Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (3:30 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Lifestyle & Niche Media Blog 4, Question 3 (March 2nd)
How are brands and advertisers using social
media influencers to target audiences? What are the pluses and minuses of using
TikTokers, Instagram stars, and YouTubers to promote products? Limit: 6 responses
Zeinab Dore Influencer marketing is a very popular and effective form of marketing. It is a method of marketing based on using important influencers to push the appeal of the brand to the larger market. Instead of marketing directly to a very large group of consumers, brands hire influencers to promote their products and services. In 2021, the Influencer Marketing Industry is set to rise to around $13.8 billion. Because of the pandemic, people have been spending more time online. The industry had concerns that it would decrease but it certainly did not because they have changed their ways of selling products and services and have been thriving in the era of COVID (Influencer Marketing Hub). Influencers have the power to affect someone’s character, growth or actions. As they are also real people, this makes their following relate to them, understand them, look up to them. This is why brands decide to hire an influencer that matches their criteria to help their products and services to reach a specific audience (Cleverism). To advertise a brand’s products and services, influencers use different strategies to advertise them. Some of them may include, making the influencer the face of brand, which is an effective way to promote the brand, make sponsored posts on social media, podcasts and webinars, events, partnerships, and many more (Cleverism). Influencer marketing can be one of the most effective ways that businesses can win new customers and grow their revenues but it can also have some major downsides. Collaborating with the right influencers will help the brand target the relevant audience that you need, and it would be easier to find influencers that are relevant to their function and industry. Trust and credibility are key. If an influencer trusts the brand, and they make a positive impact on them, their supporters are more inclined to trust the brand as well. Using influencers can broaden the brand’s reach. The cycle of sales gets reduced. Influencers devote a lot of time and effort into building a trusted relationship with their audiences. Their audience is more likely to trust their recommendations when an influencer validates the brand. They can end up purchasing products faster than other customers who hears about the products by other outlets (Shane Barker) Meanwhile, the influencer market can have drawbacks. Brands need time and effort to find the best influencers to collaborate with them. it can cause a lot of harm on the brand’s image and reputation if they don’t find the right influencers. Mistakes are bound to happen, but it can cost a lot for the brand. Influencers need to have the ability to produce outstanding content, if not, then the targeted audiences will not resonate with them, and the time and resources spent would be worthless (Shane Barker). There is a fine line between an efficient influencer marketing strategy and one that is a flop. However, the key is to get a suitable influencer who is trustworthy, and who is trusted by their following.
WORK CITED “The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 15 Feb. 2021, influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/#:~:text=Coronavirus%20has%20accelerated%20that%20growth,of%20%249.7%20billion%20in%202020. “Earning Power: Here's How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube.” Cleverism, 24 Nov. 2020, www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/. “The Pros and Cons of Using Influencer Marketing for Your Brand.” Shane Barker, 10 Feb. 2021, shanebarker.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing/.
Austin Pappolla (1/2) Brands and advertisers are using social media influencers to target their audiences in very creative ways. The are practically endless ways in which these brands pay or partner up with creators. From my experience, some of the most popular methods are through product reviews with affiliate links, special creator codes which give you a certain percentage off a purchase, and giveaways. These methods can be plugged in various ways as well. Whether it would be through a video, a live stream, or a simple post on their Instagram or Twitter, there are many popular methods. It goes into far more detail with how they the message is being spread though. According to Lexie Carbone of Later.com, video content is the number one way in which advertisers have creators spread their products. YouTube alone sees this millions of times. But now that Tik Tok has risen towards the top of social media, this trend will only continue to gain more popularity thanks to the major influencers on that platform. It is apparent that professional pictures and deep emotional content are at the top too (Carbone). I have seen it time after time with any influencer with a noticeable number of supporters. These companies know this is an extra way in which to put their product on the map. It gives them potential advertising to thousands, if not millions of people. It can greatly boost exposure and generate revenue in the long term. The pluses of social media influencers promoting products is rather straightforward. As mentioned previously, it is an easy way to reach thousands of people. Not only that, but it helps reach younger audiences and those who would other wise never have a chance to be exposed to the product being advertised. But that’s not all. Some consumers might feel more tempted to try the product out for themselves if they know their favorite influencers genuinely like the product. These influencers can have a profound affect on large portions of their audience, especially those who are extremely loyal and look up to these people. Martin Luenendonk says it the best in his Cleverism article. We trust our favorite influencers more than some actor or advertising voice we hear because influencers are real people (Luenendonk). Because they are real, we feel emotionally connected to them. Because we feel so connected, their good word on a product or brand feels more authentic. That emotional connection makes some of us believe their good word can be trusted and it is worth checking out the product for ourselves.
