2020 isn’t falling in line with previously forecasted trends. The global pandemic, crushing job losses, and long-term social distancing in the US and abroad have completely changed the game for influencer marketing.
Rather than waiting for things to get “back to normal,” brands should not only embrace new best practices but also redefine the relationship they have with online customers.
影响者Marketing: A Covid-Proof Blueprint for Brands:
The Long Tail Opportunity for Brands
For a split second, the fate of influencer marketing seemed uncertain. Collaborations and events were canceled en masse. Marketers across the nation hit pause on upcoming campaigns, and aspirational travel shots and photogenic brunch platters disappeared from everyone’s feeds.
Since stay-at-home orders went into effect, consumers have started to spend more time on social media, than ever before:
- 32% increase in Instagram usage
- Facebook使用率增加了53％
- 3x increase in viewership on IGTV
- 2x increase in viewership on Facebook Live
- 33% live-streaming for first time
当我们进入许多州的隔离尾巴时，这些趋势继续存在。有63％的人说，他们比品牌更信任有影响力的人，这使他们成为在消费者对品牌意图保持警惕的时候攻读新兴机会的宝贵资源。
There’s a real opportunity to reach a captive and engaged audience as consumers rethink old habits, values, and behaviors. Brands need to scrap the strategies that drove wins just a few months back and look toward partnering with relatable influencers who can drive commerce and positively impact the sales funnel. Consider using influencers on a quarterly basis with the intention to renew contracts with those who outperform the rest.
Caution! Self-Serve Influencer Marketplaces
通常，品牌通过使用自助市场来开始其影响者的营销旅程金博宝188备用网址-the ability to “shop” a large talent pool from a single, centralized system seems appealing; however, even outside of the “COVID context,” self-serve marketplaces can be a liability for brands. Here are some of the red flags you’ll need to watch out for:
Hidden Fees
Self-serve marketplaces typically promise a flat rate fee, which is appealing at first glance. However, many fail to clarify that the original flat rate fee is only meant to cover the use for the platform itself.
These platforms frequently take a percentage of the fee associated with each influencer’s rate. Yes, this means that you will need to pay a commission for each influencer that you decide to work with. This cost is layered on top of the ‘flat rate’ platform fee. The platform commissions can range anywhere from a tenth to a quarter of an influencer’s individual fees; the dollar amount that is paid directly to influencers accounts to roughly 75-90% of your actual spend.
IGC (Influencer-generated content) is a different kind of UGC
Brands love the idea of securing user-generated content from self-serve platforms...until they realize how time consuming the actual process is. IGC, in the influencer context, means high-quality content that evokes a user-generated feeling — “relatable” sponsored content that audiences crave.
Part of the issue here is that self-serve platforms aren’t always great at surfacing high-end micro/nano-influencers options that match both the content direction and organic target audience. Since they are opt-in networks, many of the influencers you hope to find may not be active on these platforms.
影响者marketing is a marriage of art & science. Influencer marketing agencies provide a lending hand by guiding and consulting influencers through both the creative and distribution process.
Doing the Work Anyway
影响者市场是无数的第二套住房ands of influencers; however, many marketers ultimately find themselves searching for influencers outside of these platforms. This creates complications — if you find a perfect match, outside of the database, you’ll need to onboard the influencer onto the platform itself in order to utilize your original investment budget. Reason being that these funds are most likely non-refundable. Altogether, this process wastes time, resources, and money.
YouTube recently shut down its own self-service influencer program(FameBit) in July. In their announcement, YouTube stated that they've “learned a lot about how creators and brands can work together to produce amazing branded content...branded content only works if it's authentic and engaging for viewers.” The implication being that self-service led to inauthentic partnerships and poor results; it turns out that influencer marketing is as creative an endeavour as the content itself.
来源:Tubular
如果Google无法使自动化的影响者营销工作，任何人都可以吗？金博宝188备用网址Google的Famebit实验表明，有影响力的营销做得好，需要人类的触感。金博宝188备用网址金博宝188备用网址像大多数事情一样，有影响力的营销需要时间，经验和精力才能做好。
Strategic Partnerships & Market Research
来源:Engadget
New features on platforms like Instagram include polling and questionnaire filters. Influencers can act on behalf of brand partners to engage their audiences directly and conduct market research.
