July 20, 2016 7:50 am
Published by Kirsty Sharman
We’ve written a number of articles before highlighting the importance of Influencer Marketing and why more brands and marketers should care and start taking notice. This is starting to take shape with more established entities who are realizing the advantage that lies in collaborating with influencers to reach the right audience instead of sticking to the old tried and trusted means of advertising.
A perfect example of this comes in the shape of Unilever’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (CMO), Keith Weed who, according to a blog post on JWT, spoke about “The Future of Brands” in his keynote address at Cannes Lions 2016. In the talk, Weed spoke about how consumers engage brands that challenge stereotypes and address issues of environmental and social responsibility with a specific look at the typical stereotypical portrayal of women in advertisements:
“We need to find a different way of representing beauty and move to a much more enjoyable, non-critical perspective in reflecting women and how they are in everyday life.” – Keith Weed.
In the same talk he stressed the importance of how brands need to start moving away from these (usual) stereotypes and be more progressive by challenging the status quo in their advertising campaigns. The same post goes on to highlight Weed stating two approaches as being the best representations for the future of brands, namely:
- I: Individuals/influencers/impacts
- N: exponentially raising the power of the I’s
“It’s no longer enough for advertisements to speak to a certain age cohort or demographic – they must target individuals.”
“One of the best ways to reach individuals is through influencers and brand ambassadors. Weed explained how campaigns can be magnified by identifying “what people are talking about and who the power influencers are.” Unilever used supermodel Kendall Jenner to promote the launch of Magnum Double last year in Cannes. According to the company’s research, purchase intent goes up 5.2 times if campaigns use influencers, like celebrities.”
Read more on J. Walter Thomson Worldwide.
Webfluential’s Account and Content Manager, Thabiso Moloi, originally wrote this piece for BizCommunity. You can view the original article here.
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July 18, 2016 2:30 pm
Published by Kirsty Sharman
Just how authentic is sponsored content? With influencer marketing now a regular part of many brands’ digital spend, the question of authenticity still pops up.
Some marketing experts argue that the very act of paying an influencer means the content they create for a campaign is compromised. And by compromised, they mean it’s lost its authenticity and the influencer’s audience knows it.
The problem with this argument about the transaction between brand and influencer is focused on the wrong end-product. When you pay an influencer, you’re not paying them for their opinion. You are paying them for their content.
Webfluential’s Business Relationship Manager, Samantha Wright, wrote an insightful piece on this topic last year for BizCommunity.com. If you’re still on the fence about the authenticity of influencer marketing you should read the article.
In the great authenticity debate in influencer marketing, remember these factors:
- When money changes hands a contract comes into play. You can hold the influencer to certain deliverables and require that they produce results; they’ve entered into a formal business agreement, after all.
- Once an influencer aligns with your brand, they’re unable to work with the competition as their audience already associates them with car brand A or beauty brand B.
- Creating content costs money. Influencers, no matter how much they love your brand, do have to eat.
That’s the heart of this argument. Influencers create unique, one-of-a-kind content and then share it with an audience they’ve painstakingly won over. They invest time, money and creative into this process. It makes sense that they charge for their work, helping you deliver the perfect custom-made message to your target market.
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July 15, 2016 10:00 am
Published by Kirsty Sharman
We score our influencers according to their reach, relevance and resonance. In this month’s showcase, we’re focusing on influencers that resonate!
What does that mean? Nielsen suggests that the success of a campaign doesn’t just rely on reaching the right audience. The brand’s message needs to also resonate with them.
Resonance is the ability to “influence an audience’s attitude, affect their inclination to buy or provoke another desired action.”
In other words, when these influencers talk, their followers really listen.
At Webfluential we use our tracking tools that were developed in-house to accurately report on the success of influencer campaigns. Using our technology, we can easily pick out which influencers score the highest resonance with their audience.
Looking at last month’s campaigns, here are the Webfluential influencers who not only reach a large audience but also clinch high resonance scores with their creative content.
Aby Moore – You Baby Me Mummy
Aby Moore is an award-winning blogger. This mummy of one is addicted to blogging and gives readers insight to her parenting techniques, lifestyle and love for photography. While she’s extremely passionate about baking she despises cooking. “I love baking, not cooking – can’t boil an egg without breaking out in a sweat.”
Have a look at her blog You Baby Me Mummy.
Aisha Mchumo – My Fro and I
Aisha Mchumo is a South African beauty blogger that created My Fro and I.
On her blog you will find tips and tutorials on everything from her hair routine, 30 different updos and hair accessories as well as product reviews on various beauty products. Click here to have a look at her blog and be inspired by her work.
Shan Vijendranath – You, Baby and I
Shan Vijendranath is the creator of parenting, lifestyle and travel blog You, Baby and I. This mother of two shares all her parenting tips and tricks, including what brands she trusts when it comes to taking care of her little ones. Despite often being sleep-deprived Shan also manages to do quite a bit of traveling and connects with her audience by sharing personal stories and always expressing her gratitude to them for being so supportive.
Influencers, to stand a chance to be featured in our next showcase Tweet us your media kit. Don’t have one yet? Login to your profile and click My Media Kit on the left to start putting yours together!
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