Austin Pappolla (2/2) On the other hand, there are potential disadvantages companies can face by putting their advertising in the hands of creators. It sounds harsh, but not everyone is cut out for making a convincing pitch. Some people will genuinely not be good at advertising a product. Not only that, but there is some potential backlash on the line if these companies are not careful enough. They must pick who they choose to partner with wisely. If they were to partner up with someone who is known for controversary or is a hated internet figure, then they risk seeing their reputation take a hit. One of the best possible examples I can think of is when the popular energy drink company G Fuel partnered with the most popular drama reporting YouTuber, Keemstar. Keemstar is known as a horrible person who loves to make money off other people’s misery. He is quick to be rude towards people on social media as well.. G Fuel stayed partnered with him for around 5 years. It wasn’t until he exploited a YouTuber who committed suicide when they finally decided to end the partnership. According to Kat Tenbarge of the Business Insider, Keemstar interviewed this person shortly before his death when he was released from a mental health facility. Even though Keemstar was not responsible for the man’s death, he still hypothetically asked him to jump off a building which is obviously not something you should be saying to someone who is not mentally stable even if it is a joke (Tenbarge). Keemstar has released edgy content and posts way before this happened. And yet G Fuel stuck around with him anyway. This is a prime example of a company not caring about who the creator is. G Fuel clearly cared more about the money than they did about the authenticity of the creator. These are the types of controversies which can severely hurt the reputation of your brand. That is why it can be so risky to partner up with some creators. Controversy can come about so easily.
Works Cited
Carbone, Lexie. "Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021." Later 5 Dec. 2020. https://later.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
Luenendonk, Martin. "Earning Power: Here’s How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube." Cleverism 24 Nov. 2020, https://www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
Tenbarge, Kat. “Energy drink company G Fuel no longer sponsors internet drama reporter Keemstar after claims that he exploited a YouTuber who died by suicide.” Business Insider, 20 May. 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/g-fuel-ends-keemstar-sponsorship-h3h3-ethan-klein-etika-2020-5#:~:text=Energy%20drink%20company%20G%20Fuel,YouTuber%20who%20died%20by%20suicide. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
Influencer marketing has been on the rise over the years, and it is predicted to rise even further in 2021. Brands and advertisers have been paying social media influencers to advertise their products and services in order to boost their popularity, and it has been successful. According to Lexie Carbone, “63% of marketers intend to increase their influencer marketing budget in the next year” (Carbone). The popularity of influencer marketing continues to rise, due to its proven success.
When dissecting influencer marketing and why it is so successful, it is important to make connections between the brand of the product/service, as well as the influencer’s brand/image. Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential, notes, "If we match back the brand's personality to the influencer's personality, we're seeing a 30 percent lift in engagement in overall ROI [return on investment]" (Detert). Companies are reaching their target audiences by going through an influencer who already has this same target audience. It is the same concept as advertising a children’s product on a children’s television channel -- the companies advertise to their target audience through a channel that is currently reaching it. Along with this, another key to influencer marketing success is not only tracking follower counts of potential influencers, but engagement. Detert says, “Celebrities have half a percent of engagement, versus someone who might be a domain expert that has half a million followers” (Detert). The follower counts may be high, but companies are making sure to also factor in the engagement level of who they partner with. Someone with a high follower count might not necessarily attract users to products/services if the users are not engaging with the content, and rather just quickly scrolling past. Influencer marketing techniques must be very strategic and analytical in order to find success.
There are pros and cons to advertising through internet influencers. On one hand, these people are relatable and they have a sort of one-sided parasocial relationship with their audience. A product can feel more personal when it is being advertised by an influencer that one looks up to, if the campaign is done well. Also, influencers can have a very niche audience, and this is very positive for a company looking to advertise to a specific target audience. Advertising to television or radio can still be rather broad, while influencers have a more refined audience. This can lead to companies spending less for a better outcome.
Although there are positives to this type of marketing, it can skew the wrong way. For example, if a brand deal is not carried out with proper precision, it can come off as impersonal and inauthentic. People will be steered away from the inauthenticity that they witness, because it feels empty and purposeless (the reason people follow these influencers in the first place is because their content has a purpose that they care about). Along with this, if an influencer suddenly garners a poor reputation, then the brand deal and company overall are also stained. Some examples of influencers who have suddenly gained poor public reputations are Logan Paul and Shane Dawson. MediaKix notes that “brands should proceed with extreme caution when working with controversial influencers. It’s crucial to be fully prepared with a media crisis plan” (MediaKix). Bouncing back from this type of occurrence would be difficult for a company, so it is important to be prepared going into a deal in order to avoid being blindsided. Overall, the benefits have seemed to outweigh the risks recently, and the trend seems to be going positively.
Works Cited:
Carbone, Lexie. “Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021.” Later Blog, 10 Dec. 2020, later.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends/. Meltzer, Lauren. “Social Media ‘Influencers’ Add a New Twist to Advertising .” CBS Moneywatch, 2018. “What Brands Should Takeaway From The Logan Paul Fiasco.” Mediakix, 16 Mar. 2018, mediakix.com/blog/logan-paul-controversy-influencer-marketing/.
