Do Influencers Cause More Harm Than Good?

Initiative – Influencer Marketing

The power of the internet has dominated the now known ‘Information Age’, whereby platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are used across the globe to communicate and distribute information (Castells, 2014). Influencer marketing is not a new concept however has adapted from celebrity endorsements to modern day content driven marketing campaigns using credible third parties to gain brand awareness. The importance nowadays is that brands no longer have to first hand communicate their message but instead use trusted tastemakers to endorse their product through word of mouth to their large following (Mathew, 2018).

How to make it work

One of the most important steps for a business to interact with influencer marketing is ensuring that they collaborate with an influencer with similar core values to the company, a safety that the influencer is advocating for the right reasons and their platform communicates to the appropriate target audience (West, 2019). Therefore, it is important to form a strategy that both the influencer and the company can mutually agree on where the message ensures content rich marketing that the influencer authentically and trustingly communicates to their followers (Tesseras, 2018). Trust has regularly been discussed in academic literature as to be a crucial factor for “brand credibility” whereby long-term relationships are developed between a firm and the consumer and are transactions of continuous exchange relationships (Reast, 2005). Therefore, using influencer marketing the values of the company have to be communicated through the influencer to the consumer in an authentic and credible way.

To be successful, the company must find an influencer that communicates directly to the target segment, for example “fitness” such as GracefitUK on Instagram is perceived by her followers to have more authority when it comes to that specific topic and her followers are more likely to trust and buy into the brand (Fastenau, 2018). According to the social identity theory, if followers are viewing an influencer of a similar demographic group, then their opinion is worth more to them than any other group (Hug, 2018). This strategy means that the company is more able to connect to the segment on a personal level by influencing the consumers decision and raising awareness of the brand.

Framework for Influencer Marketing (4 M’s): 

(Brown, Fiorella, 2013)

(Biaudet, 2017) (Smith, 2018)

Risks of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has come under great scrutiny following the ‘Fyre Festival’ where influencers were a large part of promoting the ‘festival that never happened’, with a large debate following whether the influencers involved should be held accountable for misleading their followers (Gilliland, 2019). Since this scandal the Advertising Standards Authority enforced stricter rules as to how transparent influencers are when advertising for a brand. Both the influencer and brand are responsible for clearly labelling their advertised posts and making it clear that there is a collaboration between the two, without this the influencer and brand is subject to ASA action (ASA, 2018).

One of the misconceptions about influencer marketing is that it can be easily construed as a quick pay-out or ticking the boxes in modern day marketing. However, by not dedicating appropriate time and resources into how to activate influencers in communicating their branding message can tarnish the reputation of the company (Audunsson, 2018). It is therefore crucial to choosing influencers with a similar ethos and values  however, can be a time-consuming process for a company (Woods, 2016). The lack of control is a risk for companies, as their message is indirectly communicated, therefore restricting creative control and mutually agreeing on posts may limit that risk (McGinty, 2017). However, although consumers may trust influencers, it can be found that influencers branded posts negatively influences brand awareness and purchase intentions as consumers can be sceptical and discredit influencers, therefore is influencer marketing always the best option in this day and age? (Lou, Yuan, 2018).

Influencers Guide:

https://www.asa.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/3af39c72-76e1-4a59-b2b47e81a034cd1d.pdf

References:

ASA. (2018). New Guidance Launched For Social Influencers. Online: https://www.asa.org.uk/news/new-guidance-launched-for-social-influencers.html (Accessed 24th Jan 2019).

Audunsson, S. (2018). 2019 Will Be the Year Influencer Marketing Shifts from Who to How. Online: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/2019-will-year-influencer-marketing-shifts/1520478 (Accessed 20th Feb 2019).

Biaudet, S. (2017). Influencer Marketing as a Marketing Tool. Online: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/93084263.pdf (Accessed 22nd Feb 2019).

Brown, D. Fiorella, S. (2013). Influence Marketing- How to Create, Manage and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing. 1^st Edition. Que Publishing: United States.

Fastenau, J. (2018). Under the Influence: The Power of Social Media Influencers. Online: https://medium.com/crobox/under-the-influence-the-power-of-social-media-influencers-5192571083c3 (Accessed 21st Feb 2019).

Gilliland, N. (2019). What Impact Has Fyre Festival Had on Influencer Marketing. Online: https://econsultancy.com/what-impact-has-fyre-festival-had-on-influencer-marketing/ (Accessed 22^nd Feb 2019).

Hug, A. (2018). Influence and the Influencer: Persuading Audiences Through Social Identity. Online: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/12/05/influence-and-the-influencer-persuading-audiences-through-social-identity/#61b274897f63 (Accessed 21^st Jan 2019).

Lou, C. Yuan, S. (2018). Influencer Marketing: How Message Value and Credibility Affect Consumer Trust of Brand Content on Social Media. Journal of Interactive Advertising. Vol: 18 (2). P1-12.

Mathew, J. (2018). Understanding Influencer Marketing and Why It is So Effective. Online: https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/07/30/understanding-influencer-marketing-and-why-it-is-so-effective/#24b18f1f71a9 (Accessed 19^th Feb 2019).

McGinty, M. (2017). The Hidden Risks of Influencer Marketing. Online: https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2017/jun/27/hidden-risks-influencer-marketing/ (Accessed 27^th Feb 2019).

Smith, K. (2018). How to Measure Brand Awareness. Online: https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/how-to-measure-brand-awareness/ (Accessed 22^nd Feb 2019).

Tesseras, L. (2018). A Third of Brands Admit To Not Disclosing Influencer Partnerships. Online: https://www.marketingweek.com/2018/11/14/influencer-marketing-partnerships/ (Accessed 21^st Feb 2019).

West, T. (2019). How To Brief An Influencer For Your Campaign. Online: https://blog.scrunch.com/briefing-influencers (Accessed 20th Feb 2019).

Woods, S. (2016). #Sponsored: The Emergence of Influencer Marketing. Online: https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3010&context=utk_chanhonoproj (Accessed 27^th Feb 2019).