August 15, 2019 3:14 pm
Published by Murray Legg
Brands and their agencies venturing into the influencer marketing space often make the first fatal mistake, in believing that they’re the hero in the online story. Influencers are storytellers, and in the stories they tell, they’re the superhero – understated or not. Where brands play a meaningful role in the online space is as a supporting role to the influencer. Every brand’s value proposition should talk about how they “enable the transformation” of their customer – in other words, making the customer (and influencer) the hero.
Trevor Noah on Instagram: “When life closes a door…. grab a drill and pop that $%*T off the hinges! 🙌🏾”
This week’s example is DeWALT power tools. Trevor Noah is our hero, but their electric drill empowers him to do even more amazing things. Consider the alternative, if Trevor posted the picture of the drill and the same caption, without his symbolic stance of dominance, how much less impact the image would have?
Influencers live and die by their audiences, so they understand their truths, and you can trust them to position your brand or product as their leverage to do more.
Be their Robin, dont try and be Batman.
To access ten thousand superhero creators and influencers, create an account here.
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June 12, 2019 8:28 am
Published by Mikyron Padayachee
Cookbooks, chefs, food artists, cocktail makers and more. Food and drink influencers share recipes and cooking tips which their audience loves. Whether you are a health-conscious vegan or looking for the latest fast food joints, there is a food and drink influencer for you to follow.
Food and drink influencers have become so popular that many of them are writing their own cookbooks and collaborating with food and drink brands to bring audiences new and unique ideas for the kitchen.
Below are some of the top food and drink influencers on Webfluential that will whet your appetite.
London-based Italian Andrea Soranidis is The Petite Cook! The blog documents her foodie life and kitchen experiments, which began after she finished working as a marketing manager for a recipe app. All the recipes on The Petite Cook are created by herself and even though she is not a trained chef, she has worked in the Michelin-restaurant business. Andrea has also been recently starring in a CNN short-movie on a popular Michelin-restaurant in Japan.
Gabrielle is the founder and creator of www.EatDrinkShrink.com. She is a private yoga instructor, vegan chef, recipe developer, MS Nutritionist, and future cookbook author. Since the inception of Eat Drink Shrink in 2012, Gabrielle has had the pleasure of collaborating with upwards of 500 companies.
Pasquale Cozzolino is the Chef Executive and owner of Ribalta Pizza Restaurant in New York City and the inventor of The Pizza Diet which helped him in losing 100 pounds eating pizza every day and in demonstrating the Authenticity of the real Neapolitan Pizza. His success story has gone around the globe and his Pizza Diet has also been included in the top 10 most Googled diets of 2016.His Instagram profile has the aim to boost awareness around the Neapolitan and Italian cuisine promoting the best Italian culinary products.
The Healthy Voyager, aka Carolyn Scott-Hamilton, is the creator and host of The Healthy Voyager web series, site, and overall brand. An award-winning healthy, special diet and green living and travel expert, holistic nutritionist, plant based vegan chef, best-selling cookbook author, media spokesperson, sought after speaker, consultant, and television personality, Carolyn Scott-Hamilton is a respected figure in the world of healthy lifestyle and travel as well as special diet cooking and nutrition. The Healthy Voyager aims to help people live well, one veggie at a time!
Chef Benny is an executive Chef, foodie, traveler, TV personality, radio show host and a judge on anything food & beverage in South Africa including MasterchefSA & Ultimate Braai Master.
Start collaborating with food and drink influencers here.
Are you an influencer? Sign-up to Webfluential here.
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January 30, 2019 9:48 am
Published by Mikyron Padayachee
2018 saw the rise of virtual influencers. The subject of Virtual Influencers has rocked the influencer landscape leaving both marketers and influencers a bit confused. What is a virtual influencer? Are Virtual Influencers a fad or are they here to stay? How will Virtual Influencers affect me?
In 2018 the demand for influencer marketing increased significantly. The World Federation of Advertisers reported that 65% of marketers are looking to scale their use of influencers in the next 12 months. While the influencer industry has risen, so have the machines! With audiences in the millions, some virtual influencers have already collaborated with heavyweight brands like Prada and Gucci.
What is a virtual influencer?
A virtual influencer is a computer-generated avatar that uses artificial intelligence to operate on social media channels in the same way a human influencer would. Much like a human influencer, virtual influencers can gain popularity and collaborate with brands who want to use their influence to communicate the brand’s story with an audience. One of the most popular virtual Influencers is Lil Miquela, a “19 year old” computer generated model with over 1.5 million Instagram followers. Miquela has worked with fashion brands Prada and Channel. Another example of a virtual influencer is Shundu, the world’s first digital supermodel. Shundu collaborated with Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty lipstick. The collaboration went viral.
Human influencers come and go, however, IP lives forever
Human influencers have a ceiling to their potential. Virtual IP has almost unlimited potential. There are companies such as SuperPlastic, a designer toy company turned digital agency for virtual influencers, who are exploring possibilities of using AI and technology platforms to revolutionize entertainment and social media. They can do this by creating interactive games and using trends created by virtual influencer to influence a certain way of life.
The company behind virtual influencer Lil Miquela, Brud, is now worth at least $125 million after a new round of financing the company is currently closing. Investors are backing virtual influencer companies mainly because they are creating content that is free from the personalities and scandals that has defined a generation of social media stars.
Fad or are we living in an episode of Black Mirror?
For the foreseeable future, virtual influencers are not going anywhere. The success of virtual influencers like Lil Miquela and the incredible amount of venture capital that is being invested in virtual influencer companies means that we should all be prepared to see many more virtual influencers on our timelines. While virtual influencers may be fake, their audiences are real. According to managing director of Kantar, Gagan Bhalla, “What matters is not whether something exists or not, rather how creatively can a story be built around it – take Marvel or DC superheroes. They don’t exist, yet movies based on them are huge box-office grossers.”
What does this all mean for human influencers?
Human stories that are aspirational and inspirational will always be relevant. Brands will still want their stories to be associated with human stories that are in line with their identity and vision. After all, it is humans who will be buying their products. With this being said, more than ever, human influencers have a huge responsibility to uphold an appropriate image and follow FTC guidelines at all times while creating content that is engaging and authentic. As an influencer, you are now not only competing with other humans but also with technology.
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