Over the past few years, the rise of influencer marketing — advertising products with the help of individuals with large online followings — has changed the way internet marketing works. The trend also reflects a pivot toward more organic-feeling marketing techniques suited to the internet age. 

Now, big names in internet marketing are looking for ways to create and control new influencer marketing platforms and solutions. Tech giant Amazon has a plan to shape the future of influencer marketing — and internet marketers will want to know all about it.

How traditional influencer marketing works

While influencer marketing has become a hot topic in the past few years, it’s nothing new. Before the internet, influencers were almost always celebrities and authority figures.

Now, influencers are most often people with large online followings on platforms like YouTube and Instagram that have built a trustworthy reputation with their audiences. These influencers can be authority figures, vloggers, content creators or anyone who has an established relationship with a large group of people.

Some of the biggest can be mega-influencers, who have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers. Some are micro- and nano-influencers, who have closer to 1,000 followers and may have a more intimate relationship with their audience.

Influencer marketing has made such a splash recently because marketers have discovered it can be an excellent way to reach younger audiences, who are some of the least responsive to traditional marketing techniques. Younger audiences are also almost always online and tend to trust online influencers more than older generations. 

Marketers reach out to influencers who have an existing relationship with the audience that they’re trying to target. The marketers then work with these influencers, who promote a good or service — by using it on their show, writing a review, shouting it out and so on. Sometimes the product is contextually relevant — kitchenware brands may work with food bloggers and online cooking shows, while cosmetics and skincare brands may reach out to YouTube beauty gurus — other times, marketers are looking for a broad audience.

Influencer marketing usually emphasizes values such as honesty and authenticity. Instead of creating ads that look and feel like ads, it’s a subtler approach.

More recently, the rise of social media platforms that allow for streaming and frequent, bite-sized pieces of content — like Instagram, YouTube and Amazon’s video game streaming platform Twitch — has made it both easier for anyone to become an influencer and more natural for audiences to stay in frequent contact with the influencers. Streamers and influencers can invite audiences into their lives, broadcasting themselves for hours every day.

All this makes influencer marketing a powerful tool for brands wanting to reach audiences through the internet. Now, big names in internet marketing, like Amazon, want to shape the future of influencer marketing.

Amazon opens new avenues of influencer marketing

In 2017, Amazon rolled out its new Influencer Program. The program is akin to Amazon’s existing affiliate program, which allowed anyone to promote a product and receive a commission for every purchase.

The new program goes further and allows influencers to curate a storefront of products. As with the affiliate program, influencers receive a commission for every sale.

The move came three years after Amazon’s purchase of streaming platform Twitch, and likely signals that the company is looking for ways to use its e-commerce infrastructure to create an influencer marketing platform.

While the program has been a success for some influencers, it’s still not clear how it might change influencer marketing, even two years on. The program is an obvious win for influencers — who earn a commission off sold products and can benefit from Amazon’s massive storefront — and Amazon. Whether or not it’s improving influencer marketing for brands is less clear.  

The program does streamline some of the logistics behind influencer marketing — no need to manage affiliate links or commission payments — but also takes some control away from brands. In some cases, brands may benefit from the influencers promoting their products, even if they have no existing relationship with an influencer. 

The program can also help marketers identify which influencers they should build relationships with. Because only influencers with sizable enough followings receive invitations to participate in the program, marketers can also be somewhat sure that influencers with storefronts have a significant audience. 

Brands wanting to take advantage of Amazon’s influencer program can also use many of the same strategies that work with traditional influencer marketing. 

At the same time, brands that already have established online storefronts may need to be prepared to shuffle some of their traffic to Amazon.

Will Amazon change influencer marketing?

The rise of the internet and streaming platforms has made influencer marketing a powerful tool for brands — which is why big names in internet marketing are creating programs to take advantage of the trend.

Amazon’s new influencer marketing program may change the way influencers connect with marketers. These new influencer storefronts more clearly delineate between sponsored and non-sponsored content. In the future, other online e-commerce platforms may follow Amazon’s lead — soon, it may be more standard for influencers to curate digital storefronts where they advertise products on behalf of marketers.

