The Rise of Social Media Influencers

An essay on the increasing impact of social media influencers on digital marketing strategy

Introduction

Social media is a modern phenomenon. Via platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, social media has, in various ways, literally taken over the world.

It is estimated that Facebook currently has 2.2 billion registered users. Twitter has 326 million, Instagram one billion, and YouTube 1.8 billion.

That amounts to a staggering amount of people interacting with social media.

Not only that, the use is heavy.

Studies show the average person spends almost two hours a day on social media (1).

If you combine coverage and engagement, it is easy to see why social media has revolutionised marketing in general, but, of course, most especially digital marketing.

Companies of all sizes have implemented a social media strategy as part of their digital marketing campaigns. The reach is too extensive to ignore.

Having decided to devise a social media campaign, a company then has a myriad of options as to how best market their products/services on the platforms of their choosing.

One of these options is to hire the services of a Social Media Influencer (SMI).

What is a SMI? Basically, a SMI is a human being who has a substantial audience on one or more social media platforms. Not only that; to be considered influential by businesses, the SMI must have a large audience, but they also must have high levels of engagement statistics. Engagement is quantified by the number of people in their audience who like, share, comment, or subscribe when the SMI releases/publishes new social media content.

So, with the definition of an SMI in mind, this essay will now progress to discuss the impact of SMIs on digital marketing, and what the future looks like for this form of modern marketing.

Huge Impact and Rapid Rise

The impact of SMIs on digital marketing has been huge. In only three short years since arising as a valid digital marketing method, SMIs have experienced a rapid rise in popularity among digital marketers.

There has been a +325% increase in Google searches for ‘social media influencers’ in 12 months (2016 to 2017). Google searches per month increased from 3900 in 2015 to 21000 in 2017. 230 new influencer platforms/agencies arose between 2015 and 2017. In 2017, the average return on investment (ROI) for every pound spent was £6 (2).

Recent research by Linqia (3) shows just how successful and impacting SMI campaigns have been, and the importance digital marketers are placing on them moving forward. Their studies and research revealed the following:

86% of marketers surveyed used SMIs in 2017, 92% found they were effective.

92% of marketers chose Instagram as the most important social network for SMIs in 2018, followed by Facebook at 77%. Blogs came third with 71%.

52% of marketers are currently designing strategies involving multiple SMI types.

36% will try to integrate SMI with e-commerce to boost product sales in 2018.

These statistics demonstrate the incredible rise in success and thus the importance of SMIs. But why are they so influential?

The main factors are that they are perceived by their audiences as being more authentic and relatable than multi-millionaire superstars, and they have very targeted, specific niche audiences (4). That is a winning combination for marketers.

SMIs already have an established audience who follow them for their niche-specific content. So, all a company needs to do is to find SMIs who target the same audience as they do, and, rather than marketing to a general audience, they can market to a very specific audience, thus improving conversion rates.

SMIs have almost idol or guru status with their followers. Their followers want what they have. They want the secret to their success, so they too can be like them. As a result, promotional campaigns by these gurus/idols are, as the statistics show, very potent, and highly effective.

70% of teens trust SMIs more than traditional celebrities, 49% of consumers rely on SMI recommendations, and 74% of consumers trust social networks for recommendations (5).

SMIs are perceived as being sincere because they are already known for what they are then selling when they become an SMI. They are not thought of as ‘sell-outs’ who just push any old products for cash.

Celebrities are perceived as merely endorsing for money. These days, a general audience struggles to believe, for example, that George Clooney really drank Nespresso before Nescafe hired him to front their advertising campaign. They know that they are just being sold to, and it would appear many consumers, especially the young, require a different approach. SMIs would appear to be the way.

It is clear that as well as having a huge immediate impact on digital marketing, SMIs are here to stay for the foreseeable future (6).

The scope for the development of SMI as a digital marketing method seems to be almost limitless given that anyone can become an influencer. The danger may be that social media becomes saturated by influencers so much so that even they get annoying eventually. It could be that more unscrupulous influencers just accept money for everything offered to them, rather than what they are already known to support. If that were to happen in a widespread way, it may result in scepticism about SMIs in general.

However, for the time being, it would appear that the incredible impact SMIs have had on digital marketing is set to continue at pace.

Conclusion

The boom of social media has sparked a growing consumer demand for marketing authenticity.

That demand appears to have been met to a large extent by SMIs who are at least perceived as being more ‘real’ and relatable than celebrities and general mass-marketing campaigns.

The ROI is really good, there is a lot of scope for marketing innovation, there is almost guaranteed levels of exposure, and it is simple and effective. It is hard to imagine why a company wouldn’t implement SMIs as part of their digital marketing strategy.

Now, in 2018, SMIs are still in their infancy as a marketing tool. Not that many businesses comparatively know about them. Even small to medium size businesses could benefit hugely from their use as part of a digital marketing strategy.

Local people with a large number of local ‘friend’ followers could well be paid to market local businesses. This digital marketing method is completely scalable.

The impact of SMIs on digital marketing strategy has been explosive and revolutionary.

References

1. Sun, C. How Do Your Social Media Habits Compare to the Average Person's? Entrepreneur Social Media. Weblog. [Online] Available from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/306136 [Accessed 22 December 2018].

2. Influencer marketing hub. The Remarkable Rise of Influencer Marketing. Influencer Marketing Hub. Weblog. [Online] Available from: https://influencermarketinghub.com/the-rise-of-influencer-marketing/ [Accessed 22 December 2018].

3. Linqia. Linqia website. [Online]. Available from: http://www.linqia.com/insights/report-the-state-of-influencer-marketing-2018/ [Accessed 22 December 2018].

4. Varsamis, E. Are Social Media Influencers The Next-Generation Brand Ambassadors? Forbes. Weblog. [Online] Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/06/13/are-social-media-influencers-the-next-generation-brand-ambassadors/#40950aaa473d[Accessed 22 December 2018].

5. Knightley, E. 20 Influencer Marketing Statistics that Will Surprise You. Digital Marketing Institute. Weblog. [Online] Available from: https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/en-gb/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-that-will-surprise-you [Accessed 22 December 2018].

6. Demers, J. 7 Predictions On The Future Of Influencer Marketing. Forbes. Weblog. [Online] Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2018/04/19/7-predictions-on-the-future-of-influencer-marketing/#4be9d88c581d [Accessed 22 December 2018].