{"id":141246,"date":"2020-01-28T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?p=141246"},"modified":"2020-05-21T12:26:32","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T11:26:32","slug":"is-the-age-of-the-influencer-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/is-the-age-of-the-influencer-over\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the age of the influencer over?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent news stories have shown influencers in a bad light, which could impact their effectiveness when it comes to brand partnerships<\/h2>\n

You can\u2019t scroll through Instagram nowadays without seeing a perfectly posed photo posted by an \u201cinfluencer\u201d either selling something or themselves. This hugely popular form of marketing has really taken off, creating a new breed of celebrity and opening up now opportunities for marketers.<\/p>\n

However, you have to question whether influencers take things a little bit too far and whether they are actually influential in the first place. It\u2019s all well and good working with a brand that you believe in and want to recommend to followers, but the influencer world now seems to be more about freebies than authentic recommendations.<\/p>\n

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As someone who has been described as a \u201cmicro-influencer\u201d for my modest Instagram following and blog (which were both only created because I wanted to rather than with the aim of being an influencer), I can\u2019t help but wonder if the market is over-saturated.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m more likely to scroll past one of the highly filtered photos from influencers I follow in order to get to more pictures of my friends\u2019 cats. On top of this, there are far too many people proclaiming themselves to be influencers and giving the rest of the industry a bad name through unfair demands.<\/p>\n

While the influencer arena used to be a bit more straightforward, the rules now seem to be a bit murkier, so is the juice really worth the squeeze when it comes to influencer marketing or is it time to go in a different direction?<\/p>\n

Recent influencer scandals<\/h3>\n

If you search for influencer marketing online, you\u2019ll likely see a few recent news stories about influencers that have taken things a bit too far. While most people have reacted jokily to most of them, as a marketer, I have to consider if these individuals are aware of the damage they can be causing \u2013 especially to any brands who they have partnered with.<\/p>\n

Thousands for free<\/h4>\n

One example that comes to mind is the story that saw an apparent influencer request free services from a wedding photographer. A small photography company received an email from an influencer\u2019s publicist requesting two wedding videos and thousands of photos, estimated to be worth \u00a33,000 to \u00a34,000. All for free.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

So, what would the business get in return? Well, apparently the \u201cinfluencer\u201d would promote the business on Facebook and Instagram, which have a combined follower count of 55,000, and offer a discount of at least 25% on the photographer\u2019s packages.<\/p>\n

At no point in the email was the influencer\u2019s name mentioned and there were no links provided to social accounts or a blog so the photographer could check these claims and see if it was worth their while.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

As you might expect, the offer was turned down due to the fact that the following level was not large enough to command free services worth so much money. The fact that the promotion would also result in a drop in fees was also highlighted as being an issue.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

While the initial email was bad enough, the follow-up from the influencer\u2019s apparent publicist showed the very ugly side of the industry. It\u2019s understandable that no one likes to be rejected, but what this influencer seemed to fail to grasp is that their request was essentially a business proposal, meaning a professional pitch and response were required. Instead, their emails were shared across social media and news sites and deemed to be \u201ca spectacular fail<\/a>\u201d, as well as incredibly entitled.<\/p>\n

Changing the influencer narrative<\/h3>\n

This isn\u2019t the only example of influencers being shut down when they\u2019ve requested something free, although it is one of the most entitled examples I\u2019ve seen in a while. It seems as though people view having a large following as being a reason they can simply hold their hand out and request goods and services with \u201cexposure\u201d meant to be enough to cover them.<\/p>\n

Some businesses simply turn them down while others choose who they want to work with and offer products to these individuals. However, one business recently got so fed up of being asked for freebies from influencers that it took a different approach.<\/p>\n

Influencers pay double<\/h4>\n

The owner of an ice cream van has reportedly been turning down bloggers and Instagrammers on a weekly basis since he opened in 2014, as all of them want to promote his business but only if he can provide them with free ice cream.<\/p>\n

\"CVT<\/p>\n

Apparently, his exasperation reached fever pitch recently, which led the business to institute the \u201cinfluencers pay double\u201d rule. This followed on from being asked to cater for a party for 300 people for free in exchange for exposure.<\/p>\n

As a result, ice cream is $8 for influencers and $4 for everyone else with the business owner saying that he will never provide free ice cream in an exchange for a post on social media. The move has been widely praised, suggesting that people may be over the age of influencer.<\/p>\n

Anti-influencer sentiment<\/h3>\n

The responses to just these two recent events, let alone the rest you can easily find, suggest that there is now a lot of anti-influencer sentiment. Not only are businesses and people across social media getting fed up of the entitlement of the influencer, it seems that the manufactured aspect of their posts is also less effective today.<\/p>\n

Perfect photos of holidays, food, makeup, fashion and anything else they are selling are no longer hitting the mark. In fact, there\u2019s even an Instagram account dedicated to highlighting exactly how photos are all starting to look the same<\/a> as those on the platform seek to increase their followers by emulating other people\u2019s posts.<\/p>\n

\"Insta_repeat<\/p>\n

These strategically crafted updates are often paired with a status that sounds more like a press release, reducing the authenticity of the post. For brands, this can make what should be an honest recommendation \u2013 even if the post is sponsored (after all, why would you want to promote something you don\u2019t like) \u2013 look like another ad, which isn\u2019t about to influence anyone.<\/p>\n

It seems that people are completely over the perfect poses, the far-too-pretty avocado toast and the life moments that look as though they\u2019re part of a magazine shoot. What the influencer world seems to need now is authentic, real and maybe even slightly messy posts that show followers that they are real people.<\/p>\n

With people now putting more store in online reviews and friend and family endorsements<\/a>, creating posts that feel authentic is more likely to see results and allow influencers to cultivate relationships with followers. This is perhaps why micro-influencers often have better engagement when it comes to product recommendations, as they often have better relationships with their followers than those influencers who have hundreds of thousands of followers.<\/p>\n

What can brands do?<\/h3>\n

Brands are still seeing ROI from their influencer marketing campaigns<\/a>, but with anti-influencer sentiment seemingly on the rise, exactly how long is this likely to last? If more negative influencer stories hit the headlines, are people going to start trusting influencers less?<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, I don\u2019t have a crystal ball that tells us the answers, but it is probably a good idea that brands start to explore other options rather than putting all their eggs in a perfectly styled and filtered influencer basket.<\/p>\n

Is UGC the answer?<\/h4>\n

With authenticity being the aim of the game and people trusting online reviews<\/a>, adopting a user-generated content (UGC) strategy could be a good alternative to influencer campaigns, or it could run alongside them.<\/p>\n

UGC allows you to share real photos of your products taken by real people, as well as blogs, reviews and status updates. While it\u2019s all well and good for you - or someone you\u2019re sponsoring \u2013 to shout about how great your product or service is, it will mean more coming from someone who isn\u2019t being rewarded for saying so and who isn\u2019t affiliated with your brand.<\/p>\n

\"Irregular<\/p>\n

Although some people may share a recommendation after purchasing your product once, there\u2019s a lot to be said for encouraging customer retention. Retaining customers is cheaper than acquiring<\/a> them but more than this, encouraging your customers to come back repeatedly helps to transform them into brand advocates. This means that you\u2019ll benefit from more content created by them if they are active on social media, as well as reviews that are likely to be more in-depth and overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n

Some options to encourage customer retention are:<\/p>\n