Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (3:30 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Lifestyle & Niche Media Blog 4, Question 3 (March 1)
How are brands and advertisers using social
media influencers to target audiences? What are the pluses and minuses of using
TikTokers, Instagram stars, and YouTubers to promote products? Limit: 10
responses
It’s definitely no secret that brands are taking advantage of using social media influencers in order to expand their reach and target specific audiences. Two of the most popular social media apps for influencers are Instagram and TikTok. Basically, brands can pick whoever they want to sponsor, and there are a lot of people to pick from. Companies are even looking at “smaller creators like ‘nano’ or ‘micro’ influencers with under 100,000 followers” (Bradley). Having so many people to choose from helps companies decide who their target audience is and who they want representing their products.
Brands can then go about a variety of ways of having their products shared. Influencers can post a picture on their main feed with #ad, they can add swipe-up links to their Stories, or they can make a tutorial/unboxing haul of all their favorite items. This is a big way companies can reach a larger audience, and fast. Rather than solely relying on advertisements and commercials, brands are going right to the source: consumers. More specifically, influential consumers.
I think there are definitely a lot of pluses and minuses to using influencers. But more importantly, I think a lot comes down to the way brands use influencers. It can be a really beneficial thing for companies to do. Like I mentioned before, influencers are great for companies to reach a big audience of consumers. According to the article, “Top-Earning TikTok-ers 2022: Charli And Dixie D’Amelio And Addison Rae Expand Fame—And Paydays,” TikTok influencers such as Charlie and Dixie D’Amelio are reaching several millions of people with each post. Sponsoring influencers gets the word out. And if people look up to the influencers they follow, they will be more likely to buy what they have in order to support them and even be more like them.
However, there are definitely some downsides that go along with collaborating with influencers. One being that brands are putting themselves on a very big scale, and there is little room for error. This means problems can easily arise if people do not like the way brands are promoting themselves. One of the biggest issues involving this has been diversity in influencer promotions. There have been countless times when a brand repeatedly chooses to sponsor someone who is white or straight or fits the unrealistic standards of beauty without much thought to anyone outside the “typical” societal box. “The Importance of Diversity in Influencer Marketing” explains that “when a brand adds diversity into their influencer campaign journey, they reach a broader, more defined audience, cut through all the noise, and create more authenticity and reliability within the campaign.” By increasing diversity, brands not only market to a wider variety of people, but their brand becomes much more authentic and appealing. When companies continuously use one background, ethnicity, skin color, body type, socioeconomic status, and so on, there tends to be a lot of pushback and controversy. It is important for companies to use influencers in a way that benefits both their brand and their consumers.
Works Cited Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6. Brown, Abram, and Abigail Freeman. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=6ed533123afa. “The Importance of Diversity in Influencer Marketing.” HireInfluence, Inc, 19 Apr. 2021, https://hireinfluence.com/blog/the-importance-of-diversity-in-influencer-marketing/.
In the last decade, social media influencers have begun to take over our screens, and they will only continue to keep doing so. Brands have come to realize more and more that influencers do just that; influence the public into doing, liking, and saying things that they want them to. Most specifically however, influencers often target younger audiences, considering they’re the most impressionable. Brands have taken this idea and ran with it, often not only sponsoring, but partnering with influencers to promote their products.
One of the most recent and prevalent examples being the D’Amelio sisters, Charli and Dixie. According to an article from Forbes, the two got their start on TikTok and quickly amassed large followings, and they now hold sponsorships, brand deals, and partnerships with companies like Hollister, Hulu, and Jingle Ball. Similarly, another incredibly popular TikTok persona, Addison Rae has recently signed a multi-film deal with Netflix, following her acting debut in the platform’s original film He’s All That, a gender-swap spin-off of the 90’s classic, She’s All That (Brown).
With a deal like Rae’s, this is where we begin to see the possible pro’s and con’s of companies and brands making decisions like these. Following its release, critics rated He’s All That pretty poorly (it only has a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes), but it was trending number one worldwide on Netflix for several days after its release (Mendelson).
While the tactic of placing a social media star in the lead of your newest film is a good tactic, and one that’s been used (successfully) many times before, it begins to beg the question, how long will it take until the public begins to view these movies as an annoyance? We often see that films like these often display lazy writing, mediocre acting, and dull storytelling. Because of this, films like this often see short-lived success at their release but nothing more following. So, how strong of a tactic is it really for brands?
Another danger of using influencers to promote things is the specific brands they choose to promote. We often see that many influencers, once sponsored, will filter and censor their content containing those specific brand deals. Creators being forced to censor their content in order to remain monetized and keep getting paid begins to bring in suspicion of their sincerity. People may begin to lose trust in creators if they believe they are only using these products and saying these things in order to get paid (Michaeloudis).
Overall, we will continue to see brands and advertisers use influencers to market themselves and promote their products, however, they will soon have to change their strategies and tactics in order to keep consumers interested in their brands. When all brands are using the same method of advertising, consumers catch on quickly, and will often begin to distrust companies and specifically avoid them. That being said, the brands that are able to find new and creative ways to utilize influencers in order to promote will see themselves finding more success than those that continue to use the same marketing techniques. Works Cited
Brown, Abram. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=4dd69cef3afa. Mendelson, Scott. “Why Netflix's Lazy 'He's All That' Suggests a Grim Streaming Future.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Aug. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/08/28/netflix-lazy-hes-all-that-paints-a-grim-picture-of-hollywood-streaming-future/?sh=387b6c873c71. Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know .
Social media influencers are being used more and more by brands and advertisers (companies in general) to promote their products. Afterall, influencers influence what people do and can influence what they buy. Companies use influencers since they have a valuable social media reach, and can reach out to a new audience for them, increasing their brand awareness and gaining more customers. (Michaeloudis). This is important because brand loyalty is declining. People these days don’t care as much about buying products from the same brand. Instead, they’re much more loyal and care more about the influencers they follow. (Michaeloudis). Companies can also use influencers to target a specific audience they want. For instance, they can create a creator partnership with a beauty influencer on Instagram for a cosmetic product. With this kind of partnership, the company is reaching an audience that would actually be interested in the product being promoted. Also, companies can use influencers to target a younger demographic. For example, TikTok is extremely popular with the demographic of 18-24 year-olds, so partnering with a TikToker could be beneficial if that company wants to target that age range. (Whitten). Influencers are also great in recommending a product more authentically than a standard pop-up ad. It can feel more relatable, and most of the time influencers are able to give more information about the product and how it works then a standard ad. (Michaeloudis). Influencer marketing in general is just also something companies should really consider. For one thing, since covid, the influencer market has increased dramatically since more people spend more time on social media, growing to a market size of $13.8 billion in 2021, with estimates that the influencer market will grow to $16.4 billion in 2022, an additional 19%. (Geyser). Also, Zara, the company that was most often mentioned on Instagram, reached over two billion people on just Instagram. (Geyser). That goes without saying, the influencer market can be highly profitable and can allow the company to reach a much bigger audience.
Of course, companies need to make sure they choose the right social media platform to promote their product on through influencers. YouTube has been around the longest and is used by 95% of all global internet users. Companies can find almost every demographic imaginable on YouTube, and YouTube provides the biggest audience that companies can potentially reach out to. Also, due to YouTube containing longer videos, companies are able to work with influencers to create longer ads to truly show how their product works. (Whitten). That said, content created on YouTube is mostly made by individuals, so companies don’t have as much control over their brand’s messaging and narrative when YouTuber’s promote their product. Not only that, but working with YouTubers can be time consuming and costly, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing (and that goes for working with any type of influencer). (Whitten). Instagram also reaches a wide audience, having one billion monthly users. Companies can work with influencers to have their ads displayed in their stories on Instagram, which would be displayed at the top of a potential customer’s page, making it more likely they’ll see it. Instagram also has a one-click shopping feature, allowing customers to make purchases right on the app. However, Influencers on Instagram can charge a pretty high rate for creative partnerships, and many people view influencers and ads on Instagram as fake and not authentic. Instagram also has a low engagement rate on sponsored posts, only being at 2.4%. (Whitten). On the other hand, TikTok has a high engagement rate on sponsored posts, at around 50%. TikTok is also extremely popular with Gen Z, an ideal demographic for many companies. TikTok also tends to seem more laid back and authentic to users (at least compared to Instagram). That said, TikTok is mostly used by Gen Z, so it has a very small demographic compared to Instagram and, especially, YouTube. (Whitten)
Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know.
