Why am I investing in Social Media and why should you?

I read that a recent survey revealed 84% of marketers plan on executing at least one influencer marketing campaign during the next 12 months.

I reached for my cheque book.

The end.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

OK, for those that want the long version, keep reading.

I suppose some of you may not have read my post on what is “influencer marketing”? So for those I will take a moment to explain. It is somewhere between an official endorsement and a subtle product placement, which is done almost in passing.

The best example is to imagine that you are with your mates in a pub. You are drinking with all your friends and one of them, the one you consider the coolest—who, metaphorically speaking, would be Dan Bilzerian on Instagram.

You hear Dan say casually while drinking a whiskey older then the pub you are in, “I love my orange Hermes swimming trunks.” Instantly you feel as though you know something no one else does. You know what he wears on holiday, and what he considers to be cool.

You trust your mate, plus you know others do too. You check his instagram and see that in one Instagram post (the photo gathering a stunning 327 000 likes): you don’t have to buy a boat and hire models and go on holiday to look like a superstar. You just need orange Hermes swimming trunks.

And brands are noticing this. In fact, just look at a Kardashian social media post to prove the point.(Pick a Kardashian - Any Kardashion..do it............ I will wait here).

Good you are back, almost lost you there.

Brands are now willing to pay big bucks for......well its not just exposure they want. Pure numbers and big promises of “impressions” are only half the true value.

The other, more important, half comes from association. It’s happening everywhere, from a to z-list celebrities all the way down to tiny niche thought leaders ( like me). Even small businesses and boutiques will spend a bit of money for a social media influencer with a few thousand followers in their market.

But why (you all scream in unison)?

Because what they’ll get in return is targeted exposure to the right kind of consumer, one who is already interested and will likely pay attention.

" Cos people buy from people they trust" ??

This is opposite of what’s happening with magazines and television right now, on which commercials have officially become white noise.

Take a moment and think about it think about when was the last time a commercial came on and you didn’t pull out your phone?

The only difference is that now, as you scroll through your Facebook or Instagram feed, you are still seeing advertisements however it does not register straight away. Your favourite influencers, who you already trust and so by default follow ( or visa versa), are ambassadors of products and promoting brands, all the while still staying true to their unique voice and story.

And it goes further, Social media influencers exist on all the primary social platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snap.

These are the Macaulay Culkins of the modern day, and they are becoming more and more savvy about how to properly collaborate with brands for their own creative campaigns.

Another interesting stat is that 47% of online consumers use ad blockers,

ad blocker

noun

1. a piece of software designed to prevent advertisements from appearing on a web page."I'm about to give up and install an ad blocker"

This is giving brands and businesses even more reason to put their hard earned euros and pounds behind influencers instead.

Lets all say it together

" Influencers are the people that are holding everyone’s attention!"

And attention has value.

And as long as all eyes are on them, more and more brands are going to see value in paying these people to represent their products.

This trend is not limited to mainstream and popular markets such as sodas, fashion or entertainment. There are influencers in markets centered around everything from axe throwing to meditation and soon events ( WATCH THIS SPACE) .

In fact, to call it “influencer marketing” is just want we are calling it now the truth is that this is all just the start, what is truly occurring is a broader systemic shift, as more and more people are discovering the art of personal branding.

Something I have been talking about, for years, is that not right Nial Fagg ?

When you have a personal brand, when you have an audience and people see you as a thought leader in your specific niche or market, you have something no one else does: you have people’s attention.

And what did I tell you about attention?

Attention has value ??

Value to not only brands but to other thought leaders as well. Having a personal brand opens doors to opportunity. Now more than ever we see a rising amount of influencers who are starting to understand their value and harness there talent.

It was only a few years ago that TV, Radio stations and Magazines had millions of readers/viewers and eyes and minds and now its some teenager applying make up on youtube.

Look at the above lady, to-date her YouTube channel boasts more than 14 million subscribers and her site reportedly earns ï¿¡50,000 a month.

The best influencers work to integrate their branded campaigns into their unique stories without skipping a beat.

Authenticity is key in social media, and the ability to speak to your tribe and to know your audience. As audiences are fickle and as quickly as they came - leave.

Think about the long tail on this.

Want me to explain " Long tail and who has used social media and long tail thinking better then anyone I know" ?

Back in 2006, Gary Vaynerchuk started a daily video show that turned wine criticism on its head. More importantly, it took his family wine business from $3 million-a-year to a $60 million-a-year ecommerce juggernaut.

From there, Gary did something that surprised a lot of people, including me. He started a digital marketing agency called VaynerMedia.

Wait … what? Why would someone who could move that level of product want to build a service business? Isn’t that going backwards?

Not so fast., you see Gary’s plan involved doing this thing now in order to set the stage for bigger and better things down the road.

In other words, true entrepreneurs are always playing the long game.

So I believe that, without question, the future is set for social media influence marketing agencies. That collaborations between big brands and influencers are only to increase ( for at least 3-4 years) and I want a piece of that cake as it goes from social media cupcake to social marketplaces confectionery .

If you would like to talk to me about being a social media influencer ( warning do not tell me how many followers you have - tell me about your audience) or someone looking to use them then contact me here on LinkedIn or tweet me - just click one of the above blue birds.

I would also like to know what you think, so please do feel free to comment, everyday is a school day and I am ( as always) so thankful for your attention.

P.S> That Twitter Blue Bird's name is - It's Larry. Larry the Bird. As in, Larry Bird

I know.

Mind. Blown.

#InstafluenceHQ