so, his demographic consists of a population heavily invested in technology and purchasing the newest products. These niche influencers have enormous credibility and an authentic relationship with their following which is invaluable to brands.
The rise of influencers is especially prevalent in the technology sector. Even Apple, a brand with unmatched brand loyalty and name recognition, relies heavily on influencers for the launch of any product. Before the launch of a major product, users on Instagram or Youtube can often see posts of people with the new iPhone or laptop days before the official launch. When a company like Apple sends a product to topic experts such as Marques Brownlee, his followers essentially watch twenty to thirty-minute adverts of the product which undoubtedly helps boost sales and product perception. This is an example of product-only influencer marketing (the influencer is paid through early possession of the product). This is largely a mutually beneficial relationship as Apple does not need to spend any capital on advertising and the influencers create exclusive content days before their peers which increases their exposure. The simplicity of this model has led to the exponential growth of the influencer marketing sector. According to the annual Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report, influencer marketing has increased by fifty percent each year for the last five years.
The story of influencer marketing isn't entirely positive, however. While it may seem great that influencers are able to grow and inform their followers of the newest products while also increasing their revenue, there is a downside that unproportionally affects the social media user. Of course, companies like Apple have the ability to do product-only contracts due to their massive popularity and this allows for an ethical relationship when influencers display the products. The line becomes far more blurred when smaller companies pay influencers in cash to advertise and promote their products. For many social media consumers, they are advertised to without their knowledge by people they follow. Regardless, as social media continues to grow, so will influencers and their reign over modern marketing as corporations battle for the biggest stars on social media. As is often the case, consumers will have to become more wary and cautious of who they follow and how they are being advertised to.
