The Power and Shortcomings of Influencer Marketing at Scale

Jul 12, 2019

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David Armano, Global Strategy Director at Edelman, joins Social Pros to discuss the relationship between word of mouth and influencer marketing.

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Consumers Trust Influencers

Did you know that 63% of consumers trust influencers about brands more than they trust brands about brands? This has got to be one of the most undeniable proof points for the viability of peer to peer influence. Yet, so many brands still shy away from influencer marketing.

The truth is that consumers are more likely to believe what they hear about a brand via word of mouth than what the brand says about themselves. Consumers listen to influencers because they trust them, and they’re entertained by them in some way. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in the influencer space.

As David Armano cautions, the influencer marketing space has a lot of rampant fraud. Yes, brands can leverage influencers to get in front of the right audiences. But, technologies also have the power to drive fake followers and engagement using bot farms, which can damage the authenticity of the results.

In This Episode:

06:08 – How Edelman structures their social digital team

08:34 – How social campaigns have evolved over the last decade

15:36 – How much testing and experimentation brands should do in social digital

20:17 – How Edelman’s Trust Barometer works

25:07 – The relationship between influencer marketing and word of mouth

29:28 – How to assess whether a spokesperson is suitable for a brand promotion

35:48 – How issues in crisis communication has changed in the era of social

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