Influencer marketing has been away for brands and advertisers to target audiences on a more personable level. Brands and advertisers seek influencers on popular social media channels to advertise their products versus traditional advertising methods. As influencer marketing has been proven successful, the industry is set to grow to roughly $13.8 billion in 2021 (Influencer Marketing Hub).
Brands factor in the number of followers/subscribers, engagement, previous work, and most importantly, if their brand will be adequately represented and reflected through this social influencer (Luenendonk). Influencers that are savvy in a specific topic can gain credibility through the number of followings alongside their content created. That credibility then translates over to the products they promote as followers trust the influencer and will purchase as a result. From my own experience, I follow a fitness influencer, Cass Martin, who is exceptionally transparent and only chooses to follow brands she knows aligns with her moral compass. I have bought clothes and supplements from companies she supports because she takes the time to release content with reviews, breaking down what’s in products and information about clothing brands. This makes an influencer successful versus the alternative influencers who sign with brands and don’t even use its products themselves.
The positivity that stems from using social media to promote products is that businesses invest more into influencer marketing due to the success. A Statista survey shows that two-thirds of the respondents said that influencer marketing has a better return on investments than traditional campaigns. This reflects the data showing how 79% of retail marketers have increased investing in influencer marketing (Censuswide). Another positive aspect is authenticity. Content creators like Nichole Ciotti would rather have a more realistic approach through her influence. Ciotti focuses more on quality engagement with her fans and cultivating an environment that pushes past caring about the numbers (Carbone). I feel as though this approach is hugely successful because I follow influencers with this approach versus the over glamorized posts and content solely about their brands they represent. I like to see the unscripted sides of influencers to show how they’re just like us who go through everyday problems similar to mine.
Negative reasons for using social media to promote products are having the right product and the wrong person. An example is when Adidas chose to use Naomi Campbell to promote their new shoes, 350 SPZL. Campbell may have been an excellent influencer, but the problems arose when she posted on Instagram, including some original messages with directions from the Adidas contact. It’s essential to have an excellent connection between the brand and influencer. Still, it’s equally important for the influencer to love what they’re doing and take the time to perfect posts instead of solely seeking the payout (Sid). Another negative piece in influencer marketing through social media is the lack of inclusion. Sashagai Ruddock, an entrepreneur, stated how brands have spoken out regarding the BLM movement but fearful of the future. Ruddock says how she fears brands will move without continuing to change. Additionally, in any partnership, Ruddock could use her talents to help a brand through this lens, but they would say there wasn’t a budget for it (Thomas). I hope that brands pushing for change don’t take inclusion as a fad and forget about the real need for proper representation.
Carbone, L. (2020, December 5). Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://later.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends/
Censuswide, Statista. (2020, November). Into the Mainstream: Influencer Marketing in Society. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www-statista-com.libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu/statistics/1200950/industries-increase-influencer-spending/
Influencer Marketing Hub. (2021, February 15). The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/#:~:text=Coronavirus%20has%20accelerated%20that%20growth,of%20%249.7%20billion%20in%202020
Luenendonk, M. (2020, November 24). Earning Power: Here's How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/
Sid, M. (2021, January 03). Social media influencer fails: Worst posts and marketing scandals. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://afluencer.com/social-media-influencer-fails-marketing-scandals/
Thomas, M. (2021, February 04). 4 Black Voices on Diversity in Influencer Marketing. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://later.com/blog/diversity-in-influencer-marketing/
There is a new way of marketing now that “influencers” are on the climb. They differ from celebrities; they do not usually hold Hollywood power, or are widely known by varying generations, or are known for a specific talent...but they still have large followings. Some have millions. And their engagement can be outstanding and even rival the Superbowl. There are different levels of influencers across different platforms. According to the Influencer Marketing Hub, there are six tiers: “Micro, Regular, Rising, Mid, Macro, and Mega” (2021 Report). All of them have different strengths. For example, influencers with less than 1,000 followers (sometimes referred to as nano), are trusted by their small audience (Luenendonk). They aren’t seen as “big”, and therefore will come off as authentic. TikTok influencers who fall under the Mid-level (100k-500k) have insane levels of engagement, averaging at about 32.55%. Brands and advertisers have taken notice of these benefits and downsides and are using them to their advantage. Influencers are a relatively new phenomenon, so “although there is no set way to run an influencer campaign, monthly is still the most common frequency for our respondents” (2021 report, Influencer Marketing Hub). I have personal experience with this. I am considered a Mid-level influencer on TikTok and have a bit of a niche following. My followers mostly began watching my content because I posted about “Avatar: The Last Airbender”. A brand recently approached me to highlight their new Avatar merchandise all throughout April. This makes our deal a monthly campaign. And, as Influencer Marketing Hub reported, they paid me with free products rather than money. There are both positives and negatives when dealing with these influencers. The biggest negative that I never put much thought into is fake influencers. I was always aware people bought followers and likes, but I didn’t realize how widespread this issue was and how easily people could be fooled. Brands can accidentally funnel thousands of dollars into fake influencers who “do not have meaningful influence over a real audience” (Zote). Additionally, influencers can be prone to a controversy that may be directly tied to a brand. For example, the makeup brand Morphe pairs with large YouTube influencers like James Charles, Manny MUA, and Laura Lee. When these three people got into widespread, public drama, Morphe was tied to these influencers and ended up dropping them. There are many positives, though. Individuals seem way more authentic than brands, especially if fans have followed them for years and trust their word. Additionally, depending on their audience size, their views may rival the Superbowl. YouTuber Mr. Beast averaged 42 million views per video on his last 10 uploaded videos. All of these videos were over 10 minutes long, meaning his audience most likely has a good retention rate. It would cost a brand a fraction of the money to sponsor him and get the amount of views similar to the Superbowl. Overall, if brands haven’t jumped into influencer marketing, they should definitely start soon!
