Influencers have existed practically since the beginning of advertising: at the end of the 18th century, some owners put their faces in their products or on posters to give their brands a "face" that would help consumers to feel closer to the brand. Later, brands that did not have their own identity hired models to position themselves in a better way.
At the beginning of the 20th century, brands created characters or "pets" that began to become highly popular. Some of those characters are the Coca-Cola Santa Claus and the Zucaritas Tony the Tiger. Celebrities (as actors, actresses, and singers) were also part of this trend.
But the very Influencers revolution began in the 21st century, around 2004. Once social media and sites like YouTube allowed anyone, from the comfort of their own home and using minimal resources, to become opinion leaders, with real followers who are truly interested in what they have to say or do. The Internet "democratized" the influence.
Why are influencers important?
Here are some reasons:
These are some insights about the present state of influencer marketing.
In one hand, according to a study by Celebrity Intelligence in 2017, the brands worked mostly with digital influencers (61%), compared to those who worked with singers, musicians, TV actors or models. In the same way, 44% of surveyed believe that influencers will be apter in the near future to accept business opportunities than they were before.
On the other hand, having a relevant audience and a good number of followers is still very important to help the brand to make a decision and work with an influencer: 85% of surveyed said that this aspect was "critical" or "very important".
Additionally, 41% of the brands said that the celebrities’ audience and how it echoes, it is the determinant factor when deciding who to work with. This data is important in terms of the 2018 trends (which we will talk about later) because it shows that although the number of followers is important, also it is the celebrities' influence on their audience. This means, someone, may have few followers, but if their influence on them is high, this person will allow you to reach a brand to very specific niches, ensuring more clarity in the goal's scope and the measurement of outcomes.
Why is it important for you to know this?
If you are thinking about adding influencers to your 2018 budget, there are some aspects you should consider, starting with the cost: obviously, they are no longer cheap. According to Captiv8, the prize of an Instagram influencer picture with a minimum of 3 million followers can cost around $75,000 dollars, while a collaboration with an influencer in YouTube can cost up to $187,500 dollars.
The previously mentioned means that marketing specialist are having a hard time assigning budgets to include influencers.
Different from ROI of an influencer which is still attractive: according to the study made by Celebrity Intelligence, for each pound (£1 = $0.04) invested in 2017, each Brand earned £17.21 ($449), a very considerable amount.
So, if the use of influencers and celebrities is still profitable, it is a fact that its implementation strategy must change to keep these earnings, mostly in social networks, which usage will not be reduced in 2018, being the most important trend the mix of established celebrities with micro-influencers, meaning those with a lower but more focused influence sphere.
A couple of success cases
In 2017 we saw an example of the previous statement with the GAP fall/winter campaign, "#MeetMeInTheGap." 78% who have worked with digital influencers and celebrities rated their experiences as "very effective" or "effective", the brand joined together the celebrities with digital influencers known only to people in their niche. Due to this, there are creative combinations such as Cher with the dance duo Chloe & Maud Arnold. The idea was to show that we can close the gaps between us through clothes.
Emma Gregson of ITB, a company that participated in the campaign, said that "this group of wonderful people added an additional layer of creative content to the mix. When you see them in the commercial you do not know who they are, they are just great artists; however, there is a story in every digital layer and that is what really reaches specific audiences."
To support their campaign, The Body Shop used a mix of celebrities like Kelly Osbourne with digital influencers to demonstrate diversity. The company suggested the use of an official shirt, but it was optional, letting the campaign protagonists be creative and with an outcome related to their style, so their followers would see it as something organic. In the end, all the influencers used the shirt, except one.
The target KPIs were 10 million reaches and 2% engagement in the talent channels. The outcome? 26 million reaches and 4.3% engagement were achieved. The Body Shop official account reached 54,000 new followers in the weeks after the campaign launch.