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According to a recent study comprised of marketers from a variety of industries, 94% said influencer marketing was an effective campaign strategy. That's great news for marketers -- right? Not so fast. Even though a majority of marketers believe influencer marketing is a viable tactic, it's still incredibly challenging to report accurately on influencer campaign ROI. In fact, 78% of marketers said that determining the success of influencer marketing campaigns would be a top challenge this year....
I think it goes without saying that just about everyone in the digital marketing space is looking to become an influencer in one way or another. Whether you want to improve your authority amongst potential clients, find yourself speaking at a conference, or even publish your own book, you first need to build your overall authority and influence. Over a decade ago, I started off on a journey in digital marketing that was based almost completely on building my influence as an SEO and Social Media Marketer, so I wanted to share some of the things that have worked for me over the years. “Influence will lead marketing efforts by 2020,” according to Ted Coine. “It’s the most effective form of ‘advertising’ there is…”...
Businesses know that today’s consumers are knowledgeable and not easily swayed by traditional marketing. Consumers also look to peers to help them make purchase decisions. Influencer marketing can increase brand awareness, build an audience and help boost sales. Most importantly, it often costs significantly less than conventional advertising. If you’re looking ideas on how to work with influencers for your digital marketing campaign, you should learn from the best. So here is a list of some of the best innovative examples of companies that nailed their influencer marketing campaigns and what you can learn from them....
Chic packaging. A mysterious name. Millennial pink. Those factors all scream prestige beauty products. And that’s exactly what Suave, the bargain drugstore hair brand owned by Unilever, was going for when it went undercover and pretended to be a new luxury hair care brand, dubbed “evaus.” (That’s “Suave” spelled backwards.) In a clever marketing stunt, Suave sent beauty influencers packages of evaus, claiming it was a new hair care line. Then, it captured their reactions on camera upon revealing they were actually using Suave. The campaign received wide press coverage in both lifestyle publications like Teen Vogue, Glamour, and New York Magazine’s The Cut, as well as in industry sources, like Fast Company and Ad Age. Plus, hundreds of people across social media posted about the campaign. It’s an example of a successful marketing campaign rooted in content. Here, we break down the key elements of how Suave effectively used content to launch it, and then extend the messaging afterwards....
Whitelists have become of interest for brands looking to make sure their ads only appear in pre-approved places. Instead of blacklists, which can end up being a game of whack-a-mole, whitelists, while less scaleable and more expensive, can actually provide a better guarantee of not having an ad next to porn content — or worse. Now, a growing number of companies are testing influencer whitelists: Creating pre-approved lists of influencers that brands can work with, and in some cases, get unfettered, open access to their handles. Against the backdrop of brand safety, the issue becomes more prevalent. One marketing executive, who spoke to Digiday under condition of anonymity, said that he’s been “burned” by influencers who have taken his product, then posted content in “unsavory” ways that he said were “disgusting.” There have been flubs in the space. Perhaps the biggest one was when YouTube star PewDiePie posted videos with anti-Semitic jokes, costing him the business of brands including Disney and YouTube. Shortly after, in February, influencer and CoverGirl ambassador James Charles tweeted a joke about going to Africa and catching Ebola alongside a CoverGirl-sponsored tweet. And for influencers, it’s not just about so-called “brand safety” issues. Companies are also looking for influencers who haven’t worked with similar brands, or sometimes, haven’t worked with brands at all....
Social media influencers – like Instagram stars or YouTube celebs – often promote products they like, either as part of a brand relationship or as means of generating income through affiliate sales. Now, Amazon is looking to get in on this action as well. The company has quietly launched the “Amazon Influencer Program,” which is currently in beta testing as of a couple of days ago. Similar to the Amazon Affiliate program, the new program will offer influencers commission on products sold, but is not open to the public. One of the key things that makes the new Influencer program different from Amazon Affiliates is its exclusivity. Today, anyone can sign up to be an Amazon Affiliate, which lets you build links and shopping ads that you can use on your own website or blog. When a reader clicks through to buy the product, the affiliate receive a commission on those sales, which varies by product type. Amazon Influencers, meanwhile, must submit an application to be considered for inclusion....