The post What is Amazon Influencer Marketing, and Why is it Important? appeared first on PerformanceIN.

When you think of social media influencers, celebrities and star athletes might come to mind. However, an influencer is anyone with a substantial following on social media. They have the power to influence other people’s perceptions and decisions. 

Brands study three key attributes when deciding who to partner with:

• Reach: The number of followers a person has
• Credibility: The person’s perceived knowledge or authority on a topic
• Tact: The person’s ability to convince others of a particular point of view

Influencer marketing is a way for modern brands to reach their target audience. When done right, it can earn a great deal of success. However, purchasing content can be pricey.

Influencer marketing has grown in popularity, with companies investing up to $100,000 on a single campaign. To stretch this investment, many repurpose content. According to one survey, 83% of marketers reuse influencer content on social media. Others repackage content for digital and programmatic advertising. 

There’s nothing wrong with repurposing content — brands do it all the time. However, with just one misstep, things can go horribly wrong.

A lost delete key 

The goal of influencer marketing is total authenticity. Brands should partner with a person likely to use their product or service — not just someone with a buzzworthy name. Ideally, the message should come straight from the poster. However, that’s not always the case.

In reality, a team of marketers carefully craft each message. Influencers follow a set of instructions on what to post and when. If done right, people are none the wiser. However, two celebs caught heat when they forgot to use the delete key.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell partnered up with Adidas to deliver a heartfelt message on Instagram. The post included a picture of Campbell with new shoes on each hand. Unfortunately, she forgot to delete the directions with a sample message of what to post, along with the specific name of the Adidas shoe line. 

Campbell is not alone. Scott Disick, from “Keeping up With the Kardashians,” made a similar mistake. Posed in the kitchen behind a jar of Bootea protein shake, he forgot to delete the instruction, “Here you go, at 4 pm est, write the below,” followed by a prewritten post on a supposed summer workout routine. 

A case of mistaken identity 

With today’s digital tools, marketers can’t help but spruce up repurposed influencer content with Photoshop. However, it’s crucial to refine photos in a measured way. Editing mistakes, such as something too perfect or fake-looking, will be pointed out immediately. 

Take Coach, which received plenty of feedback after releasing a bizarre influencer campaign with Selena Gomez. The star is posed in front of a city-scape, dressed to impress — but she’s barely recognisable.

Users shot back against the luxury brand, claiming Photoshop was an unnecessary enhancement, especially for an already-glamorous celebrity. One user commented, “Shame on @coach from perpetuating the thought that even the best of us are not good enough. THIS ISN’T REAL.”

Today’s consumers crave authenticity. Their radars go off at any content that looks promotional or fake. When repurposing influencer material, it’s crucial to consider how your message will sound to your audience. 

A venture into hostile territory

What happens when repurposing influencer content turns into copyright infringement? In the case of Kendall and Kylie Jenner’s Vintage Tee Collection, you get sued. The fashion-loving duo debuted the shirts online in 2017, featuring faces of artists like Biggie, Tupac, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and more. 

The Doors sent a cease-and-desist letter. Jeff Jampol, manager for the Jim Morrison estate, said, “This is a case of people who … are famous for being well-known but don’t actually do anything trying to utilise and steal and capitalise on the legacies of those who actually did…”

Voletta Wallace, the mother of The Notorious B.I.G., spoke out online. She claimed, “The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me.” She went on to say the act was disrespectful and exploitative. 

Families of the deceased weren’t the only ones upset — consumers thought the move was in bad taste, too. The sisters quickly pulled the line, followed by an Instagram apology. Still, the blunder lives on as a lesson in what not to do. You’re putting content out into the world. The least you can do is obtain the right to use it.

A doomed partnership

Authenticity is a primary theme in influencer marketing. Some of the biggest blunders arise when companies ignore rule No. 1 and choose an unlikely influencer. When EA decided to partner up with the frontman from Breaking Benjamin, Benjamin Burnley, it forgot to do its research.

