In recent years, customers are changing the way they interact with brands and are becoming increasingly engaged with social media (Roderick, L, 2016). Youtubers are more relatable than mainstream celebrities and have been rated as more reliable and bring a more authentic and intimate experience due to their natural and more sincere sense of humour and an overall ‘ordinariness’ which makes them so appealing to the younger generation (Dredge, S, 2016). Variety’s 2015 study showed that teenagers are as much as seven times more emotionally attached to YouTube stars than a celebrity.
As social media becomes more prevalent in people’s lives, traditional marketing methods now must include a digital component. Push marketing now incorporates a two-way dialogue encouraging conversations with opinion leaders, an example being YouTube influencers, and as a result of their large following and connections, regular engagement and interaction with them can be highly beneficial for brands in terms of reaching a targeted audience and customer base whilst identifying new and creative ways to promote in the most effective and suitable way (Brown, E, 2012).
YouTube celebrities/influencers are more engaged with their viewers and due to the strong connection and relationship, beauty brands can benefit from sponsoring Youtubers who create beauty related content on their channel to promote and demonstrate products (Newberry, C, 2016). L’Oreal Paris and Maybelline New York have both recognised the importance and opportunity of using the YouTube platform for growth and have selected a few beauty bloggers and YouTubers that are most suited to the brand, to create ‘fun and engaging’ content, as well as inviting them to attend key events such as London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and Cannes Film Festival to share with their viewers the experience of behind the scenes or front-row footage (Roderick, L, 2016). L’Oreal’s General Manager, Adrien Koskas stated that they are working with the influencers to shift the industry towards something more genuine and to also help consumers in terms of beauty advice by offering tutorials and demonstrations that give immediate results.
Victoria (Inthefrow) – YouTube Influencer & Blogger doing an AD for L’Oreal Paris.
Video blogging or ‘vlogging’ has become a huge part of the online experience; they are slowly dominating the web and social media. Marketers are beginning to integrate it into their online and social media strategies. YouTube is the second largest search engine worldwide (2nd to Google) and also the 3rd largest social media with billions of users, which businesses can benefit from. According to Defy Media – a leading independent creator and distributor of digital content who focus on the aged 13-24 demographic, found that this group of YouTube viewers spent an average of 11.3 hours per week watching online videos, and they also stated that the YouTube platform delivered an experience and content that suited their lifestyle, in addition to over 60% of them being more influenced to purchase products because of YouTubers more than anything else (Michael, L, 2015).
Here is a link to an interview with Jonathan Poole, head of Red Hare Digital, discussing how he successfully engaged a younger audience to the Liz Earle beauty brand using YouTube influencer Gabriella Lindley.
Gabriella Lindley – YouTube influencer and Blogger doing an AD for Liz Earle
In the $60bn beauty industry, YouTube influencers are exerting increasing power, and large beauty brands are taking notice by partnering with ‘beauty gurus’ for product placement and advertising campaigns, and more recently co-creating new products with the influencers, for example MAC Cosmetics recently collaborated with blogger and YouTuber Fleur de Force and allowed her to create her own shade of lipstick that would be exclusive to MAC and will be released in April 2017. YouTube has fundamentally changed the balance of power between consumers and brands as it enables peer recommendations which have a greater role in purchasing decisions. According to a McKinsey study, marketing motivated word-of-mouth generates over twice the sales of paid advertisement, in addition to a 37% higher retention rate.
Fleur (Fleur De Force) – YouTube influencer & Blogger at the MAC lab
By working with YouTube influencers, provides brands with insight into the way products and campaigns are created and the way consumers would view the products, and because have reviewed a variety of cosmetic and beauty brands, they have a credible voice when it comes to giving a genuine endorsement of products. In addition to this, brands will be able to find out more about the younger audiences and tailor their marketing campaigns to suit the younger demographic in terms of how they deliver the marketing message. (Mortimer, N, 2016).
In terms of working with YouTubers, the commitment and diligence to making their content must be understood by brands and agencies looking to co-produce and partner with the ‘new celebrities’. Without respect and genuine creative collaboration, the process can be challenging and may not achieve the desired results (Farnhill, N, 2016). There are a few key principles that brands should adopt when working with successful YouTubers.
- Consider what would make a YouTuber want to work with the brand. Cash is not always the answer; perhaps offer an experience that without their fame they would not be able to enjoy, and to also be understanding that their priorities are pleasing their subscribers not the product placement.
- Trust – YouTubers understand their audience the most, therefore sharing the responsibility of creative direction and the development of ideas will better the relationship with the YouTuber.
- Brands often demand too much which can often make the YouTubers personal brand inauthentic which can deter YouTubers from doing sponsored content. (Aynsley, M, 2016).
Here is a blog post about working with YouTubers with an interview with YouTube influencer Laura Reid about some of her experiences with brands.
https://blog.hootsuite.com/working-with-youtube-influencers/
Despite the benefits for YouTube influencer advertising, there are also factors that brands should keep in mind. Authenticity is the most significant and difficult factor to replicate and is rather complex with commercialisation, aligning the brand with the right influencer is incredibly important in order to portray a genuine interest and love for the product or brand that the influencer is promoting. The influencer’s audience are familiar with the YouTuber’s personality, likes and dislikes and therefore will be able to identify immediately whether the advertisement is authentic and supportive of their own values (Edwards, M, 2016).
Here is a link to some more information about authenticity when using YouTube influencers for advertisements:
http://www.contentinmotion.asia/blog/fragile-authenticity-brands-youtubers/
References
Aynsley, M (2016) Everything you ever wanted to know about working with YouTube influencers [online] < https://blog.hootsuite.com/working-with-youtube-influencers/ > [Accessed 25 February 2017].
Edwards, M (2016) Fragile Authenticity – Brands and YouTubers [online] < http://www.contentinmotion.asia/blog/fragile-authenticity-brands-youtubers/ > [Accessed 24 February 2017].
Farnhill, N (2016) How Brands Can Work With YouTubers. Creative Review. 10 May 2016. [online] < https://www.creativereview.co.uk/how-brands-can-work-with-youtubers/ > [Accessed 10 February 2017].
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O’Reilly, L (2015) Google just told advertisers that if they want to reach young people YouTube will need to take 24% of their TV budgets. Business Insider UK. 14 October 2015. [online] < http://uk.businessinsider.com/at-brandcast-google-tells-advertisers-to-shift-tv-money-to-video-youtube-2015-10?r=US&IR=T > [Accessed 22 February 2017].
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Wong, K (2014) The Explosive Growth of Influencer Marketing and What it means for you. Forbes. 10 September 2014. [online] < https://www.forbes.com/sites/kylewong/2014/09/10/the-explosive-growth-of-influencer-marketing-and-what-it-means-for-you/#5a2fdf2d52ac > [Accessed 11 February 2017].