Interpublic’s Hill Holliday is out with a new brand research study, the Brand Edge Index, that takes a deep dive into various product categories and ranks top brands based on proprietary surveys. The first installment looks at the home appliance category and rates brands in six subsets: vacuums, dishwashers, washer machines, ranges, refrigerators, and grills. The rankings are based on 5,600 survey respondents who assessed 45 brands. Top-ranked brands included Dyson (vacuums), Bosch (dishwashers), Samsung (both washing machines and refrigerators), and Weber (grills). The report found that niche brands and disruptive brands frequently outrank longstanding first-to-market brands. Awareness doesn’t always lead to preference or advantage. In part, that’s explained by the survey finding that reliability is the most important attribute for home appliance brands....
So where does this leave us in 2017? Has influencer marketing finally “jumped the shark,” or is it still a viable channel for the little guy to take advantage of? The answer to both is a resounding “yes.” The biggest mistakes in influencer marketing have turned into great learning opportunities, allowing us as marketers to enter the year with a fresh understanding of how to leverage this enormous social influence. And like all marketing, following a solid strategy is key to reaching the right audience and realizing the benefit of your spend. So, while it may have “jumped the shark” the moment Google entered the race, it’s still a perfectly attainable medium for most brands.That being said, here are a few simple guidelines that can help big players and small businesses enter the field, and shift their thinking in 2017 and beyond:...
Thanks in part to a “60 Minutes” segment in October, influencer marketing has crossed over. It’s no longer just a topic of interest to advertisers. It’s a subject of public interest.
As the segment illustrated, influencer marketing is a big business. Teens with millions of followers can pull in hundreds of thousands of dollars for a shout-out on YouTube or Instagram.
It’s easy to imagine viewers all over the country yelling at their screens about the unfairness of it all, but from a marketer’s point of view, there’s another big problem: This type of “influencer marketing” isn’t actually marketing. It’s really “influencer advertising” and should be viewed as a less effective, pricier variation that has a corrosive effect on influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing transfers the implicit trust that consumers have in people they follow online and transfers it to a brand. Influencer advertising betrays that trust both for the influencer and for the brand....
Welcome to the next post in our series on monetising your influence type. Last time we looked at Platform-Specific Superstars – a small percentage of all influencers. This time we’re going to take a look at the other end of the spectrum. Most of us fit into the category of “micro-influencer”, and it can be an exciting place to be!Who are Micro-influencers? Call them what you will – micro-influencers, long-tail influencers, the “Power Middle” – who are they and why are they getting so much attention? There is no one defining characteristic or measurement that defines you as a micro-influencer. Generally it’s those of us with an online audience of less than 100,000 followers, be that a social or blog following. Some define it more specifically as having 500-5,000 followers, the power middle crowd have been defined as having 100,000-250,000 followers. You won’t get a straight answer from anyone, so let’s look at something other than just audience size to help figure out if you’re a micro-influencer (my term of choice, so I’ll use that from here on in). Generally, as audience size goes up, engagement comes down. As marketers get smarter and realise the power of engagement over reach, their gaze has drifted to micro-influencers. Here’s why, neatly summed up in a graph from research done by influencer marketing platform Takumi on half a million instagram accounts....
Want to promote your small business on a budget? Have you considered partnering with less famous influencers? Highly targeted micro-influencers can help your small business gain visibility, engage an audience, and promote your products. In this article, you’ll discover how to find and connect with micro-influencers who can promote your small business....
I need to emphasize that there are tons of wonderful people on the Top 50 list and many legitimate social media titans I admire. But I’d like to highlight 25 amazing people NOT on the list to demonstrate that we need to take lists like this crazy Forbes mess with a grain of salt.
You want some social media thunder? These are just a few of the truly great social media influencers of the world excluded from the Forbes list. I’ve linked to their Twitter handle. Please follow them so perhaps they can make this “prestigious Forbes list” in 2014. Heh....
