As George Clooney is to the Gen Xer's, so the influencer is to Gen Z.
Charli D'Amelio, Kylie Jenner, KimK. They are literally famous for being... famous?
So, can these apparently one-dimensional 'media' personalities really add value for your brand?
Actually, yes. Quite a lot of value, in fact.
The thing is, these social media influencers have A LOT to say. And even more pertinent, is that people ACTUALLY LISTEN.
You may even be getting influenced, without even realising you are under the influence.
According to Hootsuite and eMarketer, the most prominent platforms for influencer marketing are Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
Remember that time you were scrolling through your Insta feed, and saw Ronaldo wearing a hoodie that you just HAD TO HAVE? And, low and behold, the link to the hoodie just HAPPENED to be included in the post? Which you immediately ADDED TO CART?
You. Just. Got. Influenced.
So yeah, as a brand it may not be such a bad idea to foray into the murky waters of influencer marketing.
But where do you start?
Sprout Social provides a few handy steps to start you on your journey:
Know your brand and image, and then research who you think will best represent and embody that image
Personally reach out to a shortlist of influencers with a proposal of why they would want to work with your brand
Agree on incentives - these guys aint gonna work for free (but maybe they will for some free shampoo?)
Work together to come up with posts that meet the goals and messages desired by your brand
As a brand, what kind of incentives do you need to offer these influencers in order to get them to promote your product?
Smart Insights tells us that the most common form of remuneration received by influencers is in the form of sponsored content and posts - you literally just pay them to pose in/with/on top of(?) your product, having the time of their life (of course with the obligatory #hashtags for emphasis).
But wait. That's not the ONLY way to get an influencer involved with your brand.
Smart Insights also tells us that they may work for free products. Or they may be willing to give up their time to make a guest appearance on you TikTok Live.
Or, if your brand is important enough, it could be a bit of a tik-for-tat situation: you promote us to your followers, and we will promote you to ours.
Basically, as annoying as they may seem, influencers absolutely have their place in the modern world of digital and social media marketing.
I will leave you with some wise words from the Godfather of social media, Mark Zuckerberg:
A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message
Who wouldn't trust that face?