Luenendonk, Martin. “Earning Power: Here's How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube.” Cleverism, 24 Nov. 2020, www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/. “The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 15 Feb. 2021, influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/#:~:text=Coronavirus%20has%20accelerated%20that%20growth,of%20%249.7%20billion%20in%202020. Zote, Jacqueline. “What Are Fake Influencers and How Can You Spot Them?” Sprout Social, 23 July 2019, sproutsocial.com/insights/fake-influencers/.
Brands and advertisers have been using influencer marketing for a very long time now. To the point that platforms made their creators have to actually say that the video or post is a “#ad, paid promotion, etc.” The onset of this I believe was YouTube with the large user base and user retention to certain content creators. I saw my first paid promotion being on what some call TechTube, the more tech-oriented side of YouTube aimed at showing off new and expensive gear for photography, videography, gaming, etc. While this is not the most common example of influencer marketing it was the one that I saw a lot before it spread to other platforms influencers. While influencer marketing is very affective due to it directly targeting a content creators user base it also can reach others in its target market that are not part of the user base or even on that specific platform. Nowadays almost every YouTube video I watch has a sponsor or some sort of paid promotion, and while I know it helps some of my favorite content creators afford to make their content, the effects it can have on their user base can be somewhat concerning. Especially now that it has become the main form of advertising on many platforms. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube influencers can be seen promoting different brands products at least once a week when it comes to general posts and once every video when it comes to video content. Why that is concerning is the capability influencers have to affect their fans personal growth both mentally and physically, “Marketing and sales are all about having an effect on someone – their behavior and choices, and influencers are a way of doing that. Not only are influencers real people who have their own jobs and private lives, thus making them more relatable to us than some paid commercial actor, but we also have some sort of relationship with them because we follow them.” (Luenendonk 4). While not all influencers have a young impressionable audience, the ones that do can indirectly influence the way they perceive a brand, product, or message as they may not entirely think for themselves yet. This sort of relationship between influencer and user is what makes it concerning to me. You wouldn’t trust some random stranger on the street so why are you trusting someone clearly making money from the ad, because they have a large following?
While I do believe influencer marketing can be dangerous to certain individuals it does have a very effective outcome. Unsurprisingly the pandemic benefited this form of marketing even more, “Coronavirus has accelerated that growth in 2020, and this is estimated to continue in 2021. From a mere $1.7 billion in 2016, influencer marketing is estimated to have grown to have a market size of $9.7 billion in 2020. This is expected to jump to $13.8 billion in 2021.” (Benchmark Report). While its not surprising it does raise the question as to why they would go back to other forms of advertising at all. Using influencers for advertising means that the company or brand does not have to worry about reaching a target market as they already have a user base that will see that advertisement in a video format most likely, “Instagram influencer Elizabeth Gilmore agrees, commenting: “Video first, always! I’ve found the more authentic, in the moment, and less ‘curated’ the better. It keeps viewers more engaged and a stronger authenticity makes people feel more human and part of the action.” (Carbone 7). With that it will provide direct links to the brand as well as a trusted face in front of it. It works better than any paid actor because of that relationship between the user and the influencer. The only other downside I can see to advertising this way would have to be the brands themselves. One of the most prolific ads during 2020 was Raid Shadow Legends a MMORPG mobile game based in a fantasy world, and it was terrible. Nearly all gaming YouTubers had some sort of paid promotion with them, and while it did result in about a 250 million player base. It also tanked the game once people actually started playing it and made it more of a meme that a playable game. An example like this or brands trying to somehow target younger audiences are really the only downsides that I can think of when it comes to influencer marketing.
Works Cited:
"The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report." Influencer Marketing Hub 15 Feb. 2021.
Luenendonk, Martin. "Earning Power: Here’s How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube." Cleverism 24 Nov. 2020,
Carbone, Lexie. "Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021." Later 5 Dec. 2020.
