Is paid influencer marketing still influential?
In a rapidly changing digital landscape, the power of the ‘influencer’ has been undeniable. While the term itself may be a relatively recent addition to the day-to-day lexicon, the concept of influencers has existed for a long time. But it was with the dawn of the internet, and specifically social media, that influencing as a marketing tool really took flight…
Influencer marketing is now a billion dollar industry, but its beginnings were rather more humble. When the internet was still shiny and new, the emergence of blogging was an equal novelty. And so came with it the idea of online endorsements and recommendations.
In a move away from more traditional advertising, consumer behaviours and opinions began to be informed instead by authentic, word-of-mouth recommendations.
This particularly spiked with the dawn of Instagram, carving out a new space for social media influencers as an alternative to celebrities. While this started out as genuine endorsements from individuals free of any commissions or sponsorship deals, it wasn’t long before brands were seizing on the opportunity this trend presented. Arguably, this is where the waters get a little muddied.
Fanweave founder Martin Heath explains;
“Using the power of influencers is clearly a good idea; everyone’s used fame as a marker for an audience. The issue is measuring the real value of influencers… the line between advocacy that’s authentic and paid endorsements has become very blurred.”
In other words, the moment influencers began to be regulated as a marketing tool, their ability to influence declined. Their audiences don’t really want to be sold to, they want to be entertained.
The “fall” of influencer marketing
When considering the rise, and arguably the fall of influencer culture, the question is less about whether influencers themselves are on the decline – companies continue to utilise the concept to great success – but rather the nature of the engagement.
Having enjoyed a meteoric rise to success as an industry, the last few years have seen a palpable shift in the public perception of influencing. This could be attributed to a combination of factors – the Fyre Festival fiasco, the pandemic, and Molly-Mae Hague’s “same 24 hours” slip-up, to name a few.
But ultimately what this shift comes down to is consumers demanding more from their exchanges with influencers: more responsibility, more transparency, more accountability.
Instagram is still the primary platform for influencer-based campaigns – though TikTok is hot on its heels post 2020 – and more recently we’ve seen the impact of an increased Gen Z audience who demand authenticity over reach.
The nature of this generation’s engagement with content has created a preference for niches over generalists, with more focus on trust and visibility than on huge followings and glamour.
Far from wishing to idolise unattainable, filtered figures, audiences have moved towards a desire for a more down to earth and “real” approach.
Just look at the backlash a number of high profile influencers faced for travelling during Covid-19, plastering their feeds with glossy scenes in Dubai while their followers watched on from their isolation.
These incidents also shone a light on just how fickle the industry itself could be, with the influencers themselves falling out of favour seemingly overnight.
It can take months or years to build the trust and reputation needed for influencer marketing to succeed, and only a single instant to burn it down.
An increased awareness of bots and fake followers also contributed to the shift in audience perception. All in all, it was becoming clear the honeymoon was over.
From Macro to Micro
In a recent Rolling Stone article claiming “Influencer Marketing Is Dead”, Robbie Murch mused;
“Today, marketers focus their media budgets on the expensive influencers of TikTok or Instagram. Instead, brands should be investing in, curating or growing their own online communities to align with tomorrow’s cultural leaders. There is an interesting opportunity for brands looking to invest their media budgets in communities.”
While facing the very real con of how expensive influencer marketing can be, brands should be considering the available alternatives in the form of Micro and Nano-influencers.
Though not an exact science, these are essentially considered to be groups of influencers with smaller followings (usually less than 100,000) whose focus is instead on authentic content.
Utilising these groups has the double whammy result of affordability and reputable content. Plus saving on big budget Macro-influencers allows for spending on multiple Micro-influencers, who in turn will provide multiple audiences of highly engaged people.
It’s essentially prioritising quality over quantity, and research suggests it’s the way influencer marketing should be heading in order to stay successful.
If you think about it, this is a natural evolution of influencer culture as a whole. Generalised recommendations could only ever go so far once paid posts, commissions and sponsored deals became abundantly clear to consumers. An influencer’s reach of over 1 million users is only valuable to a brand if that engagement is active and, most importantly, authentic.
If you wanted a recommendation for a new skincare product or video game, you’d be more likely to listen to a trusted source with a smaller, but more specialised, platform than a widely-followed generalist.
Taking that further, TikTok culture has bred a hunger not only for transparency but also community. People are as likely to look to comments sections for the opinions of their everyday peers as they once were to seek out YouTuber recommendations.
Recognising the importance of putting this power back into the hands of consumers, and creating a community around that, is going to be key in giving influencer marketing a much-needed makeover.
And that’s exactly what Fanweave aims to do…
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