The Dark Side of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has grown drastically in the past few years. In 2016 it was estimated at a 1.6-billion-dollar industry. In 2019 that number jumped to 6.5 billion in 2019. So, it is safe to say that influencer marketing is not going anywhere.
Influencer marketing can help sell more products as a way of word of mouth advertising. Is it always beneficial to use influencers? Sometimes associating your brand with a specific influencer or celebrity can be more harmful then helpful. It can be seen as putting all the eggs in one basket.
A real-world example would be the Pepsi ad featuring Kendall Jenner. This ad was made featuring how people can peacefully demonstrate. Kendall Jenner was featured and is seen leaving her photo shoot in favor of joining with others. As the group comes to the police force, Kendall Jenner grabs a Pepsi and offers it to one of the policemen. He takes it and drinks, and everyone cheers.
This ad got a lot of backlash from the public. As many saw it as insulting to make it seem like a Pepsi was what was needed to solve the world’s problems.
For this example, Pepsi may have been better off not having Kendall Jenner in the advertisement at all. We can learn from this that it is not just about the name or caliber of the celebrity. It is more important to have someone that aligns with the brand and brand message.
The FTC recently made move to make sure that online advertisements are not misleading to consumers. These new guidelines are in place in hopes to stop deceptive ads.
According to the FTC website, the guidelines are here to “reflect the basic truth-in-advertising principle that endorsements must be honest and not misleading”. When commenting on a product, the endorsement message should be obvious that there is a “material connection” this connection could be personal, families, or financial relationships. This disclosure is important because it allows your audience to consider the value of the endorsement.
According to the FTC, the disclosure of a paid advertisement or endorsement should be hard to miss and use simple and clear language. It is important that the audience can see and understand the disclosure.
All in all, the most important piece of marketing is keeping in mind the basics.
According to Nahai (4), the three key parts to marketing is:
Know your audience- Know what types of products they would be interested in so that you can effectively market to them.
Communicate persuasively- Be consistent in messages and branding so that an advertisement doesn’t stick out too much.
Have an honest sell- Be upfront with any partnerships will help you appear more open.
Keeping all these things in mind are the keys to good advertising.
In conclusion, Influencer marketing is a multi-billion-dollar industry that isn’t going anywhere. While influencers can be very helpful to building a brand, it can also be risky to associate the brand with one specific person. The most important thing to consider with influencer marketing is having someone that relates to the brand and message and someone that you trust to keep the brand image in a positive light.
By: Fiona Long
Links:
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/disclosures-101-social-media-influencers