The Ethics of Influencer Disclosure: Who is Responsible?

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Emma

The American Advertising Federation’s Principles and Practices for Advertising Ethics calls upon brands to communicate transparently with consumers. This practice of honest, fair and balanced advertising offered fewer stakes when brand communications were churned out by the brands themselves.

The main issue arises in disclosure of advertising activities, also referenced in the third principle in the AAF’s guidelines. The principle states that “Advertisers should clearly distinguish advertising, public relations and corporate communications from news and editorial content and entertainment, both online and offline,” (Institute for Advertising Ethics, 2011). However, as noted in the commentary, this practice operates in a “self-regulatory” nature. But who is ultimately responsible for this regulation?

The average consumer may assume that brands control the messages and, in turn, the disclosure practices of their influencer partners. In reality, most reputable brands uphold this belief and remind influencers to disclose their post as a brand deal and refrain from swaying the opinion of the influencers. The end result, however, weighs heavily on an influencer’s own moral compass and their decision on whether or not to abide by the FTC regulatory rules.

In order to examine this concept on a deeper level, let’s take a look at a recent influencer campaign that my team activated on to promote the release of a new film in theaters. We hosted over 150 influencers to attend a free screening and afterparty. A few of the influencers were paid through an agency, but others were invited without compensation. Invites included and FTC disclaimer:

If you choose to post about the film or the event, you must disclose what you received from XXXX in a clear and conspicuous manner.  It can be done in text or audio and here are some examples: “Thanks XXXX for inviting me to the XXXX advanced screening. All opinions are my own.” Or ““I’m excited to share some fun details about the XXXX event that XXXX invited me to.”  Please visit the FTC website at www.ftc.gov for more information about testimonials and endorsements.

*** Note, the name of the Studio has been redacted from this blog post

Influencers were also reminded verbally to include disclosures upon check-in for the event and once more prior to the start of the film.

Following the event, I went through a sample of the influencers to determine whether or not they upheld FTC regulations. A sample of 20 in-feed posts found that four individuals chose not to disclose at all.

Example of an influencer that chose not to disclose their invitation.

An additional six influencers disclosed in a way that does not meet the FTC guidelines which require the disclosure to occur before the “more” option on the post.

Example of an influencer that didn’t put the disclaimer before the “more” option on Instagram which does not meet the FTC guidelines.

*** Note usernames and the name of the film been redacted from this blog post

The remaining 10 influencers posted in adherence to the guidelines. All of the influencers offered positive reviews without the team suggesting this in any way. Interestingly, one influencer voiced displeasure with the the Studio for what she perceived as underrepresentation at a separate premiere event.

Example of an influencer that voiced an opinion about underrepresentation at the premiere.

This experiment only further begs the question about the role and responsibility of brands in influencer communication. Perhaps I’m bais, but I believe disclosure falls to the ethics of the influencers. In fact, as a result of this experiment, my team has decided to refrain from inviting influencers that do not disclose in the feature in order to present and ethical and refined image for our organization going forward.

Clearly, questions remain regarding the integrity and transparency of influencer sponsorship. Perhaps the FTC needs stricter guideline disciple, or maybe the age of influencer marketing needs to sunset all together. Until then, brands are left feeling confused and uncertain about the ethics of influencers.

References

Institute for Advertising Ethics. (2011). Principles and practices for advertising ethics. Retrieved from https://www.aaf.org/_PDF/AAF Website Content/513_Ethics/IAE_Principles_Practices.pd

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Real Target Audience…Where Are You?

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Larrissa Clavon

If there are sayings I don’t like about business advice today it would be the one size fits all advice. And this – “You have to create what people want – what they find value in. Businesses that thrive are the ones that solve a problem people have or add a value that people want,” says so many business leaders I dare not ascribe it to one in particular. But what about when people don’t know what they want? Or when it’s a product new to market or a product creating a new market (think Red Bull, the energy drink). I find this advice paradoxical to the idea of innovation. You know innovation, right? It’s the word we hear all the time, or at least I do. It’s the word that people use and want you to define for them. Sort of like a “show and tell” in reverse. They “tell” you they want something innovative giving you little instructions or vision to pull from and you come back and “show” them what you’ve created. They may like it, and it may be exactly what they had in mind, but then again they may not. But let’s say they really do like how you executed the idea. You would want your creation to get in front of those it was intended for right? Absolutely!

And the frustration begins – where are the people???!!!

All this talk about marketing and brands is interesting, but the aspect of target audiences is one that I have so many questions about. I’m talking about those particularly when the brand is perceived as inferior or otherwise not as preferred as other brands or is a newbie to the market. You can identify a target audience, set a creative strategy to reach them based on research, and through evaluation find out that you reached people but still not your intended audience or you completely miss everyone all together. You can have a great product, a great pitch, a defined target audience, good content, active on social and still see mediocre revenues and minimal brand mentions online.

