How to Incorporate Influencers into Your Marketing Strategy
Aug 21, 2024
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Emily Hund, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania and author of *The Influencer Industry*, dives into the evolution of influencer marketing. She reveals how economic challenges birthed this new career path and offers insights on finding the right influencers for brands. Hund emphasizes the value of long-term relationships over one-off campaigns. Discover effective strategies for small businesses, explore the rise of organic influencers, and learn how transparency in deals can transform brand-influencer dynamics.
The influencer industry emerged from the Great Recession, enabling creatives to innovate and build personal brands through social media.
Fostering long-term relationships with authentic influencers can yield better marketing results compared to one-time engagements or celebrity endorsements.
Deep dives
Origins and Evolution of Influencers
The influencer industry originated during the Great Recession when many creatives faced job losses and turned to emerging social media platforms for new career opportunities. This shift allowed individuals, particularly women in fields like fashion and beauty, to build personal brands and engage audiences by sharing their authentic experiences. As social media expanded, these early influencers attracted the attention of advertisers who quickly recognized their potential to sway consumer behavior through sponsored content. Consequently, the influencer landscape evolved into a complex ecosystem worth billions, driven by both established and aspiring content creators.
Navigating Authenticity and Monetization
Influencers today face the challenge of maintaining authenticity while meeting the expectations of advertisers and audiences, especially in a saturated market. Earlier success often relied on genuine self-expression, allowing influencers to cultivate loyal followings; however, as the field became crowded, this authenticity has been harder to achieve. Many influencers find themselves caught between their personal interests, audience desires, and the commercial pressures from brands, making it difficult to stand out. For example, a successful pet-focused influencer has managed to grow a business while maintaining authenticity by integrating product endorsements organically into the content.
The Role of Marketing Agencies and Consumer Engagement
Marketing agencies play a pivotal role in the influencer ecosystem, facilitating connections between brands and influencers while also navigating the complexities of influencer evaluation and compensation. Companies often leverage these agencies’ databases to find suitable influencers but lack transparency about how deals are negotiated, leading to inconsistencies in compensation. Small businesses especially benefit from cultivating long-term relationships with authentic influencers rather than pursuing high-profile celebrity endorsements. Consumers are encouraged to engage critically with influencer content, recognizing the various pressures that shape it and the underlying efforts to monetize their experiences.
Online influencers are an increasingly important way for companies to find new customers and drive sales. But if you’re a marketer hoping to target consumers, it’s important to understand how the social media industry works.
In this episode, Emily Hund, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, explains that influencers grew out of Great Recession-era job cuts that forced people in creative fields to innovate.
She offers advice for brands developing influencer marketing strategies. You’ll learn how to find the right influencer for your brand and how to measure success. Hund recommends starting with a small experiment to get familiar with the process before making a larger investment. You’ll also learn why longer-term creative relationships with influencers can produce stronger results than one-off endorsements.
Key episode topics include: strategy, social media, entrepreneurship, social marketing, customer strategy, influencer marketing.
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