Zeinab Dore
ReplyDeleteInfluencer marketing is a very popular and effective form of marketing. It is a method of marketing based on using important influencers to push the appeal of the brand to the larger market. Instead of marketing directly to a very large group of consumers, brands hire influencers to promote their products and services. In 2021, the Influencer Marketing Industry is set to rise to around $13.8 billion. Because of the pandemic, people have been spending more time online. The industry had concerns that it would decrease but it certainly did not because they have changed their ways of selling products and services and have been thriving in the era of COVID (Influencer Marketing Hub).
Influencers have the power to affect someone’s character, growth or actions. As they are also real people, this makes their following relate to them, understand them, look up to them. This is why brands decide to hire an influencer that matches their criteria to help their products and services to reach a specific audience (Cleverism).
To advertise a brand’s products and services, influencers use different strategies to advertise them. Some of them may include, making the influencer the face of brand, which is an effective way to promote the brand, make sponsored posts on social media, podcasts and webinars, events, partnerships, and many more (Cleverism).
Influencer marketing can be one of the most effective ways that businesses can win new customers and grow their revenues but it can also have some major downsides.
Collaborating with the right influencers will help the brand target the relevant audience that you need, and it would be easier to find influencers that are relevant to their function and industry. Trust and credibility are key. If an influencer trusts the brand, and they make a positive impact on them, their supporters are more inclined to trust the brand as well. Using influencers can broaden the brand’s reach. The cycle of sales gets reduced. Influencers devote a lot of time and effort into building a trusted relationship with their audiences. Their audience is more likely to trust their recommendations when an influencer validates the brand. They can end up purchasing products faster than other customers who hears about the products by other outlets (Shane Barker)
Meanwhile, the influencer market can have drawbacks. Brands need time and effort to find the best influencers to collaborate with them. it can cause a lot of harm on the brand’s image and reputation if they don’t find the right influencers. Mistakes are bound to happen, but it can cost a lot for the brand. Influencers need to have the ability to produce outstanding content, if not, then the targeted audiences will not resonate with them, and the time and resources spent would be worthless (Shane Barker).
There is a fine line between an efficient influencer marketing strategy and one that is a flop. However, the key is to get a suitable influencer who is trustworthy, and who is trusted by their following.
WORK CITED
Delete“The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 15 Feb. 2021, influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/#:~:text=Coronavirus%20has%20accelerated%20that%20growth,of%20%249.7%20billion%20in%202020.
“Earning Power: Here's How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube.” Cleverism, 24 Nov. 2020, www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/.
“The Pros and Cons of Using Influencer Marketing for Your Brand.” Shane Barker, 10 Feb. 2021, shanebarker.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing/.
Austin Pappolla (1/2)
ReplyDeleteBrands and advertisers are using social media influencers to target their audiences in very creative ways. The are practically endless ways in which these brands pay or partner up with creators. From my experience, some of the most popular methods are through product reviews with affiliate links, special creator codes which give you a certain percentage off a purchase, and giveaways. These methods can be plugged in various ways as well. Whether it would be through a video, a live stream, or a simple post on their Instagram or Twitter, there are many popular methods. It goes into far more detail with how they the message is being spread though. According to Lexie Carbone of Later.com, video content is the number one way in which advertisers have creators spread their products. YouTube alone sees this millions of times. But now that Tik Tok has risen towards the top of social media, this trend will only continue to gain more popularity thanks to the major influencers on that platform. It is apparent that professional pictures and deep emotional content are at the top too (Carbone). I have seen it time after time with any influencer with a noticeable number of supporters. These companies know this is an extra way in which to put their product on the map. It gives them potential advertising to thousands, if not millions of people. It can greatly boost exposure and generate revenue in the long term. The pluses of social media influencers promoting products is rather straightforward. As mentioned previously, it is an easy way to reach thousands of people. Not only that, but it helps reach younger audiences and those who would other wise never have a chance to be exposed to the product being advertised. But that’s not all. Some consumers might feel more tempted to try the product out for themselves if they know their favorite influencers genuinely like the product. These influencers can have a profound affect on large portions of their audience, especially those who are extremely loyal and look up to these people. Martin Luenendonk says it the best in his Cleverism article. We trust our favorite influencers more than some actor or advertising voice we hear because influencers are real people (Luenendonk). Because they are real, we feel emotionally connected to them. Because we feel so connected, their good word on a product or brand feels more authentic. That emotional connection makes some of us believe their good word can be trusted and it is worth checking out the product for ourselves.