Geyser, Werner. “The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 11 Feb. 2022, https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/.
Whitten, Melissa. “YouTube vs Instagram vs TikTok: Which Channel Is Best for Cosmetics Brands?” The Pixlee Blog, 2 Dec. 2019, https://www.pixlee.com/blog/youtube-vs-instagram-vs-tiktok-which-channel-is-best-for-cosmetics-brands/.
Lauren Clemons It’s very popular for brands and advertisers to use social media influencers to target audiences today. I’ve been seeing this happen a lot in the past few years, especially with Youtubers at first. I remember watching videos and the first thing that was said is “this is a sponsored video” and then the Youtuber would promote the brand. I found it to be annoying, because I didn’t really care for the ad, but I knew Youtubers were only doing it for the money. All Youtubers want to have sponsors, so they make more money: According to “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Typically, influencers rely on sponsored content to make a living. From posting a picture to the main feed with #ad, to sharing swipe-up links in a series of Stories, sponsored content takes on many different shapes (Bradley). Brands and advertisers know influencers can reach such a large audience. I think their strategy for reaching millions of people by using a well-known influencer was a good idea. They know their product will be bought if a well-known influencer is promoting it. For instance, Emma Chamberlain is a well-known influencer, and her audience is mainly teen girls. A lot of teen girls like her and look up to her since she’s always herself. She has partnered with Pacsun, Curology, Louis Vuitton, etc. Emma has millions of followers across all social media platforms. I remember looking at Pacsun swimsuits last year and the ones Emma was wearing were sold out compared to all the other swimsuits. The positives of using influencers are that they can bring in a huge audience for the brand that they’re promoting. Even if they aren’t an influencer with millions of followers, they can still help a brand to grow. They can help a small brand get started and grow quickly by bringing their audience to that brand. Charlie and Dixie D’Amelio are the biggest Tik-Tokers and have made a lot of money from different partnerships. By the sisters getting sponsored by different brands gave them more opportunities to become more successful and famous: According to “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Drawing plenty of comparisons to the Kardashian sisters, they now have their own Hulu series, The D’Amelio Show. It premiered in September and was renewed for another season two months later (Brown). Just from the sisters making dance videos, and now they’re millionaires is crazy to me. The negatives of using influencers are that when they do something wrong in the public eye, the brand goes down too. There are plenty of influencers that have lost all their sponsors. When an influencer does something wrong that draws a lot of attention to them, and no brand wants to be associated with them. Because it makes the brand look bad and that could make the brand lose money. Some influencers who have lost sponsors are Logan Paul, David Dobrik, Shane Dawson, James Charles, and more. Logan Paul never got sponsors for a couple years after he made a video in the Japanese rainforest filming a dead body. Also, David Dobrik sponsors dropped him after a friend in his group was accused of misconduct: According to “Sponsors Drop Youtuber David Dobrik after His Former Collaborator Is Accused of Rape.” Companies HelloFresh, General Mills, DoorDash, SeatGeek, and EA Sports confirmed to NBC News on Monday that they were no longer working with Dobrik (Wong). Shane Dawson was called out for being racist and saying inappropriate things about his animals. Also, James Charles keeps having cases talking to boys that are minors. Overall, I think it’s a good that brands and advertisers use social media influencers to promote their products. But at the same time not I think it’s not a good idea, because if they do something wrong it drags the brand down too.
Works Cited Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6. Brown, Abram. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=425e39f53afa. Wong, Wilson. “Sponsors Drop Youtuber David Dobrik after His Former Collaborator Is Accused of Rape.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 23 Mar. 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sponsors-drop-youtuber-david-dobrik-after-his-former-collaborator-accused-n1261719.
The world of advertising is constantly changing. Ten years ago influencer marketing did not exist and now it is one of the best ways for brands and advertisers to reach their target audiences. It is predicted that influencer marketing will grow by around $16.4 billion dollars by the end of 2022 (Geyser, 2022). Influencer marketing is becoming very profitable and is likely to be the main form of advertising for many brands and advertisers in the near future. One of the main goals of brands and advertisers in 2022 is to make shopping as easy and seamless as possible. People have short attention spans and are easily distracted now more than ever. This is one of the reasons why brands and advertisers are now turning to influencer marketing. In many instances, when influencers promote a product there is a direct link to where it can be purchased in the post. The product might even be able to be purchased on the social media platform the influencer posted on. This makes shopping so simple and mindless, that more people are likely to press the checkout button (Michaeloudis, 2022). Brands and advertisers are also using influencer marketing to promote authenticity and trust. When people follow an influencer on social media, they most likely trust their opinion. Seeing an influencer you like and trust promote a product you may be interested in buying, is going to make you more likely to buy it (AdvertiseMint Staff, 2021). Brands and advertisers ask influencers to posts their reviews of products using their own voice and with their own personal thoughts of the products. Or, at least that is how the brands and advertisers want it to come across. One of the cons to influencer marketing is that it could be difficult for a brand to find the right influencer to promote their product. There needs to be a lot of research done on the brand and advertising side to find the influencer whose niche audience matches the product you are trying to promote (AdvertiseMint Staff, 2021). Choosing the wrong influencer could lead to brands and advertisers losing potential sales and wasting money on influencer marketing.
However, if a brand or advertiser is able to find the right influencer, influencer marketing does an amazing job of targeting the niche audience trying to be reached. Finding an influencer whose followers are interested in the niche market of products the brands and advertisers are trying to promote could be a big win (Yeung, 2022). For example, if a brand reaches out to fitness influencers and asks them to promote their new lifting gloves, it is likely that their followers are also into fitness and the target audience is easily being reached. Influencer marketing is only going to continue to grow in the upcoming years. At the end of the day, the pros of influencer marketing outweigh the cons. Brands and advertisers both big and small are going to continue to use influencer marketing to promote their products. Influencer marking is not going anywhere.
Work Cited: AdvertiseMint Staff. (2021, August 3). The benefits and drawbacks of influencer marketing. AdvertiseMint. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.advertisemint.com/the-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-influencer-marketing/ Geyser, W. (2022, February 11). The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark report. Influencer Marketing Hub. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/ Michaeloudis, L. (2022, January 5). 5 influencer marketing trends for 2022 that you should know. Upfluence. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know Yeung, N. (2021, November 24). Influencer marketing: Advantages and disadvantages. Profolus. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.profolus.com/topics/influencer-marketing-advantages-and-disadvantages/
With social media becoming such a large part of our daily lives, there is no stopping the up-and-coming influencers for many years to come. Social media influencers on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc have become A-list celebrities and have a large impact on society. The use of marketing through social media influencers have been done for many years. I started to notice this through male YouTube influencers that I am subscribed too that tend to market Manscaped a lot. They are shown using Manscaped products in their videos and really encouraging their viewers to check them out. With TikTok now becoming one of the most popular social media platforms in the world many famous influencers have emerged from the platform such as Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae. Companies and brands obviously look to these bigger creators to market them, but they also have been looking at “smaller creators like ‘nano’ or ‘micro’ influencers with under 100,000 followers” (Bradley). This is also a smart strategy for companies to market their brand, using as many people as possible is never a bad thing. Influencers can market these brands by simply posting hashtags, videos, or photos of them using the content they are marking. Josh Richards who is a big TikToker was used by the NHL to market themselves to a younger audience and female audience by posting content on their TikTok and him doing the same. and it sort of worked in their favor but of course came with some cons.
As previously mentioned, Charli D’Amelio is a big star on TikTok, as well as her sister Dixie. They both have mega brand deals, partnerships, and sponsorships due to their large following. Addison Rae who I also previously mentioned has recently signed a multi-film deal with Netflix, following her acting debut in the platform’s original film He’s All That, a gender-swap spin-off of the 90’s classic, She’s All That (Brown). With this deal occurring, the show received mostly negative reviews, but it was also trending number one worldwide amongst Netflix content. This shows us the pluses and minuses of these kind of brand deals companies are making with these influencers, the pro is having a name like Addison Rae star in your film. A con would be having someone like Addison Rae star in your film which can cause annoyance and anger amongst viewers. As from my own personal experience while the film was going on a lot of people on Twitter were bashing Addison’s acting performance and annoyed that she has no talent and that she’s being granted a lead role for no reason.