A friend of mine told me about a clothing line that sold quality clothes, but closed their stores nationwide due to a drop in sales. This person even owned at least one article of clothing from the brand for over 10 years still in like new condition! Price was the driver for that brand’s marketing – they offered quality clothing at an extremely low price (think wool coat for less than $40) and thus had hundreds of stores nationwide, celebrity sponsorships, and endorsements and they still shut down. Why?

Even after you identify your target audience, do research to understand them better, find out which platforms they are active on or how they consume media and information, create content and speak their language, there’s absolutely no guarantee they will receive what your brand offers or respond to any of your calls to action. How can we MAKE them? We can’t.

Take this product, Cute Shift™. It’s a gear stick knob accessory for your car geared towards women and teenage girls who can drive a car and identify with going through life changes. The product is available on Etsy, but like many products out there though innovative and creative, Cute Shift™ currently has low sales. Is this a target audience issue? SEO? Or is this an issue related to what people want or find value in? And how can value be created? Is the marketing all wrong?

And social doesn’t make things easier. Well, it makes some things easier and more affordable, like purchasing ads, but there are still no guarantees on conversion. Cross-channel audience analysis and audience personas are research based ways to understand your target audience better using analytics and data available to brands through their social media channels (Buryan, 2018). The problem is, what if your brand is new or what if your following is small (less than 1,000) on any given social media platform. Is that enough data to inform you of who your audience really is (regardless of who you’re targeting) and enough data to create an audience persona? An audience persona is what one business coach defines as an avatar, which basically means the makeup of your ideal customer (Lukes, 2018). The next step is to personalize your content to them. But again, what if you’re personalizing your brand message to the wrong folks based on who the data says your target audience is?

I’ve found more articles on how to define, research and measure a target audience than how to attract and convert a target audience. There’s definitely no size fits all approach here. Furthermore, how do you stay on brand and reach target audiences without becoming who they want a brand to be and not who that brand actually is? To stay in business, it seems many brands have to conform somehow to their target audience whoever they may be and wherever they are.

For sure, my research continues…gotta go find “the people”….

 

Buryan, M. (3, May 2018). Target audience on Facebook: How to reach and convert them. SocialBakers. Retrieved from https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/target-audience-on-facebook-how-to-reach-and-convert-them

Lukes, J. (8, May 2018). Why the buyer persona is even more important than social media. SocialBakers. Retrieved from https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/why-the-buyer-s-persona-is-even-more-important-on-social-media

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Real Target Audience…Where Are You?

LAUSD utilizes social media to share messaging

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Josefina

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the second largest educational school district in the nation. LAUSD teachers have been in upset over the increase in students in classrooms, the low paying salaries and resources that have been cut from schools. For the past few months, the teachers union UTLA has been in talks with the district to negotiate a new contract for them. Negotiaions have been unsuccessful and teachers are on the brink of a strike.

This has become national news, as this will be the first strike in 30 years (Kohli, 2018). Thousands of educators gathered this past weekend in Los Angeles to rally and draw awareness of the impending strike (2018). From this weekend’s strike, hundreds of local and national news media covered the rally with reporting form the Associated Press (Associated Press, 2018). This impending strike continues to dominate headlines and just today a fact-finding panel released a report that confirms all the needs that the educator has been demanding (Blume, 2018). UTLA has leveraged this report to draw more support and awareness of the strike by sharing this information on the organizations @UTLA Twitter handle. A total of ten Tweets have been composed sharing the news and Re-Tweeting Tweets from influencers that support UTLA.

To show the power and reach that social media has, UTLA has announced via Twitter that tomorrow a big announcement will be made. In the announcement the Union also tags all Los Angeles media. This speaks to the power that social media now has over traditional media, as the Union forged the traditional media advisory and went straight to Twitter. Showing the dominance that this social media platform has and how communicators are leveraging this tool to distribute news at a faster speed.

References

Blume, H (2018). L.A. teachers strike appears more likely as a key report fails to bring the union and district together. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-lausd-fact-finder-report-20181218-story.html

Kohli, S (2018). Thousands of Los Angeles teachers march as potential strike looms. Retrieved from https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-los-angeles-teachers-march-20181215-story.html

Lyster, L (2018). LAUSD Teachers March in DTLA as Union Moves Closer to Calling First Strike in Nearly 30 Years. Retrieved from https://ktla.com/2018/12/15/l-a-teachers-supporters-march-in-downtown-demanding-more-funding-for-schoo

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on LAUSD utilizes social media to share messaging

A “Total Market” Approach is a Total Miss without Diverse Talent

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Edna

I love a genuine, feel-good campaign, especially when the brand’s expression makes me feel connected, represented and understood. It’s not easy to achieve but when you see it executed well, you know right away the campaign’s a home run if it resonates and connects on a deeper level. Some brands have pulled it off – expertly. My favorites? Honey Maid’s “This is Wholesome” campaign and Wells Fargo’s “Learning Sign Language” commercials.

