Today’s Consumer Demands More from Brands
Old school Madison Avenue advertising was fairly simple — get people to buy what you’re selling. Dominate television and radio slots, get in front of a wide enough audience with a great creative, and be in the consideration set. Brands (or companies) of yesteryear were respected purely for their contribution to GDP, creating jobs and making a product that we need.
But today’s consumer demands much more — looking for brands that contribute beyond a utilitarian perspective for brands that contribute to our culture. 87% of millennials say that they base their purchasing decisions on whether or not a company makes positive social efforts.
Moreover, consumers are quickly moving away from business-as-usual ad units that have long been forced in front of us:
- 83% of consumers feel digital ads is becoming more intrusive
- 50% of 18–24 year olds use ad blockers
- 60% of consumers say they suffer from ‘banner blindness’
Influencers Can Drive Conversation Around a Shared Purpose
One of the unique value propositions in working with an influencer is the permission-based nature of their content — their audience elects to follow them and receive the influencers’ content (so there is no avoidance or blocking). Oftentimes, there are cheers for an influencer when they find relevant brands to partner with it. Further, a truly impactful influencer is not just a content creator or an audience-builder (though both are very important aspects of the job!), but also a community manager — a commonality we find in successful influencers that have shown longevity in the industry is that they truly drive conversation, actively engaging with their audience over the years in comments, DMs and IRL.
There is nothing more delightful than bringing an influencer into an opportunity where there is true alignment — a shared purpose — whether that be belief in the product, brand or mission. The influencer as community manager can help connect their audience with the purpose and drive impact through conversation.
Identifying the Relevant Communities & Stories
Within our large network of creators, we are proactively collecting data and insights on who already aligns with certain causes and issues — whether it be reducing carbon footprint from being weekday vegetarians, getting the vote out for upcoming elections, or minimizing plastic use.
While we would certainly apply other key qualitative (eg content quality) and quantitative (eg performance metrics, sponsorship saturation) aspects of influencer casting, we like to layer in what we refer to as the ‘story lens’ when collaborating with influencers — what their personal story is around the brand or product, and even more important when there is a mission or purpose involved.
Whether it’s the fact that they can share their experience in managing a certain hair curl type, or that they are a schoolteacher that grapples with stretching school supplies to support the classroom — it is the stitching together of these stories and the larger purpose of a collaboration that truly drives impact. By ensuring there is alignment on purpose, the brand, influencer and audience all win.
ACTIVATE is a fully end-to-end influencer marketing platform, covering influencer discovery, program workflow, measurement, and analytics, with an opt-in network of 150,000+ vetted and authenticated influencers. The ACTIVATE platform also allows you to work with curated networks of creators including ‘vegan foodies’, ‘outdoor enthusiasts’ , ‘bohemian style’ (and more!) as well as pinpoint niche groups of influencers by leveraging our geo-targeting and micro-survey capabilities. ACTIVATE also allows for access to our Studio team of influencer strategists that helps brands, media companies and agencies build out and execute their influencer initiatives. Last year, the ACTIVATE platform enabled over 75,000 influencers to collaborate with brands, media companies and agencies.
Want to learn more about Bloglovin’ or ACTIVATE? Just drop us a note at research@activate.social.
