Joe Smith
Special to The Record
In marketing today many companies are using social media influencers as part of their strategy. An influencer is someone like the Kardashians or other high profile personalities who have a following on social media and will promote your product or service.
Why has this form of marketing become so important? Some research reports indicate that over 80% of buyers consider on-line reviews to be very influential in making decisions. Others have shown that up to 90% of consumers have faith and trust in what they consider to be peer recommendations.
This kind of thinking is not something new. There was a 1940 study by Paul Lazarfeld and Elihu Katz that claimed the majority of people are influenced by second hand information and opinion leaders. Today everyone in business also knows the value of word of mouth advertising.
The end result is like the proverbial perfect storm. With the need to connect with customers on a more personal level and the rise of social media they’ve come together in one giant communications’ maelstrom.
Before jumping on the influencer bandwagon there are some questions and issues that you need to be aware of.
First of all you need to understand which influencers will be the right ones to convey your message. Do they resonate with the people who buy your products or services? What kind of reach do they have in terms of numbers? Are they relevant to your brand?
One thing to keep in mind is that they do not have to reach huge audiences with hundreds of thousands of followers. Sometimes those that have just a few thousand can more efficiently and effectively reach your target group.
On the other side of the coin is the growing concern by government and regulating bodies such as Advertising Standards Canada that say stronger guidelines need to be made and enforced to ensure consumers understand this form of marketing is in reality paid advertising.
In the USA the Federal Trade Commission requires full disclosure and is tightening up the guidelines. On social media platforms influencers will need to include identifying hashtags such as #ad or #sponsored ad.
In Canada lack of disclosure can have huge consequences. One major company found this out in 2015 when they were fined $1.2 million for failing to disclose that many online reviews were written by company employees.
The bottom line here is that while influencer marketing can have positive results you need to ensure it is transparent, ethical and above all believable.
Joe Smith is a communications consultant and an accomplished fine artist. He can be reached via email at joesmith@shaw.ca