Team AdfluenceTraditional marketers have used up a lot of ink writing cautionary tales about a new marketing trend – influencer marketing. And its popularity has opened it up to a hoard of myths and misconceptions that are currently doing the rounds of the industry.
For instance, haven’t you heard people say that brands who embrace this newfangled fad are placing their reputation in the hands of amateurs? Or that collaborating with influencers means relinquishing creative control over the communication being put out? Or even that results of an influencer marketing campaign can’t be measured and you’re just throwing good money after bad?
The only thing we can say to you is this: Don’t believe everything you hear or read. Trying out a new marketing strategy can be intimidating for brands, especially when there’s conflicting information about what works and what doesn’t. And, understandably, myths and misconceptions that float around do little to bolster confidence. The only way to beat skepticism is by separating fact from fiction, and that’s what we intend to do in this article – all in the interest of giving influencer marketing its due credit.
Myth: Why try new strategies when the old ones work fine?
Truth: Influencers outperform the existing marketing strategies and deliver measurable results.
Most marketing veterans believe old is gold. They prefer to stick to the tried and tested traditional marketing strategies, dismissing influencer marketing as a trend that will die out very soon.
Here’s an eye opener for them (and you): Consumers are becoming immune to traditional styles of marketing. 47% of online users have ad blockers (There goes your interesting commercial!), and even if your current marketing strategy is working perfectly, adding influencer marketing into the mix really pays.
Don’t believe us? Here are the numbers. Studies show that influencer marketing boosts brand awareness by 86% and improve brand advocacy by 69%. Influencers are your best bet to reach targeted or new audiences.
Imagine five influencers with a collective following of 20 million. Even if every influencer posts only once and reaches only half of their audience, it still delivers 10 million unique impressions. Whereas, during a study conducted by Collective Bias, it was revealed that digital ads (4.5%), print ads (4.7%), and TV ads (7.4%) were the least influential marketing channels of all.
As you can see, those numbers are quite impressive and hard to match, especially when you stack them against traditional marketing.
Myth: When selecting influencers to partner with, all you need to look at are the number of subscribers or followers they have.
Truth: It’s the engagement with the audience that matters.
When it comes to influencer marketing, a lot of brands base their partnerships on the number of followers an influencer has. However, a large following doesn’t necessarily translate into an engaged audience. And you have to take several factors into account when making a pick.
Unlike traditional advertising, you cannot have one influencer endorsing everything from shampoos and juices to shoes and bedsheets. Instead, it makes more sense to work with an influencer who posts about the topic relevant to your industry and has a loyal audience.
Let’s take Bani J, the Indian beauty as an example. With almost 1 million Instagram followers, the influencer has a vast audience to tap into. But if your brand operates only in UAE, her predominantly Indian followers aren’t a part of your target audience. Apart from that, her role as a fashion and a fitness influencer mainly attracts a similar audience. Now, even a large audience like hers would not be interested in sponsored posts about real estate or construction. Therefore, as brands, rather than taking into account followers alone, focus more on factors like engagements, impressions, relevance, influence, and more.
Myth: During a partnership with an influencer, brands must cede all creative control to the content creator
Truth: Brands and influencers must work hand in hand. Results suffer when there is a misalignment. So brand should not force content direction.
The general perception about influencer marketing is that it comes with loss of control. Brands assume that they have to pass the power over to the influencer. But that’s not true. Yes, you need to give influencers their creative freedom, because they know what they are doing. But once an influencer is on board, they take the briefs presented by the brand and work accordingly. They adapt to the brand’s guideline and create content adhering to them. Worried about losing the brand’s voice in process? Don’t! Influencers make sure that all the communication that goes out is in sync with brand’s persona.
Influencers may not be advertising professionals with degree from a reputed institute, but they have capabilities, not to mention the reach and engagement, that your brand lacks. Research shows that the credibility of a peer endorser depends on factors like trustworthiness, attractiveness, expertise and reliability. Influencers invest their time and effort honing their skills, testing and retesting the type of content that works best for their audience and establishing a loyal customer base. Therefore, it’s only logical for brands to make use of this fountain of knowledge by hiring influencers to produce content for them.
As you can see, no one person is calling the shots in this scenario. In fact, the only way for both parties to gain is to work together. Both influencer and the brand should work together towards a common goal, i.e. to reach the target audience and boost the online presence of the brand.
Myth: It’s difficult to measure ROI with influencer marketing
Truth: Campaign metrics inform not only the ROI, they also inform future projects as well.
In the highly measurable world of social media, marketers often fail to define their influencer marketing KPIs, leading to misconceptions like ‘Influencer marketing can’t be measured’. In fact, what most marketers don’t know is that measuring ROI lies at the heart of every successful influencer campaign.
As a brand, start by analyzing metrics of all types, including engagements, comments, likes, retweets, shares, content views, and clicks. Once these metrics have been defined, pick out two to three specific key performance indicators and follow their growth over time rather than keeping track of heaps of irrelevant data.
Myth – There’s no need to pay influencers, they work on a barter system.
Truth – Some influencers do expect monetary compensation.
Not all influencers are made equal. While some are okay with mentions and giveaways, others might want more tangible options like monetary compensations. Shocked? Well, the first step in wrapping your head around the compensation side of the influencer marketing equation is understanding that a good influencer adds value to your organization. Just like other marketing professionals, influencers work hard and they expect to be paid for their expertise and skill.
However, that said, money is not the most important part of this arrangement. No matter how much a brand offers, if the collaboration isn’t suitable for the influencer’s audience, he or she won’t accept the offer. So, to ensure a mutually beneficial partnership, target influencers whose expertise, values, interests, and audience align with what you have in mind.
Influencer marketing is notoriously dynamic and always changing, but, it is also the most influential advertising channel these days. We’d strongly recommend that you consider adding it to your marketing and branding strategy and don’t let misconceptions keep you from tapping into its potential.