EA asked the musician to post on social media about his love for the new “Star Wars Battlefront” game on Xbox 360. Though an admitted “Stars Wars” fan, Burnley had different ideas. 

Instead, he went online and told his followers about the offer. He went on to claim he hated the game, and even launched into a tirade on why it sucked, including poor pawn placement, overpowered weapons and a lack of reward system. To top it off, he posted his message with a photo of the game’s disc, broken into pieces. 

Marketers need to find influencers who genuinely love their products or services. Otherwise, it’s a recipe for disaster. At worst, the influencer will outright spurn your brand. At the very least, your audience will be able to see the post for what it is — an attempt to sell to them. 

A new type of encounter

We’ve all seen an unreadable hashtag. With a bunch of words shoved together, it can be hard to parse the true meaning. That problem came to light for Warburtons after their attempt to utilise influencer marketing.

The bakery firm launched a competition and invited customers to share photos of themselves eating a crumpet. Users had to include the hashtag “#crumpetcreations” for a chance to win VIP tickets to The Christmasaurus Live Shows. 

What Warburtons’ marketing team didn’t know was that its hashtag was already in use by another group — the furry community. In fact, @crumpetcreations is a 31-year-old woman and a furry enthusiast. Her costume is a goat named Crumpet, a name derived from a British friend. 

Warburtons took the mishap in stride, with a message that read “We will be doing a bit more research next time! We’ve changed the hashtag and the competition is still on.” They agreed that, while social media is a great place, it’s easy to get it wrong.

An attempt at deception

How do you craft an influencer campaign that captures attention? For most, the answer revolves around authentic and relevant content. Others, like the Chinese sneaker brand Kaiwei Ni, attempt deception. 

Back in 2017, the brand released an ad debuting its Black Friday sneaker sale. It was designed to trick users into believing a hair was on their phone screen. Instagram users accidentally swiped on the ad, trying to remove the hair, only to be directed to the company’s website. As you can imagine, this didn’t go over well with consumers. 

This type of scheming is also in violation of Instagram’s ad policies. Kaiwei Ni was barred from advertising on the platform, and its account was disabled. Worse, users assume the company practices deception in other aspects of the business as well.

Kaiwei Ni made the mistake of deceiving users for increased website traffic, and the strategy didn’t pay off. Today’s internet users are smart, wary of trickery and deals that are too good to be true. The best route to a successful influencer campaign is an authentic and honest message.

Influencer marketing: the good, the bad, the ugly

Influencer marketing is a crucial tool for marketers who want to reach their audience. However, many are too eager to repurpose material, relying on unlikely celebrity partnerships, stolen content and outright trickery. In the end, the masses always win.

Your audience will always be the first to point out your mistakes. When reusing influencer marketing, taking the wrong step could lead to online ridicule. Some can bounce back, such as the case of the mistaken crumpet. Others, however, can get sued into oblivion. 

Effective influencer marketing relies on the blend of promotion and authenticity. Brands need to establish a clear voice on social media, but they must toe the line between friendly advice and sales pitch. 

The post When Repurposing Influencer Content Goes Wrong appeared first on PerformanceIN.

TikTok — known as Douyin in the Chinese market where it got its start — is a social media platform for creating short-form videos of 15 seconds or less. The app also has a built-in video editor that allows people to add effects to increase the appeal of their content. If people intend to publish content on TikTok or market it, they must understand what resonates with viewers.

Succeeding could pay off in massive ways. According to an article published in 2019, TikTok has 500 million total users in 150 countries. It reached such an impressive level of popularity quickly, and the speed offers another reason for marketers and people involved in content production to investigate possibly distributing material through the app. 

TikTok can work well for many marketing strategies, but it’s not a miracle solution. Content professionals should keep the following five steps in mind before creating or moving forward with a TikTok campaign.

1. Find out if TikTok is relevant with your target audience

TikTok’s short-form videos are particularly popular with Gen Z. Users typically depend on TikTok to find or create humorous content that aligns with pop culture.