Examples of campaigns gone wrong include Pepsi’s failed attempt to invoke the seriousness and passion of the Black Lives Matter movement. Also, Dove’s inappropriate and offensive portrayal of a black woman turning into a white woman.

Source: Honey Maid

Source: Wells Fargo

The Honey Maid and Wells Fargo campaigns are compelling because of what they represent in the creative. The brands connect on a human level with messages that align with universal values and emotions that consumers hold dear – family, love and equality. They represent a true reflection of our world today and bring to the forefront segments of our population that have not been visible in big brand commercials of the past. Two fathers, two mothers, a child with a disability, a racially blended family are portrayed naturally in everyday settings, and in a positive light. They are not supporting characters in a general market ad, but the leads. Yet, this balanced portrayal of diverse consumers seems
to be the exception and not the norm.

A consumer survey conducted by Marketing Week in partnership with One Poll revealed that “nearly half (42%) of marketers believe the brands they work for are failing to reflect a contemporary, racially-diverse, society in their marketing and advertising” (MarketingWeek.com, 2017). Marketers understand the world is changing and the old notion of the “separate but equal” general market and multicultural marketing approaches are no longer an ideal model for addressing the increasingly diverse marketplace (CampaignLive.com, 2017).

Multicultural consumers are changing the face of the U.S. population and are considered “super consumers” with $3.4 trillion in buying power in 2014 alone. Their buying power is expected to grow exponentially in the decades to come. Understanding and meeting the needs of multicultural consumers will be critical for brands looking to expand their bottom lines. The result has propelled a shift by marketers and brands to a Total Market marketing strategy approach. The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) defines Total Market strategy as:

“A marketing approach followed by corporations with their trusted internal and external partners which proactively integrates diverse segment considerations. This is done from inception, through the entire strategic process and execution, with the goal of enhancing value and growth effectiveness. In marketing communications this could lead to either one fully integrated cross-cultural approach, individual segment approaches, or both in many cases, but always aligned under one overarching strategy.”

So, instead of having separate strategies for diverse segments under a multicultural marketing team, there is one broad overarching strategy that maximizes cross-segment insights and universal truths to inform campaigns. The Honey Maid and Wells Fargo commercials are examples of a Total Market campaign designed with the diverse consumer in mind and distributed through segment and general market channels to reach a more diverse general market population.

Multicultural consumers represent the growth engine of the U.S. population with significant buying power today and in the future.

According to an article by Jeffrey L. Bowman, founder of Reframe: The Brand, there needs to be “talent within the organization to fully comprehend and execute the total market approach for the new marketplace and the total market enterprise approach for the new workplace.” This makes so much sense. However, there is one glaring industry challenge. Diverse talent in agencies and business is underrepresented and does not reflect the new mainstream American consumer. A 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey indicates that of nearly 560,000 people employed in advertising, public relations and related industries, only 8.9 percent identified as Hispanic or Latino, 7.4 percent as Asian and 5.8 percent as Black or African American. Clearly, the industry does not represent the changing demographics we see today and in the impending future. If companies plan to tap into consumer needs guided by diverse segment insights, more must be done by agencies and brands to attract, develop and retain diverse talent. There is no other option.

Reflecting on the Pepsi and Dove campaigns, it’s difficult to imagine that companies of this size with budgets and resources to secure the most talented of agencies, released tone-deaf and insensitive advertising campaigns. Certainly, each creative concept underwent multiple layers of approvals and reviews within each company ahead of launch. Was there no one at the creative and decision-making table able to recognize the misstep and flag the campaigns as a reputation risk? If there are diverse professionals with in-depth knowledge of the nuances of these communities at the table, were they not comfortable raising their hand to object? We likely will never know, but I’d venture to say it’s both.

I’ll leave you with a few compelling articles I found when reading up on the Total Market approach and diverse talent in the marketing communications industry. They provide additional perspective on both topics.