There are most certainly a lot of pluses that come with using influencers to market brands. Pluses of doing this include helping brands reach a relevant audience, building trust and credibility. It also broadens the brand’s reach, and it can save marketers time as working with an influencer won’t make the brand worry about making creative content (Barker). The minuses however include working with the wrong influencers can do more harm to the brand than good. Also, influencer marketing mistakes can cost your brand such as posting content that does not resonate with their target audience and inflating following and engagements bots. There is also a high risk involved as if an influencer lacks the ability to create impressive content, they might fail to resonate with your target consumers. In such cases, the time and money you invest will be in vain (Barker).
Works Cited
Brown, Abram, and Abigail Freeman. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=6ed533123afa.
Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
The Pros and cons of Influencer Marketing: An honest look. Shane Barker. (2022, January 27). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://shanebarker.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing/
With the growth of social media influencers, brands are starting to explore the various platforms that they can use to reach their targeted audiences. Social media marketing is about building trust with your followers. It’s done using influencers, who connect with their audience and have the confidence of their followers. Instagram has developed to be a great platform for influencers to launch their careers. “The Meta-owned social-media platform has become a primary stage for influencers launching their careers. And they don't need millions of followers to earn money on Instagram.” (Bradley). Companies are increasingly looking for micro and nano influencers to help them reach their target audience. The followers of nano and micro influencers are more likely to shop for products and services because they seem them as their friends. “As more brands turn to smaller creators like "nano" or "micro" influencers with under 100,000 followers, establishing a career as a creator is no longer a pipe dream.” (Bradley). Although there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to using influencers, I think it is a huge way to build a stronger brand. The earnings of TikTok stars have increased significantly over the last year, partly due to their efforts to expand their reach beyond the platform that brought them fame. Among the highest-earning TikTok-ers is the D’Amelio sisters, who are now on their own Hulu series. According to Top-Earning TikTok-ers 2022: Charli and Dixie D’Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame -- and Paydays, “Over the last year, the biggest TikTok stars’ earning have surged, driven partly by their efforts to broaden their fame beyond the platform that first turned them into celebrities.” (Brown). The TikTok-ers understand that advertisers are targeting them because they're about the same age. As for the stars, there's a good chance they'll eventually become famous. While they're focused on TikTok, the stars still earn a portion of their earnings from sponsored content. “The TikTokers understand the audience these advertisers want to reach because they themselves are about the same age.” (Brown).
Being an influencer can help a brand grow even if they don't have millions of followers. They can still help a small brand get started by attracting a huge audience. The downside of influencers is that they can quickly lose sponsors after doing something that's not right. Doing this can make the brand look bad, and this could make them lose money. For example, Tana Mongeau is a famous Tik Toker and she made it big, with a reported $4 million net worth at the time of her 22nd birthday. “She has her own MTV series, staged a wedding with Jake Paul for clout, and has amassed a reported $4 million net worth by the time she was 22 years old.” (Gatollari). During this period, Mongeau was criticized for using the N-word in her various platforms and in tweets. According to 13 Influencers Who Were Cancelled Just as Quickly as They Got Famous, she was blamed of being racist by other popular influencers. “Mongeau was accused of being racist by fellow content creators SimplyNessa and Kahlen Berry and as part of her apology, Mongeau said she was going to donate to the NAACP and work to hold herself “accountable” for her actions. Her career hasn’t seemed to slow down one bit, however, even when she was criticized for selling nudes to help Joe Biden get elected in 2020.” (Gatollari). Although I agree that it's a good idea for brands to promote their products through influencers, I do not agree with their actions. If you say one wrong thing on a social media platform, it can ruin your entire life especially for a celebrity or any influencer.
Works Cited
Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
Brown, Abram. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/.
Gatollari, Mustafa. “13 Influencers Who Were Canceled Just as Quickly as They Got Famous.” Distractify, 12 Apr. 2021, https://www.distractify.com/p/influencers-canceled-quickly.
It appears that influencers are the new hot commodity in the world of social media in the 21st century. Instagram and YouTube influencers have been around for a good chunk of time, but TikTokers have become a huge sensation in the last few years. Brands and advertisers have been using them to their advantage to bring more awareness to their target audience. The question is, are influencer’s more beneficial than not in the marketing world? Due to the pandemic, there has been an increase in influencer marketing. These social media influencers are able to reach these brands’ target audience with dependable product recommendations. “Further along the purchase journey, influencers can offer social proof, product information, and the means of purchase in live social shopping or affiliate marketing campaigns for example” (Michaeloudis). This will then drive further sales as these influencers are helping to deliver the advertisers’ message. The world of influencers has increased since the pandemic and is no longer a hard task. According to Sydney Bradley’s article on influencers and how much many they make, “more brands turn to smaller creators like ‘nano’ or ‘micro’ influencers with under 100,000 followers” (Bradley). With that being said, it’s a lot easier to find influencers to market your product over social media which is a plus of using them. Another plus in using TikTokers specifically to promote their products, is the authenticity of their content. As Michaeloudis says, “TikTok creators collaborate with their favorite brands to feature their products in content that doesn’t look or feel like an ad. This makes the platform all the more powerful fueling commerce trends through brand challenges and influencer-generated content” (Michaeloudis). Influencer’s can be a huge help in getting your company new customers also. With positives also come negatives, and there are a couple reasons why using influencers can be bad to use for promoting products. First of all, there are a lot of accounts nowadays that buy their followers, meaning they have fake followers. “These accounts have no influence over their followers, which means your brand won’t get any results if you unknowingly partner with one” (Pfund). Another downside to influencer marketing is that it is saturated and will continue to be overly saturated in years to come. This means that “at some point audiences will become disengaged, or less engaged than they once were” (Pfund). There have been multiple occasions where I, or someone that I know, has seen an ad on TikTok and immediately clicked the link that the influencer provided to buy the product. Overall, using influencers for your brand has its pros and cons. The main reason that they can drive traction to a brands target audience is through the highly engaging content they put out. It is no secret that influencer culture has become a hot commodity and will continue to drive sales in the future.
Works Cited Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6. Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know. Pfund, Colbey. “Council Post: The Pros and Cons of Influencer Marketing for Your Brand.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 17 Dec. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2019/12/17/the-pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing-for-your-brand/?sh=55a62e6d5ed0.
Advertising has become one of the most challenging things to do with the impact of social media. It has been hard to get a message or product to a vast audience. However, influencers are the golden ticket for businesses to advertise their products. According to Monique Thomas, “In 2019, reports estimated that the influencer marketing industry would be worth up to $15 billion by 2022” (Thomas). Influencers have many fans and viewers who always pay attention to their content. That is why the industry is continuing to grow. There is one influencer that is playing the influencer marketing industry well. Mr. Beast, one of the well-known YouTubers, has multiple different brands. He currently owns a nationwide burger and chocolate brand. He continues to advertise his brands on all of the videos that he produces. Those videos reach close to 40-50 million viewers every single time. He can even call himself the most influential and successful YouTuber. According to a 2021 Forbes annual listing, “Jimmy Donaldson – aka ‘Mr. Beast’ – now leads the way, after raking in an estimated $54 million from his YouTube content throughout the year” (Hutchinson). He is not the only one promoting their brands, and that option will become more popular.
There is a small price to pay to all these influencers if you want your content on their platforms. Sometimes brands might want to be on someone’s story for a cheap advertisement. According to Sydney Bradley, “influencer Alexa Collins — who has over one million followers — charged upwards of $1,000 for a sponsored Story on Instagram” (Bradley). That is a 24-hour advertisement that will reach over a million people and go away for good. You also have the possibility that it will not reach as many people as you want to. That is why it is essential for a brand to partner with a diverse partner. According to Thomas, “By not partnering with more diverse content creators, brands are missing out on the buying power of millennials and Gen Zers” (Thomas). Everyone has their point of view, and it is challenging to find the right people. However, social media can have the most significant negative on a brand. Social media has the power to damage any brand that is viewed the wrong way. This can be a news report about someone who works for a brand. Or it can be an influencer saying how faulty a product is after they try it. Social media has been the most significant growing trend over the past few years. A lot of companies are thriving with it. Others are getting buried by the presence of social media every day. If you play your cards correctly, you can build one of the biggest brands off social media.