Before launching a TikTok strategy, marketers should ask themselves whether their intended approach is relevant to the younger demographic. If not, it may not be the right time to bring it to TikTok. Similarly, if lighthearted material doesn’t make sense for the brand’s tone and audience, publishing content on TikTok can backfire. 

2. Remember that the app is controversial

Despite the app’s widespread use, it’s under fire in some places, including India. There, the majority of millennials want it banned. They assert that TikTok gives minors access to inappropriate content, including pornography. In mid-April 2019, the app disappeared from app stores during legal proceedings regarding a possible ban.

A couple of weeks later, the Indian Supreme Court lifted the ban, but that’s likely not the end of problems for the app. Legislators in Indonesia have already made the app illegal. They’ve indicated that they may change their minds if TikTok gets more serious about content moderation, which is a need the app creators are trying to meet in some countries.

Tech companies must be aware of the controversy as they plan to use TikTok, especially if they’re marketing in particular countries. A ban could make thoughtful and successful content temporarily or permanently lose traction depending on the length and severity of a ban.

3. Consider the available advertising options

Compared to other social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat, TikTok offers relatively few advertising options. News coverage suggests that they may increase soon, but TikTok has not given a set timeline or even confirmed that it would dive deeper into advertising.

Some users report seeing traditional ads, such as one for a food delivery company, that appeared just after a person opened the app. Sources also believe that TikTok will roll out biddable ads in the coming months, which would allow marketers to bid against each other to win ad impressions on a managed platform.

4. Know the focus it will take to make engaging content

Sometimes it’s not possible to know what makes content go viral, but most successful TikTok content gains momentum when it’s original, fun and cool. The platform’s users don’t like material that appears as conventional ads. They want lighthearted stuff that matches the attitude shown by the platform at large.

Brand managers must plan on having the marketing budget and human resources to create content that aligns with the platform. If they have the dedication to figure out what works instead of just sticking to the content of an old playbook that worked for marketing on other platforms, they’ll have a higher likelihood of reaching new audiences with their material.

In one case of McDonald’s marketing in Malaysia via TikTok, the brand connected the content to their product by making TikTok clips where people danced to a Big-Mac-themed song called The Big Mac Chant individually or as groups. They then became eligible for cash prizes. Plus, because all entrants got a free Big Mac, the contest helped drive traffic into the fast-food brand’s locations. 

The above campaign illustrates how bringing a competitive element to the effort can drive engagement. A person’s peers can be excellent participation boosters. 

Since TikTok is relatively new, advertisers must also be comfortable with some trial and error. Some of the ideas they have at first may not gain traction, but it could still be possible to tweak them for success. Paying attention to what successful brands have already done is a good starting point. 

For now, one of the most effective advertising strategies is to partner with TikTok influencers. Many of them are teens, making them well-positioned to distribute content that people in their age group will likely love.

5. Determine whether TikTok’s most popular content suits your brand

Many of the most popular kinds of content on TikTok are music and dance-related or feature video effects. In the relatively recent past, TikTok merged with Musical.ly, so it’s not surprising that much of the content is music related. 
Marketers should evaluate whether their brands fit with what’s most common on TikTok. Conventional product placement videos or other widely used marketing methods may appear as lacking authenticity if they seem out of place. In one example that worked well, musician Patrick Martin promoted his “Cinema Love” single with a dedicated hashtag, TikTok’s “film reel” filter and a request for fans to post clips of things they loved. 

Content publishers cannot waste time when connecting with audiences on TikTok, and Martin’s agency figured out how to resonate with fans while supporting the song. Other successful creators and advertisers should strongly consider following that lead.

A departure from the usual

Content professionals must realize that they can’t just apply tried-and-true strategies when deciding whether to move to TikTok. They must understand how the marketing type works, which content is most popular and how other brands succeeded on the platform.

The post Five Things to Consider Before Taking Your Strategy to TikTok appeared first on PerformanceIN.