Category: Word of Mouth

Influencer marketing has been a buzz word for the last few years. It is a highly attractive marketing tactic, leveraging the social influence of high-visibility opinion leaders to spread words about products and persuade consumers. This is similar to the long tradition of celebrity endorsement, but with the added intimacy of social interactions and the approachability of “I could be her too”. Major brands such as Motorola and American Express have successfully engaged in influencer marketing. In this article, I would like to discuss recent shifts in the influencer marketing landscape and where I see influencer marketing to be heading.

Recent News about Influencer Marketing

Two pieces of news broke recently that may have long-term impact on influencer marketing. In one, several brands’ CMOs spoke against influencers at Cannes this year. The criticisms raised included inflated follower numbers and lack of brand authenticity in some cases.

Separately, Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation organization, surveyed Gen Z women aged 14 to 19 in seven countries. The survey found that Gen Z women are less affected by influencers. They are aware of the financial incentives offered to influencers and as a result some of them may not trust these influencers. Instead, Gen Z women are more driven by brands’ stance on socially important issues and by brand authenticity.

Do these developments indicate the end of an influencer marketing golden era? Will influencer marketing become passé? In my opinion, influencer marketing will continue to be part of the marketing toolbox. However, I believe there will be several significant changes in the influencer marketing landscape.

Prediction #1: The Rising Power of the Average Joe/Jane

As newer generations of consumers become wary of mass influencers, brands will need to rely more on the average Joes and Janes among their customers. These customers have actually experienced the brand and will bring more authenticity to their word-of-mouth. Supporting this idea, both Samsung and eBay CMOs mentioned at Cannes the desire to shift their focus to the business’s actual customers.

One concern with relying on average customers is whether they can generate the same reach as mass influencers. Fortunately, even without superpowers, average Janes and Joes can still get the message pretty far and wide. Although the message from these customers may only get to a smaller number of people at first, the amplification effect through social networks can still lead to a large mass. If one person tells ten people, and each of those ten people tell ten new people, the total reach after 10 rounds will be an astounding 1 billion. Of course the number in reality is generally much lower because you and I may share some common people between our respective networks. My own research shows that a moderately diverse group of people are best for maximum message reach.

The implication from the rising power of average customers is that brands need to see each consumer as more than a single consumer. It is no longer simply a brand-customer dyad. Instead, brands need to be conscientious of the consumer’s network of social connections. To use an analogy, when you marry someone, you are also marrying his or her entire family. I suspect this ability to deal with circles of customers will be crucial to competitive advantage once the current efforts at improving individual customer experience maxes out in its potential. The best brand loyalty will be brand loyalty shared with friends. Continue reading “The Future of Influencer Marketing”