As the saying [in the Mavrck office] goes, you’re nobody until you’re influential- and in the ad tech industry, the power of influence has never been more relevant than it is today. Influencer marketing has exploded onto the scene in the last two years, so quickly that many brand marketers and advertisers are hustling to find the right influencer strategy, and industry leaders are continuing to iterate on what influence really means in the context of a brand’s business objectives.
Below, we give you 5 quick facts you didn’t know about the fastest growing marketing strategy in 2016:
1) It Was Obsolete Before 2013
Influencer marketing exploded into the ad and marketing industry in 2013, in response to several growing hurdles for brands and publishers, such as the rise of ad blockers and the shrinking space on social media networks available for advertisement.
2) Influencers can charge up to 230k per post on a social channel
Mega-influencers like Kylie Jenner can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single branded post like the one above. They are valued for their massive reach: for example, Kylie has over 55 million followers on Instagram.
3) …But Some Influencers Don’t Want Your Cash
Because they are everyday customers who are already sold on your brand, micro-influencers are incentivized by brand-relevant rewards like swag, gift cards or coupons, rather than cash. One such micro-influencer incentive could be a $10 branded gift card, in exchange for a co-developed Instagram post that depicts how the micro-influencer uses your brand’s product.
4) Mega-influencers Can Drive Less Engagement Than a Brand’s Personal Account
Although mega-influencers are valued for their massive reach on social networks (like Kylie above), their engaged reach can be a microscopic portion of that audience, and therefore they may not be able to drive high levels of engagements in comparison to their reach. For example, the engagements on Starbucks’ brand post reflect an engaged reach of 3%, while a post by Oprah for Starbucks reflected an engaged reach of 2%.
5) The Definition of Star Power is Changing
As younger generations spend less time watching television and an increasing number of hours online, standard notions of celebrity and influence are changing: a study by Variety conducted on U.S. teens revealed 8 of the 10 most influential individuals on the internet to be YouTube stars, rather than traditional Hollywood celebrities. PewDiePie (pictured above) is one such YouTube star who was deemed the most “influential”, with over 40 million subscribers to his channel.
Perhaps the greatest indication of the evolution of influencer marketing is the maturation of influencer success metrics. While traditional metrics of influencer marketing were “softer” measurements such as impressions or clicks, influencer programs and platforms are now emphasizing ROI metrics that tie an influencer strategy to the actual value it is driving for a brand’s business objectives- check out our blog that breaks down the ROI of influencer marketing across five metrics of success.
To learn more about how you can power your influencer strategy with your pre-existing customers, check out our new white paper, “The Rise of the Micro-Influencers”:
