Influencer Marketing: What’s the Rage?
About shout-outs and honourary mentions and promo codes
What is “Influencer Marketing?”
Well, here’s an answer that should serve at least as preliminary satiation for this question: tapinfluence defines this phenomenon as “a type of marketing that focuses on using key leaders to drive [a] brand’s message to the larger market. Rather than marketing directly to a large group of consumers, [brands] instead inspire/hire/pay influencers to get out the word for [them].”
Before we go on to examine the specifics of this concept, let us first analyze the “influencer” part. If you’re of the Gen Y or Z or spend any sizable time on social media, you’ve probably come across this term. Essentially, the word’s come to denote a figure (or likewise a group) that has grown a social media following and has leverage over this following thanks to their perceived authenticity and credibility. Major social media platforms can all boast of this segment, from YouTube through Snapchat to Instagram.
Now with the boom of this group of people — who are practically present in almost every niche of the market — brands recognized the reach that these individuals have, and are increasingly gravitating towards promotion through this channel.
The Why
Why should firms or any distributors diverge from the traditional newspaper- or television-based commercial promotion to this new style? Given, of course, that the contemporary entity — person or corporation — cannot hope to thrive successfully on the traditional island, one must adapt to and tap into change. Perhaps the onset of the TV too brought this debate, with its coupling excitement that comes with a new transition.
Besides this, there are obvious advantages to all parties involved. The consumer knows of the product through one of their usual roamings on say YouTube or Instagram and will tend to assume a certain degree of authenticity in a product their influencer is promoting. The influencer gets the best of both worlds, with their content creation promoted, and (plow back-able) profit for further content. And the firm that markets its products through influencers reaches its target audience more effectively than if it were otherwise.
Another reason why the promo arguably works better with influencers, than, say with celebrities is due to relatability. The followers of a given influencer relate to the figure more than they do to a high-and-mighty-and-oh-so-far-away celebrity, and assume that if a certain product was okay-ed by and worked for this relatable person, “it’ll probably work for me too!”
The How
There are numerous instances where influencers market brands. They may use a certain product and promote it when commented on about it, say their good-looking skin, and they very naturally gush about how “Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum worked wonders for my skin” and how the influenced must give it a go if ever possible. Aka shout-outs.
And they could — again, all very unpretentiously — slide in the mention of a promo code that they could use to avail of discounts for said Seed Serum.
All in all, I’m sure that this influence of social media that birthed influencers has benefited all concerned stakeholders, it’s a phenomenon we should appreciate more than we tend to usually.
References
Influencer Marketing. (2019, November 13). Retrieved from https://www.tapinfluence.com/blog-what-is-influencer-marketing/
What is influencer marketing and how to build a strategy. (2019, December 3). Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/influencer-marketing/
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