"4 Black Voices on Diversity in Influencer Marketing." Later Blog. Web. 01 Mar. 2022.
Bradley, Sydney. "How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make." Business Insider. Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021. Web. 01 Mar. 2022.
Hutchinson, Andrew. "Mr. Beast Takes the Top Spot in Forbes' 2021 YouTube Earners List." Social Media Today. 14 Jan. 2022. Web. 01 Mar. 2022.
Throughout the last decades, influencers have been the main source of advertising for companies. Since millions of users are on Instagram, Facebook, tik tok that's the best place for anything to be marketed. “Influencer Marketing related services/companies grew 26% in 2021, to 18,900 worldwide. Growth was highest in the United States, which saw a 30% increase in influencer agencies, platforms, and services”.Brands are using influencers by paying them, sending them clothing, and other promotions to use their platforms to gain notoriety on the brand. There are dozens of brands that are willing to pay influencers because it’s more effective than advertising and marketing on TV. In the article from upfluence, there are five key trends that brands are currently watching. The one main important trend that is key to making influencer an important source of marketing is Tik Tok (Geyser)”.TikTok creators collaborate with their favorite brands to feature their products in content that doesn’t look or feel like an ad. This makes the platform all the more powerful at fuelling commerce trends through brand challenges and influencer-generated content.” Tik Tok is the number one social media app in the world right now. Everyone is on Tik Tok all day and all night, and popular pages are constantly being viewed. The way the Tik Tok algorithm works is so unique because even users who have small followings can reach big audiences. For example, say someone is posting their favorite Nike air force ones at 9 pm. Using certain hashtags and posting at a certain time will help gain more traction to the post without Nike having to pay that specific person. TikTok helps brands advertise for free. But there are a lot of downsides to influencers. A lot of black creators don’t get recognition or are asked to promote clothing and other products.” By not partnering with more diverse content creators, brands are missing out on the buying power of millennials and Gen Zers, and they won’t reach a wider audience who could potentially advocate for their products (Michaelides).” Diverging who brands work with is very crucial to brand notoriety. That is one of the biggest downsides to influencer marketing. “I think sometimes when you’re unaware of what other people are earning or what the potential of your space is, it’s so easy for you to be low-balled, and it’s so easy for you to lack confidence when it comes to negotiating your worth,” Ajayi told Verge last summer(Kaye).“ There are so many well-established diverse influencers in the niche side of Instagram. For example, Jackie Aina who has been a lifestyle niche influencer has been around the youtube Instagram space for a very long time. It took her years and until black brands reached out for her to get brand deals. Even though brand influencing and advertising have a lot of great ways to reach a lot of demographics, there are also a lot of drawbacks. Being a minority and not being recognized, tracking algorithms, and being authentic will continue to be a problem in the future if things aren’t done to stop it.
Geyser, Werner. “The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 11 Feb. 2022, https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/. Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know. Kaye, Leon. “Black Influencers Push Back against Working for Free.” TriplePundit, 23 Feb. 2021, https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/black-influencers-working-free/718906.
With the constant growth of social media, it has slowly become a part of our daily lives over the years. Influencers are beginning to take over the landscape now more than ever, and partnering up with specific brands in the process as part of an effort to reach and expand company target audiences. Instagram and especially TikTok have been the places to be for influencers with so many different ages and backgrounds of users, but they have also been prevalent on other social media apps including Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube. This includes not only the highest-ranking celebrities, but also ones that reach a smaller audience. Charli D’Amelio ranks among the influencers with the largest audience along with the best profits. Abram Brown and Abigail Freeman of Forbes report that she has, “the app’s largest following (133 million subscribe to her videos) and a ballooning amount of business interests. She’s got the basics covered—advertising sponsorships from Invisalign, Morphe cosmetics and a newer one with Dunkin’ Donuts —and then considerably more” (Brown, Freeman). Companies enjoy sponsorships of this magnitude since they have the ability to reach some of the largest audiences out there from a source that social media users know and trust so well.
With influencers promoting products, there are both pros and cons to it. As previously mentioned, the trust factor is a major pro with influencers since fans tend to rely and depend upon the influencer’s brand. If an A-list influencer or celebrity sponsors a company’s products, fans and followers would certainly be inclined to get the specific product to help “connect” themselves with that specific influencer because they look to them as role models. It’s also important to note that the pandemic was able to spur the influencer market industry as people had more time on their hands to be online. Warner Geyser discussed the market and how influencer marketing “is estimated to have grown to have a market size of $13.8 billion in 2021. Furthermore, this is expected to jump a further 19% to $16.4 billion in 2022” (Geyser). Influencer marketing is a booming industry right now and with that reliability factor, it can help benefit a company in a variety of ways.
The major con that stands out is the possibility of partnering with the wrong influencer. In a time where sensitivity is extremely high, it’s important for a company to be with a figure that won’t slip up and make a wrong move. It’s also important to follow the rules that are in place with these sponsorship deals. One of the most notable cases includes Kim Kardashian’s partnership with Diclegis, a drug that deals with morning sickness. Kardashian, much like other TikTok influencers of today, holds a massive fanbase and has been an influencer for a long time. The post on Instagram caught a lot of attention and backlash, causing the FDA to step in for a lack of mention about the risks of Diclegis. According to Shane Barker, he states that the “FDA warned that Duchesnay would face regulatory action if the content was not corrected or removed” (Barker). As a result of this, there was negative publicity. This can hurt a company if an incident such as this occurs again with another major celebrity or influencer which is why it’s so important to choose the right person to represent a company name.
Works Cited
Barker, Shane. “5 Influencer Marketing Fails You Can Learn From.” Shane Barker, 18 Mar. 2021, https://shanebarker.com/blog/influencer-marketing-fails/.
Brown, Abram, and Abigail Freeman. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 Jan. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=e1768203afa4.
Geyser, Werner. “The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 11 Feb. 2022, https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/.
With the coronavirus pandemic putting the world on hold in 2020, the use of online shopping and advertising has skyrocketed. According to Mckinsey, about 73% of US consumers and 63% of UK consumers have adapted to new shopping routines and preferences since the start of the pandemic. Between online shopping and social media, statistics show an overall increase in the use of the internet everyday. This created a whole new threshold that brands and internet users have taken advantage of. (Mckinsey) Partnerships between brands and content creators allow products to gain exposure to a large number of consumers amongst a vast array of social media platforms. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Twitch are just a few that have welcomed the influencer and promoter community with open arms. Brands are able to use influencers to reach out to a specific niche of the market. Therefore, they can promote their products to a fan base that is more likely to be interested in their product than the average consumer. Another plus to brands and companies using influencers to promote their products is the trust that is established between the influencer and their fan base. As stated in the 5 Influencer Marketing Trends in 2022 That You Should Know article, “Further along the purchase journey, influencers can offer social proof, product information, and the means of purchase in live social shopping or affiliate marketing campaigns”. This allows for direct and honest reviews of products that viewers and consumers can go to before purchasing an item. Though the use of social media and its influencers have changed the game for a variety of brands, large and small, there can be a negative side to it. A downfall to brands using social media and influencers to advertise their products is the huge risk of cancel-culture. As stated by Langenegger in her article, Navigating Cancel Culture on Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns, “Cancel culture is the current global trend of ‘canceling’ or boycotting a person, brand, or even art due to something said or done that is considered widely offensive.”. Therefore, cancel culture can be a devastating and drastic downfall in a brand or influencers image and profitability. Brands that take on influencers then take on a sort of liability that their content will remain clean and out of cancel culture’s hands.
Lilly Davidson
ReplyDeleteIt’s definitely no secret that brands are taking advantage of using social media influencers in order to expand their reach and target specific audiences. Two of the most popular social media apps for influencers are Instagram and TikTok. Basically, brands can pick whoever they want to sponsor, and there are a lot of people to pick from. Companies are even looking at “smaller creators like ‘nano’ or ‘micro’ influencers with under 100,000 followers” (Bradley). Having so many people to choose from helps companies decide who their target audience is and who they want representing their products.
Brands can then go about a variety of ways of having their products shared. Influencers can post a picture on their main feed with #ad, they can add swipe-up links to their Stories, or they can make a tutorial/unboxing haul of all their favorite items. This is a big way companies can reach a larger audience, and fast. Rather than solely relying on advertisements and commercials, brands are going right to the source: consumers. More specifically, influential consumers.
