Influencers – you hear about them wherever you go. Whether it is a trending campaign that is utilizing them for word of mouth communication efforts (we are already seeing this ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl). Or, the latest we are seeing is instead of focusing on celebrity or mega influencers, we are looking more niche and focused in their communities, like nano-influencers.
I think there are many different cases already happening in the past few months (well, really past year) that has indeed changed somewhat of the perception of influencers. There are now virtual influencers (yes, that is indeed a thing) and many are paying millions of dollars to have endorsements and partnerships with them. The most liked IG picture ever is of an egg – and the account is worth millions now. Welcome to 2019!
We have all heard about the Fyre Festival and the impact influencers had on this disastrous event. We are also seeing influencers go toe to toe with brands who may have “tricked them” into doing something they didn’t realize they were doing, like what happened with Casey Neistat and Burger King.
If you have not seen Casey’s video, here it is. As I have mentioned on my blog previously, Casey is one of my favorite people to follow on social for not just his creative viewpoint and content creation, but the emphasis he puts on being authentic to his community. Keep up the great work, Casey.
I think it was an interesting move for both parties, but it goes to show you the nature of balance when it comes to influencer relations. Also, major props to my friends over at Zoomph for getting some great coverage for their analytics tweet they shared in Mashable! They are the best!
So – Burger King – as you can see with what Zoomph provided here with the data and the amount of media exposure this produced, I think a discussion with Casey may be good to have in the future. I’d love to have an update to share w/ my students and colleagues about how this all turned out.
So, what is the “real” future for influencer marketing? This has actually been something I have been asked to discuss and talk more about in presentations and sessions over the past few months. In addition, many of my colleagues have asked me also how do we teach our students how to practice and implement influencer marketing effectively?
Here are some of my thoughts based on all of these cases we have seen recently:
Never assume you know who will be influential or who will not be. Influence is something that is not just “given” to someone. It is earned based on long term exchanges, trust, and relationship building. This does not happen over night and you can’t assume there is a “cookie cutter shaped” model for influencers. Influencers are first and foremost human, and we are all different. That’s what makes us special! Always keep an open mind when you are looking at individuals who are gaining traction and never assume it will always be the same account as others.
Update and revisit metics and KPIs to identify influencers. I think it’s interesting people on social media are still so focused on the number of followers someone has. As I have discussed in my book, these are vanity metrics and really do not tell us that much except we may have some real people following us, or someone may have a ton of bots and fake accounts following them to create the illusion of being influential.
We need to focus beyond vanity metrics for identifying influencers – but ultimately – metrics that actually show impact and behavioral change as a direct result of what the influencer has said, done, or shared. This should be the priority here, and I do think this is where the field is going.
Ethics need to be at the forefront of influencer marketing. With all of the latest issues we have seen here with influencers (ex. Fyre, etc), you have to wonder if any one asked “Is this RIGHT?” or “Am I just endorsing this because of the money?”
This has been something I have tried to stress with my students all the time – you have to have a strong foundation for ethical, legal, and professional behavior for all aspects of the job, and there are some areas of specialization that need it more than ever. With cases like this, having a strong code of ethics and principles / guidelines on what should and should not be done in an influencer campaign or program is crucial.
Tricks and clicks will make influencers sick. Okay, I am not saying that they will make them physically sick – but they will not be happy! Like what we have seen with Casey and Burger King, no one wants to be played publicly and for the world to see.
Influencers will be more aware of what brands *may* be trying to do here, and could result in some trust issues. It only takes one case to bring forth some of these issues for the rest of the agencies, organizations and professionals who are engaged within the field.
We need more transparency for standard influencer marketing approaches. This has been one of the biggest issues I have seen both in the industry, and in academia. There has not been a standard approach for how to engage with influencers for campaigns, or how to teach students this approach. Like the early days of social media, everyone is holding this close to their chest for themselves.
Well, that needs to change because we are all in the same page and team here as an industry. We need to share insights, best practices, ideas for how to standardize these campaigns, and come up with consistent ethical and professional principles that need to be incorporated both in and out of the classroom. Otherwise, we are going to see more cases like Fyre and others happening, and we want to be proactive in making sure this does not happen again.
Summary
In summary, I think for the *right* reasons and circumstances – influencers can make a great impact for brands and communities.
The days in which brands throw money at any influencer that comes along with follower numbers are over. It’s all about understanding the passion and purpose the influencer has not just for themselves, but with the brands, organizations and people they operate with. Focused selection and long term relationships will be the direction this specialized area will need to go.
Let me know what you think and if you’d like to chat more about this.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