Austin Pappolla (2/2)
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are potential disadvantages companies can face by putting their advertising in the hands of creators. It sounds harsh, but not everyone is cut out for making a convincing pitch. Some people will genuinely not be good at advertising a product. Not only that, but there is some potential backlash on the line if these companies are not careful enough. They must pick who they choose to partner with wisely. If they were to partner up with someone who is known for controversary or is a hated internet figure, then they risk seeing their reputation take a hit. One of the best possible examples I can think of is when the popular energy drink company G Fuel partnered with the most popular drama reporting YouTuber, Keemstar. Keemstar is known as a horrible person who loves to make money off other people’s misery. He is quick to be rude towards people on social media as well.. G Fuel stayed partnered with him for around 5 years. It wasn’t until he exploited a YouTuber who committed suicide when they finally decided to end the partnership. According to Kat Tenbarge of the Business Insider, Keemstar interviewed this person shortly before his death when he was released from a mental health facility. Even though Keemstar was not responsible for the man’s death, he still hypothetically asked him to jump off a building which is obviously not something you should be saying to someone who is not mentally stable even if it is a joke (Tenbarge). Keemstar has released edgy content and posts way before this happened. And yet G Fuel stuck around with him anyway. This is a prime example of a company not caring about who the creator is. G Fuel clearly cared more about the money than they did about the authenticity of the creator. These are the types of controversies which can severely hurt the reputation of your brand. That is why it can be so risky to partner up with some creators. Controversy can come about so easily.
Works Cited
Carbone, Lexie. "Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021." Later 5 Dec. 2020. https://later.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
Luenendonk, Martin. "Earning Power: Here’s How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube." Cleverism 24 Nov. 2020, https://www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
Tenbarge, Kat. “Energy drink company G Fuel no longer sponsors internet drama reporter Keemstar after claims that he exploited a YouTuber who died by suicide.” Business Insider, 20 May. 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/g-fuel-ends-keemstar-sponsorship-h3h3-ethan-klein-etika-2020-5#:~:text=Energy%20drink%20company%20G%20Fuel,YouTuber%20who%20died%20by%20suicide. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
Alyssa Murphy (1/2)
ReplyDeleteInfluencer marketing has been on the rise over the years, and it is predicted to rise even further in 2021. Brands and advertisers have been paying social media influencers to advertise their products and services in order to boost their popularity, and it has been successful. According to Lexie Carbone, “63% of marketers intend to increase their influencer marketing budget in the next year” (Carbone). The popularity of influencer marketing continues to rise, due to its proven success.
When dissecting influencer marketing and why it is so successful, it is important to make connections between the brand of the product/service, as well as the influencer’s brand/image. Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential, notes, "If we match back the brand's personality to the influencer's personality, we're seeing a 30 percent lift in engagement in overall ROI [return on investment]" (Detert). Companies are reaching their target audiences by going through an influencer who already has this same target audience. It is the same concept as advertising a children’s product on a children’s television channel -- the companies advertise to their target audience through a channel that is currently reaching it. Along with this, another key to influencer marketing success is not only tracking follower counts of potential influencers, but engagement. Detert says, “Celebrities have half a percent of engagement, versus someone who might be a domain expert that has half a million followers” (Detert). The follower counts may be high, but companies are making sure to also factor in the engagement level of who they partner with. Someone with a high follower count might not necessarily attract users to products/services if the users are not engaging with the content, and rather just quickly scrolling past. Influencer marketing techniques must be very strategic and analytical in order to find success.
Alyssa Murphy (2/2)
ReplyDeleteThere are pros and cons to advertising through internet influencers. On one hand, these people are relatable and they have a sort of one-sided parasocial relationship with their audience. A product can feel more personal when it is being advertised by an influencer that one looks up to, if the campaign is done well. Also, influencers can have a very niche audience, and this is very positive for a company looking to advertise to a specific target audience. Advertising to television or radio can still be rather broad, while influencers have a more refined audience. This can lead to companies spending less for a better outcome.
Although there are positives to this type of marketing, it can skew the wrong way. For example, if a brand deal is not carried out with proper precision, it can come off as impersonal and inauthentic. People will be steered away from the inauthenticity that they witness, because it feels empty and purposeless (the reason people follow these influencers in the first place is because their content has a purpose that they care about). Along with this, if an influencer suddenly garners a poor reputation, then the brand deal and company overall are also stained. Some examples of influencers who have suddenly gained poor public reputations are Logan Paul and Shane Dawson. MediaKix notes that “brands should proceed with extreme caution when working with controversial influencers. It’s crucial to be fully prepared with a media crisis plan” (MediaKix). Bouncing back from this type of occurrence would be difficult for a company, so it is important to be prepared going into a deal in order to avoid being blindsided. Overall, the benefits have seemed to outweigh the risks recently, and the trend seems to be going positively.
Works Cited:
Carbone, Lexie. “Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021.” Later Blog, 10 Dec. 2020, later.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends/.
Meltzer, Lauren. “Social Media ‘Influencers’ Add a New Twist to Advertising .” CBS Moneywatch, 2018.
“What Brands Should Takeaway From The Logan Paul Fiasco.” Mediakix, 16 Mar. 2018, mediakix.com/blog/logan-paul-controversy-influencer-marketing/.
Katt Lekko
ReplyDeleteInfluencer marketing has been away for brands and advertisers to target audiences on a more personable level. Brands and advertisers seek influencers on popular social media channels to advertise their products versus traditional advertising methods. As influencer marketing has been proven successful, the industry is set to grow to roughly $13.8 billion in 2021 (Influencer Marketing Hub).
