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With new regulations on Instagram influencers, how are paid posts faring? We take a look at the top influencers of July and their impact on brands.
Got milk? Who doesn’t remember the celebrity dairy ads of the 90s, or the changing athlete faces on cereal boxes? Today, these influencer marketing campaigns have become much more prevalent, niche, and accessible, due to social media.
On Instagram, this is especially true. In a recent survey, 91 percent of influencers cited Instagram as their platform of choice, due to its community and opportunities to connect with brands.
But Instagram influencer posts aren’t always easy to distinguish. There’s a variety of hashtags involved and only recent plans for standardization. At the end of June, Instagram announced a new native ad feature to indicate paid promotions.
Despite the new feature, posts with sponsored hashtags have driven more than 58.5 million likes and comments in July as of the 25th.
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....
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....
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....
Ever since the line between celebrity and social media celebrity was erased, bloggers have become legitimate influencers across almost all industries, affecting consumer decisions beyond purchasing by acting as both tastemaker and trusted friend. And a large fan base is no longer a requirement for influencers. More recently, brands have been turning to micro-influencers, bloggers with less than 100,000 followers, to better target consumers. Bloglovin', a media platform that connects these microbloggers with brands through proprietary marketing platform Activate, looked at its users' followers and influence across social platforms to see how they use these channels to drive engagement.
"In a rapidly growing world of micro-influencers and proliferation of social channels, brands and advertisers are looking for best practices to engage the right micro-influencers to reach their target audience," said Activate president Rohit Vashisht. "This research shows that brands can and should look at adjacent verticals to tap into multiple channels for wider audience reach."...
Are you seen as an expert in your industry?
Want to develop relationships with the media to become a go-to expert?
To explore what marketers need to know to connect with traditional media influencers, I interview Josh Elledge.
Influencer marketing is all the rage, but there’s not a clear understanding of what constitutes influence. A few years ago, I participated in an influencer event for a consumer brand. It was an expensive affair put on by the brand’s agency. There were a few dozen “influencers” there, which, it turned out, meant a collection of people with blogs and social media followings. A photographer captured it all as a glitzy brand experience. Some people blogged or shared about the event, some didn’t, and it left me wondering about the return on that investment. From the photos that were posted, it looked like a beautiful bit of marketing. From the actual impact, not so much. Influencer is a designation with an almost magical glow to it. But not all influencers are created equal. Not everyone with a social media following is an influencer and not every influencer is a good fit for every brand. Brands should also be wary of those who refer to themselves as influencers. There’s a lot of snake oil in influencer marketing....
What’s a marketer to do? We heard that influencer marketing was the next big thing. We heard about companies getting amazing results with it. But it seems you can’t go anywhere online recently without seeing headlines like this. Note the social shares on those two articles: 242,000 for the first one and nearly 50,000 for the second one. If influencer marketing is burning down, that’s a lot of people standing by with marshmallows to roast. But don’t panic. These two articles, and many more like them, refer to a specific kind of influencer marketing. Generally speaking: the bad kind. Specifically, the practice of writing massive checks to teenagers with a lot of followers on Instagram or Vine in exchange for product promotion. That particular economy, which converted cash to “influence” or “awareness,” was pretty much doomed from the start. You’re in trouble any time you convert real money to something fundamentally unmeasurable....
f you’re thinking about using social influencers to grow your audience, then read on.
As the Director of Marketing for London-based social media startup 6Tribes, I’ve been tasked with quickly growing our user base and have had great success over the last few months using YouTube influencers as a marketing channel.
I’ve learned a lot about how to get the most out of these partnerships, so I thought I’d share with you six things that I’ve learned – which I hope you’ll find useful if you’re considering using social influencers to promote your brand.
Influence marketing and native advertising are gaining popularity as brands continue to shift away from “interruption marketing” and embrace a more customer-centric approach. But in trying to sell without selling, it’s possible brands have made the “soft sell” a bit too soft, disguising advertising as organic influencer posts. Smart marketers have been extra vigilant about disclosure since the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued an enforcement policy last December. Actually, the truly smart have been tightening up their own disclosure requirements since the FTC updated its online advertising disclosure guidelines in March 2013. The threat’s been building for years. The agency’s been beating the drums for a while. Statements, letters and guidelines have warned marketers and bloggers of the oncoming campaign against sponsored content that doesn’t look sponsored: social media posts that don’t clearly state that they’re contest entries, influencer posts that don’t disclose that the influencer received compensation from the brand, etc.....
I just came across a quote in an eMarketer interview with an agency CEO that made me stop and shake my head: “We don’t start to work with an influencer unless they have 50,000 combined followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.”
This thinking is soooo backwards and lazy. Picking an influencer isn’t about the size of their network, it’s the connections they have to that network....
Most online influencers say they accept monetary compensation from marketers in exchange for posting about a brand, according to a recent report from GroupHigh.
The report was based on data from a survey of 441 influencers; respondents were selected based on size of reach, social footprint, and vertical. The topics covered by the influencers surveyed include parenting, fashion, DIY, technology, and food, among others.
Some 85% of influencers say they accept monetary compensation from brands, 11% say they do not take any form of payments, and 4% only accept only products....
While I consider myself more of a "creative" type I can sometimes be a nerd for data and numbers and graphs!The other day, I found that I had a ton of recent research reports saved off on influencer marketing. So for my own aid and now yours, I put my ten favorite research reports in a pretty SlideShare presentation and highlighted my favorite facts from each one....
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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....
