Our world has changed drastically. Brands would spend hundreds of thousands, even millions to be ‘endorsed’ by celebrities. After every news show, you can see that a specific brand is featured because the host was wearing that suit or dress.
Most people under 29 don’t pay for cable. In fact, many are watching TV on their laptop, or device and they do it on demand. Commercials are becoming less effective and BRANDS NEED TO ADJUST.
One buzz word we hear regularly is ‘influencer’ marketing. Brands want to associate with a bunch of influencers because consumers trust that influencer’s judgement. Consumers are less aware of the financial benefits these influencers have when promoting a brand.
So how do you know which influencers are good or not? Since there is no straight forward answer, the approach should be taken with caution.
We interact with hundreds of influencers and for every 50 that approach us about a brand, only 1 would actually deliver on what they promise. Is it worth the effort? The answer is yes, and here’s why.
For the 1 time that an influencer succeeds in the goals we set, they succeed way beyond our expectations. We walk into the relationship saying that if we come out even then it’s worth the effort to test them. Afterwards, we work with them on optimization techniques, adjusting our messaging to their audience and creating specific co-branded landing pages to improve the performance.
Though we have to be careful on the other 49 influencers that may mean well and have every intention of delivering on their end of the agreement but just can’t get the results we need. being careful is giving product instead of cash, having a ‘loan’ agreement with them instead of giving them the product and making them pay a fee to loan and have it refunded when they return it, etc. Doing such will require you to be very upfront with them about why you need to take the steps that you are taking.
This holiday season, many brands are going heavy on influencer marketing. Some will yield results but most will not. It’s important to understand that if this a direct marketing initiatives, you’re better of using those funds in other places.