Articles:

References

Jeffrey L. Bowman February. Close the gap: The state of the ‘total market’ industry. Retrieved from https://www.campaignlive.com/article/close-gap-state-total-market-industry/1425286

Pepsi’s ad failure shows the importance of diversity and market research. (2017, April 7). Retrieved from https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/04/07/pepsi-scandal-prove-lack-diversity-house-work-flawed/

School, T. W., Pennsylvania, U. o., Street, 3. S., & Hall, 3. V. (2014a, -10-14T20:25:13+00:00). Integrating lead-generation marketing campaigns. Wharton Magazine, Retrieved from http://whartonmagazine.com/blogs/integrating-lead-generation-marketing-campaigns/

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Under Armor Scores Big

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Natasha Shenali Perera

Chances are, you’ve heard of Steph Curry. He’s one of the greatest basketball players around, a proud husband, father to two girls and a baby boy, and quite active on social media.

A few weeks back, a young female fan named Riley reached out to Steph after having issues finding his new Under Armor Curry 5s in the girls section. The heartfelt letter, in which Riley addressed that she knew Steph was an advocate for girls in sports, went viral. (We know where this is going, right?)

Steph took the opportunity to tweet back a reply to Riley, and promised that he would “fix the issue” and sent her her own pair of shoes. He even shared an opportunity for Riley to join him on International Women’s Day on March 8th.

From everyone’s perspective, this is a win-win-win situation.

Riley gets her shoes, and the opportunity to meet one of her sporting heroes. Plus, she acts as a great role model for young girls: sticking up and voicing your opinion is a great idea!

Steph is able to spread goodwill and seem like a great, charismatic athlete, adding to his appeal and adding to his likability.

Under Armour gets away with this feel-good story, and potentially, more sales, because the viral story clearly talks about one of their products.

To me, this is just about as good as it could get in the world of advertising. Companies try so hard to make us feel good by making campaigns or commercials that touch our hearts. But what’s more real than a true, ‘unscripted’ story? While I’m sure Steph was instructed by Under Armor to reply the way he did, but it truly shows how much of an impact social media interactions, the role of a strong, well-respected celebrity, and a bit of goodwill have. This could have easily been swept under the carpet or not picked up, but luckily for all involved, it was.

If you’re curious, Under Armour DID end up changing their website to better categorize the shoes. It really is such a feel good story that made me tear up a bit (I was the young female athlete growing up and I played non-traditional sports, so equality in fashion or gear was a big issue) Between the media coverage of the followup, this is sure to lead to a lot more foot traffic…and, hey, I’m sure those feet will be wearing some Curry 5s.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

*Edited to remove cursing. A friend who tracks and analyzes Congressional voter/campaign sentiment in northeast races finished compiling the latest cycle. She tells me cussing (swearing) produced some interesting patterns. When candidates swore at public events, while taking a combative stance, the reactions were positive. But, when they did it in direct message calls to action, it was even greater. As in, bring money in greater. When I submitted a direct message for sign off this week, the last one I will be sending out of this office, I got back one edit. Change a word to damn. Huh? Then I happened across national messaging that seemed to suggest swearing was effective. Ok, I thought. We never said liar before, and that’s changed.

The verdict, no. Swearing doesn’t solicit a positive reaction, or any reaction really. Verdict is still out on liar.

Back to the rant.

If you learn anything while eyeball deep in strategic ad placements in every nook and cranny that your segments may be hiding in, it’s how many ways and directions you can come at them. Perhaps the only major hiccup is finding what it will cost your firm. And if you speak to a seller, as we did this week, they aren’t all that generous with figures on the phone, or email, either. They want willingness to spend. And ribbed us for not wanting to disclose what we’d be willing to spend. With ever an eye on an audience’s undivided attention, we just want to know how much exclusive :30 spots at DMVs in major metropolitan markets cost. Not three more plans our brand may be interested in. Mind you, the conversation started with no major brand ever having expressed an interest in buying spots. Sad and pathetic plebeians stuck in the DMV oblivion that is the two hour wait, and not one major brand has ever called? Even the seller brags that these people have nowhere to go; and nothing else to look at. For advertisers, the DMV is A Clockwork Orange. Or, is it the other way around? Meh.

We think we’re clever for digging this up. They think they are clever for making us dig deeper. How deep do you dig for every bit of undivided attention? Or, new and better ways to get it?

The buy is for a major motorcycle manufacturer. They’ve gone so far as to implement artificial intelligence (Power, 2017); and robots! Brands are now Sarah Connor(ing) you to help Wisconsinite T800s with Six Sigma prime directives to meet KPIs. And they are. If I may drag this Terminator metaphor on a bit longer; it’s a New York City dealership that is the Cyberdyne Industries behind this feat of artificial intelligence. Wrap your meat computer around that 2,930% increase in sales leads! If you can…dummy.

