Chapter 1: The State of Influencer Marketing

Aaron Rabinovits

Director, Digital Experience at Mosaic North America

April 3, 2024

Within my role at Mosaic North America, I am lucky enough to help brands navigate their digital marketing landscape, and help bring their ideas to life using a variety of digital tactics. Over the years, that's led to a high volume of thoughts trapped inside my head or closed within the confines of our (both virtual and in-person) office doors. What better way to release my opinions and thinking than through LinkedIn articles.

I want to start with providing a bit of background on this series before diving in.

We live in a world filled with resources to understand digital marketing as a whole as well as the intricacies within it. We hear voices and read words that consistently tell us whether we are right or wrong and ensure we feel a certain way when we're not doing what we're told is the right way to do something.

I wanted to do the opposite.

I want to be that voice that comes in and tells you that there is never one solution. I want to be that voice that reassures your opinions and highlights the importance of developing and creating your own perspective. I want to help you trust your thinking.

And that's the driving force behind my intentions to start this series. What better way to convince other marketing professionals to share their opinions then, start a series focused on just that - my opinion.

The State of Influencer Marketing

I wanted to start with the state of influencer marketing. For context, influencer marketing has been a primarily pillar of my work life for the past seven years. I've seen it grow, I've seen it ridiculed - heck, I've seen the term "deinfluencing" get coined on a platform that has created more influencer profiles than any other in the past.

It's safe to say that the current state of influencer marketing can be summed up in one childish word - weird.

On one side, you have marketers who are completely against using influencers as a tactic. It's understandable. Tacking on #sponsored or #ad hashtags to posts can immediately decrease impressions on a post and give off somewhat of a different vibe than the typical post a content creator shares.

There's also the bit about it being a saturated market. Fair point. Everyone is an influencer now a days, to a certain extent. If they're not, they want to be one. The gratifying feeling that comes with an abundance of likes on a post is relatively unmatched. You also get paid to post, so, not bad, right? How can a brand know that they've contracted the right influencer, to speak to the right audience, at the right time? There's almost no way to know until it's too late.

Lastly, there's lack of a guarantee on your spend. Paid media - whether it's display, search or social, provides you with a guarantee - clicks, views, downloads, etc. - you know it's going to reach a targeted group who will complete the action you want them to complete. Organic influencer content does not make that same promise. TikTok doesn't guarantee video views, Instagram doesn't guarantee link clicks, and so on and so forth. So is it worth putting my dollars into that bucket?

That's when we look at the other side.

There are marketers who realize that influencers reach an audience that trusts them, their recommendations and their opinions. They realize that working with someone who can authentically reach potential consumers can elevate their brand.

Influencers are influencers for a reason. They influence.

They have an audience that follow them for a reason, and working with them gives you the opportunity to present your brand to them. They extend your reach to a group of people who are willing to listen. They have faith that said influencer would only work with a brand that could - in some way - have a positive impact on their lives as well.

They are more purchase ready. It's difficult to push someone to purchase off a display ad or an organic brand social post. Influencers on the other hand can display your product in use. They can show it's value in a way that any other tactic cannot. Their audience can see that and make a more immediate decision on whether or not to purchase and/or engage with your campaign.

Their audience comes in with a predetermined level of trust other media tactics don't necessarily have. It's up to the influencer themself to create content that resonates with their audience while staying authentic to their brand. Ultimately, that's what you pay them for.

If you're looking for my recommendation on whether or not to include influencers in your marketing campaign. The short answer is yes.

Just make sure you consider a few key pieces.

1. Don't diminish the value of micro-influencers.Beyond being more affordable, micro-influencers are still working with a much more engaged audience. Brand partnerships are more important to them then ever and you'll see a level with care that is sometimes lost with more macro influencers.
2. Incentivize your content. It may seem like the cheap way out, but the truth of the matter is that influencer content paired with a giveaway or a product discount code reaches a much larger audience. Sure, there may be some drop off at the end of the campaign, but the audience that sticks around afterwards are your most qualified.
3. Don't write copy for your influencer. It's fair to be concerned with key messaging being relayed properly, but that's nothing that an extensive brief won't solve. Ensure you give influencers the ability to craft copy in their own voice to ensure it stays authentic and resonates well with their audience.
4. Amplify influencer content.Paid marketing does wonders. I spoke about it above. Instead of making the choice between influencer or paid media - combine the two. It adds a level of personality to your brand and is more digestible for an audience that's just starting to learn about your brand.
5. If you're driving to sale, use influencers for awareness and education, not conversion.This is especially true for higher priced products. Don't go in with the expectation that their audience will pull the trigger on a purchase just because an influencer said so. Influencer content is out there to generate awareness to audience that doesn't know about, educate an audience that's learning about you and keeping your brand top of mind.
6. Create partnerships and relationships.It's not just about paying an influencer to post. You want to ensure, as much as you're finding the right influencer for your brand, that you are the right brand for that influencer. This is what will generate the most authentic content that will ultimately stick with the most qualified audience.

At the end of the day, influencer marketing isn't going anywhere. If anything it's going to grow. With consistent advancements in social media, the space is only going to develop.

It's important to embrace it, rather than push away from it. As a brand, develop and nurture relationships with content creators now before it's too late.