Brands factor in the number of followers/subscribers, engagement, previous work, and most importantly, if their brand will be adequately represented and reflected through this social influencer (Luenendonk). Influencers that are savvy in a specific topic can gain credibility through the number of followings alongside their content created. That credibility then translates over to the products they promote as followers trust the influencer and will purchase as a result. From my own experience, I follow a fitness influencer, Cass Martin, who is exceptionally transparent and only chooses to follow brands she knows aligns with her moral compass. I have bought clothes and supplements from companies she supports because she takes the time to release content with reviews, breaking down what’s in products and information about clothing brands. This makes an influencer successful versus the alternative influencers who sign with brands and don’t even use its products themselves.
The positivity that stems from using social media to promote products is that businesses invest more into influencer marketing due to the success. A Statista survey shows that two-thirds of the respondents said that influencer marketing has a better return on investments than traditional campaigns. This reflects the data showing how 79% of retail marketers have increased investing in influencer marketing (Censuswide). Another positive aspect is authenticity. Content creators like Nichole Ciotti would rather have a more realistic approach through her influence. Ciotti focuses more on quality engagement with her fans and cultivating an environment that pushes past caring about the numbers (Carbone). I feel as though this approach is hugely successful because I follow influencers with this approach versus the over glamorized posts and content solely about their brands they represent. I like to see the unscripted sides of influencers to show how they’re just like us who go through everyday problems similar to mine.
Negative reasons for using social media to promote products are having the right product and the wrong person. An example is when Adidas chose to use Naomi Campbell to promote their new shoes, 350 SPZL. Campbell may have been an excellent influencer, but the problems arose when she posted on Instagram, including some original messages with directions from the Adidas contact. It’s essential to have an excellent connection between the brand and influencer. Still, it’s equally important for the influencer to love what they’re doing and take the time to perfect posts instead of solely seeking the payout (Sid). Another negative piece in influencer marketing through social media is the lack of inclusion. Sashagai Ruddock, an entrepreneur, stated how brands have spoken out regarding the BLM movement but fearful of the future. Ruddock says how she fears brands will move without continuing to change. Additionally, in any partnership, Ruddock could use her talents to help a brand through this lens, but they would say there wasn’t a budget for it (Thomas). I hope that brands pushing for change don’t take inclusion as a fad and forget about the real need for proper representation.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited:
Carbone, L. (2020, December 5). Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://later.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends/
Censuswide, Statista. (2020, November). Into the Mainstream: Influencer Marketing in Society. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www-statista-com.libraryproxy.quinnipiac.edu/statistics/1200950/industries-increase-influencer-spending/
Influencer Marketing Hub. (2021, February 15). The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/#:~:text=Coronavirus%20has%20accelerated%20that%20growth,of%20%249.7%20billion%20in%202020
Luenendonk, M. (2020, November 24). Earning Power: Here's How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/
Sid, M. (2021, January 03). Social media influencer fails: Worst posts and marketing scandals. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://afluencer.com/social-media-influencer-fails-marketing-scandals/
Thomas, M. (2021, February 04). 4 Black Voices on Diversity in Influencer Marketing. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://later.com/blog/diversity-in-influencer-marketing/
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ReplyDeleteThere is a new way of marketing now that “influencers” are on the climb. They differ from celebrities; they do not usually hold Hollywood power, or are widely known by varying generations, or are known for a specific talent...but they still have large followings. Some have millions. And their engagement can be outstanding and even rival the Superbowl.
ReplyDeleteThere are different levels of influencers across different platforms. According to the Influencer Marketing Hub, there are six tiers: “Micro, Regular, Rising, Mid, Macro, and Mega” (2021 Report). All of them have different strengths. For example, influencers with less than 1,000 followers (sometimes referred to as nano), are trusted by their small audience (Luenendonk). They aren’t seen as “big”, and therefore will come off as authentic. TikTok influencers who fall under the Mid-level (100k-500k) have insane levels of engagement, averaging at about 32.55%. Brands and advertisers have taken notice of these benefits and downsides and are using them to their advantage.
Influencers are a relatively new phenomenon, so “although there is no set way to run an influencer campaign, monthly is still the most common frequency for our respondents” (2021 report, Influencer Marketing Hub). I have personal experience with this. I am considered a Mid-level influencer on TikTok and have a bit of a niche following. My followers mostly began watching my content because I posted about “Avatar: The Last Airbender”. A brand recently approached me to highlight their new Avatar merchandise all throughout April. This makes our deal a monthly campaign. And, as Influencer Marketing Hub reported, they paid me with free products rather than money.
There are both positives and negatives when dealing with these influencers. The biggest negative that I never put much thought into is fake influencers. I was always aware people bought followers and likes, but I didn’t realize how widespread this issue was and how easily people could be fooled. Brands can accidentally funnel thousands of dollars into fake influencers who “do not have meaningful influence over a real audience” (Zote). Additionally, influencers can be prone to a controversy that may be directly tied to a brand. For example, the makeup brand Morphe pairs with large YouTube influencers like James Charles, Manny MUA, and Laura Lee. When these three people got into widespread, public drama, Morphe was tied to these influencers and ended up dropping them.
