BUSINESS
Influencers and High-End Luxury
Is it a good match?
Some of my businesses are in the luxury hospitality industry. A lot of our products are mainly about the experience. How beautiful the place is, what it feels like to be there, the quality of the service, the quality of the food and drink, etc.
All of this is very hard to communicate through traditional advertising. And for a long time, people in this business have looked for ways to impact their target audience more effectively and economically.
The Internet has completely changed the game of advertising. It used to be luxury properties that would buy big ads in publications consumed by their target market: luxury magazines, financial newspapers, perhaps sponsoring high-end events, and hope that the ads would work.
Today the game is different.
I am the hardest to get as a consumer, which is valid for most people. It has never been harder to reach me and sell me on something.
There is so much noise, so many messages bombarding me all the time. I have become very good at ignoring anything online that is not exactly what I am looking for.
At the same time, it is easier than ever to measure, especially with products sold online, how effective advertising is or isn’t.
I think this is part of why influencers are such a big deal now.
Influencers are people who have a large community of followers on social media. Some have millions of followers, some of them hundreds or tens of thousands.
Through the attention they have from their audience, they promise to help us sell our product.
The idea is simple: “People are following me, and if they see me using your product, they are going to want to buy it.”
The influencers propose cutting through the noise and getting your product front and center because they are not an ad.
The idea is that they can also inspire people to buy your product because they have influence: they can create an emotional bond between your audience and your product.
Influencer marketing has exploded in recent years. We are at a point where you could spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on hiring an influencer to post a picture of themselves using your product on Instagram or create a video that involves your product for their YouTube channel.
I have watched this phenomenon take off, and I often wonder how effective influencer marketing is.
Everyone is talking about it; everyone is doing it, at least a little. Especially in the luxury market, where our consumers are typically sophisticated, I am not sure influencer marketing works that well.
I have several questions that I would consider before making a substantial investment in influencer marketing, at least for promoting luxury products:
- Does the influencer you are considering have a large following of your target market? This question is crucial for luxury products. Most people cannot afford luxury products, and if the influencer you are considering has a large following, most of them are likely not your target.
- Does your target client need to be “inspired” to want your product? Most people who can afford the highest-end luxury products are sophisticated and knowledgeable. They know exactly what they want and buy on their terms: larger purchases are most likely well-considered decisions.
- How well can you measure your results? Can you create an influencer marketing campaign that you can measure? Will you be able to tell whether the campaign worked or not, and how much? If you can’t measure your results very clearly, you can better invest in a different approach.
I am a big believer in sales professionals. I have been involved with high-end luxury goods and services from a very young age.
I can tell you a professional salesperson with the proper understanding of your target market and the right relationships can give you a tremendous return on investment.
From what I have read in popular business magazines recently, influencer marketing can be an excellent investment if it is a good fit for your product.
But at the same time, several of the most glowingly positive articles I found about influencer marketing were written by high-level executives at influencer marketing agencies.
Like with everything on the Internet, you must be careful about who the sources are of what you are reading. Things are not always what they seem.
While the mega-stars of social media continue to command huge fees for product placement, I think the results have not been as spectacular as the costs for some brands and some companies.
There is a lot that goes into someone deciding to buy something. While it is possible that an influencer could spread awareness of your product, the way that makes your product or brand look may not be what you were hoping for.
More works need to be done to make the influencer marketing process scientific.
Be smart: measure your results carefully, test, stay open to different hypotheses and consider your options with objectivity.
You may not always succeed if you do this, but you will always get closer to succeeding.
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