I think there are definitely a lot of pluses and minuses to using influencers. But more importantly, I think a lot comes down to the way brands use influencers. It can be a really beneficial thing for companies to do. Like I mentioned before, influencers are great for companies to reach a big audience of consumers. According to the article, “Top-Earning TikTok-ers 2022: Charli And Dixie D’Amelio And Addison Rae Expand Fame—And Paydays,” TikTok influencers such as Charlie and Dixie D’Amelio are reaching several millions of people with each post. Sponsoring influencers gets the word out. And if people look up to the influencers they follow, they will be more likely to buy what they have in order to support them and even be more like them.
However, there are definitely some downsides that go along with collaborating with influencers. One being that brands are putting themselves on a very big scale, and there is little room for error. This means problems can easily arise if people do not like the way brands are promoting themselves. One of the biggest issues involving this has been diversity in influencer promotions. There have been countless times when a brand repeatedly chooses to sponsor someone who is white or straight or fits the unrealistic standards of beauty without much thought to anyone outside the “typical” societal box. “The Importance of Diversity in Influencer Marketing” explains that “when a brand adds diversity into their influencer campaign journey, they reach a broader, more defined audience, cut through all the noise, and create more authenticity and reliability within the campaign.” By increasing diversity, brands not only market to a wider variety of people, but their brand becomes much more authentic and appealing. When companies continuously use one background, ethnicity, skin color, body type, socioeconomic status, and so on, there tends to be a lot of pushback and controversy. It is important for companies to use influencers in a way that benefits both their brand and their consumers.
Works Cited
Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
Brown, Abram, and Abigail Freeman. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=6ed533123afa.
“The Importance of Diversity in Influencer Marketing.” HireInfluence, Inc, 19 Apr. 2021, https://hireinfluence.com/blog/the-importance-of-diversity-in-influencer-marketing/.
Talya Castonguay
ReplyDeleteIn the last decade, social media influencers have begun to take over our screens, and they will only continue to keep doing so. Brands have come to realize more and more that influencers do just that; influence the public into doing, liking, and saying things that they want them to. Most specifically however, influencers often target younger audiences, considering they’re the most impressionable. Brands have taken this idea and ran with it, often not only sponsoring, but partnering with influencers to promote their products.
One of the most recent and prevalent examples being the D’Amelio sisters, Charli and Dixie. According to an article from Forbes, the two got their start on TikTok and quickly amassed large followings, and they now hold sponsorships, brand deals, and partnerships with companies like Hollister, Hulu, and Jingle Ball. Similarly, another incredibly popular TikTok persona, Addison Rae has recently signed a multi-film deal with Netflix, following her acting debut in the platform’s original film He’s All That, a gender-swap spin-off of the 90’s classic, She’s All That (Brown).
With a deal like Rae’s, this is where we begin to see the possible pro’s and con’s of companies and brands making decisions like these. Following its release, critics rated He’s All That pretty poorly (it only has a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes), but it was trending number one worldwide on Netflix for several days after its release (Mendelson).
While the tactic of placing a social media star in the lead of your newest film is a good tactic, and one that’s been used (successfully) many times before, it begins to beg the question, how long will it take until the public begins to view these movies as an annoyance? We often see that films like these often display lazy writing, mediocre acting, and dull storytelling. Because of this, films like this often see short-lived success at their release but nothing more following. So, how strong of a tactic is it really for brands?
Another danger of using influencers to promote things is the specific brands they choose to promote. We often see that many influencers, once sponsored, will filter and censor their content containing those specific brand deals. Creators being forced to censor their content in order to remain monetized and keep getting paid begins to bring in suspicion of their sincerity. People may begin to lose trust in creators if they believe they are only using these products and saying these things in order to get paid (Michaeloudis).
Overall, we will continue to see brands and advertisers use influencers to market themselves and promote their products, however, they will soon have to change their strategies and tactics in order to keep consumers interested in their brands. When all brands are using the same method of advertising, consumers catch on quickly, and will often begin to distrust companies and specifically avoid them. That being said, the brands that are able to find new and creative ways to utilize influencers in order to promote will see themselves finding more success than those that continue to use the same marketing techniques.
Works Cited
Brown, Abram. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=4dd69cef3afa.
Mendelson, Scott. “Why Netflix's Lazy 'He's All That' Suggests a Grim Streaming Future.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Aug. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/08/28/netflix-lazy-hes-all-that-paints-a-grim-picture-of-hollywood-streaming-future/?sh=387b6c873c71.
Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know .
Shawn A. Baker
ReplyDeleteSocial media influencers are being used more and more by brands and advertisers (companies in general) to promote their products. Afterall, influencers influence what people do and can influence what they buy. Companies use influencers since they have a valuable social media reach, and can reach out to a new audience for them, increasing their brand awareness and gaining more customers. (Michaeloudis). This is important because brand loyalty is declining. People these days don’t care as much about buying products from the same brand. Instead, they’re much more loyal and care more about the influencers they follow. (Michaeloudis).
Companies can also use influencers to target a specific audience they want. For instance, they can create a creator partnership with a beauty influencer on Instagram for a cosmetic product. With this kind of partnership, the company is reaching an audience that would actually be interested in the product being promoted. Also, companies can use influencers to target a younger demographic. For example, TikTok is extremely popular with the demographic of 18-24 year-olds, so partnering with a TikToker could be beneficial if that company wants to target that age range. (Whitten).
Influencers are also great in recommending a product more authentically than a standard pop-up ad. It can feel more relatable, and most of the time influencers are able to give more information about the product and how it works then a standard ad. (Michaeloudis). Influencer marketing in general is just also something companies should really consider. For one thing, since covid, the influencer market has increased dramatically since more people spend more time on social media, growing to a market size of $13.8 billion in 2021, with estimates that the influencer market will grow to $16.4 billion in 2022, an additional 19%. (Geyser). Also, Zara, the company that was most often mentioned on Instagram, reached over two billion people on just Instagram. (Geyser). That goes without saying, the influencer market can be highly profitable and can allow the company to reach a much bigger audience.
Of course, companies need to make sure they choose the right social media platform to promote their product on through influencers. YouTube has been around the longest and is used by 95% of all global internet users. Companies can find almost every demographic imaginable on YouTube, and YouTube provides the biggest audience that companies can potentially reach out to. Also, due to YouTube containing longer videos, companies are able to work with influencers to create longer ads to truly show how their product works. (Whitten). That said, content created on YouTube is mostly made by individuals, so companies don’t have as much control over their brand’s messaging and narrative when YouTuber’s promote their product. Not only that, but working with YouTubers can be time consuming and costly, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing (and that goes for working with any type of influencer). (Whitten).
DeleteInstagram also reaches a wide audience, having one billion monthly users. Companies can work with influencers to have their ads displayed in their stories on Instagram, which would be displayed at the top of a potential customer’s page, making it more likely they’ll see it. Instagram also has a one-click shopping feature, allowing customers to make purchases right on the app. However, Influencers on Instagram can charge a pretty high rate for creative partnerships, and many people view influencers and ads on Instagram as fake and not authentic. Instagram also has a low engagement rate on sponsored posts, only being at 2.4%. (Whitten).
On the other hand, TikTok has a high engagement rate on sponsored posts, at around 50%. TikTok is also extremely popular with Gen Z, an ideal demographic for many companies. TikTok also tends to seem more laid back and authentic to users (at least compared to Instagram). That said, TikTok is mostly used by Gen Z, so it has a very small demographic compared to Instagram and, especially, YouTube. (Whitten)
Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know.
Geyser, Werner. “The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 11 Feb. 2022, https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/.
Whitten, Melissa. “YouTube vs Instagram vs TikTok: Which Channel Is Best for Cosmetics Brands?” The Pixlee Blog, 2 Dec. 2019, https://www.pixlee.com/blog/youtube-vs-instagram-vs-tiktok-which-channel-is-best-for-cosmetics-brands/.