But, the NYC dealership may not have been the bastion of self-aware systems that Harvard Business, or Forbes, or any of the financial pubs that fawned over them, had made them out to be. The umbrella corporation was behind it, or so it claims. And…when isn’t it? It depends on who you ask. Rumor has it this dealer, down on his luck, happened across an algorithm geek while walking in Riverside Park. Doesn’t it always happen in a moment of reflection? My inner-cynic (NYer) places me in the same scenario, shooing rats (Frishberg, 2018), wondering why the I opened a motorcycle dealership on the Upper East Side in a city that criminalizes e-bikes. In a city no less, where two-wheeled whips account for less than two percent of the total registered vehicles on the road, and 14 percent of total traffic fatalities. What does the AI say about that? Did I mention New York ranks fifth in the nation in the number of motorcycle registrations? Sorry, we’re leaning more toward an uphill road for any dealership in NYC, especially on the Upper East.

This isn’t the only example of dealers going above and beyond. Another self-aware dealership in Indiana upped its in-house experience game by setting up a virtual reality showroom…in their showroom. While sales of VR headsets have decreased, the production of VR content remains cost prohibitive, and actual motorcycles – the same as those portrayed in the VR content – are also tanking. Note that this occurred one year after this brand’s competitor also offered a VR experience (Stanley, 2015). And they created a VR road trip to the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally. They transported people. The Indiana dealership? They immersed the audience in a showroom floor, within a showroom floor. Speaking of floors…

Looking at this through a lean manufacturing (T800) strategy. It isn’t initiative that is being rewarded. As the specialists we are (or will be), we’re one of seven wastes of lean. And as the communication management specialist you are (or will be) you’ve likely wondered what the statistical odds are of getting out of the Upper East Side alive, had you purchased a motorcycle in NYC. It’s probably significant. The meat to the potatoes, as it were.  

We can call these wins, or failures. This brand could be credited for getting all Mary Parker Follett on its dealerships. Or feigning Fayolism, to grab back the ever important command and coordination from the production floor to the dealership. In either case, they let some wind under the wing. How high they fly…may be exaggerated. But that may be changing.

And…then, a blip. Augmented reality.

The cheaper, and more easily integrated and adaptable cousin of VR. If you were the one that opened the motorcycle dealership on the Upper East Side, AR would be the cousin at the wedding that opened a dental practice in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee. You think your fancy city-clicker algorithms have a one-up on ‘em. But, she’s a DMD in a town of 477 people, in a state with the fewest dentists per capita. Who is the dummy?

Our motorcycle brand hasn’t been the driver behind many of these successful dealership initiatives. They are the blister. They show up when the work is done. Now, most phones…most everything, are AR-enabled. Look at these Nikes!

Lo and behold! It’s not a dealership, but the flagship itself upon the shores of AR. There are no press releases. No tales of wobegon dealers in uphill markets and locations to swoon the business press and claim: by changing “call now” to “buy now,” sales went through the roof. It’s Manhattan! Outside of Abu Dhabi, it’s the only other place on Earth where someone has the money off-the-street to buy 15 luxury motorcycles. In Abu Dhabi, they do it because they can. In Manhattan? They do it because they are a bunch of brunch-drunk entitled snobs with nothing better to do, bro. This AR move by the brand is intentionally under radar.

We wouldn’t had known it happened if we weren’t looking for some fancy content to put on DMV screens; and really, it was just to get this DMV, a CPM. But…there it was https://seekxr.com/.

The brand just stripped the need for a franchise, retailer, and Upper-East-Side-location, just like that. Gone. The VR? Untenable. Algorithms? False hope. Sales are tanking. An Upper East Side motorcycle dealership is the success story?! No. And, no comment on the VR within showroom reality snafu in Indiana. The brand is moving away from showrooms, and retail altogether. The AI success story was a smoke screen. The top down integration of AR/VR  will kill the dealership as we know it.

References  

Frishberg, H. (2018, June 6). The most rat-infested neighborhoods in New York City. New York Post. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2018/06/06/the-most-rat-infested-neighborhoods-in-new-york-city/

Power, B. (2017, May 30). How Harley-Davidson used artificial intelligence to increase New York sales leads by 2,930%. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from  https://hbr.org/2017/05/how-harley-davidson-used-predictive-analytics-to-increase-new-york-sales-leads-by-2930#comment-section

Stanley, T.L. (2015, March 13). Oculus lets motorcycle enthusiasts take a virtual trip to Sturgis. Mashable. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2015/03/13/oculus-victory-motorcycles-sturgis/#tPxS6d9.JPqK

