The world of influencer marketing has changed significantly in the past few years. In line with the theme in our recent article, we did a quick look at how brands’ relationships with influencers have drastically changed of late.
Let’s take a step back…to less than 5 years ago – what were brands keen on?
The Starry Celeb
Brands thought the best way to sell any marketing objective was by making a well-known celebrity (Bollywood) your brand ambassador for major ad campaigns (even if they didn’t even seem like an actual user of the product!).
Sure, not a bad idea, but has it increasingly lost its lustre (depends on brand objective though) due to high cost, and inauthenticity that backlashes on both the celeb and the brand.
Definitely Not ‘Micro & Nano’ Influencers
There was only a small pool of people that even considered influencers in the first place. The most famous ones were given almost star status by the younger generations and brands caught up to that.
But the micro and nano influencers did not get much of a shot at promoting big brands as these brands didn’t know about them or their potential. Also, brands were wary of spending their marketing budget on a not-so-tried and tested method.
Anyone Famous Enough (how is this different from the above points? trust us, read on)
Brands put their money on the ambassador’s / influencer’s popularity while most of the time disregarding the influencer’s personal voice, habits and hobbies or previous social media activity.
Many brands have received severe backlash for hiring a certain personality for their campaign because reports of offensive comments, ideology clashes or simply an ill-placed collaboration.
Fast forward to today: what do brands want from influencers now?
Give them Great Value For Their Money
Brands are ready to pay big for influencers now and not just counting the celebs. In order to maintain their brand equity, these brands require their promoters to deliver great promotional content. The good news is that they are ready to create bigger budgets to accommodate you.
The best way to do this is religiously produce great content that realizes their objectives while leaving them with the feeling that they got their money’s worth.
Good Engagement And Sentimentality Rates
With data-driven influencer marketing discovery platforms like Chtrbox, brands know now they can be more scientific in pinpointing the right influencers for their campaigns.
With discovery platforms like Chtrbox, brands get to know about follower bots (if you have any), your engagement rates, your audience, and even how positive or negative comments on your profile is via sentiment analysis!
Micro and Nano Influencers!
You heard that right! Brands now know the power of close knit communities and locally powered user generated content.
Campus ambassadors, micro influencers and nano influencers are now very much sought after by big brands for online and offline activities such as brand content amplification and conversions, and brand sampling respectively.
Long Term Associations Over One-Time Stints
Brands do not want to spend a bomb for 1 celebrity ambassador, including high production costs, exclusivity fees, etc, rather they want to use that same amount between various types of influencers who are willing to make their brand a part of their feed rather than a singular impression that may fade away quick.
This strengthens their brand image and recall value with the influencer who is regularly seen on social media feeds.
Someone Who Fits Their Brand Well
You won’t see Virat Kohli promoting a sugary soda (unless they get a healthy version out) because he is an icon for a healthy lifestyle and his choice of brand promotions speak the same.
Brands need to believe that you as an influencer fit their ideologies well and will be able to translate it without the collaboration seeming out of place.
Someone Who Seamlessly Balances Creative Vision And the Brands Identity
– With Authentic Content True To Their Core
Every influencer has a creative vision for their content. Brands are looking for influencers who can make great, authentic and engaging content including their product with it looking like a brand promotion. Remember, the only reason they are collaborating with you is because of your unique content and ability to hook people.
Check out Boombox for more awesome influencers like you!
For brands, would you like some data driven influencer #inspo? Check out Boombox for more awesome influencers!
Feature Photo Source: Unsplash