Finding the right influencers and building relationships is hugely important for your brand. It will help you reach a wider audience, target ideal customers, and create more trust between you and your social following. According to a McKinsey Study, marketing-inspired word-of-mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising and customers have a 37 percent higher retention rate. For every dollar spent on influencer marketing, marketers see a $6.50 return.You can understand why 84 percent of marketers expect to launch at least one campaign involving an influencer in the next 12 months. However, finding the right influencer marketing tools can be a major challenge. That’s why we’ve provided a list of tools to help you develop your influencer marketing strategy. Bookmark th...
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Influencer marketing is now more common than ever. Businesses, both large and small, are tapping into this marketing strategy to help increase their online and offline presence by enhancing their brand awareness. However, you need to understand that influencer marketing is only effective when done in the right way. Difference between influencer marketing from other media platforms Influencer marketing is basically founded in the involvement of a renowned person with tangible opinions together with a personal brand. In this case, therefore, it is important to be careful in creating a balance between branding a product and capturing the audience’s trust. There are various elements of influencer marketing to be aware of and many brands seem to get some of the elements wrong....
One of the big issues for everyone in this space is measurement and Traackr allowed me to confront this issue head-on. It’s HARD establishing the value in a B2B setting since the sales cycle can be long, the decisions owned by different people on a purchasing team and other complications. And yet, progress is being made in this area. Do we aim for ROI? Yes. But that measurement may not always be accessible, especially in the short-term. The report looks at six different measurement alternatives.Maybe it’s not “marketing” The best companies are managing influencer relations in the same style as they would analysts or members of the press. Some of the experts I interviewed said we should not event call the practice influencer marketing any more, recognizing that the passionate experts in a field cannot be a marketing mouthpiece for a brand. The field is evolving to a more sophisticated level of engagement. The report contains some fascinating examples of the cultural transition needed to effectively make this change....
When I started experimenting with influencer marketing strategies for the HubSpot Sales Blog seven months ago, I was operating under a few key assumptions:If one influencer is good, 23 is better. A huge name on a standard quality blog post is better than an unknown name on a great quality post. Partnering with influencers is an efficient and scalable way to grow traffic. Turns out, those assumptions were mostly -- even completely -- false....
According to Twitter, if you really only trust your friends and family for this information, you’re part of the majority. But if you also have the highest trust in influencers for these recommendations, you’re far from alone -- 49% of survey respondents are right there with you. But what is an “influencer”? According to NeoReach, it’s “an individual with an online presence who has the potential to influence the opinions and behaviors of your target audience.” Because these folks -- like bloggers and social media personalities -- build a following over a long period of time by producing interesting, quality content, people begin to trust them. They’re relatable, and their opinions become respected. That’s why brands see the value of turning to influencers to reach or engage new audiences -- it’s a way to broadcast their messages as told by an authoritative source that people actually pay attention to. And no matter your industry, there’s likely an opportunity for your brand to connect and collaborate with influencers. Below, we’ve outlined seven tactics to try....
During Wednesday’s Snap earnings call, chief strategy officer Imran Khan name-dropped L’Oreal as a brand that was reaping the benefits of his company’s vertical video ads and sponsored lenses. His company, which owns Snapchat, has long espoused that the app is not really an influencer-focused platform because it doesn’t want to differentiate celebrity from regular users. L’Oreal’s Paris U.K. division wouldn’t necessarily disagree, though it’s evidently found an ad-free, influencer-heavy formula on Snapchat to complement its paid campaigns. Working with BzzAgent, a network of so-called everyday influencers owned by shopper data company dunnhumby, the cosmetics giant deployed 2,000 U.K.-based women who were 20 to 55 years old for an endeavor that ran across Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube. “They are regular people who are socially savvy,” said Brian Covali, global head of marketing at BzzAgent. “[Their] campaign activities emphasized Snapchat, which is where most of the activity occurred.” ...