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Graham | 1 Comment

*Warning* Brands must choose wisely…

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Reena Patton

As we learn more about integrated marketing communications, a brand must pay attention to the people it aligns with to reach its audience. If a brand chooses poorly or hastily, a bad choice can have an adverse reaction across an entire campaign. A bad choice can halt an integrated marketing communication plan while marcom professionals strategize to overcome an unforeseen setback.On December 4, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed actor and comedian Kevin Hart as its host for the 91st Oscars on February 24, 2019. Two days later, Mr. Hart quit after receiving an ultimatum from the Academy to apologize for past homophobic tweets authored by the comedian or step down from hosting one of the most desired hosting jobs in show business. This incident is another complication for the Academy since slightly rebounding after criticism for the lack of nominees of color leading to the 2015 viral hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. Now, the troublesome issue is the Academy’s lack of proper vetting before bestowing prestigious honors on problematic recipients. As the Academy restructures to modernize its membership with a new generation of inductees, infuse inclusivity in all its programming, and renew excitement to improve television viewership, mishaps caused by poor due diligence cannot happen.

In show business, there is a popular saying: “The show must go on!” As of this post, the Academy considers its hosting options for its 91st Oscars ceremony. The latest news is a consideration to forgo a host. This “no-host” idea may be a good option since it is challenging to find a blemish-free person and it is tough to be the second-choice host after Mr. Hart’s scandalous termination. A suggestion is to go with the no-host plan to get the advertising, promotion, public relations, and sales elements on a new course towards a golden Oscars ceremony.

By Reena Patton

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Influencing for Success: How You Can Maximize your Influencer Marketing Efforts in 2019

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Maxwell

In 2015, influencer marketing was a sizable $500 million industry. This year, the size of the industry has grown to over $3 billion and is predicted to explode up to $10 billion by as early as 2020. Needless to say, influencer marketing is here to stay, and savvy brands/companies need to ensure that they are leveraging the potential of this type of marketing in order to keep up with the competition.

As the industry matures, technologies and platforms shift, and users become exposed to an increasing number of influencers, marketing trends change quickly from year to year. What worked in 2015, or even in 2018, will no longer be as effective moving forward. As we head into 2019, companies and brands will have to rapidly adapt to influencer trends or risk wasting precious resources on efforts that yield little to no results.

In this blog post, we explore three key practices that companies should pay special attention to as they plan their influencer marketing trends for the upcoming year: authenticity, accountability, and the very fundamentals of effective marketing.

Authenticity and the “Organic” Touch

There’s no getting around it: the influencer marketing arena has become saturated. This growth hasn’t been all positive either, and outlets such as Forbes and Buzzfeed have reported widely on the diminishing gains of social media influencers. For one, accounts that are “too big” (with upwards of 10,000 followers and more) see flattened engagement rates across the board. Once an influencer is too big, his/her ability to influence is diminished significantly, making additional investments a waste.

Not only that, but users have been overexposed to far too much online marketing, which has led to distrust and cynicism on the part of users. Marketing efforts that are inauthentic or too blatant will put people off, and the oversaturation of influencer marketing is turning consumers against the medium, with Forbes recently reporting that over 49% of users want to see restrictions or limitations placed on influencer marketing. Social media platforms are always focused on optimizing the user experience, and companies such as Instagram are promoting more transparency in the way content is delivered to their users.

However, this doesn’t mean that influencer marketing is on its way out. One way in which companies can stay ahead of the game is by promoting authenticity and producing content that feels organic and reaches audiences that are passionate about certain products or services. One way to achieve this is via micro influencers. Instead of relying on one or two superstars, companies will be much better served by tapping into a small handful of enthusiasts and actual users/endorsers of the product. After all, you only need a small handful of influencers to create the perception that a lot of people are talking about your product. Micro influencers allow you to boost performance even amidst crowded markets while pushing a more organic engagement with quality leads. Recent figures have shown that micro influencers are 6.7 times more cost effective than bigger influencers and generate 22 times as much social buzz as their more popular counterparts.

Whatever your approach is, authenticity will continue dominating in 2019 and forward, making it an important cornerstone for effective influencer marketing endeavors.

Accountability and Analytics

As influencer marketing continues to grow, authenticity will be critical not just for the consumer, but for the brands and companies that are looking to further their marketing efforts via social media. The reason for this is that fraud is rampant within this ballooning industry, and companies that don’t perform their due diligence could find themselves paying to reach ineffective or downright fake audiences.

Recently, over 15% of Twitter users have been identified as fake accounts or bots, and Facebook doesn’t fare any better. The social media giant currently hosts over 60 million fake or automated accounts, a staggering amount given the number of marketing efforts and dollars that are poured into the website. Inauthentic internet traffic is a huge problem that requires immediate addressing, a problem that would-be influencers continue to exploit. In fact, it takes less than $300 to create an image of success and attract businesses who are looking to market their products via social media influencers. Companies that provide fake followers and views for these deceptive influencers are a dime a dozen these days, and social media platforms themselves have done little to combat this specific problem.

