He Said, She Said: Influencer Marketing

Recently the Advertising Standard Authority launched a review of the practises around ‘influencer’ marketing on social media platforms.

Social media is an increasing part of businesses marketing mix so should you be using influencer marketing and what are the pitfalls? Here is our take on this at times controversial form of marketing:

He said

Company spokespeople have been around for decades. Some people love them, some hate them. Chief marketing officers love hanging out with famous people – it makes them feel goooood. And if they feel good, then alrighty agency people, great job! (thumbs up), and you keep the work.

It all comes down to sales.

If your ‘influencer’ promotes your product / service in a positive light, if they stay out of trouble, if they create more sales – then it’s worth it. But that’s a lot of ifs. I doubt it’s worth the money or trouble to have your product featured on an instagrammers page. The punters are loving their lifestyle not your product.

She said

I know this can make people feel a bit icky (and rightly so in some cases) but I think this can work well – after all it’s basically a combination of three powerful forms of marketing:

  • Word of mouth. Recommendations from a trusted source – your influencer
  • Press advertising. Each influencer has an audience of a particular size and demographic that they create content for, much like a magazine.
  • Sponsorship. Paying people to be figureheads for your brand.

That means that, just like other marketing channels, you need to do your research and make a good strategy.

Partner with the right people and ensure the content your ‘influencer’ is posting is right for your brand and it might just work… but get it wrong and your message could just get lost in the sea of relentless content that is social media.

Who do you agree with? Do you have anything to add? Leave a comment or join the discussion on our social media channels!

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