There are many positives, though. Individuals seem way more authentic than brands, especially if fans have followed them for years and trust their word. Additionally, depending on their audience size, their views may rival the Superbowl. YouTuber Mr. Beast averaged 42 million views per video on his last 10 uploaded videos. All of these videos were over 10 minutes long, meaning his audience most likely has a good retention rate. It would cost a brand a fraction of the money to sponsor him and get the amount of views similar to the Superbowl.
Overall, if brands haven’t jumped into influencer marketing, they should definitely start soon!
Works cited:
ReplyDeleteLuenendonk, Martin. “Earning Power: Here's How Much Top Influencers Can Make on
Instagram and YouTube.” Cleverism, 24 Nov. 2020, www.cleverism.com/earning-power-heres-how-much-top-influencers-can-make-on-instagram-and-youtube/.
“The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 15 Feb. 2021,
influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/#:~:text=Coronavirus%20has%20accelerated%20that%20growth,of%20%249.7%20billion%20in%202020.
Zote, Jacqueline. “What Are Fake Influencers and How Can You Spot Them?” Sprout
Social, 23 July 2019, sproutsocial.com/insights/fake-influencers/.
Matthew Taylor
ReplyDeleteMedia Trends Blog #4
Brands and advertisers have been using influencer marketing for a very long time now. To the point that platforms made their creators have to actually say that the video or post is a “#ad, paid promotion, etc.” The onset of this I believe was YouTube with the large user base and user retention to certain content creators. I saw my first paid promotion being on what some call TechTube, the more tech-oriented side of YouTube aimed at showing off new and expensive gear for photography, videography, gaming, etc. While this is not the most common example of influencer marketing it was the one that I saw a lot before it spread to other platforms influencers. While influencer marketing is very affective due to it directly targeting a content creators user base it also can reach others in its target market that are not part of the user base or even on that specific platform. Nowadays almost every YouTube video I watch has a sponsor or some sort of paid promotion, and while I know it helps some of my favorite content creators afford to make their content, the effects it can have on their user base can be somewhat concerning. Especially now that it has become the main form of advertising on many platforms. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube influencers can be seen promoting different brands products at least once a week when it comes to general posts and once every video when it comes to video content. Why that is concerning is the capability influencers have to affect their fans personal growth both mentally and physically, “Marketing and sales are all about having an effect on someone – their behavior and choices, and influencers are a way of doing that. Not only are influencers real people who have their own jobs and private lives, thus making them more relatable to us than some paid commercial actor, but we also have some sort of relationship with them because we follow them.” (Luenendonk 4). While not all influencers have a young impressionable audience, the ones that do can indirectly influence the way they perceive a brand, product, or message as they may not entirely think for themselves yet. This sort of relationship between influencer and user is what makes it concerning to me. You wouldn’t trust some random stranger on the street so why are you trusting someone clearly making money from the ad, because they have a large following?
While I do believe influencer marketing can be dangerous to certain individuals it does have a very effective outcome. Unsurprisingly the pandemic benefited this form of marketing even more, “Coronavirus has accelerated that growth in 2020, and this is estimated to continue in 2021. From a mere $1.7 billion in 2016, influencer marketing is estimated to have grown to have a market size of $9.7 billion in 2020. This is expected to jump to $13.8 billion in 2021.” (Benchmark Report). While its not surprising it does raise the question as to why they would go back to other forms of advertising at all. Using influencers for advertising means that the company or brand does not have to worry about reaching a target market as they already have a user base that will see that advertisement in a video format most likely, “Instagram influencer Elizabeth Gilmore agrees, commenting: “Video first, always! I’ve found the more authentic, in the moment, and less ‘curated’ the better. It keeps viewers more engaged and a stronger authenticity makes people feel more human and part of the action.” (Carbone 7). With that it will provide direct links to the brand as well as a trusted face in front of it. It works better than any paid actor because of that relationship between the user and the influencer. The only other downside I can see to advertising this way would have to be the brands themselves. One of the most prolific ads during 2020 was Raid Shadow Legends a MMORPG mobile game based in a fantasy world, and it was terrible. Nearly all gaming YouTubers had some sort of paid promotion with them, and while it did result in about a 250 million player base. It also tanked the game once people actually started playing it and made it more of a meme that a playable game. An example like this or brands trying to somehow target younger audiences are really the only downsides that I can think of when it comes to influencer marketing.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited:
"The State of Influencer Marketing 2021: Benchmark Report." Influencer Marketing Hub 15 Feb. 2021.
Luenendonk, Martin. "Earning Power: Here’s How Much Top Influencers Can Make on Instagram and YouTube." Cleverism 24 Nov. 2020,
Carbone, Lexie. "Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2021." Later 5 Dec. 2020.