Not all influencers are looking to engage with your brand in good faith even after they cash that check, which is why accountability is critical. The best way to ensure that your marketing influencer endeavors are fruitful is via in-depth analytics, which is where a qualified professional is worth his/her weight in gold.

Michael Quoc writes about this very issue in a recent article published by Pole Position Marketing. He identifies various “red flags” that could give away a fake or deceptive influencer, and recommends that companies track metrics such as suspicion changes in follower/viewer trends, overall low engagement across the board, inconsistent or spammy commentary, bad hashtag practices, and more. In other words, companies that are willing to do their homework and adopt a robust set of analytics practices are positioned to come ahead of the competition, especially as the fight against bots and deceptive tactics continues to heat up.

Sticking to The Fundamentals: Focus on Proven, Tested Efforts

This brings us to the next point: you should not neglect proven, tested efforts! This is especially true within the arena of influencer marketing because, as Greg Satell explains in a recent Harvard Business Review article, influencer marketing involves a lot of wasted effort and resources. Despite the fact that billions of dollars are dumped into influencer marketing, there is much evidence to suggest that a lot of these efforts are a downright waste of time and money, at least when not properly calibrated.

He goes on to identify the elements of influencers who have proven to be effective time after time: passion, density, and empowerment, themes that resonate with concepts of authenticity and organic content. Simply throwing darts to see what sticks is not enough, you need to consider the context of your industry, identify the needs and wants of your customers, and select the ideal influencers that share passions and interests with your prospective customers. This further bolstering a sense of empowerment and brand loyalty, promoting engagement and higher conversion rates. In terms of density, research suggests that capturing the biggest audience possible is counterintuitive; your influencer marketing efforts should hone in on more specific demographics and they should be spread across multiple smaller influencers rather than one or two “big fish” influencers.

Finally, always brush up on your research and stay up to date with what currently “works.” For example, leveraging new, dynamic technologies has been shown to increase engagement. One example of this is the shift to the short video format that has proven to be highly effective. Compared to text or static image content, video content is twice as likely to convert users into customers.

This also applies to the very platform upon which your message is being spread. The social media giants are not equal in terms of marketing efforts and output, especially in regards to content. Currently, Instagram and Instagram stories in particular are proving to be the dominating venue, as engagement and attachment rates are much higher than on its sister website, Facebook. Both are owned by the same entity, yet both will produce wildly different results based on your marketing needs and specific industry. Brush up on the context of your products and services, identify what works and doesn’t work within your competition, and use this knowledge to carve out an advantage in order to stay on top of constantly shifting influencer marketing trends.

To put it in simpler terms, don’t just throw money into influencer marketing. Constantly assess these marketing endeavors, calibrate as needed, and make sure that you’re consistently getting something for your investment. Otherwise your efforts are better spent elsewhere.

Calculated, Quantifiable Efforts is the Name of the Game

Moving forward, the constantly-shifting influencer marketing sphere is only going to become increasingly crowded. Shrewd companies and brands can take advantage of this increased competition, but only if they focus on three key areas proven to be critical for influencer marketing success: authenticity, accountability, and proven effectiveness.

Sources

Arnold, A. (2018, November 27). How Brands Can Improve Influencer Marketing To Remain In Touch With Consumers . Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/2018/11/27/how-brands-can-improve-influencer-marketing-to-remain-in-touch-with-consumers/#7f6e667b4962

Davies, J., & Flynn, K. (2018, November 28). ‘We don’t pay influencers on reach’: How Kellogg’s is combating influencer fraud. Retrieved from https://digiday.com/marketing/influencer-fraud-kelloggs/

Fender, J. (n.d.). 2019 Influencer Marketing Trends for Brands. Retrieved from https://www.business2community.com/marketing/2019-influencer-marketing-trends-for-brands-02143212

Ghosh, S. (2018, November 27). Interview with Thomas Owadenko, President and Founder at Octoly. Retrieved from https://martechseries.com/mts-insights/interviews/interview-thomas-owadenko-president-founder-octoly/

Lee, J. (2018, March 03). What Does It Cost To Be Big On Instagram? Retrieved from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jarrylee/what-does-it-cost-to-be-big-on-instagram

Quoc, Michael. (2017, October 18). Identify Fake Influencers: Analyzing Follower & Engagement Stats | PPM. Retrieved from https://www.polepositionmarketing.com/emp/the-case-of-the-fake-influencers-spotting-inflated-follower-engagement-stats/

Satell, G. (2014, November 05). 3 Reasons to Kill Influencer Marketing. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/09/3-reasons-to-kill-influencer-marketing?autocomplete=true

 

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

HD, AI and Farming. Wait! What?