除问答外，品牌还有机会以更具战略意义的方式与影响者合作，以确保其营销计划真正引起消费者的共鸣。
用影响力促使uction Partners
Partnering with content creators results in better-performing creative assets that can drive revenue when paired with a paid media budget. Brands should always consider repurposing organic sponsored content for this reason. This practice has become even more popular now, in the wake of COVID.
Some brands have tried recycling old B-roll and stock footage from prior shoots, but even these workarounds have limitations regarding relevancy in a rapidly changing social climate.
根据我们最近的品牌提升研究，影响者生产的内容可以比品牌生产的内容高达68％的购买力 - 这是有道理的，观众探索社交媒体以消耗对这些特定平台的真实内容。188滚球地址如果内容感觉过于生产或“工厂制造”，则关注者很快致电BS。让有影响力的人发挥自己的魔力，并抵制对这一创作过程的微观管理的冲动。毕竟，由于它们具有独特和可区分的特征，因此您选择了它们。
Radical Transparency
“Radical transparency” has recently become a crucial component of many successful influencer marketing strategies.这种心态是直接结果our nation’s current social and civil unrest. Brands must be prepared to prove to influencers that they can be trusted.
影响者s are now refusing to work with brands that don’t align with their core values. They want to see evidence and proof that traces back to social responsibility. The truth is, an unfit partnership could compromise the longevity of an Influencer’s career.
Accountability Goes Public
公司正在探索他们可以采取哪些步骤来解决过去的错误并承诺做得更好。在内部，许多品牌都在努力解决多样性和包容性。他们如何创建推动可持续进步的流程？而且，他们如何证明自己重视多样性而不采取行动类似于宣传特技？品牌需要定期与自己的受众和影响者合作伙伴进行签到，就他们想要为更美好的世界做出贡献，并与有影响力的影响者合作。这本身对企业有好处。
Shareable Content in Short-Form
来源:tiktok.com
Facebook was once the “cool kid” alternative to Myspace, then came Instagram. Now TikTok has infiltrated the scene. Despite news that TikTok is facing a potential ban in the United States, the fact remains that short-form content presents an opportunity for brands to diversify their channel mix and gain higher viewership.
As it stands, TikTok boasts over 21 Million active users in the US between 13-24, who spend an average of 52 minutes a day on the platform. TikTok’s content discovery engine, viral hashtags, and dance challenges make the platform a uniquely engaging channel. A viral video on TikTok can achieve a ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) you’d be hard-pressed to find on any other platform.
此外，与YouTube或Instagram等平台相比，Tiktok的影响者仍然保持低价。188滚球地址在为时已晚之前利用这一点。
By leveraging native influencers on this platform brands can break out into an entirely new and growing audience segment.
Final Thoughts
影响者marketing has become a necessity, and it’s never too late to get started. Don’t let the intimidation weigh you down, there areinfluencer marketing agencies在这里帮助保证成功并提供端到端的支持。
影响者s do their part by adding “magic to the mundane.” Adapting to the current and post-pandemic landscape means you must be prepared to pivot from the familiar pathways of the past, toward strategies best suited for a turbulent future. The right influencers can help brands successfully navigate this rapidly changing climate.
This industry has become quite sophisticated over the past few years. It is no longer the “Wild Wild West.” We now have technology and data available to make informed marketing decisions, leaving the guess-work out of the equation.
Gary
Gary is the US Head of Brand Partnerships at Gleam Solutions, an influencer partnerships and consulting division at Gleam Futures. Gleam Solutions specializes in high-end influencer programs, offering an end-to-end talent solution that harnesses their experience in building people, brands, and businesses to deliver effective, creative, and innovative campaigns. With 10+ years in the industry, Gary has worked directly with influencer marketing leads at Disney, Airbnb, CVS, Ralph Lauren, Adobe, Live Nation, and more.
