Branding Your Company In The Era Of Influencers (Or Brand First, Post Second)
The world has dramatically changed in the last ten years in terms of where people spend their time, and how they consume content. Half of Americans check Facebook daily, and nearly as many are using YouTube.
Businesses must meet their audience where their audiences live, and for most companies, their audience is spending significant time on one, if not all, of the popular social media platforms, whether it is Facebook, or Snapchat, or, in the case of many B2B companies, LinkedIn.
Some industries — like the trades — have been slow to gain social media presences at all, while others, like startups and many B2B companies, have established social presences online that are uneven and largely ineffective. Even many B2C lifestyle brands have expended an astronomical amount of money on social media only to see little returns.
For companies, the promise of a more digital world was verifiable metrics and trackability for marketing budgets, but even for e-commerce stores, who can often prompt immediate purchases online, the relationship between their social media presence and sales is much more complex when judged over time.
The content that resonates in the short-term might not lead to the loyal customers and the kind of organic sharing that truly builds a brand or leads to loyal customers, and causes a long-term spike in sales. In contrast, content that is more distinctive might not immediately close deals, but it might, over time, curate a loyal audience and page that prospects find compelling.
AN ERA OF INFLUENCE
The top 10 YouTube stars collectively make 180m a year off their presences on the social media platform, while companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars to attract little attention to their YouTube channels. Even most large brands, who can spend top dollar on content and advertising, are less viewed or subscribed to than the channels of these individual, bootstrapped stars.
McDonald’s, for example, has less than 400k subscribers, while PewDiePie (otherwise known as Felix Kjellberg), the most subscribed to YouTube channel, has over 72 million subscribers who watch Kjellberg make humorous and irreverent comments as he plays video games.
People like Kjellberg grow large followings by expressing a distinct personality, a passion for a particular space, and cultivating a particular community. Kjellberg’s posting of anti-Semitic videos (which he later apologized for) derailed his partnership with Disney, but it didn’t derail his popularity with his followers, who have only continued to amass.
Similarly, Logan Paul, a young man who became popular for his pranks and vlogs, continued to make massive amounts of money off his followers in the wake of him filming an apparent suicide in Japan.
While companies should avoid these gross missteps, the loyalty Kjellberg and Paul’s fans feel toward them is exactly what can be fostered for companies on social media. Many influencers have leveraged their fans’ loyalty to sell them branded merchandise that aligns with the spirit of their channel, whether it be makeup, clothes, or toys, demonstrating that, when done right, cultivating a following online can directly translate to purchases.
HOW COMPANIES CAN INSPIRE LOYALTY
The loyalty of successful influencers’ fans is based primarily on one element: authentic connection.
Micro-influencers have even higher engagement rates than influencers, as their more niche-based approach allows for the curation of an even more distinct voice and community that is based on a real connection between the micro-influencer and their audience. But influencers like Kjellberg and Paul speak openly and freely, inviting their audience to feel like they are connecting with real people.
Many companies make the mistake of trying to appeal to everyone, often retreating to a generic product-speak. While trying to appeal to everyone seems like the safe strategy, on social media, it attracts few, and can easily become digital death.
A generic personality and voice might present a neutral, corporate presence that is inoffensive, but when people are on social media, they are searching for content and communities that resonate with them and feels real. The content available online is endless, and the way to not only stick out, but stick out in a way that brings people back is to foster a genuine and distinct personality.
Many brands seek to form partnerships with influencers to piggyback on their loyal following, but this only works well if the brand and the influencer’s personality and voice mesh, and the connection comes across as sincere. Sperry, for example, featured micro-influencers who were already wearing their shoes and showcasing them in an adventurous way, and thus evinced a style that seamlessly matched the brand’s.
Contrast this to when Volvo hired fashion blogger Chriselle Lim to endorse the car on her Instagram. Given there was no clear connection between Chriselle Lim’s fashion blog, and the car company, her fans predictably lashed out about the ad, identifying it as insincere.
Brands that do well on YouTube, like Red Bull and Lego, take a page from influencers and focus less on lauding their product, and more on the production of content with a distinct voice that resonates with their particular audience. The Red Bull channel, for example, is less about the drink, and more about daredevil stunts that resonate with their hard-charging, ready-for-anything brand and personality.
Almost all the top influencers on YouTube post daily, as without regular contributions, building an active and loyal community is nearly impossible. Many brands, especially smaller ones, make the mistake of posting erratically or failing to interact with their audience, which can take a lot of time upfront, but ultimately pays off with loyal, engaged followers who not only buy what the company is selling, but share it with others.
BRAND FIRST, POST SECOND
Before venturing too deep into the world of social media, companies should understand their core brand, and the distinct personality that arises from that brand. Salesforce, for example, has a friendly, supportive, and informative personality on social media, which stems from their brand mission of empowering business owners of all sizes to flourish and succeed. As a result, Salesforce has not only seen high engagement on their content, they have loyal, satisfied customers.
Ultimately, a company’s personality should stem from who their customers are, and what fundamental needs the company is meeting for their customers. Are customers hoping to embark on a wild adventure, like Red Bull drinkers? Or are they seeking to seamlessly grow and scale their business, like Salesforce’s users? Or are they seeking to become more cutting-edge and stylish, like Apple’s customers?
Understanding customers’ emotional aspirations can provide valuable insight into what the personality of a company should be. If a company plans to sound just like any other company, then they need to look more closely at their customers, and the product they are selling: it is unlikely those needs can be met by just anybody. In the era of influencers, companies need to determine who they are, and what makes them different.
By aligning a company’s personality with their customers’ needs, a company can tie together, with authenticity and connection, the mission of the company and the emotional goals of their intended audience. And that’s how you get real influence on social media.