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Patricia

We are all deep into final projects at the moment. My team is doing Harley-Davidson so naturally the 4 of us are well-versed on just about anything HOG.

An article caught my eye today. It was about the 4th Industrial Revolution and advanced tech. The word “robotics” in my mind typically relates to manufacturing; machines doing repetitive or dangerous work to maximize efficiency. I did not understand robotics could also be used in marketing. Until now!

The article says 84% of marketing organizations this year are already using or are expanding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine earning. Of the places that use this technology, 75% saw an increase in consumer satisfaction, another 75% saw a 10% increase in sales (Columbus, 2018), and a better customer experience is a big benefit to any company.

AI can also help businesses decide on the most efficient marketing mix. AI will independently decide which customers get which ad in which colors on which platform for optimum results (Marr, 2018).

Amazing, right?

So if everyone is using machine learning, then who is using machine learning?

Harley-Davidson.

One dealership in New York increased leads for possible sales over 2900% (Marr, 2018) which lead to near-double number of bikes sold at a yearly promotion. The program is named “Albert”  and Albert can use performance indicators to find new audiences Harley didn’t know were available (Marr, 2018). Albert also surfaced which platforms worked the best and over a six-month period 40% of sales were attributed to the program (Marr, 2018).

In keeping with trying to understand the concepts we are learning about by making them personal, I wondered if it could be used in agriculture. Can Albert keep up the pace? Will this work B2B? Is it expensive? How long will it take to pay for itself? Those are still unanswered.

Farming has been a little unchanged until recently (with the massive California increase in minimum wage and severe reductions in allocated water). It’s about people, tractors, and dirt. You get the picture. AI has been used to guide tractors when furrowing for maximum efficiency (there’s that word again!) but a whole new world just opened up for different ways of marketing our crops.

And I got the info because of an assignment about Harley-Davidson.

Columbus, L. (2018, February 25). 10 ways machine learning is revolutionizing marketing. Forbes. Retrieved from: https:forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2018/02/25/10-ways-machine-learning-is-revolutionizing-marketing/#596249a65bbc

Marr, B. (2018, July 3). How Harley Davidson is using AI and robots to prepare for 4th industrial revolution. Forbes. Retrieved fromhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/07/03/how-harley-davidson-is-using-ai-and-robots-to-prepare-for-the-4th-industrial-revolution/#2d5ad46e5271

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The sweet smell of marketing narrative

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Beth

The other day on the long trip home from school, my daughters (10, 10 and 12) were comparing notes on writing personal narratives. They had all been assigned one in each of their classes. One of my twins, Clara, wanted to know what would make her paper stand out (this is a constant theme in our house).

I suggested they should include all five senses – descriptions of what they saw, heard, felt, tasted and smelled. Smell is the most nostalgic of the senses, so be sure to include it, I told them.

Again, as is often the case in our house, they let me know they already knew this.

And while we all know it too, I still have to remind myself of this basic tenet of writing nearly every time I sit down at the computer. That’s why when an AdAge article popped up on Pillsbury’s latest marketing maneuver, I jumped a little. Brilliant! Pillsbury employed the most nostalgic sense to pump their brand of cinnamon rolls into movie theaters. Literally.

The Pillsbury ad played in 25 theaters before the movie “The Grinch” started along with perfectly timed puffs of cinnamon roll smell. The scent was designed to evoke nostalgia – memories of baking Pillsbury’s refrigerated dough cinnamon rolls with mom – at Christmas time (AdAge.com, 2018).

General Mills-owned Pillsbury is taking the nostalgia-scent link to the pages of Better Homes and Gardens and Parents magazine as well with scratch-and-sniff ads. I can’t imagine that’s as effective as the movie trick, yet the attempt at integrating and extending the campaign is impressive.

In fact, the entire idea can be thought of as an extension of transmedia narrative, which is basically a way to move storytelling through different mediums. This usually means using different vehicles to keep a storyline advancing such as movies, social media, comic books, etc. Until I read the Pillsbury story, I hadn’t thought of extending the narrative beyond using different mediums.

What if we extended it using all kinds of ways to transport consumers? What if we thought of the storytelling process beyond “traditional” digital and print mediums and relied on what my daughters already apparently know and I have to remind myself of every time I write? The five senses? The possibilities are as endless in marketing as they are in writing.

AdAge.com (2018, December 5). Pillsbury pumps cinnamon roll smells into movie theaters. AdAge. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/pillsbury-pump-cinnamon-roll-smells-movie-theaters/315892/

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments