As influencer marketing rapidly gains traction in the digital space, competition is heating up between influencer content and brand-direct communication. Signs everywhere are pointing to influencer marketing as the way of the future, and for good reason. Here are three examples of how influencer content measures up against traditional branded messaging:
Targeted Messaging: Influencers earn their followers, and followership grows on an opt-in basis. The result is that influencer content reaches exactly the people it’s intended to reach, with very little waste. The same, of course, is not true with traditional channels such as banner advertising or television. The main difference: demographic vs. psychographic information. Demographics can be labeled, sorted, and quantified, and brands rely heavily on them when selecting channels of communication: the Oxygen network for females ages 18-55, ESPN Classic for men between 35-54, etc. Psychographic information: what people want and how they feel, is much more difficult to categorize in this way. Influencers clear this hurdle by creating content that attracts individuals based on personal interests rather than age, income, gender, etc.
Reach: The best illustration here is a real world example: let’s take a look at Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad. The 28-year-old Italian started her blog in 2009 as a personal creative outlet. Today, she is the creative director of her own shoe line, and Business of Fashion has named her one of the most influential people in the international fashion space. Her Facebook page alone boasts over 1.1 million followers; that’s more than the paid subscriptions to Spanish Vogue! Between all her channels, Chiara has over 5.9 million followers. Here she is on the cover of a mainstream magazine…Spanish Vogue, to be exact.
Engagement: People listen to what influencers have to say because they asked to be included in the conversation. Brands, on the other hand? Not so much. In this respect, brand-direct messaging is like an uninvited guest suddenly barging into your living room right in the middle of your favorite television show. Considering this relationship, it’s certainly no surprise that consumers don’t seek out brand-direct content at nearly the rate they search for influencer content. A joint study by Accenture, dunnhumbyUSA and comScore showed that 64% of the top 25 CPG brands averaged less than 100,000 unique visitors per month to their brand websites. The same pattern can be recognized in branded social media. Case in point: Maybelline. The cosmetics brand’s own YouTube channel has 86,000 subscribers, and a video showing their Fit Me Foundation generated just over 6,600 views. Not too shabby. But then, consider this video by beauty influencer KathleenLights, using the same Maybelline product: her channel has over 4 million subscribers, and that one video has been watched over 1,256,000 times.
Think about it: your brand is defined entirely by the way that consumers interact with it. It’s a strong statement, but also resoundingly true. So, if that interaction is the only thing that matters, make it positive. Take advantage of the enormous power of influencer marketing and start circulating content that consumers seek out and respond to. The TapInfluence marketplace is full of over 22,000 influencers who are ready to help your brand join in the conversation. To get started, click here.
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