The Phenomenon Of Influencer Marketing

Introduction

The irrefutable increase of social media usage from consumers and their shifting trust when making purchases has forced brands to redefine their marketing strategy (Beauty & Fashion Monitor, 2017; Celebrity Intelligence, 2016 p. 45; Pophal, 2016). Digital technologies such as mobile devices and online platforms including social media, blogs and discussion forums have democratised opinion formulation and influential leadership (Pophal, 2016, p. 26). This disruption to the traditional hierarchy has seen the formation of a new class of digital influencers (Ranga and Sharma, 2014; Celebrity Intelligence, 2016; Weidmann and Langer, 2012). Influencer marketing can be described as a system of ‘identifying and activating individuals who have an influence over a specific target audience or medium, in order to be part of a brand's campaign towards increased reach, sales, or engagement’ (Sudha and Sheena, 2017, p. 6). By providing honest advice and recommendations, social media influencers have established themselves as pioneering opinion leaders and tastemakers with significant power over individuals within their online communities (Glucksman, 2017; Sedeke, 2012). A recent survey showed 92 per cent of people trust recommendations from individuals over brands and 86 per cent of women turn to social media before making a purchasing decision (Beauty & Fashion Monitor, 2017).

Why brands use influencer marketing?

Social media influencers’ ability to guide their audience’s perception of a product and their purchasing behaviour make them a effective marketing device for brands seeking to engage with their target consumers (Mutum, 2011). Forward thinking marketers have adapted to audience’s disinterest and distrusting attitudes towards traditional ads (Lee et al, 2008; Sherman & Young, 2017), by targeting consumers utilising the informal, subtler strategy of influencers. Most brands have a social media presence and will use this to tell a story and engage with their brand. Brands might also pay for product advertisements to appear on their followers’ social media feed. While advertisements and brand generated promotions often have negative associations due to the fact that brands are attempting to make sales, an influencer’s promotion, as a sales device tends to be received well as it feels more like a recommendation from a friend (Lee and Koo, 2012).

For example, Figure 1 depicts a sponsored Instagram post from lifestyle influencer Lydia E Millen. Ranked as one of the UK’s top influencers, Millen has amassed a large following online with over 700,000 followers on Instagram alone. People follow influencers such as Millen as they are ordinary individuals sharing their everyday lives online making them relatable (Jeong and Koo, 2015). A recommendation from an influencer is often compared to a recommendation from friends or family. As depicted in Figure 1 followers communicate with Millen thanking her for recommendations and engaging with other products featured via comments.

Using Influencers such as Millen is an effective method of digital marketing as consumers can avoid an advertisement on YouTube or ignore a brand’s presence on Instagram. However, a sponsored message incorporated into an influencer’s content reaches audiences in a more organic form, as users actively seek and engage with this content (Lee and Koo, 2012). With this knowledge, marketers are increasingly valuing the powerful role social media influencers play in the interpretation and acceptance of promotional messages as they generate a discourse with consumers and shape purchasing behaviour (Lu et al, 2014).

Furthermore, whilst social media started off as user oriented it has become more commercialised with sites such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube introducing tools for brands to facilitate and analyse paid advertisements. These platforms not only provide a space for brands to reach consumers but also offer a means of measuring a campaigns success.

Issues within the Influencer Marketing Industry

As influencer marketing has become more visible, influencers and the brands that endorse them have come under scrutiny for issues around credibility and trust, in particular relating to the disclosure and regulation of sponsored content. Equally, brands are being criticised for their choice of influencers and this emphasises the need for background research (Celebrity Intelligence, 2016) (Figure 2). Brands often assume that working with influencers with the highest follower counts is a successful and sufficient influencer marketing strategy (Khamis et al, 2017; De Veirman et al, 2017, p. 798).

However, as influencer marketing has become more widely adopted by brands, it has been recognised that follower numbers does not always equate to return on investment (Celebrity Intelligence, 2017; Sherman, 2017). By not doing the appropriate background research into an influencer and failing to place value on their content brands constrain influencers treating them as commodities (Sherman, 2017). This approach frequently leads to conflicts with partnered influencers, while the greatest outcomes are created when brands forge and foster strong and respectful relationships with influencers (Evans et al, 2017, p. 139). Complaints made online by influencers are illustrated in Figure 2. As a relatively new marketing phenomenon, there is little regulation in place, with most guidelines directed at the influencers rather than brands, for example influencers are required to include #SP and #AD within paid posts (eMarketer, 2018).

However, the lines are blurred when it comes to gifted products, affiliate links and trips (Evans et al, 2017, p. 139). With the marketing trend evolving rapidly, imposed regulation quickly become out-dated leading to malpractice by influencers and brands alike (Pophal, 2016). While authorities such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) outline guidelines for the industry there are no rules enforced by law (Prizeology, 2018). While the regulator’s focus tends to be on ensuring influencers comply with regulation guidelines, brands can also be at fault and disregard the rules (Nesbitt, 2017). Oversights such as this result in the influencer’s sponsored content being removed from online platforms for policy infringements (Instagram, 2018). This has dual negative effects for the brand as sponsored content is not being seen by consumers as well as straining relationships with the influencer community who are proving beneficial allies to companies across many sectors (Glucksman, 2017).