The new guidance is focused around affiliate deals – where bloggers, vloggers and Instagram stars are rewarded financially for clicks placed within or underneath their content. CAP has warned that followers should be made aware that what they are about to watch or click on is an ad, and as such said brands and talent should be in the know about the different "technical quirks" associated with different social media plaforms. The key points include advice to signpost wholly affliated content. So for example, branded videos or sponsored blog posts should include an 'ad' warning in the title to ensure users are aware of their commercial nature before pressing play or scrolling down to read. Where only some of the links in a post, picture or video are for affliated products the whole post doesn't have to be identified as an ad, but each of the links listed should be badged as such....
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....
Influencers use different social media platforms to help promote and get the word out about the brands they are working with. Nearly a third of US influencers who currently work with brands cite Facebook as being the best platform for influencer marketing, followed closely by Instagram, per July 2016 research from SheSpeaks, a female-focused engagement network, which polled 347 US influencers who have an active blog, and are active on social media.
It’s not surprising that Facebook and Instagram were considered to be among the best social media platforms for influencer marketing, especially given that most influencers use photo and video content when marketing on behalf of brands. What is surprising is that only 10% of influencers cited Pinterest, a content sharing service that’s all about images and videos. In fact, more respondents considered Twitter to be the best social media platform, and they can only use up to 140 characters within that platform to promote a brand. What’s more, Pinterest even has more users than Twitter in the US as of this year....
Influencer marketing is rapidly gaining popularity among brand marketers, and according to April 2016 research, nearly three-quarters of US marketers cite ongoing ambassadorships as one of the most effective uses of influencers.
TapInfluence, an influencer marketing automation platform, and technology research company Altimeter Group surveyed 1,753 influencers and 102 marketers about how they work together. Influencers were selected from TapInfluence’s marketplace, on which each holds at least 10,000 followers.
Marketers use influencers in a variety of ways, from leaving a review for their product to mentioning their brand in some way on social networks. For many (70.6%), ongoing ambassadorships are the most effective influencer marketing tactic. Product reviews are a close second—more than two-thirds of respondents mentioned them as being the most effective use of influencers....
Pat Kelly vividly remembers when he first knew he was a "thought leader":
"In 2005, I met another 'thought leader' and I asked him how he became a 'thought leader' and he said 'I don't know.' It was then that I knew I could be one too."
Pat Kelly showing that he is a true "thought leader" on the This Is That Talks stage in Whistler, BC. (Joseph Schweers/CBC)
Kelly proved his skill at leading thoughts on the This Is That Talks stage this past April in Whistler, BC. As you can see in the video of his talk, Kelly confidently made grand statements, spoke with his hands, and had slides - all hallmarks of a true "thought leader" or "influencer."
"My talk was a big success: I said things and the audience nodded their heads."
Based on the success of his talk, Kelly hopes to appear on a number of podcasts about "big ideas."...
The fashion blogger long ago transcended mere outfit documentarian. Done right, fashion blogs can evolve into full-fledged businesses, with brands clamoring to be featured by the style aficionados.
For some of the biggest influencers in fashion, blogs have served as catalysts to large scale sponsorships, advertising campaigns, design collaborations and book deals. These style enthusiasts have evolved into mainstays and purveyors of style, turning passion projects into brand opportunities.
On WordPress alone, 409 million people read more than 21.5 billion blog pages a month. These aren’t twee daily #ootd posts, either. Here are some of the fashion bloggers that brands can’t get enough of.
Chiara Ferragni, The Blonde Salad: 665,000 monthly page views, per Compete
Since 29-year-old Chiara Ferragni started The Blonde Salad in 2009, she has appeared on the cover of numerous global fashion magazines, wrote a book, dabbled in partnerships with Burberry and Dior, launched a popular shoe line (with styles that retail for upwards of $200) and is in talks for a collaboration with Ladurée....
Now to be honest, sometimes the resources they send are great, and from time to time I’ll even link to them.
But what would go SO much better would be if someone offered me something, anything related to what I’m working on.
So, in light of this movement towards depersonalization, I’m going to pitch you all on how you can engage with people BEFORE demanding something from them, as well as give you some ideas for what you can offer in that outreach email.
Here are 11 ways to build a relationship before asking for something in return.
Last month I wrote a post on the value of measuring engagement vs numbers when selecting an influencer for your company to work with. That post resonated with a lot of you so I wanted to expand on it and talk about the key considerations for your company when working with influencers.
Working with influencers and ‘sponsored content’ is a very popular option for companies these days, and done correctly, it can be a real benefit for your business. Here’s some of the things you should consider before working with influencers...
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about laptops? The tactile sensation beneath your fingertips as they gracefully jump around the keyboard from home position? The calming ohm sound that seems to emanate from the machine when you turn it on? That alluring hard drive capacity? What about included software? Number of auxiliary outputs? Ooh la la. No matter how you spin it, it’s difficult to make laptops seem…well… sexy. That is until HP had the ingenious idea to take laptops completely out of the tech vertical and see how their product floats with other viewers.
Not to be rude, but HP isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of a luxury tech device. This generation tends to live, breathe, and generally go gaga over Apple’s sleek designs. It oozes fashion, vogue, and lifestyle, honey! However, just because HP is perhaps a more affordable option doesn’t mean it isn’t chic. And to prove it, HP tapped into trendsetters in a completely unique way. Before we go deeper into the big reveal, please allow a brief intermission in which we applaud, bow down, and shower HP’s marketing team with endless pastel colored macarons. Okay, we are done....
As our influencer marketing columnist Raymond Morin blogged sometimes ago, there are 3 main types of influencers: - celebrities - opinion leaders (traditional media, online media, social media) - ambassadors (satisfied customers, happy employees).
With the democratization of social media influence, there are simply more people that yield influence in social media. Perhaps this is one reason why Influencer Marketing continues to soar in 2015. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise, because numerous stats have already documented the power of online recommendations...
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Influencers wield influence on Instagarm.