Lauren Clemons
ReplyDeleteIt’s very popular for brands and advertisers to use social media influencers to target audiences today. I’ve been seeing this happen a lot in the past few years, especially with Youtubers at first. I remember watching videos and the first thing that was said is “this is a sponsored video” and then the Youtuber would promote the brand. I found it to be annoying, because I didn’t really care for the ad, but I knew Youtubers were only doing it for the money. All Youtubers want to have sponsors, so they make more money: According to “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Typically, influencers rely on sponsored content to make a living. From posting a picture to the main feed with #ad, to sharing swipe-up links in a series of Stories, sponsored content takes on many different shapes (Bradley).
Brands and advertisers know influencers can reach such a large audience. I think their strategy for reaching millions of people by using a well-known influencer was a good idea. They know their product will be bought if a well-known influencer is promoting it. For instance, Emma Chamberlain is a well-known influencer, and her audience is mainly teen girls. A lot of teen girls like her and look up to her since she’s always herself. She has partnered with Pacsun, Curology, Louis Vuitton, etc. Emma has millions of followers across all social media platforms. I remember looking at Pacsun swimsuits last year and the ones Emma was wearing were sold out compared to all the other swimsuits.
The positives of using influencers are that they can bring in a huge audience for the brand that they’re promoting. Even if they aren’t an influencer with millions of followers, they can still help a brand to grow. They can help a small brand get started and grow quickly by bringing their audience to that brand. Charlie and Dixie D’Amelio are the biggest Tik-Tokers and have made a lot of money from different partnerships. By the sisters getting sponsored by different brands gave them more opportunities to become more successful and famous: According to “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Drawing plenty of comparisons to the Kardashian sisters, they now have their own Hulu series, The D’Amelio Show. It premiered in September and was renewed for another season two months later (Brown). Just from the sisters making dance videos, and now they’re millionaires is crazy to me.
The negatives of using influencers are that when they do something wrong in the public eye, the brand goes down too. There are plenty of influencers that have lost all their sponsors. When an influencer does something wrong that draws a lot of attention to them, and no brand wants to be associated with them. Because it makes the brand look bad and that could make the brand lose money. Some influencers who have lost sponsors are Logan Paul, David Dobrik, Shane Dawson, James Charles, and more. Logan Paul never got sponsors for a couple years after he made a video in the Japanese rainforest filming a dead body. Also, David Dobrik sponsors dropped him after a friend in his group was accused of misconduct: According to “Sponsors Drop Youtuber David Dobrik after His Former Collaborator Is Accused of Rape.” Companies HelloFresh, General Mills, DoorDash, SeatGeek, and EA Sports confirmed to NBC News on Monday that they were no longer working with Dobrik (Wong). Shane Dawson was called out for being racist and saying inappropriate things about his animals. Also, James Charles keeps having cases talking to boys that are minors.
Overall, I think it’s a good that brands and advertisers use social media influencers to promote their products. But at the same time not I think it’s not a good idea, because if they do something wrong it drags the brand down too.
Works Cited
ReplyDeleteBradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
Brown, Abram. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=425e39f53afa.
Wong, Wilson. “Sponsors Drop Youtuber David Dobrik after His Former Collaborator Is Accused of Rape.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 23 Mar. 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sponsors-drop-youtuber-david-dobrik-after-his-former-collaborator-accused-n1261719.
Samantha Kaplan Part 1
ReplyDeleteThe world of advertising is constantly changing. Ten years ago influencer marketing did not exist and now it is one of the best ways for brands and advertisers to reach their target audiences. It is predicted that influencer marketing will grow by around $16.4 billion dollars by the end of 2022 (Geyser, 2022). Influencer marketing is becoming very profitable and is likely to be the main form of advertising for many brands and advertisers in the near future.
One of the main goals of brands and advertisers in 2022 is to make shopping as easy and seamless as possible. People have short attention spans and are easily distracted now more than ever. This is one of the reasons why brands and advertisers are now turning to influencer marketing. In many instances, when influencers promote a product there is a direct link to where it can be purchased in the post. The product might even be able to be purchased on the social media platform the influencer posted on. This makes shopping so simple and mindless, that more people are likely to press the checkout button (Michaeloudis, 2022).
Brands and advertisers are also using influencer marketing to promote authenticity and trust. When people follow an influencer on social media, they most likely trust their opinion. Seeing an influencer you like and trust promote a product you may be interested in buying, is going to make you more likely to buy it (AdvertiseMint Staff, 2021). Brands and advertisers ask influencers to posts their reviews of products using their own voice and with their own personal thoughts of the products. Or, at least that is how the brands and advertisers want it to come across.
One of the cons to influencer marketing is that it could be difficult for a brand to find the right influencer to promote their product. There needs to be a lot of research done on the brand and advertising side to find the influencer whose niche audience matches the product you are trying to promote (AdvertiseMint Staff, 2021). Choosing the wrong influencer could lead to brands and advertisers losing potential sales and wasting money on influencer marketing.
Samantha Kaplan Part 2
ReplyDeleteHowever, if a brand or advertiser is able to find the right influencer, influencer marketing does an amazing job of targeting the niche audience trying to be reached. Finding an influencer whose followers are interested in the niche market of products the brands and advertisers are trying to promote could be a big win (Yeung, 2022). For example, if a brand reaches out to fitness influencers and asks them to promote their new lifting gloves, it is likely that their followers are also into fitness and the target audience is easily being reached.
Influencer marketing is only going to continue to grow in the upcoming years. At the end of the day, the pros of influencer marketing outweigh the cons. Brands and advertisers both big and small are going to continue to use influencer marketing to promote their products. Influencer marking is not going anywhere.
Work Cited:
AdvertiseMint Staff. (2021, August 3). The benefits and drawbacks of influencer marketing. AdvertiseMint. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.advertisemint.com/the-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-influencer-marketing/
Geyser, W. (2022, February 11). The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark report. Influencer Marketing Hub. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/
Michaeloudis, L. (2022, January 5). 5 influencer marketing trends for 2022 that you should know. Upfluence. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know
Yeung, N. (2021, November 24). Influencer marketing: Advantages and disadvantages. Profolus. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.profolus.com/topics/influencer-marketing-advantages-and-disadvantages/
With social media becoming such a large part of our daily lives, there is no stopping the up-and-coming influencers for many years to come. Social media influencers on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc have become A-list celebrities and have a large impact on society. The use of marketing through social media influencers have been done for many years. I started to notice this through male YouTube influencers that I am subscribed too that tend to market Manscaped a lot. They are shown using Manscaped products in their videos and really encouraging their viewers to check them out. With TikTok now becoming one of the most popular social media platforms in the world many famous influencers have emerged from the platform such as Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae. Companies and brands obviously look to these bigger creators to market them, but they also have been looking at “smaller creators like ‘nano’ or ‘micro’ influencers with under 100,000 followers” (Bradley). This is also a smart strategy for companies to market their brand, using as many people as possible is never a bad thing. Influencers can market these brands by simply posting hashtags, videos, or photos of them using the content they are marking. Josh Richards who is a big TikToker was used by the NHL to market themselves to a younger audience and female audience by posting content on their TikTok and him doing the same. and it sort of worked in their favor but of course came with some cons.
ReplyDeleteAs previously mentioned, Charli D’Amelio is a big star on TikTok, as well as her sister Dixie. They both have mega brand deals, partnerships, and sponsorships due to their large following. Addison Rae who I also previously mentioned has recently signed a multi-film deal with Netflix, following her acting debut in the platform’s original film He’s All That, a gender-swap spin-off of the 90’s classic, She’s All That (Brown). With this deal occurring, the show received mostly negative reviews, but it was also trending number one worldwide amongst Netflix content. This shows us the pluses and minuses of these kind of brand deals companies are making with these influencers, the pro is having a name like Addison Rae star in your film. A con would be having someone like Addison Rae star in your film which can cause annoyance and anger amongst viewers. As from my own personal experience while the film was going on a lot of people on Twitter were bashing Addison’s acting performance and annoyed that she has no talent and that she’s being granted a lead role for no reason.
There are most certainly a lot of pluses that come with using influencers to market brands. Pluses of doing this include helping brands reach a relevant audience, building trust and credibility. It also broadens the brand’s reach, and it can save marketers time as working with an influencer won’t make the brand worry about making creative content (Barker). The minuses however include working with the wrong influencers can do more harm to the brand than good. Also, influencer marketing mistakes can cost your brand such as posting content that does not resonate with their target audience and inflating following and engagements bots. There is also a high risk involved as if an influencer lacks the ability to create impressive content, they might fail to resonate with your target consumers. In such cases, the time and money you invest will be in vain (Barker).