Over the past year, several companies and thousands of freelancers have signed on to a project aimed at helping both groups broaden their horizons, with marketers getting access to global talent while creatives get to travel the world. Wanderbrief is a creative network startup that lets writers, designers, videographers and photographers submit their portfolios to its website to apply for project gigs at agencies or brands. Instead of accepting money, they work in exchange for airfare, room and board. Last year, copywriter Mark van der Heijden and former Havas Boondoggle strategy director Valentijn van Santvoort started Wanderbriefto give other creatives the same shot at adventure that van der Heijden enjoyed as The Backpacker Intern, a two-year journey where he traded work for free lodging around the globe....
A newer concept known as micro-influencer marketing recently joined the social media scene. It’s the same concept as influencer marketing, but on a smaller scale: Brands partner with individuals with smaller followings on social media to promote products with authentic, visual posts instead of sponsored ads. In this blog post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about micro-influencers, including what brands are using them successfully and how you can connect with these individuals to promote your brand....
According to a recent study comprised of marketers from a variety of industries, 94% said influencer marketing was an effective campaign strategy. That's great news for marketers -- right? Not so fast. Even though a majority of marketers believe influencer marketing is a viable tactic, it's still incredibly challenging to report accurately on influencer campaign ROI. In fact, 78% of marketers say that determining the success of influencer marketing campaigns will be a top challenge in 2017. So even though the tangible benefits of influencer marketing -- follower engagement, driving traffic, and creating more authentic content -- seem clear cut, there's still a lot of progress to be made in making this form of campaign measurable for agencies and marketers....
Influencer marketing’s power has been touted time and time again. The engagement stats are stellar. The ROI is out of this world. Brand sentiment skyrockets. There is currently an abundance of tools and because this is our niche, our home, we have toyed with almost all the tools out there. Here is an honest assessment about what’s new and worthy...
Animal influencers are undeniably on the rise. These pampered pets (and their owners/handlers/entourages) enjoy a level of social media fame usually reserved for well, human celebrities, and bring in real revenue through their high-profile partnerships with brands like Zappos, Mercedes-Benz, Purina, and even Google.
In other words, these adorable fluff balls make more money on a single Instagram post than you, a human, will probably ever make on a single Instagram post. Let that sink in for a minute.
According to Create&Cultivate, social media influencers (animal or otherwise) can expect to earn around $3,000 per sponsorship deal when they hit between 150,000 and 250,000 followers. Many of the pets on this list have over one million followers....
Currently, it’s estimated that there are more than 8 million blogging moms active in the world. 85% of them have already agreed to be sponsored to test and recommend products. Dozens of YouTubers and Instagramers have reached more than $ 1 million in sponsorship and advertising revenues. Today, it’s estimated that the market value of influence marketing is between US $10 and $15 billion and will continue to grow over the next few years. By 2016, Instagram already had more than 500,000 active advertisers, and next year Snapchat plans to make more than US $1 billion in advertising dollars. The most recent studies clearly demonstrate that a companies’ investment in campaigns on new platforms has also been very profitable. On average, they pocketed $6.85 in return for every dollar invested. There is no doubt, brands have found a golden vein to reach their customers.Can we really talk about influence marketing strategies, when in fact, they’re just advertising placements?...
Like their predecessors, today’s social influencers are young, savvy, and creative—and can serve as powerful vessels for brands looking to expand their reach. But this generation is even more business-minded than the last. Here, we profile seven stars and get their 17 rules for social engagement today. All about Eva: At 22, Eva Gutowski is teaching brands like Sperry and Macy’s the new rules of social engagement.[Photo: Jenny Hueston] EVA GUTOWSKI Age: 22 Audience: Instagram: 4.6 million; Twitter: 2.2 million; YouTube: 7.1 million Specialty: Lifestyle vlogs; fashion 'grams Recent hit: A YouTube tutorial on how to up your back-to-school-supplies game using DIY craft techniques (1.4 million views)...
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"Influencer marketing" is a popular, but often misunderstood term. So, what does it look like? Let these 10 examples from HubSpot explain and inspire.