How to make friends and influence buying behaviour: A digital marketers ramblings on the new era of content creation
Everyone can be famous for 15 minutes. And if you can keep yourself famous then there’s money to be made from influencer marketing. Instagram lit? YouTube racking up the hits? No prob-llama. 70% of teenage YouTube subscribers say they relate to YouTube content creators more than traditional celebrities. Four in ten say more so than their friends. It’s the new direction in tantalising consumer preferences.
At the lowest level, a YouTube artist is paid a certain amount of money by a brand or company to publish a certain number of posts. The model for these online-famous folks has always been to publish, stick #ad on the end (though not always) and watch the reach tick by. Then cash their cheque.
But that’s changing…
In 2018, the brands that will see success with influencer marketing are going to be the ones that treat influencers as partners rather than another tick on a marketing plan. To get the most from influencer marketing, you need to focus on building long-term relationships. In the future we’ll see larger, longer collaborations that see brands lining up with voices that speak their language, their aesthetic and their narrative.
The big hitters with millions of followers say the pressure is on for better-produced, but still authentic, content. Meanwhile, businesses need to consider influencer marketing as a core part of their promotional strategy and want good data on what they’re getting for their money. Influencer marketing – among an environment of a growing number of influencers – is the future.
That’s where Whalar steps in.
Fan-girling aside… the makers of the app claim it is the only influencer marketing platform partnering with Facebook and Instagram. That’s crucial. Instagram is still consistently seen as the hub for influencer marketing activity and has embraced this with functionality that clearly identifies ads. In a Tinder-fuelled world where life, marriage or home delivery fried-chicken is nothing but a swipe away, Whalar describes itself as a “dating service.” The site’s algorithm helps brands find creators to collaborate with and build their buzz and presence.
It’s brought success for Adidas’ ZNE (“Zero Negative Energy”) clothing range in the UK. They used social influencers that promoted core product benefits of movement, travel and focus like Lottie Murphy and Scott Bass. Their social media posts reached 474,000 followers in 30 days.
So there you go. Set up a YouTube channel. Get a few million people to subscribe. Cash in. Get an alpaca and live alpacaly ever after. Maybe swipe for that delivery chicken. Tell them the internet sent you..and it’s paying.
Want to go on an adventure with me? Alpaca bag and let’s get your marketing efforts up to scratch.