DeleteWorks Cited
Brown, Abram, and Abigail Freeman. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=6ed533123afa.
Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
The Pros and cons of Influencer Marketing: An honest look. Shane Barker. (2022, January 27). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://shanebarker.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing/
Amanda Perlin
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3, Part 1
With the growth of social media influencers, brands are starting to explore the various platforms that they can use to reach their targeted audiences. Social media marketing is about building trust with your followers. It’s done using influencers, who connect with their audience and have the confidence of their followers. Instagram has developed to be a great platform for influencers to launch their careers. “The Meta-owned social-media platform has become a primary stage for influencers launching their careers. And they don't need millions of followers to earn money on Instagram.” (Bradley). Companies are increasingly looking for micro and nano influencers to help them reach their target audience. The followers of nano and micro influencers are more likely to shop for products and services because they seem them as their friends. “As more brands turn to smaller creators like "nano" or "micro" influencers with under 100,000 followers, establishing a career as a creator is no longer a pipe dream.” (Bradley). Although there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to using influencers, I think it is a huge way to build a stronger brand. The earnings of TikTok stars have increased significantly over the last year, partly due to their efforts to expand their reach beyond the platform that brought them fame. Among the highest-earning TikTok-ers is the D’Amelio sisters, who are now on their own Hulu series. According to Top-Earning TikTok-ers 2022: Charli and Dixie D’Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame -- and Paydays, “Over the last year, the biggest TikTok stars’ earning have surged, driven partly by their efforts to broaden their fame beyond the platform that first turned them into celebrities.” (Brown). The TikTok-ers understand that advertisers are targeting them because they're about the same age. As for the stars, there's a good chance they'll eventually become famous. While they're focused on TikTok, the stars still earn a portion of their earnings from sponsored content. “The TikTokers understand the audience these advertisers want to reach because they themselves are about the same age.” (Brown).
Amanda Perlin
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3, Part 2
Being an influencer can help a brand grow even if they don't have millions of followers. They can still help a small brand get started by attracting a huge audience. The downside of influencers is that they can quickly lose sponsors after doing something that's not right. Doing this can make the brand look bad, and this could make them lose money. For example, Tana Mongeau is a famous Tik Toker and she made it big, with a reported $4 million net worth at the time of her 22nd birthday. “She has her own MTV series, staged a wedding with Jake Paul for clout, and has amassed a reported $4 million net worth by the time she was 22 years old.” (Gatollari). During this period, Mongeau was criticized for using the N-word in her various platforms and in tweets. According to 13 Influencers Who Were Cancelled Just as Quickly as They Got Famous, she was blamed of being racist by other popular influencers. “Mongeau was accused of being racist by fellow content creators SimplyNessa and Kahlen Berry and as part of her apology, Mongeau said she was going to donate to the NAACP and work to hold herself “accountable” for her actions. Her career hasn’t seemed to slow down one bit, however, even when she was criticized for selling nudes to help Joe Biden get elected in 2020.” (Gatollari). Although I agree that it's a good idea for brands to promote their products through influencers, I do not agree with their actions. If you say one wrong thing on a social media platform, it can ruin your entire life especially for a celebrity or any influencer.
Works Cited
Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
Brown, Abram. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/.
Gatollari, Mustafa. “13 Influencers Who Were Canceled Just as Quickly as They Got Famous.” Distractify, 12 Apr. 2021, https://www.distractify.com/p/influencers-canceled-quickly.
It appears that influencers are the new hot commodity in the world of social media in the 21st century. Instagram and YouTube influencers have been around for a good chunk of time, but TikTokers have become a huge sensation in the last few years. Brands and advertisers have been using them to their advantage to bring more awareness to their target audience. The question is, are influencer’s more beneficial than not in the marketing world?
ReplyDeleteDue to the pandemic, there has been an increase in influencer marketing. These social media influencers are able to reach these brands’ target audience with dependable product recommendations. “Further along the purchase journey, influencers can offer social proof, product information, and the means of purchase in live social shopping or affiliate marketing campaigns for example” (Michaeloudis). This will then drive further sales as these influencers are helping to deliver the advertisers’ message.
The world of influencers has increased since the pandemic and is no longer a hard task. According to Sydney Bradley’s article on influencers and how much many they make, “more brands turn to smaller creators like ‘nano’ or ‘micro’ influencers with under 100,000 followers” (Bradley). With that being said, it’s a lot easier to find influencers to market your product over social media which is a plus of using them. Another plus in using TikTokers specifically to promote their products, is the authenticity of their content. As Michaeloudis says, “TikTok creators collaborate with their favorite brands to feature their products in content that doesn’t look or feel like an ad. This makes the platform all the more powerful fueling commerce trends through brand challenges and influencer-generated content” (Michaeloudis). Influencer’s can be a huge help in getting your company new customers also.
With positives also come negatives, and there are a couple reasons why using influencers can be bad to use for promoting products. First of all, there are a lot of accounts nowadays that buy their followers, meaning they have fake followers. “These accounts have no influence over their followers, which means your brand won’t get any results if you unknowingly partner with one” (Pfund). Another downside to influencer marketing is that it is saturated and will continue to be overly saturated in years to come. This means that “at some point audiences will become disengaged, or less engaged than they once were” (Pfund).
There have been multiple occasions where I, or someone that I know, has seen an ad on TikTok and immediately clicked the link that the influencer provided to buy the product. Overall, using influencers for your brand has its pros and cons. The main reason that they can drive traction to a brands target audience is through the highly engaging content they put out. It is no secret that influencer culture has become a hot commodity and will continue to drive sales in the future.
Works Cited
Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know.
Pfund, Colbey. “Council Post: The Pros and Cons of Influencer Marketing for Your Brand.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 17 Dec. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2019/12/17/the-pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing-for-your-brand/?sh=55a62e6d5ed0.
Michael McGurrin
ReplyDeleteAdvertising has become one of the most challenging things to do with the impact of social media. It has been hard to get a message or product to a vast audience. However, influencers are the golden ticket for businesses to advertise their products. According to Monique Thomas, “In 2019, reports estimated that the influencer marketing industry would be worth up to $15 billion by 2022” (Thomas). Influencers have many fans and viewers who always pay attention to their content. That is why the industry is continuing to grow. There is one influencer that is playing the influencer marketing industry well. Mr. Beast, one of the well-known YouTubers, has multiple different brands. He currently owns a nationwide burger and chocolate brand. He continues to advertise his brands on all of the videos that he produces. Those videos reach close to 40-50 million viewers every single time. He can even call himself the most influential and successful YouTuber. According to a 2021 Forbes annual listing, “Jimmy Donaldson – aka ‘Mr. Beast’ – now leads the way, after raking in an estimated $54 million from his YouTube content throughout the year” (Hutchinson). He is not the only one promoting their brands, and that option will become more popular.
There is a small price to pay to all these influencers if you want your content on their platforms. Sometimes brands might want to be on someone’s story for a cheap advertisement. According to Sydney Bradley, “influencer Alexa Collins — who has over one million followers — charged upwards of $1,000 for a sponsored Story on Instagram” (Bradley). That is a 24-hour advertisement that will reach over a million people and go away for good. You also have the possibility that it will not reach as many people as you want to. That is why it is essential for a brand to partner with a diverse partner. According to Thomas, “By not partnering with more diverse content creators, brands are missing out on the buying power of millennials and Gen Zers” (Thomas). Everyone has their point of view, and it is challenging to find the right people. However, social media can have the most significant negative on a brand. Social media has the power to damage any brand that is viewed the wrong way. This can be a news report about someone who works for a brand. Or it can be an influencer saying how faulty a product is after they try it. Social media has been the most significant growing trend over the past few years. A lot of companies are thriving with it. Others are getting buried by the presence of social media every day. If you play your cards correctly, you can build one of the biggest brands off social media.
"4 Black Voices on Diversity in Influencer Marketing." Later Blog. Web. 01 Mar. 2022.
Bradley, Sydney. "How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make." Business Insider. Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021. Web. 01 Mar. 2022.
Hutchinson, Andrew. "Mr. Beast Takes the Top Spot in Forbes' 2021 YouTube Earners List." Social Media Today. 14 Jan. 2022. Web. 01 Mar. 2022.
