when It all started…
Influencer marketing stemmed from media fragmentation and audience selectivity. This led to social media creating stars from everyday people, those who could offer up authenticity in a world of distrust, through their content. To their followers they are authentic and trustworthy, they inspire them to try new things. Reacting to the dual challenge of media fragmentation and ad-blocking and observing the power of influencer-follower relationships, brands began to co-opt this influence to create a billion-dollar industry.
Micro-influencers were also the predominant influencer type used for all categories, apart from finance, aided by a perceived greater authenticity and relatively low cost.
There are, however, a number of challenges facing the industry.
Influence as a currency for advertising has increased the need to be seen as influential. The more followers influencers have, the more reach they can claim and the more money they can earn. The problem is that you no longer need to build it, you can buy it; as the New York Times discovered, people are buying followers to look influential to society and brands alike.
The explosion in influencers and influencer marketing has been built on trust. For the audience, it is that the influencers they follow are honest and authentic. For brands, it is that the followers the influencer has are authentic and engaged. However, many high-profile influencers have gone from authenticity to commodity and followers have gone from being part of a community to being potential customers.
To solve these challenges, we need new rules for a new world, where we:
Select influencers because of the nature of their audience, not by how many followers they have
Replace short-term sponsored saturation with long-term influencer association
Have partnerships built on an authentic connection with the creativity of the influencer and passion of the audience
Move beyond likes and comments to look at the value for the business
Make influencer marketing an integrated part of the advertising mix, not an afterthought