Jalil Coverdale
ReplyDeleteThroughout the last decades, influencers have been the main source of advertising for companies. Since millions of users are on Instagram, Facebook, tik tok that's the best place for anything to be marketed. “Influencer Marketing related services/companies grew 26% in 2021, to 18,900 worldwide. Growth was highest in the United States, which saw a 30% increase in influencer agencies, platforms, and services”.Brands are using influencers by paying them, sending them clothing, and other promotions to use their platforms to gain notoriety on the brand. There are dozens of brands that are willing to pay influencers because it’s more effective than advertising and marketing on TV. In the article from upfluence, there are five key trends that brands are currently watching. The one main important trend that is key to making influencer an important source of marketing is Tik Tok (Geyser)”.TikTok creators collaborate with their favorite brands to feature their products in content that doesn’t look or feel like an ad. This makes the platform all the more powerful at fuelling commerce trends through brand challenges and influencer-generated content.” Tik Tok is the number one social media app in the world right now. Everyone is on Tik Tok all day and all night, and popular pages are constantly being viewed. The way the Tik Tok algorithm works is so unique because even users who have small followings can reach big audiences. For example, say someone is posting their favorite Nike air force ones at 9 pm. Using certain hashtags and posting at a certain time will help gain more traction to the post without Nike having to pay that specific person. TikTok helps brands advertise for free. But there are a lot of downsides to influencers. A lot of black creators don’t get recognition or are asked to promote clothing and other products.” By not partnering with more diverse content creators, brands are missing out on the buying power of millennials and Gen Zers, and they won’t reach a wider audience who could potentially advocate for their products (Michaelides).” Diverging who brands work with is very crucial to brand notoriety. That is one of the biggest downsides to influencer marketing. “I think sometimes when you’re unaware of what other people are earning or what the potential of your space is, it’s so easy for you to be low-balled, and it’s so easy for you to lack confidence when it comes to negotiating your worth,” Ajayi told Verge last summer(Kaye).“ There are so many well-established diverse influencers in the niche side of Instagram. For example, Jackie Aina who has been a lifestyle niche influencer has been around the youtube Instagram space for a very long time. It took her years and until black brands reached out for her to get brand deals. Even though brand influencing and advertising have a lot of great ways to reach a lot of demographics, there are also a lot of drawbacks. Being a minority and not being recognized, tracking algorithms, and being authentic will continue to be a problem in the future if things aren’t done to stop it.
Jalil Coverdale
ReplyDeleteGeyser, Werner. “The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 11 Feb. 2022, https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/.
Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know.
Kaye, Leon. “Black Influencers Push Back against Working for Free.” TriplePundit, 23 Feb. 2021, https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/black-influencers-working-free/718906.
Benjamin Upson Part 1
ReplyDeleteWith the constant growth of social media, it has slowly become a part of our daily lives over the years. Influencers are beginning to take over the landscape now more than ever, and partnering up with specific brands in the process as part of an effort to reach and expand company target audiences. Instagram and especially TikTok have been the places to be for influencers with so many different ages and backgrounds of users, but they have also been prevalent on other social media apps including Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube. This includes not only the highest-ranking celebrities, but also ones that reach a smaller audience. Charli D’Amelio ranks among the influencers with the largest audience along with the best profits. Abram Brown and Abigail Freeman of Forbes report that she has, “the app’s largest following (133 million subscribe to her videos) and a ballooning amount of business interests. She’s got the basics covered—advertising sponsorships from Invisalign, Morphe cosmetics and a newer one with Dunkin’ Donuts —and then considerably more” (Brown, Freeman). Companies enjoy sponsorships of this magnitude since they have the ability to reach some of the largest audiences out there from a source that social media users know and trust so well.
With influencers promoting products, there are both pros and cons to it. As previously mentioned, the trust factor is a major pro with influencers since fans tend to rely and depend upon the influencer’s brand. If an A-list influencer or celebrity sponsors a company’s products, fans and followers would certainly be inclined to get the specific product to help “connect” themselves with that specific influencer because they look to them as role models. It’s also important to note that the pandemic was able to spur the influencer market industry as people had more time on their hands to be online. Warner Geyser discussed the market and how influencer marketing “is estimated to have grown to have a market size of $13.8 billion in 2021. Furthermore, this is expected to jump a further 19% to $16.4 billion in 2022” (Geyser). Influencer marketing is a booming industry right now and with that reliability factor, it can help benefit a company in a variety of ways.
Benjamin Upson Part 2
DeleteThe major con that stands out is the possibility of partnering with the wrong influencer. In a time where sensitivity is extremely high, it’s important for a company to be with a figure that won’t slip up and make a wrong move. It’s also important to follow the rules that are in place with these sponsorship deals. One of the most notable cases includes Kim Kardashian’s partnership with Diclegis, a drug that deals with morning sickness. Kardashian, much like other TikTok influencers of today, holds a massive fanbase and has been an influencer for a long time. The post on Instagram caught a lot of attention and backlash, causing the FDA to step in for a lack of mention about the risks of Diclegis. According to Shane Barker, he states that the “FDA warned that Duchesnay would face regulatory action if the content was not corrected or removed” (Barker). As a result of this, there was negative publicity. This can hurt a company if an incident such as this occurs again with another major celebrity or influencer which is why it’s so important to choose the right person to represent a company name.
Works Cited
Barker, Shane. “5 Influencer Marketing Fails You Can Learn From.” Shane Barker, 18 Mar. 2021, https://shanebarker.com/blog/influencer-marketing-fails/.
Brown, Abram, and Abigail Freeman. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 Jan. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/?sh=e1768203afa4.
Geyser, Werner. “The State of Influencer Marketing 2022: Benchmark Report.” Influencer Marketing Hub, 11 Feb. 2022, https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/.
With the coronavirus pandemic putting the world on hold in 2020, the use of online shopping and advertising has skyrocketed. According to Mckinsey, about 73% of US consumers and 63% of UK consumers have adapted to new shopping routines and preferences since the start of the pandemic. Between online shopping and social media, statistics show an overall increase in the use of the internet everyday. This created a whole new threshold that brands and internet users have taken advantage of. (Mckinsey)
ReplyDeletePartnerships between brands and content creators allow products to gain exposure to a large number of consumers amongst a vast array of social media platforms. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Twitch are just a few that have welcomed the influencer and promoter community with open arms. Brands are able to use influencers to reach out to a specific niche of the market. Therefore, they can promote their products to a fan base that is more likely to be interested in their product than the average consumer. Another plus to brands and companies using influencers to promote their products is the trust that is established between the influencer and their fan base. As stated in the 5 Influencer Marketing Trends in 2022 That You Should Know article, “Further along the purchase journey, influencers can offer social proof, product information, and the means of purchase in live social shopping or affiliate marketing campaigns”. This allows for direct and honest reviews of products that viewers and consumers can go to before purchasing an item.
Though the use of social media and its influencers have changed the game for a variety of brands, large and small, there can be a negative side to it. A downfall to brands using social media and influencers to advertise their products is the huge risk of cancel-culture. As stated by Langenegger in her article, Navigating Cancel Culture on Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns, “Cancel culture is the current global trend of ‘canceling’ or boycotting a person, brand, or even art due to something said or done that is considered widely offensive.”. Therefore, cancel culture can be a devastating and drastic downfall in a brand or influencers image and profitability. Brands that take on influencers then take on a sort of liability that their content will remain clean and out of cancel culture’s hands.
Works Cited
ReplyDeleteLangenegger , Denise. “Navigating Cancel Culture in Influencer Marketing Campaigns.” Tapfiliate, Tapfiliate, 25 Jan. 2022, https://tapfiliate.com/blog/cancel-culture-influencer-marketing/.
Brown, Abram. “Top-Earning Tiktok-ERS 2022: Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae Expand Fame-and Paydays.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/07/top-earning-tiktokers-charli-dixie-damelio-addison-rae-bella-poarch-josh-richards/.
Bradley, Sydney. “How Much Money Instagram Influencers Make.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-instagram-influencers-earn-examples-2021-6.
Michaeloudis, Lucy. “5 Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022 That You Should Know.” Upfluence, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/5-influencer-marketing-trends-for-2022-that-you-should-know.